Read the original article by Christina Tkacik at baltimoresun.com here.
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, a local restaurant known in part for its abrasive social media presence, has launched a limited-release beer called PETA Tears.
The beer, an American-style lager, will be on the menu at their Holabird Avenue restaurant starting July 24. One dollar from every beer sold will benefit the Show Your Soft Side campaign, said the restaurant’s owner John Minadakis.
The name is a reference to last year’s billboard squabble with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Last August, PETA put up a billboard in Baltimore urging locals to “see the individual” within crabs and to “go vegan.” Jimmy’s launched a billboard of its own, all of which has drawn national attention to the veteran seafood spot.
“SteaMEd crabs. Here to stay. Get Famous,” the billboard read, depicting a steamed crab covered in seasoning and the restaurant’s logo.
“[Eating crabs] is in our DNA as Marylanders,” Minadakis told The Sun last year. “It’s a crab. It’s not a cow. It’s not a chicken.”
In an email, PETA president Ingrid Newkirk dismissed the beer as a “silly bid for relevancy,” and suggested that Jimmy’s “could simply add vegan options — or switch to an entirely vegan menu — and PETA would be happy to give it the attention that it craves…”
Minadakis said he did not expect to face legal action from PETA over the use of their trade name but “if it gets to that point, we’ll certainly be ready.”
Crustaceans aside, Minadakis says he’s a friend to animals. In December, he held a small dog in an ad for Show Your Soft Side, an organization combating animal cruelty. The caption: “Only a punk would hurt a cat or a dog.”
