OFF BEAT: Nugget restaurants play game of chicken

Something of an intellectual property game of chicken has broken out in the Greenwich, Conn., area between a popular chicken nugget takeout restaurant chain and a new venture started by two former employees.

According to reports, the owners of Greenwich-based Garden Catering have sued brothers Michael and Jeff Natale in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn., alleging the brothers’ Wally’s Chicken Coop stole their recipe and other trade secrets.

The suit alleges that Wally’s, which serves the University of Connecticut student market at its Storrs campus, dishes up its chicken bits and side dishes in insulated bags in the same manner as Garden Catering.

They also cited Wally’s serving a breakfast sandwich that Garden Catering argues comes a little too close to its own bacon, egg, cheese, chili and home fries offering called the “Hotsy.”

The attorney for the Natales reportedly called Garden Catering’s claims “frivolous,” indicating he would seek to have the suit dismissed.