Eatery name raises Delaware dispute

DOVER, Del. — Delaware officials won’t allow the restaurant chain Illegal Pete’s to convert to a limited liability company in the state because the company’s name has “a negative connotation,” according to a federal lawsuit filed this week.

But state Division of Corporations records show that Delaware officials have signed off on plenty of questionable entity names.

Illegal Pete’s is a 23-yearold, Colorado-based restaurant chain known for its burritos. The company is named in honor of its founder’s father, who is described on Illegal Pete’s website as “a bit of a good-natured hell-raiser in his day.” The company has nine locations in Colorado and two in Arizona.

While Delaware officials deemed “Illegal Pete’s” too offensive to be included in the state’s roster of about 1.3 million business entity names, they’ve expressed no qualms about “Illegal Civilization Inc.” or “Illegal People Touring Inc.”

State officials also allowed “Hate Date Inc.,” ”Hate Media LLC” and “I Hate Chitlins LLC.”

Other corporate food offerings include “Hot Asian Buns LLC,” “Killer Beverages LLC,” “The Drunk’n Baker LLC” and “Murder on the Menu Inc.”

Officials, however, raised objections to “Illegal Pete’s,” a name that has also drawn criticism from some activists in Colorado and Arizona who believe it is offensive to Hispanics and conjures up antiimmigrant feelings.

The lawsuit filed Monday called the state’s decision “arbitrary and capricious.”