A once-loathed Blimpie franchise (“Sub Par,” 6/21/02) closed last week, but the H Street NE fast-food wars continue: A newly opened Cluck-U Chicken is the latest flashpoint on the strip, which is zoned to prohibit fast-food restaurants. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Joseph Fengler says he and fellow residents are “not against Cluck-U Chicken,” but rather have a beef with the District’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), which granted the eatery its permits. The “fast-food” designation is the object of a handful of stipulations, such as a ban on drive-throughs and a limit on the square footage used for pickup “queuing”; Fengler contends that the DCRA might have erred in its calculations. The agency did not return calls for comment. Bernard Gibson, the Cluck-U’s manager, says the restaurant is within guidelines: “We’re not a fast-food restaurant.” But Cluck-U Corp. once had a different opinion: Until recently, its Web site advised potential franchisees to have “the resources, experience and ability to operate and personally manage a high volume fast food restaurant.”

—Mike Kanin