HopCat to change the name of its 'Crack Fries' because drug addiction 'is not a joke'

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan -- A Michigan-based bar and restaurant chain plans to change the name of its "Crack Fries" in January to distance itself from a word associated with the drug epidemic.

A post on HopCat's website by BarFly Ventures CEO Mark Gray says the recipe and ingredients of its seasoned fries will stay the same. He notes, however, the company's "vision for creating an inclusive company ... is not compatible" with the old name.

A new name will be announced later.

Gray says HopCat picked the "Crack Fries" name more than a decade ago "as a reference to the addictive quality of the fries and their cracked pepper seasoning, without consideration for those the drug negatively affected."

Gray says the crack epidemic "is not funny and never was."