Thursday, November 3, 2011

FRIED RABBIT in Chauncey Hill Mall

I remember this restaurant opening in Chauncey Hill Mall and found this information on the internet about its demise!   Beverly Shaw  October 12, 2011


October, 1983
The Indiana Secretary of State's office stepped in to stop what appeared to be a rabbit-ranching scam. The situation surfaced early in the year when Richard Stewart opened the first Hop-Scotch Restaurant, a fast-food eatery specializing in fried rabbit, in West Lafayette's Chauncey Hill Mall. 

Stewart and his wife, Barbara, hoped to sell rabbit ranches under Rex Rabbit Development Company, then buy the rabbits produced, sell pelts to furriers and meat to retailers and restaurants. 

More than 150 ranchers bought two bucks and 20 does for about $6,000 to get started, having been guaranteed a market for rabbits that did not exist. 

The Hop-Scotch closed in October and the Stewarts filed for bankruptcy.




4 comments:

  1. Whilst living at Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, while attending Purdue University (1979 - 1983) our cook decided to serve us some of Hop Scotch's fried rabbit for lunch. I and another fellow drove over and picked up something like 20 orders "to go." (If I recall, they actually had a drive through window.)

    We only had fried rabbit once b/c it really was outside the typical menu of the American college kid and most of the guys did not eat it. (However, we ate more of the fried rabbit for lunch than we ate of the fried frog legs for a later dinner.)

    Anyhow, our undrstandinf for the closre of the restaurant was due to a "lack of verifiaible integrity" in the food chain i.e., the restaurant could not document the source of the rabbits they were serving.

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  2. Best rabbit I ever ate. Prepared similar to KFC chicken. Sure do miss it!!!

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  3. Hey Charlie! My mom, Sandy was the cook at Phi Kappa Tau during that time. Not sure if it was her that did the frog legs but she was quite adventurous in her cooking. My boyfriend and I went to eat there and thought it was pretty tasty! I remember hearing later on local news that they were serving what may have been cat since the feet were not attached and was the same body size and shape.

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    1. It would have been harder for them to get cat than to get rabbit. What you "heard" was just another stupid urban legend.

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