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Chum bucket

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The Chum Bucket
File:Thechumbucketsbsp.jpg
SpongeBob SquarePants business
First appearance"Plankton!" (July 31, 1999)
TypeRestaurant
LocationBikini Bottom, Pacific Ocean
OwnerSheldon Plankton
EmployeesSheldon Plankton (manager)
Karen
ProductsChum burger, Chum fries, Chum nuggets, Chum on a stick, Chumbalaya, Chumshake, Chum chili, Chum pie, Chum cake and Chummy joes

The Chum Bucket is a fictional restaurant in the American cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants. It is located at 130 Conch Street, across the street from the Krusty Krab, which is far more successful than the Chum Bucket. The Chum Bucket is owned by Sheldon Plankton, Eugene Krabs' arch-nemesis. The restaurant's lack of business is not just because of the good food served at Mr. Krab's restaurant, the Krusty Krab, and the awful food at the Chum Bucket, but also because of the cruelty of Plankton to other residents of Bikini Bottom. Plankton has consistently tried to steal the Krabby Patty "secret formula", so as to duplicate it and gain more customers, but he has always been unsuccessful, except in the movie. Plankton's computer wife Karen has described the Chum Bucket as to have: Bad plumbing, dust bunnies and creaking walls.

All of the food served at the Chum Bucket begins with the word "Chum" (e.g. Chumbalaya, a pun on jambalaya). The restaurant's name is derived from "chum bucket", which is a container of animal or vegetable matter, such as chopped up fish heads and corn, typically thrown in a body of water in order to attract fish to catch. Only after King Neptune accuses and freezes Mr. Krabs for stealing his crown when it was really Plankton's fault, he did start selling the delicious Krabby Patties here... but only briefly. In "Friend or Foe", it is revealed some of the recipes of the bad tasting burger is squid ink and a pinch of chum.

History

Plankton first opened the Chum Bucket after his arch-rival (but once good friend) Eugene Krabs discovered the Krabby Patty secret recipe and converted an ailing nursing home called the Rusty Krab into the popular undersea burger joint that it is today: the Krusty Krab. It is not known why he opened his restaurant following these significant events, however, judging by his evil ways, it is presumed that Plankton wanted to rule the world and wanted to do this by stealing and selling the Krabby Patties, therefore bringing lots of people into the restaurant and ultimately ruling the world (as depicted in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie). Another theory is that Mr. Krabs and Plankton were once college room-mates and that Krabs squished Plankton constantly but accidentally (according to a two-page comic strip titled Plankton: The College Years printed in "Nickelodeon Magazine Presents the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie"). It is estimated that Plankton thought that his future enemy was trying to kill him, and due to Krabs' greediness and advantages over Plankton (particularly when he discovered the Krabby Patty secret formula and decided to sell it), Plankton's jealousy of Krabs only grew stronger. When the Krusty Krab first came into being, the Chum Bucket was somehow built and opened by Plankton, so that he could start stealing the secret formula (which Krabs refused to give away) and soon start an ever-lasting rivalry between the two restaurants. This may be the reason why he hates his arch-rival so much and why he constantly reminds him that "he went to college". It is unknown where Plankton had lived before his restaurant first opened.

A more plausible explanation of the simultaneous opening of both the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket is revealed in the episode: Friend or Foe (originally aired April 13, 2007) where it is explained that, as school pals Krabs and Plankton were picked on by the "cool kids". Their only refuge is behind the popular local burger joint. They must sit in back so the cool kids still want to eat there. After being shutdown Krabs and Plankton buy the empty space. Then both Krabs and Plankton tell their own versions of why they parted ways until Plankton's computer wife tells the real story. The burgers they were making were lousy and each blamed the other. They begin to fight over the recipe they have and who can improve it. The recipe rips in half sending Krabs flying into the shelf full of spices, which all fall in his patty mix. Plankton storms out telling Krabs he would show him one day. This is how the secret recipe was born and the reasoning behind the bitter rivalry. However, this may not be true because in the season 4 episode "Enemy In-Law", when Mr. Krabs accuses Plankton of only dating his mother in order to get the Krabby Patty formula, Mr. Krabs says to Plankton that "The Krabby Patty formula is an old Krabs family recipe... and you're not family."

In "New Leaf", Plankton changes the Chum Bucket into a souvenir stall. His merchandise includes snowglobes, stuffed toys, lava lamps, t-shirts, guitars, masks, mugs, lanterns, dolls, nets and plastic toys. While the Krusty Krab has been destroyed more than twenty times, the Chum Bucket has been destroyed only twice; in "Stanley S. SquarePants" and "Spy Buddies". In "Welcome to the Chum Bucket", the mechanical hand that holds the handle of the Chum Bucket is replaced by a burger that is standing on the Chum Bucket's handle.

Advertising

Plankton has various ways to advertise the Chum Bucket. Like the Krusty Krab, there are many billboards advertising the Chum Bucket on Sand Mountain. Plankton has a telephone directory ad in the Bikini Bottom Yellow Pages and he spent all his money for the advertisement. See episode "Enemy In-Law"

Past employees

  • SpongeBob SquarePants - recruited from the Krusty Krab after Mr. Krabs lost a card game to Plankton. Plankton finds SpongeBob too annoying and troublesome and he refuses to cook Krabby Patties for Plankton. SpongeBob is later sold to the rival restaurant for $50 after SpongeBob became too much of a nuisance for Plankton.
  • Patrick Star - hired by Plankton five minutes before the "Fry Cook Games" after a dispute with SpongeBob. He abandons the job at the end of the event after SpongeBob and Patrick both find out that they really care about each other. He is also a delivery person on SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman
  • Patrick Robot - On SpongeBob 4-D, Planton creates a Patrick robot that steals a pickle from the Krusty Krab in order to get the recipe. However, the robot gets unplugged by the real Patrick.

Customers

The Chum Bucket barely ever has any customers due to Plankton's evil ways and because the Krusty Krab is much better than his ailing restaurant, and food poisoning. It is unknown how Plankton keeps his restaurant open, which is also his residence with his computer wife, Karen. There is also no explanation as to how Plankton can fund his evil schemes, since the Chum Bucket is unprofitable. In the beginning of the episode "Enemy In-Law", a giant Plankton-shaped robot named Chum-Bot kidnaps citizens of Bikini Bottom and deposits them into the Chum Bucket so that Plankton can sell them his food. In the episode New Leaf, Plankton says that the only customer was a rat that died when it ate Plankton's food. However, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie was the only time that the Chum Bucket was highly popular. A series of incidents planned and caused by Plankton led to the near-execution of Mr. Krabs by King Neptune. This left Plankton to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula and sell Krabby Patties, therefore filling the void left by the Krusty Krab. Plankton even sold bucket helmets, only to turn the wearers into his slaves as soon as Squidward exposed his evil plans. It is not known what happened to his restaurant after he was arrested. In the episode, Plankton's Regular, Plankton has a regular customer named Nat who visits the Chum Bucket daily. However it turns out that Karen paid Nat to pretend to like the chum so Plankton would stop his constant complaining about being a failure. Plankton also lured customers in by hypnotizing Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy and making them say they prefer the Chum Bucket in front of the Krusty Krab clientele in "Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob". In this episode, Plankton claims this is the first time he's had to serve food in the Chum Bucket to customers.

Mentions in video games

See also

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