Chickie’s and Pete’s to pick up AC Expressway toll tab for one hour Friday

Free tolls and crab fries?

If you’re traveling to the Shore along the Atlantic City Expressway late Friday afternoon, you’re in luck.

For the sixth year, Chickies & Pete’s, a Philadelphia-based crab house with locations at the Shore, will pay the $3 eastbound toll tab at the Egg Harbor Toll Plaza between 5 and 6 p.m.

Chickie’s & Pete’s founder Pete Ciarrocchi said the gesture on the beginning of Memorial Day weekend is a way to honor his family’s military tradition.

“My dad and my uncles were all in the military. In fact, my Uncle George, who was my restaurant mentor, won the Silver Star for bravery. He was quite the guy and I couldn’t think of a better way to honor him,” he said in a release.

In conjunction with the South Jersey Transportation Authority, the restaurant is also sponsoring a free activity at the Expressway’s Frank S. Farley Plaza from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday.

The event will feature free giveaways of the restaurant’s crab fries and various samples of food and beverages. Fire and rescue equipment from the Atlantic City International Airport and the New Jersey State Police will be on display, along with the Philadelphia Soul mascot.