Krabs' rival and former best friend Plankton operates the Chum Bucket, an unsuccessful restaurant across the street from the Krusty Krab. A major plot point throughout the series is Plankton failing to steal the Krabby Patty formula with the help of his computer wife, Karen, under the assumption that they would be able to replicate the burgers and put the Krusty Krab out of business. To avoid this, Krabs goes to extreme lengths to prevent Plankton from obtaining the recipe; he even refuses to allow him to buy a Krabby Patty legitimately out of fear that Plankton might use Karen to reverse-engineer the formula. Krabs also makes it his duty to ensure that the Chum Bucket never has any business whatsoever.