Culinary star Paula Deen has abruptly shut off the burners at her popular Georgia restaurants.
The former Food Network and bestselling cookbook author host announced Friday the sudden closure of the Savannah eatery that launched her to fame with its menu of Southern soul food staples.
For nearly three decades, Deen ran The Lady & Sons restaurant with her two sons, Jamie and Bobby. The eatery continued to attract a loyal fan base long after the Food Network canceled her show amid a racism scandal.
The “Queen of Southern Cuisine” announced on Friday that she was pulling the plug on the signature restaurant, along with her shop The Chicken Box, which opened in 2023.
“Hey, y’all, my sons and I made the heartfelt decision that Thursday, July 31st, was the last day of service for The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box,” Deen said in a statement.
AP Photo/Russ Bynum
A man on a bicycle stops to read a sign posted at the entrance to Paula Deen’s restaurant The Lady and Sons in Savannah, Ga., on Friday, hours after Deen announced the eatery that launched her to Food Network fame had closed. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)
“Thank you for all the great memories and for your loyalty over the past 36 years,” she continued in the note also shared on social media.
The family plans to shift their focus on its four remaining eateries, the Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen chain, with locations in Pigeon Forge and Nashville, Tenn; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Branson, Mo. The Deens will plan to visit the Branson outpost on Aug. 8.
Deen became a household name after the Food Network debuted “Paula’s Home Cooking” in 2002.
The basic cable channel pulled the plug on the show in 2013 amid fallout from a lawsuit by a former employee. A transcript of Deen answering questions under oath in a legal deposition became public, which included her admitting to using the N-word.
Her expansive business portfolio cratered as brand deals with Sears, Kmart and J. C. Penney, Smithfield Foods, Walmart, Target, Caesars Entertainment, QVC and the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk all were terminated. Publisher Random House also severed ties with Deen a year after it signed a lucrative five-book deal.
She attempted a television comeback by competing on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2015 and later served as a guest judge on chef Gordon Ramsay’s “MasterChef: Legends.”
In 2020, the conservative-leaning Fox Nation began streaming “At Home With Paula Deen.”
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