Updated: November 12, 2019 3:07 pm
Videos by Wide Open Country
It seems that two more Paula Deen's Family Kitchen Restaurants are on the chopping block. Today WTVY reported that Phoenix Hospitality + Entertainment decided to permanently close the two Florida locations without notice. Employees realized the restaurant had closed when they went in to work and the doors were locked for good.
Updated: August 23, 2019 9:20 am
Barely a year after opening, San Antonio's Paula Deen's Family Kitchen abruptly closed. Now, former employees are coming forward claiming they were never paid what they were owed and received no notice of the closure. According to KENS 5, Annette Badillo, a former line cook, shared that the location "went months without paying vendors, signaling that it was bound to shut down."
The original article continues below:
If you had reservations to San Antonio's Paula Deen's Family Kitchen this weekend you might want to make other plans. The restaurant, located in the Bass Pro Shops at the Rim, has closed abruptly after being open for only 15 months after Jaret Keller, president of Key Group Worldwide, shared with KSAT, "Paula Deen's Family Kitchen has decided to close its San Antonio location, We thank everyone for their support and be sure to visit one of our other locations."
What Is Paula Deen's Family Kitchen?
Before Paula Deen was on the Food Network (and before her controversy), she opened up The Bag Lady in 1989 out of her home in Savannah, Georgia, selling southern home dishes to offices nearby. Her sons Bobby and Jamie would deliver the food, and within a year, the business was booming and they had to expand to a brick-and-mortar location which they called The Lady and Sons.
The restaurant gained popularity for their classic Deen family recipes including down-home Southern fried chicken, ooey gooey butter cake, and classic side dishes such as squash casserole and mac and cheese. Paula Deen was growing into a Food icon, and reservations at the Savannah restaurant were becoming hard to come by. So in 2015, the family decided to open up Paula Deen's Family Kitchen at the Island in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to bring a family-style dining experience to the Great Smoky Mountains. Currently, there are locations in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Dallas, Texas, Foley, Alabama, Destin and Panama City Beach, Florida, and Branson, Missouri.
Every location features southern-style entrees, sides, and desserts served in a family-style setting, which means it's all you care to eat, y'all. Enjoy your fill of collard greens, beef pot roast, meatloaf, poppyseed tossed salad, creamed potatoes, and banana pudding.
There's no saying why the San Antonio location closed its doors and what will be taking its place.
