6 days ago
Paula Deen's Savannah Restaurants Shut Down Suddenly
is an editor of Eater's South region, covering Atlanta, Nashville, Miami, New Orleans, and the Carolinas. She has been writing about the food scene in the Carolinas and Savannah for 12 years. Erin has resided in Charleston, South Carolina, for the past 20 years.
It's been some time since former Food Network star Paula Deen has been in the headlines, but on Friday, August 1, Deen announced that she and her sons were closing the Savannah flagship of the Lady & Sons and the Chicken Box.
Deen wrote, 'Thank you for all the great memories and for your loyalty over the past 36 years. We have endless love and gratitude for every customer who has walked through our doors. We are equally grateful to our incredible staff—past and present—whose hard work, care, and hospitality made The Lady & Sons what it was.'
The other outposts of the Lady & Sons will continue in Pigeon Forge, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, and Branson, Missouri. The Savannah location opened in 1996, following Deen's first restaurant, the Lady, and her catering business, the Bag Lady.
Deen rose to fame with her Food Network show Paula's Home Cooking, which showcased Southern cooking with tons of butter and sugar. She drew controversy in 2012, when she announced that she had Type 2 diabetes and was teaming up with drug maker Novo Nordisk to promote a program called 'Diabetes in a New Light.' Many questioned if her food was to blame.
In 2013, Deen was again in the spotlight when a former employee filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and sexual harassment in Deen's restaurant, Uncle Bubba's Oyster House. During deposition, it came out that Deen used racial slurs. Food Network then decided not to renew her contract.
According to a source interviewed by AP News, the Lady & Sons in Savannah was still a popular place for lunch, and the closure came as a surprise.
