Paula Deen Abruptly Closes Uncle Bubba's In Savannah
Paula Deen and her brother Earl 'Bubba' Hiers have quite suddenly closed her Savannah restaurant, Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House, after 10 years of service. Deen's now infamous racism scandal began at Uncle Bubba's, when a former manager filed a lawsuit against her, claiming sexual harassment as well as a hostile and racist work environment.
There doesn't seem to be any love lost between Deen and her staff. According to TMZ, restaurant employees found out about the closure when they showed up for work on the morning of April 3rd to find the restaurant's equipment and signage being removed. On Facebook, the company wrote only, "Thank you for 10 great years. Uncle Bubba's is now closed." The page has since been deleted.
Later, Don Logana, a news reporter from WTOC Savannah, posted another message from Paula Deen's representatives, which stated that Bubba Hiers had decided to close the restaurant to explore other development options and that employees would be provided with severance based on position and tenure.
The end of Uncle Bubba's, however, is far from the end of Paula Deen, if she has any say about it. Earlier this year, Deen announced plans to open a new restaurant in Tennessee, as well as the launch of Paula Deen Ventures, a multi-faced business empire backed by a private investment firm.
Karen Lo is an associate editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @appleplexy.