Parent company of Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles files for bankruptcy protection

This would be a major loss for anyone.

We swear we aren’t just on a chicken and waffles kick, despite just recently posting about a pair of chicken and waffles Nike SBs. Apparently one of the most well-known chicken and waffle restaurants in the world, Roscoe’s House of Chicken N Waffles, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The west coast food staple has been around since 1975 and has seven locations in Southern California. The company was founded by Harlem native Herbert Hudson. Ideally, the bankruptcy filing will allow the company to restructure its debts rather than close outright. It would be a travesty if they closed.

Roscoe’s  is a Los Angeles culinary institution, dishing up its soul food to the likes of Snoop Dogg and Magic Johnson.

The 50 Cent Derby Takeover

But now the Long Beach chain is in trouble — its parent company, East Coast Foods Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday.

Lawyers for East Coast Foods did not respond to a request for comment. In court filings, the company did not say whether bankruptcy would affect the day-to-day operations of its seven Southland Roscoe's restaurants.

Obama Commutes Kentucky Sentences

As befitting an eatery that started in the Southland, Roscoe’s has also been referenced in numerous films, television and music. The late rapper Notorious B.I.G. name-checks the chain in his song “Going back to Cali.” Samuel L. Jackson’s character tempts an underling with a Roscoe’s meal in Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 crime drama “Jackie Brown.” Rapper Snoop Dogg took both Larry King and David Beckham to the chicken mecca on his reality TV show. Roscoe's has been dishing up its chicken-and-waffle combos since 1975, along with Southern staples such as grits, biscuits and cornbread. In 2011, President Obama made an unannounced stop at the West Los Angeles spot when he was in town on a fundraising trip.

But Roscoe’s has recently been at the center of less welcoming attention.

In October, a judge in Los Angeles ordered the company to pay $3.2 million to Daniel Beasley, a former employee who claimed that there was systemic racial discrimination at the chain. A jury awarded Beasley close to $1.7 million; he was also awarded $1.5 million in attorney’s fees.

Badboy Family Re-Unite

In the suit, Beasley accused the company of giving Latino employees preferential treatment over black workers, including better schedules and shifts. Beasley said he was fired in retaliation when he tried to change those practices. He became homeless after losing his job, according to media reports.

In court filings, East Coast Foods listed Beasley as one of its largest unsecured creditors.

Bankruptcy experts speculated that the Chapter 11 filing may have been sparked by something beyond the original judgment.

“The judgment, that’s a big number, but I wouldn’t think that was a big number for a large restaurant chain,” said Eric Pezold, a partner specializing in bankruptcy at Snell & Wilmer who is not involved with the bankruptcy or the Beasley case. He said something else may have occurred “between there and now to precipitate this filing.”

C-MURDER SPARKS INVESTIGATION

Beasley’s attorney, Scott Cummings, said he had hired a lawyer to start the process of collecting on the judgment, which Roscoe’s is appealing. Cummings said he was worried that the bankruptcy filing was an attempt to get away from paying what is owed to his client.

“It looks strange,” he said. “I’m very concerned that might be what’s going on.”

Follow Tha' Baddest Radio Station Online right here: http://ow.ly/10bf1T