Hankerson siphoned money from his business’s three locations to finance a voracious marijuana habit and sex parties, witnesses have told investigators. Now, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned damaging new details about how Hankerson spent the company’s money and treated his employees. All three locations have since reopened under state receivership. Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles four Atlanta area restaurant locations have reopened but are now under state receivership.įans now wait in hour-long lines at its spot on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta for a taste of the Midnight Train: Four jumbo chicken wings on a golden waffle.īut the outward success of a famous family business unraveled when state revenue agents raided and closed the restaurant chain last month, arrested Hankerson on theft counts, and filed civil racketeering charges against him, alleging more than $1 million in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties. Knight may have believed he’d recovered from that childhood trauma, but years later, Hankerson is accused of running the restaurants that carry his mother’s name into financial ruin, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. The other two restaurants no longer operate.Gladys Knight’s divorce from her ex-husband record manager Barry Hankerson devastated their son, Shanga, she said in her memoir. The parties settled the lawsuit in January on undisclosed terms, court records indicate. Hankerson’s tax lawyer declined to comment to CNN at the time. She formally ended the agreement in July 2016, one month after Georgia Department of Revenue agents executed search warrants at the restaurants and a corporate office in an attempt to arrest Hankerson in a tax and theft investigation. Hankerson denied the claims and said his mother did not have the mental capacity to terminate their agreement. Knight’s federal lawsuit alleges mismanagement led to declining revenues. Two more restaurants opened in the suburbs as the original intown location drew crowds of tourists and locals who would wait hours for fried chicken and waffles. She and her son entered into an agreement in 1999 allowing him to use her name and likeness in his restaurants in exchange for monthly royalties, according to her lawsuit. Knight was born in Atlanta and lives in Nevada. Hankerson and his lawyer did not immediately respond Wednesday to requests for comment. She said the owner was in the process of updating signage and the website logo, but she said she did not know when the changes would take effect. General manager Tammy Caldwell confirmed that the new name was officially in place. The restaurant passed an inspection on Tuesday under the same name. The online menu still offers the “Midnight Train” – “Southern fried jumbo chicken wings and one Original waffle” – named for Knight’s hit “Midnight Train to Georgia.”īut in a failed health inspection report on Monday, first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the name listed at the restaurant’s address was The World Famous Chicken & Waffles. An employee answered the phone using the name Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles. She demanded that he stop using her name and likeness in the restaurants, which serve traditional Southern fare, citing declining success and Hankerson’s ongoing legal troubles.Īs of Wednesday afternoon, the Peachtree Street location’s signage bore the same name it had when it opened in 1999 with star-studded fanfare. The Grammy-winning artist filed a lawsuit in August 2016 against son Shanga Hankerson, owner of the three Atlanta-area restaurants. The end of an era has come for an Atlanta dining institution.Īfter a heated legal dispute, legendary soul singer Gladys Knight’s name is no longer connected to the last of her three namesake restaurants, Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles.
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