Could Snoop Dogg be the savior of the famous Los Angeles restaurant Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles? East Coast Foods Inc., the parent company of the eatery, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday and cited a multi-million debt to one of the company's ex-employees.
On Tuesday night, Snoop was seen leaving a Los Angeles club with Warren G when they were asked if they heard about Roscoe's parent company filing for bankruptcy. The rapper said he did not know and was shocked by the news.
"What Happened? Bankuptcy?" Snoop asked the cameraman who was filming him. "No they didn't!"
"I guess I'll have to buy it man and call it Snoop Dogg's Chicken and Waffles," he continued. "Man they play too much."
In the bankruptcy filing, East Coast Foods claimed that they owed $3 million to a man named Daniel Beasley, who took out a lawsuit against the company and said that he was the victim of sexual harassment and racial discrimination while employed by the chain. Beasley, an African-American man, claimed that the company treated Latino employee's better while black employees worked later shifts and got fewer schedule requests approved. Beasley won the wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuit that was filed in 2013 and was rewarded $3.24 million.
In the filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy court in California, East Coast Foods claimed that it had debts between $10 million and $50 million and had assets of less than $50,000. It is not immediately clear whether or not East Coast Foods' filings will have an impact on Roscoe's, which has seven restaurants in Southern California.
Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles has been called one of the best fried chicken joints in the country and is a favorite of multiple celebrities like Snoop, Magic Johnson and even President Barack Obama. Roscoe's was founded by Herb Hudson, a Harlem native in 1975. It has been a staple of Los Angeles soul food for over 40 years. In addition to being the favorite chicken joint of many notable people, it has been referenced in many movies, TV shows and songs. The late rapper Notorious B.I.G. talked about the restaurant in his song "Going Back to Cali," Samuel L. Jackson's character in the 1997 Quentin Tarantino film "Jackie Brown" eats a meal from Roscoe's, and Snoop took Larry King and soccer star David Beckham to the famous joint on his reality TV show.
