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[XiaNaphryz]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-roscoes-chicken-waffles-bankruptcy-20160329-story.html

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

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

The filing came mere months after the company was ordered to pay $3.2 million to a former employee won a wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuit against the chain.

In filings with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in California, East Coast Foods estimated that it has debts between $10 million and $50 million. Its assets, on the other hand, total less than $50,000.

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.

Roscoe's has been dishing up its chicken-and-waffle combos since 1975, along with Southern staples such as grits, biscuits and cornbread.

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.

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.”

 

[BobLoblaw]

Roscoe's is like the only place I've ever been to that has security guards geared up and patrolling the restaurant.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1202154

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Roscoe's is like the only place I've ever been to that has security guards geared up and patrolling the restaurant.

There was at least one Waffle House that also ended up hiring security.

 

[Count Dookkake]

You got scooped on your beat.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

You got scooped on your beat.

I was in the middle of a fantasy baseball draft the last few hours and took forever to get around to hitting Post.

Locked!