Paula Deen is making headlines again. Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House, the Savannah, GA restaurant where an employee accused Deen and her brother of discrimination, has mysteriously shut down. According to TMZ, workers arrived this morning only to see the sign down and the restaurant's appliances being hauled out. TMZ reports workers were blindsided and were not informed that the restaurant would be shutting down and that they would be out of work. They took to the restaurant's Facebook page, which had a message thanking diners for their 10 great years. However, many were none too pleased and voiced their unhappiness with the abrupt closing. Barb Skiles Eck wrote, "Regardless of WHY they closed, it was in very poor taste to handle it the way he did. Anyone selling land or business knows its not legit if you just close doors without any notification, almost guaranteed its not 'JUST' to sell property…" While the comments were growing, the restaurant released a statement to the press which read:
"Since its opening in 2004, Uncle Bubba's Oyster House has been a destination for residents and tourists in Savannah, offering the region's freshest seafood and oysters. However, the restaurant's owner and operator, Bubba Heirs, has made the decision to close the restaurant in order to explore development options for the waterfront property on which the restaurant is located. At this point, no specific plans have been announced and a range of uses are under consideration in order realize the highest and best use for the property.
The closing is effective today, Thursday, April 3, 2014. Employees will be provided with severance based on position and tenure with the restaurant. All effort will be made to find employees comparable employment with other Savannah restaurant organizations.
Jaret T. Keller
Key Group Worldwide
What do you think of how the Deens handled the restaurant's closing?
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