Ludacris Closes Straits to Focus On New Airport Restaurant
Rap mogul Ludacris announced today he was closing his popular Straits restaurant in midtown to focus on a new restaurant he’s opening inside Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
According to the AJC, Ludacris, whose real name is Chris Bridges, made the decision after winning a contract to open a restaurant — Chicken N Beer — at the nation’s busiest airport.
The new restaurant was inspired by the title of Luda’s third hip hop album, Chicken N’ Beer. The new restaurant will serve “comfort food” and beer created from “locally grown ingredients,” according to the AJC.
“As I continue to learn and evolve as a businessman, I am extremely excited to put my restaurateur footprint into a new venture inside the busiest international airport in the United States, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport,” Ludacris said in a release.
“Straits was a great segue into the industry and with Chicken N Beer I can create my own concept. I look forward to expanding my creativity and driving to a much higher plane.”
This post, originally written Jan 4, 2012 @ 2:07pm, was edited to reflect the following corrections: Straits received a score of 91 on its 2nd inspection. There was no 3rd inspection. And Chicken N’ Beer was Luda’s third album.
Eddie Long’s New Birth Christian Academy Closes
Bishop Eddie Long’s New Birth Christian Academy is closing its doors after 18 years in operation. The private school’s 200 students learned about the school closing in a letter sent home to their parents and signed by Carlton Donald, the board’s vice-chair.
“We have operated New Birth Christian Academy for several years with substantial deficits in hopes that the national economic climate would change, however, that change never materialized,” read the letter. A few years ago the academy boasted of having one teacher for every eight students.
The school’s tuition ranged from $5,253 for New Birth members to $6,198 for non-members, according to the Atlanta Journal.
The school’s closing is just another step toward the dismantling of Eddie Long’s church empire in Atlanta. The church has laid off staff after losing hundreds of members since Long settled a sexual coercion case filed against him by four former New Birth members who were heterosexual and gay.
Additionally, Bernice King, daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, stepped down as a church elder in May. And 10 former parishioners filed a $1 million lawsuit against Long and the church alleging they lost their life savings in an investment scam.
Long, who temporally stepped down as the church’s senior pastor this month, reportedly used the school as a hunting ground for young males to satisfy his sexual appetite. In court documents, Long was accused of coercing the young men with Bible passages and plying at least two of the boys with cash, trips, gifts and cars to loosen their sexual inhibitions.
Earlier this month, the embattled preacher’s long-suffering wife, Vanessa, announced she was filing for divorce.
Suspect Named in Shooting Death of Rapper Over Candy
The late rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s seemingly prophetic song, “You’re Nobody Until Somebody Kills You,” comes to mind as Atlanta’s underground rap scene grieve over the death of rapper Slim Dunkin, 24.
Dunkin, real name Mario Hamilton, was virtually unknown to the rest of us outside of the underground scene, until he was killed.
Police say Hamilton was shot once in the chest — reportedly over a piece of candy at a southeast recording studio on Dec. 16.
Hamilton, who was 6-8, towered over his shorter assailant who produced a gun and shot Hamilton. Friends loaded the mortally wounded rapper into a car and rushed him to Grady hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police say about 20-30 people were present inside the recording studio on Memorial Drive when the gun went off. But no witnesses came forward.
On Thursday, police identified Atlanta rapper Young Vito, 28, as the gunman. Police say Vito, real name Vinson Hardimon, is in danger, and he is being urged to turn himself in.
Santa T.I.’s K.I.N.G. Foundation Christmas Giveaway
Last night, rapper T.I. (above left), his wife Tiny (far right) and his family gave back to the community at the Carrie Steele-Pitts Center in Atlanta. To kick the night off, the family acted out a play that was written by T.I.’s oldest son Messiah, 11. The whole family donned full troll costumes, and after the play T.I. changed into a Santa Clause outfit and passed out toys to the children.
The elaborate troll costumes were Messiah’s idea. He is pictured above with his beautiful mom, @LashonDixon, who is also mom to rapper Domani Harris, 10. All of the Harris children participated in the play! Gifts were handed out to the excited neighborhood children after the play. The gifts included toys, clothes, jackets, shoes, backpacks that were purchased by T.I., his K.I.N.G. Foundation and his record label Grand Hustle.
Tiny Harris and son, Major, 3. She was dressed as Queen of the Trolls. See more pics after the break, and on ExclusiveAccess.net!
Rumor Control: Tiny’s Dad is Alive and Well
This morning I received an urgent call from former Xscape singer Tameka “Tiny” Harris’ mom, Dianne Pope, asking me to inform my readers that Tiny’s father, Charles Pope, is alive and well. Tiny’s fans were introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Pope on Tiny’s reality show, Tiny & Toya on BET in 2009.
It seems that some idiot created a fake Facebook page imitating Tiny and claiming her father was deceased. “Tiny wants people to know that her daddy is fine,” said Mrs. Pope. “That’s not her Facebook page at all.
As you know, Mr. Pope (pictured at right with Tiny’s daughter, Zonnique) was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. T.I. and Tiny founded the For The Love of Our Fathers Foundation, which raises money for Alzheimer’s research.
Mrs. Pope says her husband’s condition has improved and he’s getting stronger. “He’s more alert. We’re getting him up now doing exercises,” she said.
Mrs. Pope theorized that Tiny’s fans may have confused Tiny’s father with a member of his legendary R&B group The Tams, who was murdered by his roommate. Tiny’s father founded The Tams, and Tiny has performed with the group.
According to Channel 2 Action News, longtime Tams band director Versi Sain, 59, was found shot to death in his Clayton County home earlier this month. Police arrested his roommate, Sam Morgan, and charged him with murder. He is being held in the Clayton County jail. The two men were childhood friends who grew up together in Muskegon, Michigan. Sources say the motive may have been money.
The Tams, now headed by Tiny’s brother Red, are known for their 60s hits “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy,” and “Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me.”
CAUGHT: Thief Who Robbed Buckhead Men’s Boutique
The man who brazenly robbed a high end men’s clothing boutique in Buckhead for thousands in merchandise has been in a Dekalb jail since the day of the robbery.
On Saturday, career criminal Tavoris Ashmon, 25, walked into a Chamblee Audi dealership and asked to test drive a brand new Audi S-5. The Atlanta Journal reports that Ashmon nearly ran over employees as he drove off the lot. He never returned the vehicle.
Later that same evening, Ashmon strolled into the upscale MODA404 men’s clothing boutique in Buckhead. He left the grey Audi parked outside with the engine running.
An hour later, Ashmon walked out of the boutique with an armful of clothing and shoes worth $4,300, which he didn’t pay for.
“The man obviously had this crime planned out,” co-owner Lee Brockwell said. “He was very arrogant and just bold with it; he picked the stuff up and walked right out of here like he owned it.”
Later that night, an alert DeKalb officer spotted the grey Audi as it blew past him. Sgt. Dan Oak stopped the Audi and took Ashmon into custody after determining the car was stolen. Ashmon gave Oak a false name when he was arrested. He was booked into the DeKalb County jail under the name ‘John Doe’ until he could be positively identified.
Sunday night, Oak said, he recognized Ashmon in the video from MODA404 broadcast on Channel 2’s evening news program.
“‘That’s him,’ I told my wife,” Oak told Channel 2. “‘That’s the guy I arrested last night.’”
Booster Hits Moda 404 for Thousands in Merchandise (Video)
A high end Buckhead Men’s clothing store was hit by a brazen booster who stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise by simply walking out of the store with the items.
Moda 404 owner Lee Brockwell told the Atlanta Journal she spent more than an hour chatting with the outgoing customer who seemed to want to spend a lot of money on clothes and shoes. But when she turned her back for a minute, the man brazenly walked behind the counter, picked up 3 bags of merchandise and strolled out of the store in broad daylight.
Brockwell said the man’s $4,300 take included a couple pairs of pants, jeans, shirts, a pair of sunglasses and several pairs of shoes worth $200 to $600 each.
Another customer spotted a grey Audi parked outside the store with the motor running. But the customer wasn’t sure if that was the getaway vehicle.
If you recognize the man, call the Crime Stoppers Atlanta Tipline at (404) 577-8477. Watch the surveillance video after the break.
