A sad reality of the restaurant industry is that it's a vicious business and sometimes bad things happen to good people. Such is the case with Emmit Powell, owner of Powell's Place. After 35 years of business, Powell's Place—one of the only genuine mom-and-pop soul food places in the city—is currently facing eviction from its Fillmore home. According to a source, they are embroiled in a legal battle to keep the place open, with local reverends and pro-bono lawyers working around the clock to save the soul food institution (further reading on these efforts at BeyondChron). Apparently, Mr. Powell was involved in some bad business decisions (i.e., he pays more per square foot than any other restaurant in the Fillmore District), and as our source summed up, "sometimes the best people don't make the best businessmen."
As fate would have it, Powell's troubles come at the exact same time as the $74 Fillmore Heritage celebration a mere half-block away that touts itself as a revitalization of the historical Fillmore District. Obviously, they have nothing to do with the Powell's business, but the irony of the rich newcomer celebrating the past while the old guy down the street succumbs to money woes? Pretty damn thick.
· "I Heard That" -- The Battle to Save Powell's Place [BeyondChron]
Loading comments...