Scend’s Restaurant and Bar, the Emeryville soul food restaurant recently purchased by NFL star Marshawn Lynch is currently operating as normal, serving classics like red beans and rice. However, it might soon have a new name, according to Lynch’s Twitter. The Chron caught Lynch’s call for servers, cooks and bartenders for Rob Ben’s, “formerly Scend’s in Emeryville.”
The name is a tribute to Lynch’s childhood friend, Robert Benjamin, who was shot and killed in Oakland in 2007, at age 25; Lynch, newly signed to the Buffalo Bills, paid for the funeral. The initial purchase of the restaurant was the first part of Lynch’s seemingly endless homecoming tour of good deeds, saving the restaurant from closure when 79-year-old owner Cassie Nickelson decided to retire after 50 years; Lynch took over the restaurant in August. It’s part of Lynch’s long history in Oakland, stemming from when a nine-year-old Lynch bought french fries and hamburgers from Nickelson, when she ran a catering business.
There’s no word on whether the new name means that big changes are in store, though Eater has reached out to Lynch’s team for more details. If anything, Scend’s might get a bit of a refresh, based on the artwork in the restaurant’s Facebook page. Stay tuned for more.
— Shawn Lynch (@MoneyLynch) August 23, 2017
