In early-December the manager at Dixie House told us the beloved restaurant in Lakewood Shopping Center hopes to stay open, despite the fact that its parent company, Restaurants Acquisition I, Llc., filed for bankruptcy.
“Last time I talked with corporate, they told us they’re going to keep this store open, and as many stores as are open, and once they get through the bankruptcy they’ll open more stores,” manager Scott Pendleton said a month ago. “We’ve been here forever. This is considered the premier spot of the company.”
Just a month later, the future of Dixie House is looking iffy. Ironically, however, it might not be the bankruptcy that forces the restaurant out of business; it might be Lincoln Property Company, who owns the shopping strip where the restaurant is located.
Black-eyed Pea spokesperson Wes Oliver says the restaurant group is working to keep Dixie House open.
“That is a core store that we designated to keep throughout the bankruptcy,” Oliver says. “We have all of the plans in the world to stay at that store, that location, until we’re forced to leave by the landlord.”
And it’s that “until we’re forced to leave by the landlord” bit that should grab your attention.
Although Oliver wouldn’t confirm it, a source with Black-eyed Peas told us Lincoln has Dixie House on a month-by-month lease, and we hear Lincoln has been scoping out the space for new renters.
“I can confirm that we are working with Lincoln Property to stay at that location and every effort is being spent in order for us to be able to stay,” Oliver explains. “In regards to the month-to-month, I can’t specifically comment on that. Until the landlord forces us to leave, we don’t have any plans of going anywhere. The exit date hasn’t been determined, but we will notify the community as soon as possible within regards to anything that we hear from them, if they’re requiring or forcing us to leave.”
He concluded by once again reiterating that Black-eyed Peas “loves that area.”
“There’s pretty much nothing that we wouldn’t do to stay in that location,” he says. “There has been a long, long history with us and that particular location.”
We’ve reached out to Robert Dozier with Lincoln Property Company, and we’ll let you know if he responds.
