DeathMarch:
Who’s dead or dying in Atlanta’s businesses?
Member:
Straits
Current Status:
Cliff Jumper
Update:
Added January 14, 2010; Closed January 4, 2012.
A renovated exterior and a celebrity backer with mullah do not top shelf pan-Asian eateries make.
Entertainer Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, owner of Straits located on Juniper in Midtown, should be experiencing buyers remorse. Considering the lack of attendance at this wanna be hot spot restaurant destination, Straits Midtown has already undergone a major exterior facelift.
Run by his mother Roberta Shields, Straits and its Singaporean cuisine have not been met with the success the original Straits enjoyed and still enjoy in San Francisco under Chef Chris Yeo.
Its name is a running joke with numerous midtown residents (even considering the origin and spelling) and many diners have said Straits is a tourist attraction and a magnet for single women hoping to meet Ludacris.
After speaking with Roberta Shields at an event held at Straits, a What Now Atlanta panelist reports that according to Shields, Straits is financially embarrassed. Though the consensus from our panelists is that the food is good, the location was poorly chosen. Suited for a restaurant destination such as Buckhead, Straits might have received the success it had hoped for when it originally opened in 2008.
The question that remains is when will Ludacris decide to pull out from this money pit and stop writing checks to keep his mothers’ hobby alive? Having money does not automatically make you a restaurateur. Just ask Usher and check out The Grape.
