On March 31st, Houston’s on Lenox Road in Buckhead is set to close its doors for good. According to its website, this particular Houston’s location was the first built in 1977.
11 Alive reports, a spokesperson for the restaurant said the decision to close came after they were unable to reach a long-term agreement with the property’s ownership. The spokesperson said discussions about the future of Lenox Road restaurant had been in progress for almost a year.
Many thought that Atlanta rapper T.I. may be the one to credit for their closing. In October of 2017, Houston’s was accused of being discriminative towards the African-American community some claiming that, “the joint treats African Americans like second-class citizens.” After leading many protests TMZ reports, T.I. met with Houston’s executives and hashed out a plan to help diversify its staff, train current staff and be more cognizant of potentially discriminatory behavior by employees.
He wrote on Instagram: “We are proud to have reached a mutual understanding and are excited about the new adjustments, which are: an amendment in policy (both in dress code and seating) an adoption of an ongoing diversity and inclusion program, a commitment to utilizing minority vendors and suppliers and continuing to demonstrate zero tolerance for any level of discrimination, discriminatory practices or any individual who demonstrates any of those actions.”
