Tax agents raid, shut down former Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles

ajc.com

The restaurant best known as Gladys Knight’s Chicken & Waffles has had another run-in with the Georgia Department of Revenue, with agents shutting down the restaurant Thursday.

Shanga Hankerson, the restaurant's owner and Gladys Knight's son, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution there were some "tax-related issues" he had to get paid before the business license could be reinstated.

Investigators say Hankerson owes sales tax, but has not paid all of it, according to Channel 2 Action News.

In June, Hankerson was arrested on felony theft charges after Department of Revenue agents said he failed to turn over taxes he collected. His employees told investigators he used the money for sex parties and marijuana, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation found.

The restaurant was briefly shut down earlier this month when it failed a health inspection, but quickly passed a re-inspection and reopened.

The brand has undergone many changes in less than a year. It began 2016 with three restaurants, but the Lithonia spot closed permanently in August and the Cascade Road location followed suit in October.

Also, the business is now legally called The World Famous Chicken & Waffles. That comes as an apparent response to Knight's suit to have her name removed from the restaurants in September. Hankerson responded that Knight's "lack of mental capacity" barred her from removing it.

That federal case was settled, but the terms were not disclosed.