How Many Restaurants And Stores Does Paula Deen Have?

As the self-proclaimed Queen of Southern Cooking, Paul Deen's career has run the gamut, encompassing cookbooks, magazines, television shows, stores, and restaurants. Throughout her 14 years with the Food Network, the chef and her "Hey, y'all!" catchphrase were practically ever-present on TV food channels for decades. Deen also ran several successful restaurants, but not all of them have stayed open.

Deen lost her positive reputation in 2013, when she was accused of racist behavior in a lawsuit by a former employee. While Deen went on record posting emotional apologies on YouTube, and a "Today Show" appearance telling Matt Lauer that she is not a racist, the damage had already been done. It was later revealed  that during the lawsuit's deposition, the chef admitted to using racial slurs and making racist jokes. The fallout was immediate — Food Network announced it would not renew her long-running shows, many of her other big name contracts were canceled. Plus, a number of her restaurants were shut down.

With over a decade having passed since the scandal broke, Deen has managed to hang on to a segment of her businesses. Today, she produces content for her YouTube channel and still publishes cookbooks. Currently, she owns three restaurant brands with six locations across the southern U.S., along with retail stores selling cookware and other items. Deen also owns a supper show venue that's a cross between a dining destination, an entertainment event, and a theme park.

The Lady & Sons has kept its position as Paula Deen's flagship restaurant, remaining open as of June 2024. Founded in 1989 as a catering company run out of Deen's home, the business went through a few other iterations before 2003, when it moved into its current space in downtown Savannah, Georgia. Located in a historic three-story building, the food is served family-style and features classics such as its "Best Ever" Southern fried chicken, beef pot roast, and Georgia fried catfish, plus sides like collard greens, mac and cheese, baked candied yams, and Southern banana pudding for dessert.

Another of Deen's restaurants, The Chicken Box, is also still running. Located behind The Lady & Sons, this small, casual spot sells grab-and-go lunches like fresh salads and sandwiches, plus boxed chicken and biscuits with all the fixings.

In 2015, the first Paula Deen's Family Kitchen restaurant opened in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and remains in business. There are also active locations in Nashville, as well as Branson, Missouri and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The concept is the same as The Lady & Sons, with food shared family-style as an approximation of Southern hospitality. Specialties include Nashville hot chicken and waffles, chicken and dumplings, country fried steak, and ooey gooey butter cake.

As for the restaurants that didn't make it, closures began not long after Paula Deen's court case came to light. In 2014, the restaurant where her alleged racist behavior took place, Uncle Bubba's Seafood & Oyster House in Savannah, closed for good. In 2019, four Paula Deen's Family Kitchen restaurants closed their doors, including Destin and Panama City Beach in Florida, along with San Antonio and Fairview in Texas. Paula Deen's Creek House in Whitemarsh, Georgia closed in 2023, and another Paula Deen's Family Kitchen, this time in Foley, Alabama, shuttered in 2024.

In addition to restaurant closures and being cut off from Food Network, Deen's contract with her cookbook publisher Ballantine Books was severed, as well as her partnerships with Home Depot, JCPenney, Kmart, Novo Nordisk, QVC, Sears, Smithfield, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart. Her partnership with Caesars Entertainment, which included four restaurants, also ended.

Deen's merchandise can still be found in six Paula Deen Store retail shops in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Nashville, Branson, Myrtle Beach, and Savannah. Perhaps the most unique of all her properties is Paula Deen's Lumberjack Feud Supper Show in Pigeon Forge. It features a campfire-style dinner served alongside a show of dueling loggers performing comedy, music, and wild stunts with axes, saws, and chainsaws.