Paula Deen Is About to Have a $20 Million Restaurant Bear Her Name

Remember fallen TV chef, Paula Deen, and how she said some stuff that pretty much cost her an empire? Well, this is American, ya’ll!  So it seems Paula Deen has recently attached her name to a new restaurant opening on Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It will be called Paula Deen’s Kitchen, and will feature the Southern cooks signature style of comfort cooking with little worry about waistline. So in other words, there will be lots of gravy, and lots of butter.

The cook has been working with a firm who helps damaged brands work on bringing their reputation (and their brand names) back up after having some problems in the public eye. I am sure you all remember Deen’s troubles involving racist comments, so I think we can just avoid that subject and move on.

So how will the restaurant do in the wake of her scandal?  Well, 20 million has been invested in it, so it probably needs to do pretty well if it wants to have any hope of a turn around. Put it this way, as long as they keep the restaurant down south, it should do just fine. Bring it up North, though, and I don’t think it would play out quite the same way.

In other words, don’t expect Paul Deen’s Kitchen to pop up in NYC any time soon.

(Photo by John Parra/Getty Images for Food Network SoBe Wine & Food Festival)