Chubby Chicks, a Black-owned brunch spot in Center City, will close its doors in the coming days.
Chef and owner Shakeira Turner said in an Instagram video Monday that her restaurant at 1113 Walnut St. would close "by next month" but did not provide a specific date. She said the decision was spurred by harassment she has received since before she moved Chubby Chicks from Blackwood, New Jersey, to its larger space in Philly in December.
"Unfortunately, we have to move out of this location," Turned said in the video. "This the most devastating thing, I think, that ever happened to me in my life."
In February, a dispute between Turner and neighbors who live above the restaurant gained public attention after a video was posted online by Christina Afia Harris, known as Dr. Afia, claiming Turner was experiencing racial discrimination. Turner has alleged that people have stolen signs, left dead rats along the door and twice flooded the restaurant after hours.
The condo association, which represents Turner's landlord and several residential units above, fined Turner's landlord for noise complaints over the Cubby Chicks' karaoke events, the Inquirer reported earlier this year. Those fines were passed on to Turner.
In her Instagram post, Turner said Chubby Chicks is being forced out of its location by a large number of violation claims made against the restaurant. That, she said, put her in violation of her lease. She's looking at new spaces for the restaurant in the area, but also is considering moving it to Atlanta.
Despite support from the community and City Council members, Turner said she and her children continually received hateful messages online, including racial slurs.
"The harassment had never stopped, I think that's been misconstrued," Turner said. "I just stopped talking about it on social media, because it's hurtful. This is our real life."