Rappers Clifford Joseph "Tip" Harris Jr. or T.I. and Mike Render also known as Killer Mike, have teamed up to invest in and bring back Bankhead Seafood, a historic Black-owned restaurant in Atlanta that closed in 2018 after 50 years in business.
Bankhead Seafood, located along Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, was owned and managed by Helen Brown Harden until it closed its doors last January. T.I. and Killer Mike, who both grew up in the area, took action to save the restaurant.
"We've been around the world, we've had a lot of fun, but essentially we're two kids from the Westside," Render told WSB TV. "We grew up seeing black ownership in our community, and we felt like if the city was going to develop, we should have some ownership stake."
Last year, the two rappers have already started acquiring the business. They purchased the restaurant with its name, trademark, and recipes. Along with developer Noel Khalil, they recently announced the upcoming re-launch of Bankhead Seafood at Frederick Douglass High School, where they both graduated.
The restaurant is set to open again within the year at the same location it has been for the past 50 years. But before that, the group will launch a Bankhead food truck to introduce its expanded menu and also to familiarize local kids with Black-owned businesses.