Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, James Brown is considered the undisputed Godfather of soul. In 1969 he entered into a restaurant franchising business called “Gold Platter.” At the time Brown represented one of a number of African American celebs who used their brand names to launch restaurant franchises. Gold Platter featured fried chicken, French fries, coleslaw, cornbread, catfish with hush puppies, and hamburgers. It’s unclear why Brown’s chain never made it past the experimental phase with two locations in Macon, Georgia. In contrast in 2018 entrepreneur Pinky Cole started the nutritious plant based fast food restaurant Slutty Vegan in Atlanta, Georgia and her business is growing. As of the publication of this post, Slutty Vegan is valued at $100 million dollars and has opened locations in Athens, Georgia, Columbus, Georgia, Birmingham, Alabama, and Brooklyn New York with plans for new location coming online soon.
