Court Street Round Up

Lady B’s Fried Chicken took the place of OMG! Rotisserie at 19 S. Court St. and closed during the first week of May. The fried chicken fast food restaurant was known for its homestyle cooking and later faced a civil lawsuit.

Full Shops Inc. filed a civil lawsuit on May 7 against Rutter Hospitality LLC, the parent company of Lady B’s, according to a previous Post report.

Nearly four and a half years of rent, utilities and insurance was requested to be paid to Full Shops because Rutter Hospitality closed the business after about six months into the lease, according to a complaint filed by Full Shops Inc.

Full Shops Inc. also requested a temporary restraining order from the premises of the location of Lady B’s, according to that same report.

Cleanliness was also an issue, said Trevor Zender, who worked at Lady B’s from the end of March through April.

Zender wasn’t told that Lady B’s would be closing but said the business structure was “not ideal.”

“I don’t think they kept up to date on their health code violations,” Zender told The Post in May. “That’s me basing my previous knowledge from working in the food industry.”

The restaurant underwent several health inspections, including one on Feb. 14 that showed a repeat violation of improper food storage and lack of cleanliness.

The space at 19 S. Court St. didn’t stay empty for long, though. D.P. Dough, a Columbus-based calzone franchise, announced in late July that it would be opening its second location there, according to a previous Post report

The success of D.P. Dough’s Richland Avenue location prompted the owners to expand, said Matt Crumpton, general legal counsel for D.P. Dough. As of now, the Richland location only offers lunch options on weekends, but the Court Street restaurant will also offer lunch all week, Crumpton told The Post in July.

Crumpton also said he hopes the new location fuels a faster delivery system for students.

“We understand that the addition of the new location will initially take away from some profits, but it’ll catch up over time,“ he said.

The Court Street location opened in late July.

Lotsa Stone Fired Pizza at 14 S. Court St. closed in early July after not being able to sustain its margins over the summer, according to a previous Post report.

The other eight locations, which are all located in college towns, don’t have the same problems with bringing people in as Athens had, Anthony DiGangi, chief operating officer of the company, told The Post in July.

The lack of students in the summer plays a part, he said, but the company said it was aware of the challenges before opening.

It’s unclear what business will be filling the space.

For those who are fans of TJ Maxx, its sister company, Marshalls, filed sign permits back in April for a store in the East State Street strip mall, according to a previous Post report.

Not much has happened since then, but Katie Babb, a marketing specialist for TJX Companies, told The Post that Marshalls has not officially announced a new store in the Athens area.

“When opening new stores, we tend to announce our plans when we believe the time is right to do so competitively,” Babb said in an email. “Generally speaking, it is our practice not to announce store openings until close to an intended opening date."

The company did not respond to request for comment on whether or not the store is officially moving into town and when.

Hangover Easy will officially take the place of Court Street Diner Wednesday.

The owners of the diner were set to receive a liquor license this summer in order to prepare for the changes it’ll take on once it becomes a Hangover Easy, according to a previous Post report.

Front of House Manager Mary Nern said that while there will be no change in the employees, the menu will definitely change to accommodate newer food trends and resemble more of Hangover Easy’s menu, which has mostly breakfast food along with alcoholic drinks, according to the same report.

Alivia Neil, a server, told The Post in early February she was excited to see things change in the diner.

“I think it will be good in the end,” Neil, a senior studying psychology, said. “I think business will definitely pick up. Hopefully servers make more money. Business has been a little slow lately.”