By Prince Hakeem
Growing up on the westside of Atlanta, Killer Mike had fond memories going to the Bankhead Seafood restaurant every Friday. Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, would enjoy the $5 seafood box with his family. Bankhead Seafood was a town favorite that was in business for 50 years.
So when it was revealed back in January 2018 that owner Helen Brown Harden was planning on closing the food spot, in came Killer Mike to the rescue. If you’ve been listening to Killer Mike for the past couple of years, then you should be aware of his activism in black economic empowerment. Mike has long been a proponent of black ownership. So it was no surprise when Killer Mike and fellow rapper T.I. offered up their names to become new owners. In fact, what many didn’t know at the time was that the two had been discussing buying the business for awhile.
“We’ve been around the world, we’ve had a lot of fun, but essentially we’re two kids from the Westside,” Render said. “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.”
They bought the business about a year ago, obtaining the the name, trademark and recipes. They hope to reopen at the top of next year.
Killer Mike and T.I. have also been going about the business to community relations the right way. Not only is Killer Mike partnering up with local developer Noel Khalil, but he’s keeping the local residents informed every step of the way. He appeared at a Grove Park neighborhood meeting, asking permission from the community to rezone a nearby property to create more parking spaces for the restaurant. That right there is ethical entrepreneurship.
