Gladys Knight Severs Ties To Chicken and Waffles Restaurant

ATLANTA, GA -- A popular Midtown eatery that once shared the name of one of music's most enduring stars must severe all ties to the celebrity, Patch has learned.

The Atlanta restaurant formerly known as Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles must change all its signage and promotional language to World Famous Chicken and Waffles -- if it survives.

The development is the culmination of a long rift between Knight and her son, troubled restaurateur Shanga Hankerson, who runs the eatery.

Last year, Knight claimed her son was trying to blackmail her by threatening to falsely "expose" that she was suffering from mental illness, according to U.S. District Court documents obtained by local media.

As a result, Knight filed to have her name removed from the restaurant.

In a settlement signed this week, Knight is officially free of the eatery. Hankerson must gradually phase out using his mother's name on all of the eatery's products, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The news comes days after the Georgia Department of Revenue shut down the restaurant.

Agents raided the popular Midtown eatery, a tourist favorite, on Feb. 23 behind allegations that Hankerson, has not paid the state all the sales tax it owes.

Read more: Popular Midtown Chicken & Waffles joint raided

The restaurant opened to much fanfare in 1997 as Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles restaurant.

Image via Craig Johnson / Patch