what a mess
Third Ward restaurant's financial challenges revealed in viral social media posts
The Turkey Leg Hut is having financial challenges.
Social media sites in Houston and beyond are buzzing about the latest drama at the Turkey Leg Hut. The Third Ward restaurant has fired half of its employees, according to multiple media reports.
One of those former employees is the restaurant’s co-founder, Lynn Price. He shared a post to his personal Instagram of a letter from a “Senior Change Management Consultant” informing him that he is no longer employed at the restaurant and barring him from its premises.
“This decision has been reached in the context of an extensive restructuring effort necessitated by the company’s imperative need to align operational costs with our financial realities and strategic objectives,” the letter reads. Price also shared an image of him and other being removed from an employee group chat.
“I can’t make this s*** up,” he wrote in the post, which has subsequently been deleted.
Those financial realities may include employees not being paid on time for their work. A post on the @capseason_ Instagram account appears to show internal communications between employees and the restaurant’s publicist about missed paychecks. Turkey Leg Hut owner Nakia Holmes, identified as Slimm in the dialogue, states the employees will receive their wages this week.
In a statement to Fox 26, Holmes claims to have discovered financial mismanagement that caused the current difficulties. She referred to the problem as a “temporary two-week payroll delay” and said that six employees had been laid off.
Turkey Leg Hut’s financial challenges are also set against the backdrop of Price and Holmes getting divorced. Holmes, formerly Nakia Price, filed for divorce last year. In a widely circulated post on her private Instagram, Holmes accused Price of abuse, gaslighting, and manipulation. “I’ll die behind this truth and I’ll lose everything to finally have peace,” she wrote.
Perhaps the restaurant has been the victim of its own success. Started as a stand at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, Turkey Leg Hut serves smoked turkey legs that are stuffed with dishes such as dirty rice or crawfish mac and cheese. In better times, the restaurant draws a long line of locals — as well as celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, and many professional athletes.
