Tai Saint Louis
Grammy-award winning rapper Ludacris is adding the title of restaurateur to his resume. In April 2007, he will launch his latest business venture, Straits Atlanta, bringing Singaporean cuisine to the artist’s hometown.
The restaurant is the fourth of it’s kind: Ludacris’ partner in the venture, Chef Chris Yeo owns three other restaurants in the Straits brand in San Francisco, San Jose and Burlingame, California.
Named for the Straits of Malacca - the waterway between China and Singapore – Straits offers a modern twist on Singaporean cuisine, which is a combination of Thai, Indonesian, Chinese, Malay, Indian and Nonya cooking.
Straits Atlanta, will further incorporate Georgian ingredients into the menu.
"I love Atlanta's charm, architecture, food and, most of all, the people," explained Yeo of his decision to expand his brand outside of California. "Chris Bridges’ commitment to his community and his family sealed the deal for me – this market is ideal for Straits and likewise Straits is perfect for the city."
The upscale $2.7 million dollar restaurant will open in Midtown Atlanta, in a building purchased by Ludacris nearly one year ago.
Shortly after purchasing the real estate, the rapper/actor, born Chris Bridges, was introduced to Yeo by mutual friends.
After a visit by Ludacris to one of Yeo’s existing locations, the two decided to become partners.
Ludacris has also invested almost $1,000,000 dollars into renovating the building.
"During my travels, I’ve experienced some of the most diverse international culinary flavors in the world," Ludacris says. "After experiencing Yeo’s modern spin on Singaporean cuisine combined with the sexy dining experience, I wanted to bring this restaurant home to Atlanta."
Ludacris and Chris Yeo plan on opening two more restaurants in the Atlanta area.