Although Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles is a beloved Los Angeles eatery, a brand established by years of Hip-Hop endorsement and celebration, the recent death of Philly rapper PnB Rock has cast a dark shadow over the restaurant.
Now community stakeholders are asking people to look passed the recent murder at their Machester Avenue and Main Street location, honoring the passing of the star, but not smudging out its years of bringing people together.
Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, said according to CBS News, “We are disgusted by it and we wanted to demonstrate that we’re not gonna stand for it. We want to say we’re gonna show up to Roscoe’s. Roscoe’s is our neighborhood restaurant it’s our community institution.”
Others came out to support the restaurant that has been around for over 30 years, all with the same goal of not letting the shooting tarnish the company’s reputation.
“Wanted to show them support that we’re still here,” Ben “Taco” Owens of the Southern California Cease Fire Committee shared. “We want to find ways and strategies to stop violence from happening in the community.”
Tim Kornegay, the Live Free California Director, said, “What we want this to be is a cry to action. Although this is a tragedy, it’s an opportunity to lift this up as this should not ever happen again.”
A representative from the brand offered words of appreciation, saying the people that worked at the restaurant that day were victims too, traumatized by seeing a man killed in front of them.
“For the most part, the staff got up this morning — and yesterday — and they came to work,” Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles’ spokesman Joseph Collins said. “We opened up and we got back to work. It’s business as usual and that’s something to see when you have such awesome staff as we have.”
No arrest has been made so far for the death of the Philadelphia native.
