roscoe chicken went MAGA
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So, What Was the Deal With the Blow-Up Trump Doll in Front of Long Beach’s Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles?
Social media users have called for a boycott against the restaurant after a Donald Trump inflatable was found placed in front of its Long Beach location
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So, What Was the Deal With the Blow-Up Trump Doll in Front of Long Beach’s Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles?
Social media users have called for a boycott against the restaurant after a Donald Trump inflatable was found placed in front of its Long Beach location
by Mona Holmes Dec 4, 2024, 4:30pm PST
Illustration by Nat Belkov
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Mona Holmes is a reporter for Eater Los Angeles and a regular contributor to KCRW radio. She has covered restaurants, dining, and food culture since 2016. In 2022, the James Beard Foundation nominated her for a Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award.
InIn November 2024, a large inflatable figure of President-elect Donald Trump was spotted in front of the Long Beach location of Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles. As one of Southern California’s most notable and longest-running soul food restaurants, Roscoe’s has become a frequent stop for celebrities, politicians, and hip-hop artists; the restaurant is a bona fide icon in Los Angeles’s Black community. It was used as a film location for HBO’s Insecure, and, for some time, there was a dish on the menu named after former President Barack Obama. (Roscoe’s website no longer lists the Obama Special — three wings and a waffle — on its online menu.)
Instagram account Epicurious Expeditions posted a video in late November showing the Trump inflatable at the Long Beach Roscoe’s entrance, igniting a strong response from her followers. She uploaded a second video on December 3 that showed a 2022 inspector report from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health citing multiple health code violations, and then shared her own fried chicken and waffles recipe for anyone looking to replicate the famed Roscoe’s dish at home. The comments for both videos mostly demonstrate outrage towards Roscoe’s alleged support for Trump, especially given the restaurant’s history as a staple of the Black community in Democrat-leaning Southern California.
“Ain’t gonna lie, this one hurts. I used to love Roscoe’s,” shared one user. Another stated, “Not Roscoe’s, what’s next? That’s so disappointing.” Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles turned off comments to most of its recent posts on Instagram, though posts on or before August 17 still have comments enabled. Eater has reached out to Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles for comment.
“Roscoe’s has been synonymous with Black LA culture,” says Epicurious Expeditions, who spoke with Eater and asked not to use her real name. “I grew up poor, and my mom would scrimp and save any time to take us to a restaurant that was a pillar of the Black community. For them to side with the man who supported the death penalty for the Central Park 5 and turn their back on us like this was really painful,” she said.
A businesswoman named Diane Vara, who identifies herself as a partner in Roscoe’s on her Instagram profile, chimed into the Trump inflatable debate. (East Coast Foods Inc. is the parent company of Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles.) In a since-deleted comment, Vara wrote: “You can copy the recipe, but I guarantee the recipe won’t taste the same,” in response to Epicurious Expedition’s allegations of Roscoe’s being “canceled by the Internet.” Vara also alleged that the Trump inflatable was not associated with Roscoe’s but was intended for an event at the neighboring bar. Vara’s Instagram page has since been set to private. Eater reached out to Vara for comment, who responded with the following:
“Look forward to seeing the story. There have been various conversations surfacing the restaurants, its ownership, values, and political ideology. As the COO and Creative Director, it saddens me that all I see it further divide. Roscoe’s has been serving the community for what will be 50 years next year.”
Eater spoke with a source close to Long Beach’s Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles who suggested that the inflatable was meant for an event at an adjacent bar called Seabird Jazz Lounge. Seabird Jazz Lounge, which is closed, is now identified as Roscoe’s Jazz Lounge online; the space is attached to the Roscoe’s building. When asked who had reserved the next-door lounge, Vara said: “The inflatable doll was brought from the LAGOP and URBT News, who hosted the watch party at the Jazz Lounge, which is located right next to Roscoe’s.”
Though Roscoe’s original owner Herb Hudson opened his first location in 1975, the last decade has seen noteworthy struggles for the company. In 2015, the company dealt with bankruptcy court proceedings related to millions of dollars in outstanding debt; rapper Snoop Dogg, at one point, offered to acquire the chain. A former Black employee sued Roscoe’s in 2015 and was awarded $1.6 million in a racial discrimination lawsuit. Roscoe’s opened a new flagship location on La Brea Avenue and Washington Boulevard in 2021 and closed its longtime Olympic Boulevard, located just a few miles away, restaurant in 2023. In 2022, rapper PnB Rock was shot and killed at the Inglewood Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles. Most recently, in June 2024, the chain closed its longtime Pasadena outlet.
A December 6, 2024 Instagram screenshot from Epicurious Expeditions.
THEY STILL MAD
This shit funny to you?
I'm getting the vibe it's Black MAGA owned. Which to me is WORSE.
Fuck them
No, it's a cac bitch who probably fucks black dudes and thinks she's "down" cause of it
She just owns that location which is in a cac neighborhood
Here's her gram https://www.instagram.com/dv_luxe/
Yes it's funny because if that DOT HEAD HOE had won democrats would be doing the same thing
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