A Wildly Popular Houston Restaurant Has Been Besieged With Issues Including A Lawsuit From A Gospel Star.

The Turkey Leg Hut has been a viral sensation for years but over the last year, the still well known restaurant has been dealing with multiple issues including its current closure due to health code violations.

Now, the restaurant finds itself in the news as a high profile "investor" and his wife are taking them court in hopes of getting the money they put into the restaurant paid back to them.

The Restaurant Was Shut Down Due To Multiple Health Violations.

On September 19, the Houston Health Department shut down Turkey Leg Hut due to "serious health code violations." The health department said the restaurant was issued 35 violations, "including conditions that pose an imminent threat to public health."

Its been over a week and the restaurant remains closed and things are beginning to look bleak as on Monday, a court-appointed trustee filed a motion in the businesses ongoing bankruptcy case that could permanently shut it down.

On March 26, Turkey Leg Hut filed for bankruptcy and declared it had less than $50,000 in assets.

According to court records, the restaurant owes nearly $5 million in debt to 19 creditors, including American Express and City of Houston Water Department and the IRS and the Small Business Administration.

Turkey Leg Hut owner Nakia Price, who founded the restaurant with ex-husband Lyndel Price in 2018, then allegedly turned to her famous friends, Grammy Nominated Gospel Star James Fortune and his wife Rhaquele for a loan after the Prices contentious divorce.

James Fortune and his wife said they loaned Nakia Price hundreds of thousands of dollars in efforts to keep the restaurant afloat.

In December, as the Prices were in the middle of a contentious divorce, the Fortunes said they loaned Nakia as the restaurant’s owner $100,000. Two months later, The Fortunes said they put in $180,000 for 15% ownership of Turkey Leg Hut.

The next month, the Fortunes said Nakia told them she couldn't pay the bills so the Fortunes continued to pay for food supplies and services only for Price to file for bankruptcy days later.

The Fortunes Say They Sank $300K Into TLH By The Time Bankruptcy Was Filed.

The Fortunes filed a lawsuit this week against Nakia Price in hopes of getting their money back  according to KHOU. The lawsuit alleges they were defrauded concerning the financial state of Turkey Leg Hut and claims Nakia Price falsely indicated the restaurant was "unencumbered and free of all liabilities" when she sold them partial ownership.