Rapper Ludacris to open restaurant in Atlanta
By: Richard L. Eldredge
ATLANTA ( Jan. 17 ) It’s official: Atlanta actor, rapper and budding restaurateur Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris, will unveil his new eatery at 793 Juniper St. in Midtown this April. According to a press release, Straits Restaurant, with a “modern Singaporean” menu, will debut at the site of the now-shuttered Spice. The concept is an extension of three successful California eateries with the same name run by chef-owner Chris Yeo. The former hairstylist turned chef is forming a partnership with Luda to bring the rapper’s favorite food to Atlantans.
The Johnson Studio has been hired to bring the sexy — along with some “subtle Eastern influences” — to the eatery’s interiors. The 215-seat restaurant will be open for dinner starting this spring.

For an advance peek at potential menu offerings here, including sake sampler flights, a lemongrass beef entree, whole lobster and shrimp pad Thai and inventive vegetarian offerings, go to www.straitsrestaurants.com.

© The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2008
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New restaurant not really a Ludacris idea

When Chris Bridges was enrolled at Georgia State University, he was a business major with a minor in music management, so the notion is not at all ludicrous that the musician and entrepreneur known as Ludacris is dabbling in real estate and now a restaurant.

In March 2007, Bridges paid $2.7 million for the 5,170-square-foot space at 793 Juniper St. (at Fifth Street) in Midtown that was formerly the restaurant Spice. Two months later at an event for his Ludacris Foundation, Bridges was introduced to San Francisco Bay Area restaurateur Chris Yeo by a mutual friend.

Bridges considers Yeo’s first name serendipitous and after he visited one of Yeo’s restaurants and tasted his chicken lollipops and watermelon martinis, a business relationship was born.

“That’s my favorite,” Bridges said of the chicken dish. He said he fell in love with the menu at Straits. (Three of Yeo’s restaurants are in the Straits family; his fourth, Sino, has a completely different menu.)
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