Rapper 2 Chainz is finally expanding his restaurant chain, Esco Restaurant and Tapas, after settling a 2020 lawsuit filed by the family of late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
The Escobar family had sued 2 Chainz for $10 million in damages over intellectual property rights. The original name of the restaurant was Escobar Restaurant and Tapas, and included images of Escobar in the establishment. They accused 2 Chainz of using Escobar’s name and likeness at his two restaurants in Georgia and on the websites, social media accounts, and merchandise associated with the venue. The lawsuit was reportedly settled for $15,000.
According to Vibe magazine, the next restaurant will open in Columbus, Ohio, followed by two others in Dallas and Memphis. The website also has a “coming soon” mention for a Chicago location.
2 Chainz thanked his business partner Mychel “Snoop” Dillard for helping him get the new restaurants off the ground after they got past all the litigation with Escobar’s family.
“[Mychel] is one of the people that really made my transition into this hospitality space easier because originally my introduction to the space was real estate,” Chainz told the Franchise Times. “I own properties and dirt and stuff like that. So, that merged with her passion and mine and made me very comfortable in this space going on six years now.”
Some of the menu items at Esco Restaurant and Tapas include mustard brown sugar salmon with saffron orzo and spinach, twin lobster tails with stone ground cheese grits and tomato coulis, and seafood linguini with rosemary cream sauce.
A section of the Esco Restaurant and Tapas website includes information on franchising opportunities. Requirements include $150,000 in liquid assets, two years of tax returns, three months of bank statements, and a minimum 680 credit score.