Killer Mike confirms temporary closure of Bankhead Seafood
According to a statement from the principals of Bankhead Seafood, the Westside restaurant is temporarily closing to make a number of changes to its flagship location and operations.
“Yes, we are doing a lot,” Waleed Shamsid-Deen, a manager at Bankhead Seafood, said when asked about the closure, which was first reported by Canopy Atlanta.
Per the report, Bankhead Seafood employees received a letter informing them that the restaurant was “temporarily closing to reset operations” without specifying a reopening date.
Shamsid-Deen said he and the partners plan to reopen the restaurant — which serves fried platters of pollock, catfish and shrimp, along with crabcakes, sandwiches and seafood boils — by July 14, but noted the date was subject to change.
Bankhead Seafood partner Michael “Killer Mike” Render confirmed the closure to UATL on Monday.
“We didn’t realize it would freak everybody out,” Killer Mike said when reached by phone in Vancouver, Canada, where the rapper and restaurateur was preparing to hit the stage as part of hip-hop supergroup Run the Jewels, which is touring with Wu-Tang Clan.
Killer Mike sent a statement to UATL Tuesday morning on behalf of Bankhead Seafood:
“To Our Beloved West Side Community,“ the statement begins, ”Thank you for the continued love and support as we’ve worked to bring back Ms. Helen Harden’s dream through the revival of Bankhead Seafood. From high school reunions to after-work mixers and post-church brunches, it’s been a joy to grow and celebrate with you.
“As we head into the summer, we’ll be taking a short break to refresh and enhance your dining experience. During this time, we’ll be updating our menu and improving our operations to better serve you.
“We’re incredibly grateful to our hardworking team of cooks, servers, bartenders, and food prep staff—and most importantly, to YOU, our loyal customers.We can’t wait to welcome you back soon, better than ever."
Bankhead Seafood first reopened in November after being closed since 2017. Founder Helen Harden, who served famously overstuffed platters of fried fish and hush puppies to customers in Bankhead and beyond for more than 50 years, consulted Killer Mike, Clifford “T.I.” Harris and other business partners on the restaurant’s original recipes.
Killer Mike also mentioned plans for construction upgrades to be done on the newly built restaurant, which was erected where the original one-story building was demolished at 1651 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.
Harden died weeks after attending Bankhead Seafood’s official reopening Nov. 13. In an interview with UATL she expressed happiness that the restaurant would carry on her legacy.
“I feel wonderful, wonderful, wonderful,” she said on the day of the reopening. “I just wondered if I was gonna live long enough to see it come to reality, but since God was good, here I am and everything is just what I dreamed of.”
Since November, a number of celebrities and notable Atlantans have visited Bankhead Seafood, including singer Pharrell Williams, former Atlanta Mayor and civil rights activist Andrew Young and Buffalo Bills cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram.
Shamsid-Deen said a number of initiatives will be underway during the temporary closure. In addition to building upgrades and menu adjustments, he said Bankhead Seafood will hire and train new employees. He also suggested some of the changes were influenced by customer input.
“We’ve got a lot of community feedback and are updating accordingly,” he said.
This story has been updated to include a statement sent on behalf of Bankhead Seafood.
About the Author
Mike Jordan is senior editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Black culture brand, UATL. A longtime culture journalist, his work has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, National Geographic, Rolling Stone and others. Jordan won the James Beard Foundation’s 2024 Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award and was a 2023 finalist.
