Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles' parent company files for bankruptcy

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The future of Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles is up in the air after the soul-food chain's parent company, East Coast Foods Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Court documents show the company owes money to a number of parties.

That includes a former employee who sued the restaurant on Pico Boulevard for racial discrimination and won.

Daniel Beasley of Compton accused the restaurant of harassing him because he is black and giving preferential treatment to Latino employees.

East Coast Foods calls Beasley's claim, which is more than $3 million, "disputed" in the court documents.

In addition to Beasley, the company's other large debts are held by Clifton Capital Group, DV Marketing, Freeway Foods Inc., the Los Angeles County Treasurer, MyScribble LLC and others.

Roscoe's has been serving up its famous chicken and waffles since 1975. There are seven Roscoe's in the Southland and East Coast Foods doesn't specify in its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy whehter any of the restaurants would close, although the prospect of them closing is highly unlikely.