A Beloved Southern Restaurant Chain Abruptly Closes All Of Its Locations

It's always tough when an up-and-coming chain restaurant falls short, but Flavor Hills seemed like it had a real future. The pioneering, Black-owned chain was founded in Jacksonville, North Carolina, in 2021. The restaurant chain expanded to three more locations in Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with its newest location in Durham opening less than a year ago. However, on August 14, Flavor Hills announced on Facebook that all of its restaurant locations would close. 

Flavor Hills called the restaurant "a space to showcase Black excellence," and thanked customers for all the love and support it had received. Founded by three Marine Corps veterans — Andre Truss, Tellers Pollard III, and Eric Johnson — it went on to share its pride in being a Black-owned business, serving a community that often lacked local Black-owned options. Despite significant growth over the last 10 years or so, Black-owned businesses represent only 3.4% of all U.S. businesses, while Black Americans make up around 14% of the overall population, according to the Brookings Institution.

In the heartfelt goodbye post, the restaurant said "the people inside of it became family" and that it was grateful for "the opportunity to build something that mattered." In a small bit of good news, Flavor Hills will continue to exist as a catering company, offering the same style of elevated Southern comfort food recipes it did as a brick-and-mortar.

Flavor Hills will continue under the stewardship of executive chef Morgan Tieanne, who is now the owner as well. A catering industry veteran from a young age, she joined Flavor Hills as its first executive chef and went on to become the culinary director for the chain. Her family roots influenced Flavor Hills' menu. It regularly featured Southern favorites, often with a Caribbean twist, including coconut jerk lamb chops, classic shrimp and grits, and grilled peach Bourbon chicken.

One of Flavor Hills' locations was in Downtown Raleigh. It held on in a spot known for high restaurant turnover, indicative of the larger struggles casual dining spaces are experiencing. According to research by the National Restaurant Association, restaurant operators reported a net decline in traffic from July 2025 to June 2026. Furthermore, data from Restaurant Dive suggests that, in the U.S., almost 10% of casual dining chains are at risk of closing in 2026. 

At times like these, smaller chains like Flavor Hills and local restaurants that don't have higher-performing locations to fall back on are impacted the most. But like Flavor Hills' own story, one closure doesn't have to mean the end. If history is any indication, the desire for authentic local flavors that mean something to a community will never go away.