The drama surrounding the owners of the famed Turkey Leg Hut in Houston, Texas, has thickened as the restaurant’s office caught fire on March 9.
According to KHOU 11 News, firefighters arrived on the scene on Rosedale Street sometime after 4 a.m. No injuries were reported. Fire Chief Sam Peña told reporters that investigators were working to determine whether arson was involved in the office fire.
The Turkey Leg Hut saga began in December 2022 after the restaurant’s owners, Nakia Price and her soon-to-be ex-husband, Lyndell Price, were sued by their food supplier for more than $1.2 million. The lawsuit claimed the couple owed US Foods for unpaid invoices, which the couple denied. The couple were previously sued by co-owner Steven Rogers in 2020 during negotiations to buy him out.
Rogers claimed the duo breached fiduciary duty and accused them of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. The couple countersued and denied the accusations. The busy restaurant also faced scrutiny after the owners began charging $100 for reservations.
The drama intensified in February 2024 after Nakia Price announced that her husband had been terminated. The move came following rumors that Mr. Price had been cheating on his wife with female staff members of the establishment, leading Nakia to file for divorce. Her divorce petition was revealed in November, and Nakia accused her husband of being a narcissist and abuser to her and their family.
“The abuse, manipulation, the lies, the deceit, the gaslighting and narcissism have become unbearable,” she wrote on Instagram. “The world thinks he’s a man who stands on business, but y’all are sadly mistaken. The man that me and my children know is cruel, abusive emotionally and mentally and completely void of any emotion. From the time we wake up, til the time we close our eyes each night we are literally in a fight for our peace and sanity.”
Lyndell Price denied that he’d been fired from the Turkey Leg Hut and claimed that he was still a co-owner.
“It ain’t no truth to it at all. If I was fired, I wouldn’t be on the property. It’s kind of hard to fire the owner. My face is still up there,” he told Chron News last week. “On the contrary, a lot of people think that we got what we got going on, but me and my wife alright; we’re still in business together.”
Lynn claimed that he was “still in business” with his wife days after he began a grilled oyster pop-up across the street from Turkey Leg Hut. The oyster pop-up is a new partnership with New Orleans cook Royal “Tiger” Bellock.
On the same day the fire took place, he shared a photo of himself smiling with the caption, “Thru it all I smile and push on and let the work do the talking …. We cry in the shower and let it blend in then push on .. @hardriders_mc for life.”
In a separate deleted post from his IG story, Lynn appears to have shared a promo image for an upcoming show titled, “Love & Smoke: Houston” featuring images of him and his wife. He continued, “Love is best served … smoked,” and tagged a woman named Carmen Key, who goes by the username officialcarmenkey online.
Fans of the restaurant made light of the couple’s drama on social media. “Lynn wife kicked him outta turkey leg hut and now he selling oysters. lol can’t hate the hustle,” wrote one.
Another fan shared a picture of Price’s oysters and wrote, “Eating the Turkey Leg Hut divorce oysters (divoysters) and becoming incredibly strong.” Another x user wrote, “Ya’ll about to get food poisoning from eating oysters out of a parking lot next to Turkey leg hut. I thought bro was fired@turkeyleghut @HoustonChron @HoustonHealth.”
Nakia Price has not yet commented on her husband’s oyster pop-up. But the two have still been spending time together according to Lynn’s IG page. She can be seen in photos in January.
However, leaked court documents reveal she filed to seek an immediate restraining order from her, their children and their business, noting the abuse and threatening text messages Lynn had allegedly sent to her in December. He allegedly said, “B—h I built you and made you hustle now watch this” and “She’s going to run into me somewhere and she has to come back to the restaurant one day.”
In one message allegedly sent to their daughter in November, Lynn wrote, “Trust me this is going to get ugly.”
