After being removed from the air, Paula Deen turned her attention to her existing restaurants — and some new ones. In 2014, a year after the scandal, Deen started a new firm, Paula Deen Ventures. Shortly after that she announced a new 20,000 square foot restaurant and store called Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen.
The new restaurant helped keep her business afloat. Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen soon opened more locations and, as of this writing, operates in Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, Alabama, and Florida. Scandal or not, Deen was determined to prove that her cooking skills were still deserving of respect. “Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen is filled with love and mouthwatering flavors,” she said in a press release. “I can hardly wait to bring some of my favorite Southern dishes… to the Great Smoky Mountains. We are going to serve our meals family style, with big ol’ bowls on the table, heaping full of fried chicken, collards, fried okra, corn and sweet potatoes.”