Dive Brief:
- Paula Deen will host a Feb. 8 cooking event in 2014 to accompany the opening of her new food retail store near Buffalo, N.Y.
- The store, which will be located in Williamsville, N.Y., will sell Deen-branded food items such as baking kits, chocolates and tortilla chips.
- The news comes after Deen lost a number of business partners, including Food Network, Smithfield Foods and Wal-Mart, in the wake of her admitted use of the N-word.
Dive Insight:
Earlier this year, a judge approved a deal between Deen and Lisa Jackson, a former employee, which saw Jackson's headline-grabbing lawsuit against Deen dismissed. The TV cook has continued to suffer from brand and business partnership troubles as a result of her use of a racial slur, however, and her new food store will be a test to see exactly how much lasting damage she inflicted upon herself.