Big Mama's shuts down for good
The sad news was related to me by a Pittsburgh area friend on Facebook.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_696461.html
'Big Mama' shuts down oven for good
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Brenda "Big Mama" Franklin is finished frying chicken and cooking greens in her House of Southern Cuisine on Liberty Avenue, Downtown.
The Garfield woman closed her restaurant Monday and posted two hand-written notes on the front doors today thanking her loyal customers, praising God and excoriating the Pittsburgh Parking Authority for levying parking fines against her that she said sapped her restaurant's modest revenues.
"Due to parking issues beyond my control I am forced to close. However, I'll be relocating to another state," Franklin wrote. "I've been targeted by the Parking Authority, which makes it very hard for my customers to park."
Franklin has not been targeted by parking enforcement agents, said David Onorato, executive director of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority.
"We're not picking on her," Onorato said.
"It was an issue several months ago, we looked into it, and we totally disagree with her position," he said. "In that same time frame, there's been over 500 tickets (written) on those streets," referring to Liberty Avenue and Exchange Way.
Onorato said two of Franklin's cars were "booted" twice, meaning at least five parking tickets accumulated on each vehicle. He wasn't certain if she has outstanding tickets.
In a phone interview, Franklin said she's eyeing a new restaurant location in the Washington D.C. area, but hasn't made a decision, yet.
"I'm tired. I'm throwing good money after bad, and we're just not getting the customer base in," she said.
In June, the Tribune-Review detailed Franklin's story. She complained police officers and Parking Authority agents repeatedly fined her for parking on Exchange Way, a narrow alley that doubles as a loading zone behind her business and several others that face Liberty.
She said she accumulated $3,000 in fines. Customers who park in front of her restaurant have been fined $30 for allowing a parking meter to expire.
Parking Authority officials have said, in general, they're willing to work with business owners to find parking solutions, but Franklin said nothing has come of that.
Franklin is perhaps best known for her appearance on the CBS "Early Show" in 2008 as part of a series of shows that sought to help struggling small businesses.
Wow, this is unfathomable. Has it really gotten to the point that cities don't want small businesses operating in them anymore?
Parking fines may be pennies to a company like Walmart, but to a small business it's serious money. How can a city not work things out with a business owner? No wonder things are going downhill in so many places.
And to think until I read this, I thought the City of Pittsburgh was such a wonderful place. 
Wow, I am so disappointed to hear about this. I wish Big Mama the best of luck and if she does come to DC I will be a frequent patron of her restaurant.
This issue was the one thing that upset me the very most about Pittsburgh and the reason I will never ever drive there again. The parking issue. When a city gets so crowded that simply parking your vehicle becomes an impossible task, there's a problem. When you are searching for that one-in-a-million parking space, and you see a bum selling parking space underneath a dank bridge, there's a problem. When you ACCEPT that parking space from the bum beneath the bridge because it really is the only option, there's a problem. When BUSINESSES ARE CLOSING because of the parking issue....yeah, you get my drift. I enjoyed Anthrocon, but Pittsburgh is a sh*thole in my honest opinion.
Hold on. I can tell you that there is no shortage of parking in downtown Pittsburgh.
I'm not sure what's going on in the vicinity of that restaurant, but there are plenty of parking spaces available.
Exchange Way runs behind Franklin's business and dozens of others that face Liberty and Penn avenues, which run parallel. "No Parking" and "15-minute Loading Zone" signs line the narrow alleyway.She has received tickets ranging from $16 for parking too far in front of a parking meter on Liberty Avenue, to $94.50 for parking in a no-parking zone. Her Land Rover has been "booted" and other cars her family-run business uses were towed.
It often takes Franklin, who said she suffers from torn rotator cuffs, more than 15 minutes to unload up to a dozen 40-pound boxes of chicken and ribs when she arrives to work around 8 a.m. She has been ticketed more than once while unloading.
Fernando DeCarvalho, owner of Fernando's Cafe next to Big Mama's, said his blue SUV was ticketed in Exchange Way, as well.
He said police used to issue loading permits to park there, but after a neighboring owner copied the permits illegally, authorities ended the practice.
"We can park close enough to the wall where we don't get in the way of traffic," he said.
Police have told him they must keep the alley clear of cars so emergency vehicles can pass.
Pittsburgh Parking Authority officials said they were not aware of Franklin's complaints.
They said they're willing to work with business owners to find solutions to parking problems, but declined to comment specifically on parking on Exchange Way.
15 minutes seems like an unreasonably short time for a restaurant
And a forum quirk: I had to enter a single 'p' tag after the first paragraph to get the quoting to work right; no 'p', no extra returns, and the paragraphs would have no spacing between them; if I added returns for each paragraph, it'd leave only the first one in the quote block, and move the rest outside it - 
It's true, there are many lots and garages in the convention center area, etc. The hotel
garages, 11th and Smallman, the Greyhound station garage nr the back of the Westin, etc.
But what about just basic street parking? Yes, some lots (like the one near 10th and Penn.
right on the street) and maybe some metered parking but not all that much for people who feel
like going to downtown Pitt. and having a quick bite to eat.
Unlike in places like where I live, Beverly MA, a moderate sized city (38,000) where such restaurants do have more metered parking and small lots nearby. Or shopping center-type
restaurants (Texas Roadhouse, Olive Garden, etc.) where they have a good amount of parking.
Big Mama's pretty much has to rely on a lot of foot traffic from people like us in the
convention center area, attending our events, but it may not necessarily get the average
Pitt. resident or tourist because parking can be scarce--I'm talking short term parking here,
metered spaces, etc. Actually places nearby like Golden Palace, etc., do get some business
from people like us but there aren't all that many spaces for the _short-term_ parker.
And the problem here is that little alley mentioned, behind FURnando's and Big Mama's
(the previous article mentioned FURnando got some tickets, too). If you're in the Westin
waiting for the elevator, look down and you can see that alley very clearly. Pitt. demands
that it not be clogged up in case of emergencies, etc. and it was tough for Big Mama's
to unload stuff in 15 minutes.
Whether it was a lack of parking for customers, a lack of parking for their employees
to unload stuff, or various other reasons why the place wasn't making (enough) money
it's a shame...Maybe instead of relocating to another city they could have set up
at Station Sq. (Buca di Beppo, Hard Rock, etc.) where there's some limited short-term
parking and a steady stream of tourists. You know--grab a bite to eat at Big Mama's
just before you board the duck boat...
I'm not a big fan of driving in the city myself; i'd much rather the new york city approach, where driving is a pain but using public transit is affordable, dead easy, and convenient (and even environmentally conscious!)
Still, when an entirely local business with that few employees is struggling to stay above water because of parking issues, it seems odd and awfully short-sighted for the city not to actively pursue other options to help employees find the parking, or the transit, that they need.
Terrible shae that this happened to big momma and her crew. They were so sweet to us.
are you serious!? D: but...i wanted to go there next year! D:
well...if she does move to a different state, shes more than welcome to move into New York City. Parking is okay, but she would have a lot of customers who walk or take transit to work. Also, New Jersey is PERFECT for small Restaurants like Big Mama's.
But in New Jersey, instead of $3,000 for parking tickets, it's $300,000 for permits.
I live in NJ, so I know the absurdity of the permit process here. Our church was going to pave our driveway, but abandoned the idea when we found out it would cost us $14,000 just for the various studies and permits we'd need before we could even start! And it's not even a very big driveway!
This is horrible news. I'm glad I was able to eat there a couple of times this year because I really enjoyed her pulled pork. Breakfast was delicious, too.
I wish her well and hope that her new shop in D.C. does a booming business. She and her family were very good to us and I'm disappointed that it's come to this.
Word of warning to the City of Pittsburgh.
I hail from the City of Detroit.
YOU DON'T WANT THINGS GETTING THAT BAD IN THE BURGH!
Fix this now!
I had nothing but the most respect for that restaurant. The people were extensively friendly and very forward. Everything I heard from people who ate at that restaurant said that the food was nothing short of magnificent.
Such a bummer... 
I hope to be able to see her when she moves into DC! I didn't have the best experience during Anthrocon - after we were seated and given our menus we didn't get seen for at least 15 minutes, in which time another group came in, was seated, and their orders taken. We decided to eat elsewhere. Hopefully I can see her when she's not trying to feed hundreds of hungry furries at once. |3
City parking is an issue in so many cities, you'd think these highly-paid, politically-connected, (supposedly) college-educated, city planners would have some notion that accomodations for ample parking would be needed.
My little town of Browns Mills has MASSIVE parking lots for its couple of larger stores, and almost never exceed 30% capacity. Indeed, you'd need practically every person in the town to park in the town shopping center all at once to fill every space.
It's one of the few things our town did right. ;3
A lot of these cities, including downtown Pittsburgh, New York City, parts of Chicago... Heck, any city planned and built out before 1930, were not designed with automobiles in mind.
There simply is NO ROOM for more parking without destroying existing buildings.
The positive side is once you GET into the city, it's easy to walk pretty much everywhere, and public transit actually works because the distances involved aren't ridiculous.
Miami and LA are examples of cities that got built up AFTER the automobile came along. Life there is impossible without a car.
Frankly, I'd prefer all cities be more like New York City, where cars aren't necessary unless you're leaving the city limits. For cities with very dense downtowns, a system of parking garages on the outskirts with good public transit into the city core is the answer.
But either way, delivery vehicles (trucks) and such NEED priority, and NEED to be able to park to service businesses. Pittsburgh parking laws need to be fixed in this regard.
That is such a shame. I really enjoyed the food there this year.