Broker Drama At Nas-Backed Chicken And Waffles Joint In Prospect Heights

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A New York real estate company is asking for a $50,000 fee after Sweet Chick — the chicken and waffles joint backed in part by Brooklyn rap icon Nas — went behind its back to secure a lease for its planned Prospect Heights location, according to a complaint filed in New York Supreme Court.

Benny Blanco, Inc., says in the complaint that it entered into a "certain commercial brokerage arrangement" with Sweet Chick, but the restaurant did not pay up after signing the lease at 636 Carlton Ave., near Flatbush Avenue. The $50,000 broker fee "remains due and payable," the complaint says.

Patch left messages Wednesday morning at both of Sweet Chick's other NYC locations, and we'll update this post if we hear back.

DNAinfo first reported on the complaint. You can read it in full here.

Co-founders John Seymour and Sam Saleh are scheduled to open their third Sweet Chick location in the city this spring in Prospect Heights.

In a pitch to Community Board 6 in December, Seymoure said that while every Sweet Chick location has a slightly different feel and menu, he's planning on sticking to the dishes that have made the business such a success — including classics like mac and cheese, crawfish hush puppies, shrimp and grits, vegetarian meatloaf and of course, Mike's Hot Honey Chicken and Waffle. Vegetarian fried chicken will be available as well.

Last June, on the one-year anniversary of their second location — at 178 Ludlow St. on the Lower East Side of Manhattan — Seymour and Saleh announced that Nas had joined the venture as a business partner, with the goal of expanding the brand around the country.

The original Sweet Chick is at 164 Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg.

Lead image courtesy of Sweet Chick