PITTSBURGH,None — A Pittsburgh soul food restaurant that gained fame when it was featured on national television is now facing financial troubles over parking.
"It's really hurting me. I've cried and cried. This is the most broken I've ever been in a long time," said Brenda Franklin the owner of Big Mama's House of Southern Cuisine.
Franklin moved her restaurant from the city's iconic Strip District to a space downtown this year. But she said ever since she's been struggling to pay her rent in part because of all the parking tickets she's incurring at her new space.
Franklin said she's gotten more than $3,000 in fines. She said there is only a 15-minute loading area near her business and it often takes her longer than that to unload 40-pound boxes of chicken and ribs.
Big Mama's isn't the only business owner facing parking fines. Recently, the owner of Fernando's Cafe next door to Big Mama's paid more than $300 in fines for parking his delivery vehicle in an alley way behind the building.
"It costs me as much as I make in deliveries at the end of the day, so it's not worth it to be open for deliveries because I can't access my car," he said.
Franklin said her business can't survive if she continues to be fined for parking.
"I'm really ready to move to another city," she said.
City parking officials said they were unaware of Franklin's problems. They said they're willing to work with her on a solution.
But Franklin said, so far she has not received any help from the city. She told Channel 11 News that the parking authority claims she still owes money for violations at her prior location in the strip.
Franklin said if this issue isn't resolved soon, Big Mama's will have to close up shop by the end of the summer.
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