Politixia
DaBaby is defending the menu at his new Charlotte restaurant after customers questioned a $45 waffle. The Charlotte rapper, who has also faced past public backlash, said critics of the DaBaby restaurant prices have a cheaper option: Waffle House.
No Knife Chicken & Waffles opened Sept. 6 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a video on Queen City News, DaBaby addressed the criticism during a Sept. 9 appearance where he described the restaurant as an “elevated dining experience.”
“They shoulda went to Waffle House. Waffle House has something for you,” DaBaby joked when asked about complaints over the prices. He also pushed back on the idea that customers were paying premium prices for a basic waffle, saying, “This isn’t just flour and water.”
When Complex reported on the backlash, the $45 Soulfood Cornbread Waffle was listed with collard greens, candied yams and mac and cheese but no chicken. The restaurant’s current online menu now lists it with four wings included. Customers can add six more wings to any waffle for $10.
Other waffle options include banana pudding, blueberry lemon, cookies and cream, peach cobbler, red velvet, strawberry shortcake and sweet potato varieties, each priced at $25. A Plain Jane waffle costs $15.
The menu also includes a $40 lobster tail, $30 seafood boil egg rolls, $25 crab fried rice, $20 jerk chicken and birria egg rolls, and $7 sides. Bottled water is currently listed at $4, while flavored lemonades cost $8.
DaBaby said the menu concepts came from him, while crediting the restaurant’s head chef with bringing the ideas to life. The rapper said every item on the menu began with one of his ideas.
The restaurant prices drew criticism online almost immediately after the opening, with some users arguing the food was too expensive. Others defended the pricing as comparable to what diners already pay at some restaurants.
For now, DaBaby appears unmoved by the complaints. No Knife remains open in north Charlotte, and the rapper is positioning the restaurant as something closer to an upscale comfort-food experience than a bargain breakfast stop.
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