Paula Deen shutters Uncle Bubba's - without bothering to tell her employees

Butter Queen Paula Deen's empire continues to melt.

A year after the celebrity chef skirted a racial discrimination lawsuit – causing her to lose lucrative Food Network TV shows and endorsement deals – Deen shuttered the scene of the crime.

Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House – the Savannah, Ga., restaurant she co-owned with her brother, Bubba Hiers – closed April 3.

The Washington Post reports Deen faced scrutiny last year when a former employee of Uncle Bubba’s, Lisa Jackson, filed a lawsuit claiming she had experienced sexual harassment and racial discrimination. In a deposition for the case, Deen admitted that she’d used the N-word — “of course,” she said — and told questioners she’d admired a plantation-style wedding reception outfitted with middle-aged black men in dinner jackets because it was reminiscent of the antebellum period.

The icing on the buttery cake? Neither Deen nor Heirs told employees of the closure, but let them show up to work, only to find kitchen appliances being removed from the restaurant. the Post reports employees were collecting their severance checks in the parking lot.

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