Ushers Grapes Have Gone Sour!

Usher Raymond IV is the latest victim of failed business ventures. Usher's The Inman Park franchise of the Grape opened in late 2006 and has closed, according to its parent company.

The wine bar, bistro and wine retailer, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, did not reopen once the New Year rolled around and did not renew its liquor license with the Georgia Department of Revenue. Currently, three local branches of the Grape remain: in the Vinings Jubilee shopping center, Phipps Plaza and Atlantic Station.

The Atlanta-based Grape Enterprise Group Inc., which both owns and franchises shops mostly throughout the Southeast, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. When Usher first met with reporters at the opening of the Inman Park branch wearing a cabernet-purple blazer, his plan was to start franchises in locales as far flung as Shanghai and South America. Oooobviously that ain't happenin!