The owners of a Black-owned restaurant in East Atlanta say they are being forced out by the real estate firm that purchased a property housing their business earlier this year, pointing to unfair business practices and increasing gentrification around the district that has expelled longstanding Black communities and businesses.
King Shands and Brittney Wilson opened East Atlanta Treehouse on Flat Shoals Avenue in January.
From 2012 to 2021, Shands was the general manager of an event space called The Union, where EAT now operates.
In 2021, he took over the business from the previous owner and spent four years obtaining licenses and permits to bring his vision for EAT to life…