Usher’s mother opens barbecue restaurant near Atlanta

Usher’s mother proves that there can be more than one successful businessman in a family.

Jonnetta Patton – who once worked as a manager for her superstar son – has opened a new barbecue restaurant and mobile food truck called J’s Smokehouse in Doraville, Georgia.

The restaurant serves typical barbecue dishes like ribs, brisket and chicken, but also offers a vegan hot dog and a vegan pulled pork sandwich for non-meat eaters.

At a grand opening event earlier this month, both of Patton’s sons came to celebrate their mother. Usher and his brother James “JLack” Lackey, a Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, were also there to congratulate their mother.

In a video posted on social media, Usher can be seen standing next to his mother and encouraging his followers to support his mother’s new business venture.

“I’m so happy to be here supporting my mom and her new business,” Usher says to the camera.

Then he looks lovingly at his mother and says: “Congratulations.”

Patton continues to talk about the menu, telling Usher’s social media followers that the recipes for the mac and cheese and collard greens are “Grandma’s recipe(s).”

Usher points the camera at the crowd taking photos of him and shows two men preparing food in the trailer. He keeps the camera rolling as he meets with old friends and fans, stopping to take photos and talk about the barbecue.

Following the grand opening, J’s Smokehouse announced that they will be at State Farm Arena to host Usher and his crew, who are performing there this week.

This isn’t Patton’s first foray into the food business. In 2016, she founded J’s Kitchen Culinary Incubator, a company that provides commercial kitchen space and equipment to aspiring chefs and caterers. Earlier this summer, Patton was honored with the Influencer Award by Sysco Foods for her contributions to the culinary industry.