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Flavor Flav pulling name from Flav's Fried Chicken joint after less than a year in business
By Nina Mandell
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, April 24th 2011, 6:03 PM

Flavor Flav is getting out of the fried chicken business.

The Public Enemy rapper is pulling his name from Flav's Fried Chicken in Clinton, Iowa, claiming his business partner, Nick Cimino, "mismanaged" the joint, TMZ reports.

"Let me be straight up with you, I went inside there on April 2 and I found potato salad that expired on February 28," Flav told the gossip site. "And it's then when I realized I can't do business with this man and I really hope no one ate those potatoes."

The restaurant, which opened next to a KFC in January, has had problems greater than spoiled potato salad.

Employees claimed earlier this month that their paychecks were bouncing. At the time, Cimino blamed the woes on a "credit card glitch" and said the claims were just those of disgruntled ex-staff members.

"Maybe these are people that's just jealous of me being here and probably want to see me out," Flav told TMZ at the time.

The restaurant made the onetime rapper a favorite face in the small town of Clinton, where he reportedly pitched a reality show that would have documented him as he pursued a degree at the local high school, The Clinton Herald reported in February.

The local school board, however, nixed that idea.

Before the falling out with Cimino, the reality star often spoke about spreading his chicken business across the country.

"I'm trying to start a franchise, so this is just the beginning of it," he said at the restaurant opening, the Herald reported at the time. "And I just want to say you guys are a part of it."

The restaurant received fairly positive reviews on Yelp.com, with many commenters praising the experience – and the fried chicken.

"At first I was doubtful," one wrote. "A Chicken Shack opened by a Reality TV Star/Rapper …? But I was blown away. The chicken was well seasoned and very tender and juicy."