Actor Freeman closes restaurant

Actor Morgan Freeman and his business partner are ending their 10-year run as owners of an upmarked restaurant in the heart of the impoverished Mississippi Delta.

Freeman’s partner, lawyer Bill Luckett, told The Associated Press that the Madidi Restaurant in Clarksdale was having its closing party tonight.

In separate statements, Mr Luckett and Freeman said the restaurant had helped spur redevelopment in Clarkesdale.

Freeman said have they have watched the town take on a new life and they “are proud to have been a part of that”.

Nevertheless, Mr Luckett said the restaurant “has never made money”, and neither he nor Freeman has the time to run and manage it.

The restaurant offered what Mr Luckett called “Americanised French” cuisine, a good wine list and fancy tablecloths and silverware.