Lowell Hawthorne, CEO and face of the Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill franchise and their famous supermarket beef patties, killed himself at the company’s bakery and warehouse in the Bronx late Saturday. He was 57.
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A family member told the New York Post that Hawthorne, a longtime Greenburgh resident, was troubled by a large amount of money owed in taxes. This came in the midst of possible litigation with current and former employees regarding overtime pay. The incident was apparently caught on security camera, and two employees could be seen approaching Hawthorne’s office and calling 911 shortly after the gunshot.
Hawthorne and his siblings opened the family’s first restaurant in the Bronx in 1989, expanding to 17 locations in just the first four years. The company now has over 120 locations spread throughout nine states, and offers not just beef patties but a full line of Caribbean cuisine. Hawthorne’s wife Lorna, their children, and even their many nieces and nephews are now employed in the family business as well, all of whom came together at Hawthorne’s Elmsford residence to mourn his loss.