Black-eyed pea

The black-eyed pea or black-eyed bean, a legume, is a subspecies of the cowpea, grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean.

The common commercial variety is called the California Blackeye; it is pale-colored with a prominent black spot. In the American South there are countless varieties, many of them heirloom, that vary in size from the small lady peas to very large ones, as may be seen in the state and municipal farmers' markets. The color of the eye may be black, brown, red, pink or green. All the peas are green when freshly shelled and brown or buff when dried. A popular variation of the black-eyed pea is the purple hull pea; it is usually green with a prominent purple or pink spot. The currently accepted botanical name for the black-eyed pea is Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata, although previously it was classified in the genus Phaseolus. Vigna unguiculata subsp. dekindtiana is the wild relative and Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis is the related asparagus bean. Other beans of somewhat similar appearance, such as the frijol ojo de cabra (goat's eye bean) of northern Mexico, are sometimes incorrectly called black-eyed peas, and vice versa.

Black-eyed pea (disambiguation)

Black-eyed pea or peas may refer to:

Black-eyed Pea (restaurant)

Black-eyed Pea is a United States restaurant chain, with outlets primarily in Texas and Colorado.

Two corporate entities operate the restaurants. The Texas restaurants are operated by Restaurants Acquisition I, L.L.C. This company is headquartered in Upper Kirby, Houston.

The Colorado restaurants are operated by RMR Colorado, LLC, headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado in Greater Denver.

History

Black-eyed Pea was founded in 1975 by Dallas restaurateur Gene Street. The first location opened on Cedar Springs Road in Oak Lawn is closing today, Saturday January 2, 2016, after 40 years of operation. The chain eventually expanded across the American South.

In early 1997, DenAmerica purchased the Black-eyed Pea restaurant chain from Unigate plc, a British food manufacturer and distributor, for $65 million. At that time the chain consisted of 130 restaurants, about a quarter of which were franchises.

On November 12, 2001, DenAmerica, now operating as Phoenix Restaurant Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This resulted in the closing of 48 Black-eyed Pea locations, reducing the chain to 44 locations (not including the Colorado locations, whose owners were in better financial shape). In 2002, under new management, Black-eyed Pea was reformatted as a "country casual" chain by adding more appetizers and seafood offerings, along with more grilled items as well as an increased emphasis on its bar.