#George Floyd planned to open cafe called Convict Kitchen: girlfriend

George Floyd planned to open a restaurant called Convict Kitchen and staff it with ex-prison inmates — to give formerly incarcerated people such as himself a second chance, his girlfriend said Friday.

Courteney Ross, a 44-year-old Minneapolis coffee shop manager, said the pair dreamed of hiring ex-cons to work at the eatery — which would serve gourmet versions of prison commissary grub — after Floyd was released from prison in Texas and turned his life around, according to the Daily Mail.

“He came to Minneapolis about five years ago from Houston. He wanted to escape the criminal environment he was in, and after he was released from prison, he made the move to Minneapolis to start fresh,” Ross told the outlet.

“Floyd’s dream was to open up our own restaurant. He even had a named picked, our Convict Kitchen.”

Ross — who was captured on camera in a tender moment touching Floyd’s casket at his memorial Thursday — said they discussed ideas for dishes, including innovative twists on jailbird snacks such as Top Ramen and Oreos.

“He had ideas on some of the foods he wanted to serve. He wanted to serve food at his restaurant that ex-cons would cook in their cell, using the foods inmates would buy at the commissary and making a gourmet dish out of it,” said Ross, adding that she and Floyd were together for three years.

“Floyd used to tell me that you can practically make anything out of Top Ramen Noodles, you can grind them up and use them to make pizza dough to a cake if you add Oreo Cookies,” she said.

Floyd served five years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault related to a 2007 incident in which he was accused of entering a woman’s home and pressing a gun to her stomach. He later cleaned up his act, Ross said.

“He served some time in a Texas prison, and after he was released, he was able to get help with an organization called Turning Point. One job led to another and another. He really love it here. He did get some peace in his life here,” Ross said.

In the interview, Ross also said the final words she spoke to Floyd — the day before he died — were “I love you.”

Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer May 25 has sparked nationwide protests and riots over racial injustice and police brutality.