Ludacris is teaming with San Francisco Bay area restaurateur Chris Yeo to launch a joint restaurant venture.

According to MSNBC, Ludacris purchased a property in Midtown Atlanta at 793 Juniper St. (at Fifth Street) for $2.7 million in March 2007 that will be the first location under the new venture.

Ludacris and Yeo plan to open three restaurants together, with the first being born under the Straits name of which Yeo owns three locations. The other restaurants currently don't have names. All three will open in metro Atlanta.

Buying real estate is nothing new for Ludacris although he chooses to keep those business interests private.

"I don't generally speak about it," he said. "I keep it to myself. I'm definitely into real estate. I'm a silent partner and an entrepreneur outside of music."

The new Ludacris backed Straits location, which the rapper reportedly invested $1 million into for renovations, should open in April and can seat between 200 and 215 people, not including an outdoor patio.