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The Infamous Amy's Baking Company Of 'Kitchen Nightmares' Is Closing
It's been over two years since Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares featured Amy's Baking Company on his reality show, an infamous episode whose highlights included the owners screaming at customers and keeping tips from their servers. Even Ramsey found them hopeless. And now, the couple behind the Scottsdale restaurant are closing down their eatery.
Amy Bouzaglo told the Associated Press that she and her husband, Samy Bouzaglo, are selling their property, but they still plan on keeping the business alive by selling desserts to local restaurants and making online instructional cooking videos. (If anyone remembers, one of the problems featured on Kitchen Nightmares was that the couple was serving frozen food disguised as fresh, so...)
And contrary to what everyone may suspect, they say they're not closing because of the horrible media firestorm that ensued after that episode aired. She told the Phoenix Business Journal that they are moving out because they want to get out of the spotlight and because of disputes with their former landlord over some weird odors coming from the shopping center they're located in.
After the Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on Fox, Yelp justice took over, and people took to the review site to slam the restaurant, giving them 1-star reviews. (They're back up to 3 stars now.) And then there were all the profanity-laced, all-caps type of responses sent to the angry commenters coming from their Facebook and Yelp pages that made things look even crazier. Amy still contends that they were hacked.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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