Kitchen Nighmares season finale - Chef finally walks

[Jetfire]

Gotta wonder how appreciative the mall they're in is of them booting people off the sidewalks and so forth. I suspect if they even last long enouhg to renew their contract, there will be a lot more riders on it.

[PepperElf]

yeah from that vid it's clear they were staging the event. they were booked yet still had a lot of empty tables?

either that or they didn't have enough people gullible enough to apply for jobs

[Demolition Man]

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bel...video_of_t.php

Obviously there's only so much that one could film given the circumstances. Especially with the rent a cops not even letting people walk on the sidewalk around the restaurant. Talk about huge paranoia from these two worrying way too much about what people say about them online. Want it to stop? Then have great food and great customer service and poof it'll go away.

[eltf177]

I haven't yet seen the video (a train wreck no doubt) but I've been following this saga both here and on some other sites. And from what I've been reading...

1) I'm waiting for the IRS, State Tax Bureau and City Tax Bureau to start going through their tax records (both business and personal) with a _very_ discerning eye.

2) I'm waiting for more ex-workers to start telling their stories about what's been going on here. I think this is only the tip of the iceberg and that smileyeagle1021 is right about Samy's paranoia about being the only one to handle the register being a _huge_ red flag.

3) I'm wating for whatever banks they do business with to start taking a _much_ closer look at what's been going on. Somehow I don't see these people getting credit anytime soon. In fact, I really see these people just walking away leaving lots of debt behind.

4) I'm hoping INS sends Samy packing, and Amy can go with him.

I'm afraid all the publicity is going to keep this place afloat for awhile longer, but eventually this ship should sink.

[PepperElf]

I'm going to ask this since I'm not American, but what are the rules regarding people with criminal records?

http://www.thakerlaw.com/naturalization/

This seems to have a lot of good information, and what is considered to be "Bars to Naturalization". I rather suspect that the fact Samy never disclosed his criminal history to begin with (barred from France & Germany for drug & extortion charges) may be just the tip of the iceberg.

And I'm sure his behavior on the show (especially confessing to stealing tips from employees) isn't going to help his case much either.

[fireheart]

and you might be right about the marriage-citizenship. according to azcentral.com Samy had a deportation hearing on Monday, but it's unrelated to the kitchen show, and appears to be related to criminal history he did not disclose before immigrating to the US. He's refusing to comment however.

I'm going to ask this since I'm not American, but what are the rules regarding people with criminal records?

Over here, the rules are that if you've had JAIL time for 12 months or more, you're screwed. While they do review every scenario on a case-by-case basis, the chances of getting in are pretty SOL. So if you've racked up a few dozen speeding fines, you're OK. If you've hit someone and got a fine, OK. If you've killed someone, you're fucked.

[taxguykarl]

If someone had submitted this to an editor as fiction, that writer would be laughed out the door. Truth is truly stranger.....but then, in the end fiction makes sense. All the baggage they both have and they go out of the way to call attention to themselves. What are they smoking and did they bring enough for everyone?

[PepperElf]

thanks for the twitter link. reading the drama now.
#Amysbakingco

the man you linked to reported some drama, and that the pizza wasn't good. others have reported that reporters were kicked out and that cops were on scene.

Also Oralia Ortega (reporter) has some interesting tweets too about the ongoing drama.

and you might be right about the marriage-citizenship. according to azcentral.com Samy had a deportation hearing on Monday, but it's unrelated to the kitchen show, and appears to be related to criminal history he did not disclose before immigrating to the US. He's refusing to comment however.

oh and armed guards for the opening day to prevent media and gawkers.


so pretty much what we expected. an attempt to have a staged event, and amy/samy dramarama still kicking in anyway.

[mjr]

If Samy really did put $1 million of his own money into that place for Amy, that says a few things, too.

#1, he probably had money when they met.
#2, it's highly probable she married him for his money.
#3, she's a trophy wife/gold digger.

Samy seemed VERY passive around her. She's definitely domineering toward him.

[fireheart]

Me personally it's pretty obvious they wanted to make sure their little "reopening" was an staged event with selected people in order to shut up the "bullies" on Yelp, Reddit, etc. Give them a little time before it's back to Crazy Amy being Crazy Amy.

Pretty much this.

It also doesn't excuse the notoriety that she's gotten ANYWAY. It also won't stop the "bullies" from coming back.

[Tama]

I was trying to agree with you, I should have been less...I should have written more to sound less curt.

[Demolition Man]

Found one person on Twitter who apparently was at the "reopening" tonight:

https://twitter.com/JimmyNova

Oh and a blog review:

http://girlvsplanet.com/2013/05/live...aking-company/

Me personally it's pretty obvious they wanted to make sure their little "reopening" was an staged event with selected people in order to shut up the "bullies" on Yelp, Reddit, etc. Give them a little time before it's back to Crazy Amy being Crazy Amy.

[fireheart]

Didn't realize that.


But I submit that it could be a valid reason for putting up with her bullshit.

Don't worry, I'm not discounting your theory, it's quite valid.

Most people I've seen who pull the "marriage for citizenship" scam tend to leave as soon as the paperwork is completed, leaving an angry ex-husband/wife to report their partners doings to immigration. If he was sticking around longer, it might've been more convenient for him to avoid immigration.

[Tama]

Didn't realize that.


But I submit that it could be a valid reason for putting up with her bullshit.

[fireheart]

Who wants to bet that he's only with her for the immigration thing?

He lived in Los Angeles before meeting her.

Not sure what the requirements are for US citizenship, but if he was going to pull the marriage scam, then he's done it quite subtly.