Kati Allo - Kitchen Nightmares Update - Open or Closed?

Kati Allo Kitchen Nightmares

In this Kitchen Nightmares episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Kati Allo in Queens, New York.

Kati Allo is a Greek restaurant.

It was bought in 2000 by Manny and his wife Christina.

Manny bought the restaurant on a whim when he saw it was up for sale.

He bought the restaurant without Christina’s knowledge or input.

Neither of them have any experience in running a restaurant.

The pair have also never worked in the industry.

Christina and Manny bicker a lot in the restaurant, even in front of customers.

They also battle for leadership of the staff.

This confuses the staff in the process as to who is in charge.

The restaurant was initially successful.

All of their children were working in the restaurant.

Now only their daughter works in the restaurant.

Gordon arrives at the restaurant and meets the owners.

Manny and Christina have been married 35 years and have a large family.

Gordon is surprised to find out that Manny purchased the restaurant after a haircut.

He was having a haircut at the salon next door to the restaurant.

Manny noticed it was up for sale and he decided to buy it.

Christina never wanted the restaurant.

She didn't want it because of lack of experience and now she feels trapped.

The business was successful at first but in recent years it has gone downhill.

They both blame each other for the restaurant failing.

The pair have differernt answers to Gordon’s questions.

Their relationship has broken down beyond repair.

Christina has started divorce proceedings.

They have also sold their home to try and keep the business afloat.

Gordon meets with waitress Irene.

She tells Gordon that the owners are constantly arguing.

Their relationship is worsening by the day.

He orders a gyro platter, a loukaniko and a pastitsio.

Gordon looks around the dining room and thinks that the colours are depressing.

The gyro is frozen and it tastes terrible.

The loukaniko is next but the sausages have been deep fried.

The dish has too much grease and garlic.

He has Irene taste it and she chokes on the garlic in the dish.

The last is the pastitsio, which Gordon can tell was microwaved as it is dreadful and bland.

Manny isn’t happy about the feedback.

He gets into an argument with Christina, which Gordon can hear from the dining area.

Gordon asks to meet the staff and gives them feedback on the food.

Manny is defensive about his food, recipes and practices.

The kitchen staff reveal that they stopped using fresh produce a year ago.

Gordon says he is embarrassed about the meals he ate and he leaves.

Gordon meets Evelyn, their daughter who works part time in the restaurant.

She has had to be a referee between her parents often.

Their failing relationship has left the place in shambles.

Her father has changed over the years and her mom is not good at customer service.

They both prefer blaming each other than looking at their own faults and the mistakes they are making at the restaurant.

Gordon comes back in the evening to observe the dinner service.

Gordon sees many poor practices.

This includes Manny cutting into the chicken on the grill to check if it is cooked.

Customers aren't impressed with the food.

They complain about dry, overcooked meat during the service.

A dish arrives in the kitchen via a dumbwaiter.

Gordon is surprised to find that it is cooked in a basement kitchen.

In the basement there is a chef microwaving food.

Inspecting the basement, he sees their walk-in fridge.

Gordon finds raw meat stored next to cooked meat.

There are also 8-year-old jars at the back of the fridge and mouldy vegetables.

He takes the owners and Evelyn down to the basemet.

They see the spoilt food produce and items in the fridges.

Manny is shown the disgusting state of the kitchen.

He blames the staff, whereas Evelyn insists that it is his job to check it.

Evelyn tries to get him to see that it was up to him to supervise his staff.

She tells him that he needs to take ownership of the state of the kitchen.

She walks out and Manny meets her and Gordon outside.

He still insists on blaming other people for the mess.

Gordon is tired and decides to turn around the restaurant just for Evelyn.

The next morning, Gordon heads to their home with Evelyn.

He wants to try to make Manny and Christina see their communication issues are a problem.

After a heartfelt plea from Evelyn, the couple agrees they will try to get on the same page.

They promise to unite for the sake of their family and the restaurant.

Gordon then takes them to the restaurant to do a task together.

Gordon teaches Manny and Christine a new sea bass dish.

It will be added to the menu and the pair cook the dish together.

Overnight the restaurant is given a huge makeover with a more Greek feel.

All of the furniture, tablecloths and crockery are replaced.

It is brighter with white walls and blue decorative shutters.

There is hand painted artwork on the walls and reclaimed wood around the bar.

Christina is so excited she can’t keep still and Manny cries at the sight of the new restaurant.

Next, Gordon introduces their new menu with fresh ingredients.

They sample the menu and love the new dishes.

For relaunch night, Manny and Evelyn are running the restaurant together.

Manny will be expediting and Evelyn will be cooking and prepping.

It starts well and the food is served fast to customers who are happy with their meals.

45 minutes in, Manny gets overwhelmed and confused and meals get missing, delaying service.

He goes outside for a break and comes back in motivated to get the service back on track.

With some uplifting words from Gordon, he works to meet up on the orders.

The customers love the food and are happy to meet Manny towards the end of the successful relaunch night.



What Happened Next at Kati Allo?

In the weeks that followed, business had improved.

Manny and Christina were working well together.

Their relationship was improved.

Evelyn begun working full time at the restaurant.

After the filming of the episode, Yelp reviews were mixed.

Some customers were loving the new food and some customers wanted to bring back the old menu.

Kati Allo closed in April 2014.

They closed just days after the episode aired.

The closure was supposed to be temporary whilst they made renovations but they never reopened.

Kalamaki NYC, a Greek restaurant opened in its place in July 2014.

Yelp reviews look good and it appears regulars from Kati Allo have become customers here too.

Kati Allo was aired on 18 April 2014, the episode was filmed in July 2013 and is Kitchen Nightmares season 7 episode 4.


Read About More Kitchen Nightmares

Previous episode - Old Neighborhood

Next episode - Mangia Mangia

9 comments:

  1. Not a very memorable episode. Focused more on a squabbling couple. Yawn...

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  2. As of May 12, 2015, not one of the Season 7 episodes have aired on BBC America. I never knew that they filmed any episodes after Amy's Baking Company. I figured after Gordon's run-in with that psychotic, horse-faced nutjob and her former low-level gangster husband, he had enough of all the loonies polluting this country. It doesn't sound like I missed much on this particular episode, though I would still like to see the final ones.

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  3. This episode aired on BBC America for the first time on June 25, 2015.
    Before I checked this blog after viewing it, I had a good feeling that they were going to be closed even before the episode finished. It was so apparent that no matter how much they changed the look or the food, both of the owners, specifically the dad, had no heart to continue. On relaunch it was lost within an hour. All I can say is I feel bad for the daughter getting pulled into that, but this is a constant theme throughout the U.S. version of the series. Lots of people with big dreams, but bad ideas roping their children into restaurants that they want no part of. For many of the owners, having the kids working there is just a form of slave labor. Most of the kids cannot say no and the parent/owners know that.
    If these people haven't got a divorce, I guarantee that they are two very miserable people.

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  4. Sad that they closed right as this episode was first broadcast. Unfortunately for the restaurants, there's a long time between filming and broadcast. The ones that are really struggling don't last long enough to get the big influx of business that the show can bring.

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  5. They close and sell them after Ramsey updated them to try and get out of their crippling debt most of them are in before Ramsey.

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  6. NEARLY 55 PERCENT OF RESTAURANTS FAIL -- FACT! AND THE OTHERS JUST SURVIVE -- GOOD LUCK IF YOU JUST STARTED ONE !

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  7. I have to agree with Johnny. I wonder what percentage of the ones that closed did so after the episode aired to then turn around and sell.

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  8. Tis a good story and entertaining but only short term fix. Loved the makeover Greek style the best.

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  9. When Gordon discovers they keep a lady downstairs who cooks and sends the food up on a little lift Hahahahahaha! I don't know why but I just laughed so much at this, very funny scene very funny

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