'Kitchen Nightmares' Continue for Former Restaurant Workers
"Kitchen Nightmares," the brainchild of Michelin-award-winning Gordon Ramsay, is known for filming outrageous confrontations between Ramsay and head chefs. One such chef, John "Chappy" Chapman, closed his restaurant after appearing on the show, and now his workers are complaining that he closed shop without paying them.
"He's opening a new restaurant in New Orleans," former employee Susan Benson told News Channel 5. "I don't know how one can when you claim bankruptcy three years ago and you still have a restaurant. You just move down to New Orleans and open a restaurant … and yet I'm not paid."
Benson and 18 other employees have said that they were never paid after Chappy made the decision to close the restaurant depicted on "Kitchen Nightmares." Chappy, however, blames Ramsay and the show for its closure.
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"This is a very sad day since we have worked so hard," he posted on Facebook. "We shouldn't have done 'Kitchen Nightmares.' We have spent several months struggling to come out of a negative situation."
Chappy apparently owed a great deal of money to the government, which took control of the building the restaurant was housed in. Now he has filed for a permit to open a new Chappy's Restaurant in a different area. Does that mean that the tax situation has been taken care of? One attorney for Chappy allegedly told Benson that he did not have the money to pay her or the other employees.
The employees are planning to take legal action to get the money they feel they are owed. Benson plans to keep track of progress on the new Chappy's restaurant and said she will picket in front of the eatery when it opens.
"I think we're doing what's right," Benson said. "We want our money; we want justice."
Of course, this isn't the most famous "Kitchen Nightmares" restaurant dealing with the aftermath of appearing on the show. Amy's Baking Company was forced to close and reopen after its episode aired and clips of the owners' outlandish behavior went viral. It has since reopened and appears to be doing good business, but it's unknown if the owners have changed their ways.
