Kitchen Nightmares is certainly one of Gordon Ramsay’s more uplifting television outings, following the celebrity chef as he lends his expertise to struggling restaurants, often providing a free makeover for now-happy business owners and their staff.
Whether that happiness lasts, however, is not always a guarantee. Once filming is over, many businesses sturggle to implement major changes, and in the ultra-competitive food industry, closure is very real risk for many restaurants, even with the benefit of the support of a multi-Michelin-star chef
How many restaurants from the original run of Kitchen Nightmares have closed?
According to a 2023 report by Yahoo!, only 16% of the restaurants — approximately 12 of 77 total — featured on Kitchen Nightmares were still open by the premiere of the revival series in the summer of that year. That means an extraordinary 84% of restaurants whose resurrection was attempted by the original reality series, which premiered in 2007, closed in 15 years or less.
The report also states that when the original series run ended in 2014, 40% of the restaurants — a significantly larger number — of Kitchen Nightmares restaurants were still open. The eateries appear to have had success in the months and years following Gordon’s visit, but struggled to implement successful business techniques in the long term.
This is not to say this number of closures is Chef Ramsay’s fault. Factors such as the COVID-19 Pandemic — something which recently motivated Gordon to reboot Kitchen Nightmares — decimated the restaurant industry in recent years, robbing thousands of restaurant owners and staff of their livelihoods.
Moreover, Gordon can’t coerce restaurant owners into doing the right thing. If management is too stubborn and set in their ways, it is unlikely they’ll ever put the business advice into practice. Most famously showcased in the iconic Amy’s Baking Company episode of the show, where Ramsay walked away from the restaurant, the celebrity chef cannot help owners who outright refuse to change their bad business practices.
Of course, not every restaurant from Kitchen Nightmares closed because the business failed. Some eateries closed on their own terms, rather than financial ruin. In perhaps the most surprising example, Mama Maria’s/Sal’s Pizzeria, the double restaurant that infamously poisoned and hospitalized a customer in a 2012 episode, closed its doors in 2023, after owner John decided to retire, according to Reality TV Revisited. The restaurant ended on a good note too, with many customers leaving top reviews for its food and services.