Britney Spears, Guy Fieri, and Eva Longoria's Food Fails with Cody Rigsby and Amanda Hirsch | 61

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It's a June night in 2002, and restaurateur Bobby Ox should be having the best night of his life.

He's standing in the middle of his newest restaurant, Nyla, and the drinks are flowing and the music is bumping.

It's Nyla's grand opening, and he spent $300,000 on this shindig, a soiree fit for a star.

You see, Nyla is a celebrity restaurant.

And in 2002, there is no bigger star to have as the face of your business than Bobby's business partner.

That's right.

It's Britney, bitch.

But even with Britney Spears' stamp of approval, Bobby knows that celebrity-backed restaurants are a massive risk.

The list of failed celebrity restaurants is longer than the menu at a cheesecake factory.

But Bobby's not sweating.

There's nothing like some paparazzi photos to bring customers in the doors.

And all of Brittany's friends are coming tonight.

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anniston, Justin Timberlake, the whole crew.

Bobby looks around the room.

He sees Brittany talking with her family.

At least she came to her own party.

But there's no Brad.

No Jennifer.

No Justin.

In the corner, he spots Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani.

Aside from Brittany, those two are the closest thing that this party has to celebrity guests.

Bobby runs out to the sidewalk to take a look around.

Maybe the guests are having trouble finding the entrance.

It's a miserable, rainy night and he's getting soaked.

But the only people outside are the bored NYPD officers who shut down the entire block because they thought this was going to be the biggest party of the year.

Where the heck is everybody?

What if nobody shows up tomorrow or the day after that?

There's no way Brittany's restaurant will end up like all those other celebrity restaurants, right?

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You know him from the Food Network and now Guy Fietti is bringing his culinary know-how to the Big Apple with his very first New York City restaurant.

Actor and activist Eva Longoria, Brittany Spears.

Why did you want to do this?

Why are you mine?

Well, honestly, I'm about to take six months off.

I need a new hangout.

We got to talk about this restaurant review.

Absolutely brutal, funny to some people, but probably not that funny to Guy Fieti, talking about his new restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar.

I'm about to go to Vegas, so I'm going to definitely stop by and check out the face of Vegas.

We are

on a single ship.

From Wondery and at Will Media, this is The Big Flop, where we chronicle the greatest flubs, fails, and blunders of all time.

I'm your host, Misha Brown, social media superstar and hostess of your favorite flops at Don't Cross a Gay Man.

And today, we're serving up a three-course meal of disastrous celebrity restaurants that all left a bad taste in diners' mouths.

I'm so excited because we have everyone's favorite Peloton instructor and co-host of the podcast, Tactful Pettiness.

It's Cody Rigsby.

Welcome to the show, Bestie.

Hi, Misha.

Thank you so much for having me.

Also on our show today, she is the host of the podcast.

Not skinny, but not fat.

It's Amanda Hirsch herself.

Welcome, Amanda.

Thank you.

Because we're talking about celebrities and restaurants.

What celebrity would you most like to cook a meal for you?

Oh, cook for me.

I love that you asked that.

Oh, Chrissy Teigen.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

She does have a cookbook.

You know what I love about Chrissy Teigen?

It's like she makes like fattening stuff.

Like all these celebs are trying to cook healthy.

It's like she's all in.

So I would go for her.

I do love a bitch that eats.

So like

I'm all about that because I am a bitch that eats.

You know, I'm just going to go with my can answer of Britney Spears, not because it's going to be a good meal, just because it's going to be chaotic to watch.

And I'm going to enjoy a beautiful glass of sans-era as I watch her destroy the kitchen.

Well, in this episode, we're saying no chef to a whole batch of celebrity-backed eateries that failed so hard.

If they were food, you toss them in the trash without taking a single bite.

And order up, we're starting with none other than Britney Spears There we go.

And her restaurant, Nyla, as our appetizer.

The story of Nyla starts in 2002, not with Brittany, but with Bobby Ox, a man who really knows the celebrity restaurant game.

He's opened restaurants with Patrick Swayze and Marla Maples, one of the former Mrs.

Trumps.

Now, his Swayze restaurant was a success that lasted for eight years, but his more recent restaurant with Marla was practically out of business before the waiters had time to ask the first guest sparkling or tap.

Yeah, I mean, the celebrity restaurant game can be brutal, bitch.

Now, Bobby's on the lookout for his next project, and his new venture gets its start in the last way that you'd expect.

He's going to get connected to one of the biggest pop stars of the 2000s, Britney Spears.

And it's all thanks to a trip to the dentist.

You know, I do love the dentist.

I do love going to the dentist.

I love getting a cleaning.

It kind of feels like sex.

You like, you feel a little beaten up.

You feel a little like thrown around, but then you feel so good afterwards.

Yes.

You know?

No, don't say yes.

That's not true.

Well, maybe you're going to the wrong dentist because

mine is turning it out and I feel fantastic after leaving my cleaning.

This is very convoluted, so stick with me.

So Bobby's wife comes back from a checkup and tells him that her dentist was talking about his next door neighbor who just so happens to be Britney Spears' business manager.

So Britney Spears is Bobby's wife's dentist neighbor's client.

They're practically related is what we're trying to get at.

What's the most elaborate way you've ever made a career connection?

I don't think I do that.

I'm so afraid to be annoying that I, unless it's like people I know they want to hear from me, I would never do that.

I would agree, Amanda.

I think that's also why talking about flopping, like I flopped in my dance career because you had to like act like you liked people or go to their class or pretend to be friends.

And I literally cannot do that.

Yeah.

I'm so bad at that.

Well, this is an opportunity that is too good to pass up.

If Bobby can track down Brittany's business manager and get Brittany on board for a restaurant, there is no way that it can fail.

So Bobby manages to follow the trail, going from dentist to neighbor.

And from there, he is actually able to get in touch with Britney's business manager, a man named Bert Padell.

And as luck would have it for Bobby, Bert also has a background in celebrity cuisine because he's worked with Robert De Niro on his restaurant ventures.

So Bobby, Bobby Ox, that is, not De Niro, and Bert are a perfect pair, like red wine and steak.

So they quickly get to work.

And they find a perfect location in a boutique hotel in Midtown Manhattan and get to work drawing up the restaurant's design.

The architect in charge of the interior decorating says that his goal for the decor is to represent the essence of Brittany.

Now, some of the adjectives the architect uses to describe Brittany's essence and by extension, the restaurant's essence are sexy, theatrical, sensual, feminine, vivacious, and youthful but moving into adult life.

That's how I would describe myself.

Yes, dude.

Youthful but moving into adult life.

What kind of food does youthful but moving into adult life like say to you?

Oysters?

Like what?

Poached salmon and asparagus.

Try to save my waistline as I approach 40.

Chicken fingers with a really nice aoli.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

We're a fantastic side of ranch.

And I have a feeling that Brittany does know ranch.

You think she loves ranch?

She's a ranch girl.

I bet.

Probably.

I see that for her.

So what does this really mean for the concept?

Basically, they just put a bunch of flower decorations everywhere and hope that the upscale menu and the association with Britney will be enough to make this place a success.

Oh, and by the way, the whole construction phase of the restaurant costs a million dollars.

in 2002 money.

Here's the thing.

The way that I would have approached this restaurant, I would have gone full rainforest cafe, but like Britney.

Like there's a circus area.

There's a Slave for You area.

There's a Mars area for, oops, I did it again.

Like it just needs to be so on the nose.

And I need like at least like one costume from every video in each room.

And that would have been a success.

Like a shrine to Britney.

Like a shrine to her career.

Like go all in, you know?

Don't fuck the essence.

Just give me, like smack me in the face with the Britney of it all.

Cody, I think if you opened this restaurant today, probably would be a success.

But this

is 2002.

So what is Brittany doing during this time?

I mean, she's been on a world tour for months with Crossroads.

I'm not a girl, not yet a woman.

Oh, wait.

The Dream Within a Dream tour, I think, was like 2002, Cody.

It was and Crossroads.

And

exactly.

The peak, honestly, the peak of her career.

Peak, peak, peak, peak.

Absolutely.

2002 is a time when Brittany is more than like a little busy.

So she opts for a hands-off approach to the project basically she's got better things to do with her time she sent jamie lynn to go figure it out and that's honestly why it flopped but you know whatever

but this is why things flop it's like i think no matter how big of a celeb you are you can't just like open any kind of brand and not

you know, not be fully in it.

You can't just give your name to things anymore.

Like it just doesn't work.

Yeah.

I mean, she was so hands-off.

She didn't even try any any of the food.

It was just her name.

She does, however, make one contribution, and she's the one that comes up with the name Nyla.

Can you guess what the significance of the name is?

Is it like something from the Lion King?

That's Nala, but I'm going to let you live, girl.

Nyla.

Oh, my God.

Is it something backwards?

No.

Okay, sure.

I mean, I don't know.

Go for it.

New Orleans.

Yes.

It is the combination of the abbreviations for New York and Louisiana.

Oh,

God.

Hey, I was pretty close.

Oh, it's N-Y-L-A.

Yes.

Oh, cute.

That was cute.

I like that.

Actually, someone should like do it now.

Do it now.

Yeah.

So for anyone who's not a die-hard Britney fan, Louisiana is where Britney grew up.

Kentwood, Louisiana, to be exact.

So, Cody, in your upcoming Britney Spears themed restaurant, what is going to be the name of it?

Oh, Lord.

Toxic.

No, shaved head and broken umbrellas.

Let's go.

That's a good cocktail.

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Yeah.

One is shaved heads and one is broken umbrellas.

Not together.

I'm investing.

Yeah.

I'm going to be an angel investor for sure.

Well, opening night for Nyla is June 27th of 2002.

And Bobby and Bert are planning a massive bash that is going to cost $300,000 to throw.

The NYPD expects it to be such a rager with such massive crowds and so much press, they shut down an entire block.

The celebrity guest list is even getting hyped up on TV.

And let's take a look at this report about who they think will be on the red carpet.

The CD's dialed invitations already went out.

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anderson, Cher, J-Lo, Puppy.

I did take a peek at Britney's personal invitation list, and Justin Timberlake was, in fact, invited.

Looks like Nylo will be music to Britney's ears.

Oh, wow.

I'm going to assume nobody showed up.

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

Nowhere to be found.

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, J-Lo, and Sean Diddy Thompson.

Yeah,

Voldemort himself.

Okay.

Mom Womb.

Did anybody show up?

Wow.

Not a single one of them showed up on opening night.

Not even Britney Spears?

Brittany is there, of course.

Okay.

So do you want to know two of the most prominent people who did show up to the opening night were, though?

Please.

Nikki Hilton.

Rudy Giuliani.

I was going to say Rudy Giuliani.

And Donald Trump.

And I literally was going to say Rudy Giuliani.

Yes.

Yeah.

Wow.

Jenna Jameson.

Oh.

She was there too?

Yeah, well, I'm actually looking it up.

Wow.

And those three really go well together, let's be honest.

Yeah.

I will say that June 27th for Britney Spears restaurant is probably a really bad day because I know that that is also Pride weekend in New York City.

And so all the gays had other things to do.

And that was their biggest mistake.

Sorry, girl.

Sorry, girl.

Well, in short, the opening night vibes are horrible.

The owners blame the bad turnout on the rain, but Nyla has bigger problems that can't be explained away by bad weather.

For starters, when it opens, the restaurant is already over budget to the tune of $350,000.

And there are some fundamental issues with the concept, starting with the fact that this is not a Britney Spears-themed restaurant.

There are no Britney items on the menu, no Britney memorabilia on the walls, Cody is shaking his head like, told you so, Beach.

Told you, told you.

But one Nyla investor describes the restaurant as a lounge and alcohol environment and says our target is young executives from 25 to 40 years old.

What do you think the problem might be with that vision of Nyla?

Maybe they should have marketed it towards like kids that were waiting outside at TRL and actually had a bus in Times Square ready to bring them down to Nyla in the rain.

Come on, guys.

That's what it is.

Britney Spears herself isn't even in that demographic.

She's only 20 years old and she wouldn't be able to get a cocktail at her own restaurant.

So an alcohol lounge for executives between 25 and 40 years old is literally not Britney Spears' fan base.

Yeah, that's not our target audience.

They should have done like a hot dog stand or something.

I don't know.

And that's an iconic Britney picture.

The I Love New York with the hot dog.

It's iconic, if you ask me.

I think that it sounds like her business managers always sucked is what it sounds like to me.

And this weird muddle around who the restaurant is trying to appeal to is also reflected in the food, which is a lot fancier than what tween tourists are going to want.

Now, the idea for the food is to pay homage to Britney's Louisiana roots, but the way that plays out is with dishes like duck and wild mushroom étoufe,

lobster salad with fried green tomatoes, and grilled salmon with sautéed greens.

They also offer something called Louisiana sushi.

Do you know what that is?

Does it have crawfish in it?

It does.

It does.

Yeah, it's apparently some kind of sushi roll made up of crab, crawfish, mango, coleslaw, and chili paste.

Yeah.

And more problems crop up for Nyla as the reviews come in.

They are bad.

The New York Post gives it a half star.

Wow.

So, Amanda, could you please do a dramatic reading of this excerpt of the post-review?

Give it to me.

Okay.

Everything seems prepped and slapped together.

Flavorless okra and anemic slaws should be set aside at once.

Louisiana sushi

would turn stomachs from Charleston to Savannah.

It boasts like the tactility.

of plaster.

Asked about fried chicken, the waiter murmured, I wouldn't.

It's like Kentucky fried and dry.

Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Oh, my God.

First of all, Louisiana, like sushi turning stomachs is like my worst fear because, like, my tum tum is so delicate that, like, you know, if fish ain't perfect, my stomach is not going to be happy.

Do you eat a lot of sushi or no?

I do.

I love sushi.

Yes.

But, like, unless I know the spot and know that it's great, like, I won't get raw fish.

So this is scary.

Like, turn stomachs from Charleston to Savannah.

Anemic slaws.

That's

good.

Does that mean that the slaw should have more mayonnaise?

Is that what an anemic is?

It needs more flavor.

It needs more moistening things in it.

Yeah.

Well, there's an even bigger issue.

No one is coming to the restaurant.

So, at this rate, it will take them six months just to pay off the debt they had on opening night.

Wow.

There's also major staff turnover.

The head chef mysteriously quits just two months after opening.

They find a second chef, but less than a month later, he quits too.

This second chef tells New York Magazine that his issue was that it's been hard to buy food because they're not giving me any money.

Oh my God.

Yeah.

Wow.

They should have just ordered like some Tyson chicken fingers that are frozen, thrown them in the fryer, and served it with some sauces and you would have been making money.

But instead,

you had to put in this bullshit of Louisiana sushi, and here we are.

This is the worst business idea I've ever heard.

This isn't even like a hole in the wall.

This is like a full-blown restaurant with employees, and it looks like a huge spot, too.

You know, like start with start small.

Bobby steps down in the next month.

He's hoping to get a new gig running a restaurant in a hotel in Miami.

So he tries to deflect the blame for Nyla's shortcomings, saying that any problems with the restaurant have nothing to do with him.

Now, Nyla's spokesperson fires back, saying that if the restaurant did have problems, it's down to mismanagement by Bobby and emphasizing the restaurant is getting back on its feet.

The girls are fighting.

Yeah, the girls are fighting.

That's exactly right.

Now, with the management in chaos, Nyla is truly flailing.

They do manage to get a third chef, but in a sign of desperation, they decide to switch their menu from that weird Cajun mashup to Italian.

Well, you know what?

That does work.

Everybody loves Italian, so I get it.

Yeah, but the promise of pasta, it doesn't bring more customers in.

The change does absolutely nothing to help the restaurant bounce back.

And the final nail in the coffin comes just six months after the restaurant opens.

Brittany decides to cut ties and throws management under the bus, saying that they kept her in the dark about what was really going on.

So if you're on the Nyla team, the most frustrating frustrating part of all this might be the timing of Brittany's announcement.

She parts ways with them just days before her 21st birthday in December.

She was almost finally able to go get the drink in her own restaurant.

Maybe if she was spotted sipping a Cosmo at Nyla, things would have turned around for them.

Who knows?

So she cut ties and then did they close?

Well, after Brittany leaves, the restaurant files for bankruptcy and closes only eight months after it it opens.

I'm actually surprised it lasted eight months.

I feel like no one gave a shit because it was catered to freaking like businessmen.

This is the dumbest shit I've ever seen.

Finance girls in Midtown.

Yeah.

It also closed with $400,000 of outstanding debt.

Wow.

So are there any silver linings that you can think of that came about from Britney Spears' restaurant Nyla?

I mean, she can say, I've had this business venture.

I opened a restaurant.

I think that's always nice to have something in your resume, even though it flopped.

She probably doesn't remember.

I would die to remind her.

There's no way she remembers this.

The silver lining in this story is that Rudy Giuliani got to meet Britney Spears.

There you go.

You know?

There you go.

You know, I was thinking because of this restaurant, it's now giving Cody a new chapter in his upcoming life, opening up Britney Spears-themed restaurant.

We can add a menu called Soups.

I did it again.

Bitch.

That's good.

That's good.

I didn't even think about that.

Wow.

Listeners, stay tuned because next on the chopping block is Guy Fieri's Times Square Letdown.

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Now, we arrive at our entree,

Guy's American Kitchen and Bar.

Are you familiar with Guy's American Kitchen?

I listen, I ride for Guy Fieri.

I just, he looks like somebody's January 6th uncle.

He's so authentically himself.

I fucking love Guy Fieri.

Guy's American Kitchen is the offspring of Guy Fieri, the food network star who may be better known for his frosted tips than his cooking.

But Guy becomes the host of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, the show that will make him a massive celebrity in 2006.

Now, just to give you an example of how big Guy gets, his most recent contract with the Food Network was worth over $100 million.

Go off, bitch.

Go off.

Go off.

Now, one of the things that makes Guy such a popular TV host is his huge personality.

Guy opened up his first restaurant back in 1996.

And as his TV success grows, he's able to open more and more restaurants and they are all very much reflections of his personality based on what you know about him what do you think his restaurants are like

tacky

i know that decor is is horrible that there is no style it is not chic no yeah not chic not quiet luxury vibes you know I would say it's the worst parts of America that we love.

Does that make sense?

You know, I get you.

Yeah.

Like, it's those elements.

Yeah.

Like, you might feel at home there, but like, you hate everything about it at the same time.

Kind of like Thanksgiving at your family's house.

Do you know what I'm saying?

But like, he ages so well, Guy Fieri, you know, like drop your skincare routine, guy.

Well, guys, restaurants are not just over the top, they're so far beyond the top that they're in orbit over the top.

And to learn about some of these restaurants, let's play a game.

I love games.

So I'm going to read you the name of a restaurant, and you have to tell me whether it's a real Guy Fieri restaurant or one that we just made up.

The first one, Guy's Burger Joint.

Real.

It's so bad that I want to say fake, but yeah, something tells me it's real.

I'm going to go, I'm going to go fake.

Amanda, ding, ding, ding.

It is a real.

What's that bad about it?

Guy's burger joint.

It's straightforward.

It's pretty normal, but it's on a cruise ship.

Oh.

Wait, like, okay.

Like carnival cruises.

Yeah, I don't know which one it's on.

Okay, that's an accomplishment.

Hey, no matter where you are in the world, you're going to crave a burger at some point.

Yeah.

All right.

Second one.

Johnny Garlic's California Pasta Grill.

It's like a multiple choice test, and I'm just like, you know, the odds are flipping a coin.

So I guess I'm just going to say it with fake.

No, that that one's real as well

oh my god

guy opened the first johnny garlics in 1996 and it spread like marinara over spaghetti eventually expanding to five locations congratulations wow all right last one yep tex wasabi's rock and roll sushi barbecue cody i'll let you go first I don't know.

I'm just, I guess it's fake.

I'm just going to say it's fake.

I wanted to say fake.

No fair.

We should both be wrong.

Or right.

Okay, fake.

You can both be wrong.

It is a wrong.

Oh, my God.

It was real, too.

Yeah, one was real, too.

That's right.

These are all 100% real guy restaurants.

These names are more ridiculous than anything that we would have been able to make up.

Oh, my God.

I wonder what people's shortenings are for them, you know?

Like, how are they shortening it up?

I guess it would just be Tex Wasabis.

Although, like, I live in Austin, Texas.

We do have a lot of like Tex-Mex fusion sushi.

It was like sushi places.

It's actually really good.

So I'm not going to hate on it too much.

But one more detail about these places.

One of Guy's signature culinary creations that's served at many of his restaurants is a condiment called donkey sauce.

Okay, now not too much on my girl because I am a sauce queen.

I love a good sauce.

I have a feeling that this sauce might be good.

I'd be down.

I was just going to say, like, I know it sounds weird because I do not want to eat from a donkey, but like for some reason, like donkey sauce, like, it sounds like a vibe.

What's in the donkey sauce?

Do you know what it is?

Yes.

It is garlic, lemon juice, and mayo.

That's aoli.

That's like a trashy way to say aoli.

Exactly.

It is literally just aioli.

Well, by 2012, Guy has become one of the food network's biggest stars.

As one critic says at the time, the food network has become a Guy Fieri delivery system.

So Guy decides to use his star power to launch his biggest restaurant venture yet, his very first eatery in New York City.

It's called Guy's American Kitchen and Bar.

Very demure name.

I believe it was right.

Okay, so like it's right next to a bowling alley because I've definitely passed it and it's like in the theater district.

Right in Times Square.

Right in Times Square.

I've seen it.

And you can't miss it because it's three stories tall.

Oh, my God.

With 500 seats and a price tag of $3 million.

They actually have a caged bald eagle in there as well, just so you know.

Is that true?

No.

Oh, my God.

It's an endangered species.

Imagine a caged bald eagle.

I was just like, I don't know.

As an American, I'm offended.

Okay.

As an American, I'm offended.

Oh, my God.

I can't.

So, I mean, there is a lot riding on this restaurant.

Big dollars, also, guys' reputation and star power are on the line.

So on September 12th, 2012, the day after the grand opening, the reviews have started coming in and they're not good.

In just 24 hours, it's got a paltry two and a half stars on Yelp.

And Yelpers aren't the only ones taking shots at the American Kitchen and Bar.

Anthony Bourdain.

says that guy has single-handedly turned the neighborhood into the Ed Hardy district and dropped a 500-seat deuce into Times Square.

Okay, Andrew, listen, listen.

I know it was a flop, but like, it's Times Square, bitch.

What do you think?

What do you expect?

It's already Ed Hardy.

Yeah, it's like it's not like it's a chic neighborhood.

It's fucking Times Square.

I know, but like, put some respect on Anthony Bourdain's name because

absolutely, icon legend, R.I.P.

I'm just saying.

He probably hated Guy Fieri.

Probably

had TikTok.

And Times Square.

But Guy Fieri is Times Square if he was a location.

That's so true.

100%.

Well, the most crushing blow comes when Guy's American Kitchen and Bar is reviewed by Pete Wells, the food critic at the New York Times.

Can you guess how many stars Pete Wells gave?

I'm saying zero.

It is zero.

Yeah, it's wow.

That's not a New York Times restaurant.

Yeah, why is he even going there?

I don't know.

But you know what, though, is I love a good petty story, and the review is scathing, but it's also hilarious.

It is one of the best bad reviews of all time.

Oh.

Now, it is published on November 12th, 2012.

And the entire thing is written in the form of questions addressed to Guy himself.

And I'm going to do a dramatic reading just to give you a little taste.

Guy Fiery, have you eaten at your new restaurant in Times Square?

Did it live up to your expectations?

Did panic grip your soul as you stared into the whirling hypno wheel of the menu where adjectives and nouns spin in a crazy vortex.

When you hung that sign by the entrance that says, Welcome to Flavor Town, were you just messing with our heads?

This review is spicy.

Way spicier than Guy's bland Cajun chicken Alfredo.

I was going to say, more seasoned than the food, allegedly.

More seasoned than the food.

It just went on and on and on.

He said something tasted like the combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde.

Wow.

Bad.

Bad.

But what does Guy think of this review?

Well, he doesn't think there's anything funny about it.

And he says, I thought it was ridiculous.

I mean, I've read reviews.

There's good and there's bad in the restaurant business.

But that to me went so overboard, it really seemed like there was another agenda.

Oh, like a personal attack.

Yeah.

How long do you think Guy's American Kitchen and Bar stays open after that review comes out?

I'd say like

a couple years.

A few years?

Yeah.

Shockingly, it keeps trucking for five years.

Oh, five years.

No, I just, I specifically remember walking past it many a time.

Also, like tourists, you know, like they need a place to eat when they're going to see the lights, you know?

Well, and unlike Brittany, his star power is food, is restaurants.

So, you know, I'm sure his name alone still attracted quite a few people.

So there's also a guy fieri version of santa con that happens you know that infamous bar crawl where drunks dresses santa hold up now i'm here for this yeah so i'm assuming that everyone dresses up like guy fieri and goes to the restaurant yes sign me up sign me up sign me up

Now, FieriCon, the organizers say that you don't have to dress like Guy Fieri, but it is highly encouraged.

Yeah, come on.

Come on.

I've seen on TikTok and it was hilarious.

It was like a bachelorette party and they all dressed up as different versions of Guy Fieri and it was iconic.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough Guy Fieri impersonators in the world to keep the American kitchen and bar open.

The Times Square flagship closes down in 2017 and everything in the restaurant is auctioned off to try to make back some of that $3 million price tag.

So far, what do you think was the bigger flop?

Britney's Nyla or Guy's American Kitchen and Bar?

I hate to say it, but britney yeah at least this restaurant was open for three years five years even five years yeah five years three floors yeah three floors i feel like the bigger the restaurant the bigger the flop you know what i mean like make smaller spaces and then it can't flop you're welcome you're welcome coming up after the break our final course eva longoria's delicious flop of a steakhouse for women she

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Well, that brings us to our final course for dessert.

We've got Eva Longoria's Las Vegas restaurant, she.

She?

That's the name?

She.

Okay, that's an iconic name already.

I'm here for it.

Mm-hmm.

Now, for the listeners at home and to Cody and Amanda who can't see this, I have to tell you about the bizarre way the name is spelled.

Both the S and the H in she are capitalized, but the E is lowercase.

Like shh, but not really.

No, because that's not, I don't, I don't, okay.

I don't know.

Sure, I don't, okay.

We could not find any explanation for this spelling choice.

So if anyone knows Eva Longoria, please ask her and let us know.

I'm interested to see what the restaurant is giving, though.

So Eva's journey to opening she begins in 2008.

At this time, she's been nominated for a Golden Globe.

She won a SAG Award and she has done ad campaigns for tons of brands, including L'Oreal Paris and Heineken.

Around this time, she also appears on Forbes' list of Prime Times 10 top-earning women, Slay Queen.

Wow.

In 2008, she decides to do what so many other celebrities who have more money than they know what to do with have done.

She opens her first restaurant called Beso in Los Angeles.

Oh,

cute.

Kiss in Spanish.

She says she wants to use Beso as a way to share her family's recipes and food traditions and describes it as an extension of her own kitchen.

I think that's very sweet.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

As Delta Work just said, nothing unites us like Mexican food.

Delta.

Shockingly, unlike other celebrity restaurants, for example, Nyla, Beso Los Angeles does not immediately implode and close down.

In fact, Beso LA does well enough that in 2009, Eva decides to extend her kitchen even further by opening up a new Besso location in Las Vegas.

And it's not just a restaurant, it's also got a nightclub attached called Eve.

Good names.

Yeah, the names are hitting.

Yeah.

Now, rolling the dice on a new venture in Las Vegas is a gamble, doesn't quite pay off.

Besso and Eve begin losing money fast, almost $76,000 a month.

So by January of 2011, the restaurant is almost $6 million in debt and has no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

But Eva won't give up on her dream of an eatery in Las Vegas.

And she's got a brilliant idea for her next restaurant.

It can't possibly fail.

Eva is going to call it she.

And her concept for she is that it's a female-friendly steakhouse.

Oh,

uh,

because girls don't eat steak, yeah.

But what do you think of when you hear female-friendly steakhouse?

Female steakhouse, like what?

Females can't go to a men's steakhouse?

Like, what do we need?

Like, pink napkins, you know?

It's giving girl boss energy.

The concept is giving girl boss before girl boss.

No, it's giving, like, you can't say girl boss anymore.

So she made it before the girl boss was like canceled.

By the way, you guys,

I love fat on steaks.

And, like, oh my God, me too.

I fucking love it.

But, like, for girls, like, I'm sure she like didn't have fat on steaks.

You know, I feel like all the steaks were like trimmed from the fat.

I'm like, give me the fat.

You know what I mean?

Me too.

See, Cody, we're kind of like food twins.

Well, in order to make her female-friendly steakhouse a reality, Eva strikes a deal with Landry's, a massive company that's brought up all kinds of restaurant brands.

They've opened restaurants from Morton Steakhouse all the way to your famous Rainforest Cafe.

Okay, see.

Yeah, so they close the deal, which is worth $1 million in August of 2011.

She opens in the same location as Beso Las Vegas the next year on New Year's Eve, 2012, and they are really hyping this place up.

One of the ways she gets advertised is with a very fancy promo video that we need to take a look at.

Oh, please.

So could you describe what you're watching, Cody, as you watch it?

I love to get your opinion.

Oh, yeah.

Happily.

We've got a Vegas showgirl, Tummy Owl, Feathers, Boas.

Okay, there's a champagne being poured and an acrobat.

There's a man with two women and they're feeding each other.

Very sexy, red lips.

Okay, but then we also have

i don't know about that last shot in the 1920s yeah well it's giving flappers and then like also like we have two twin men in between with three women around them their bow ties are off this is not giving female led steakhouse this is giving this is giving from the male gaze okay this is definitely giving from the male gaze i i think she flopped on what the concept was because she missed the concept yeah i also also want to highlight one still from the video in particular.

Yeah.

If we can pull that up,

you've got two flapper girls.

In between them is a handsome gentleman,

and then one flappers is feeding another flapper steak.

Oh, no fat on that steak.

No fat on that steak.

Also, the expression on his face is he's like, That's right.

I've got two ones.

Two girls, one steak.

This is not

two girls, one steak.

Thank you.

Exactly.

Exactly.

So what does Eva think makes she a female-friendly steakhouse?

Well, how about weirdly sexist names for steak sizes?

Skinny.

At she, you can order she cuts, he cuts, and we cuts.

So those sound like haircut options, but they are actually the names for small, medium, and large steaks.

Okay.

Basically, she was like, I go to the steakhouse with my husband and the steaks are too big.

So, I'm going to open a restaurant where we can give women small steaks.

I mean, listen, the they cuts is okay, right?

Because it's like the share.

It's a sharing vibe.

We cuts.

It's the porter house for two.

The we cuts.

You're really on your non-binary sizing and labeling era, which I'm all about.

Wait, so the she cuts is a small steak?

Oh, my God.

But imagine a girl comes in wanting to look hot on a date, right?

And then she's like, I'll get the he cuts, please.

That's my kind of girl.

I get it the he cuts.

That's too good.

Something tells me, Eva, and listen, you said she's very sweet and nice, but people make mistakes.

I don't feel like she had no people around her.

I feel like she had a bunch of people just saying, like, yeah, that's a great idea.

Yeah.

I'm like, these are horrible ideas.

I know, but Cody, times were different.

And it was like

covers of magazines were like, how to,

you know, not eat.

Yeah, no, for sure.

different era this next fact would get her canceled so fast in the year of 2024.

the restaurant also features mirrors on the dessert menus wait what to see how fat you are i thought you're trying to sell dessert the idea was that it will make it easy for patrons to reapply their lipstick but it does feel like there's like a kind of body shaming element here like take a look in the mirror before you decide to order that dessert buffer.

You know what I mean?

Good intention, bad execution.

Yes, yes, absolutely.

But mirrors on a dessert menu.

Strange.

Something also tells me it's Las Vegas and people were probably whipping out powdered substances to do off those mirrors.

Right.

That's what that was for.

That's true.

Neither way were desserts getting ordered.

Now, for all the fellas out there, in case you were worried that you would have to miss out, Eva does say that men are welcome to the restaurant.

Somebody's got to eat those he he cuts yeah now some other unusual things about she

it features a runway for fashion shows a dance floor cryogenic fog and rain curtains and cirque de sole type performers okay it's a lot very vegas very very vegas yeah vegas very vegas by the way i hate vegas i like cody i hate vegas and not only did i hate it there my flight there was hit by lightning it's almost like god was like, this is like not for you.

She opens to mediocre reviews, like one from the publication Vegas 7 that calls the $48 he cut steak a letdown.

But the restaurant is able to keep slinging disappointing steak for an impressive two years before it runs into trouble.

It gets in trouble for massive health code violations.

That's gross.

That's so gross.

So the violations found included inaccurate thermometers and food being kept at the wrong temperature.

So she finally closes down in April of 2014.

Now, say what you want about Guy and Brittany's restaurants, but at least they never got in trouble with the health department.

Yeah.

Eva, she actually denies that the closing has anything to do with the whole inaccurate thermometers thing and takes to Twitter to defend herself and the restaurant.

As we all know, defending yourself on Twitter Twitter always works out perfectly.

Works out.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like a pretty big we cut-sized coincidence that she shut down so soon after getting in trouble with the health department.

What did she tweet?

Just to be clear, the steakhouse in Vegas did not close for health violations.

We had an A rating at the time of closure.

People should read more carefully.

She, Las Vegas, was originally concepted as a nightlife entertainment venue.

We have been met with considerable resistance from our landlord to reconcept the nightlife theme, which impacted our ability to deliver on our guests' experience.

Her publicist wrote that, but great job.

Yeah.

So, again, here at the Big Flop and Stands of Eva, is there any silver linings that you can think of?

from her restaurant she.

I'm sure she learned a lot from that experience.

You know, I'm sure she

a lot from going in over your head.

Yeah.

Having an idea doesn't always mean...

You should do it.

You should go for it.

Yeah.

Like maybe like you're high and you're like, what if

we had like a zake and it was a G-size?

Like leave it there.

Like leave it at the...

Leave it in the nightmare blunt rotation.

Yep, got it.

Okay.

Got it.

The silver lining is that Eva Longoria is hot and hot people can fail and keep on pumping.

So she has pretty privilege, and she's okay.

She's great.

She's great.

And

I don't know what company you said she did a hair commercial for, but let's just say Pantene or L'Oreal.

Her hair looks incredible.

Yes.

Also, she was looking out for the people because for two years, she allowed people to see Cirque du Soleil performers for a lot cheaper than a Cirque de Soleil ticket in Vegas.

You got dinner and a show for much less than a Cirque de Soleil ticket.

There we go.

So let's do a little, where are they now?

In 2022, Bobby Ox, Brittany's Nyla partner, published a memoir called Bobby Ox, Kid from the Bronx and Restaurant Partner to the Stars.

Sounds like a real page turner.

It was this bestseller, right?

Yeah, I'm sure it was.

New York City continues to be a Guy's American kitchen and bar-free zone.

But if you're a New Yorker and you feel like you missed out and are hankering for some of Fieri's finest, never fear, you can still visit some of Guy's other restaurants in places like Pittsburgh and the Cancun International Airport.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I remember it was the only sit-down restaurant that was available like for the flight that we had, and I had the worst omelet that I've ever had in my life.

And Eva Longoria, our queen, recently made her directorial debut with Flamin' Hot, a movie about a man who invented flaming hot Cheetos.

Which is one of my favorite foods.

So thank God.

She's staying in the food family.

Sounds right on her mind.

Though, as far as we know, she has not tried to open another restaurant yet.

That brings us to our final assessment.

Which was the biggest flop of the episode?

Was it Nyla, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, or she?

I'm gonna, as much as it hurts my soul, Nyla.

Yeah, Cody?

Yeah.

I don't think it was well executed, and the concept in the food sounds horrible.

I will go with Eva Lingoria's just because,

I mean, the health code situation,

the like girls need to eat less situation, like that.

I am so thankful.

And please, nobody try to take down Eva Lingoria in a cute little TikTok with a cute little green screen because I'll come for you.

Leave our girls alone.

Leave our girls alone.

We don't need people deep diving right now on these restaurants, okay?

People won't even believe it.

It sounds too crazy.

That shows how real we are.

We love these women, yet we're still able to point out the flaws and mistakes that they made.

Well, thank you so much to our five-star guests, Amanda Hirsch and Cody Rigsby, for joining us here on The Big Flop.

And of course, thanks to all of you for listening.

If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and review.

Next week, we're going back to the future to bring you another flop.

It's the iconic and unimpressive gull-winged car, the DeLorean.

Bye.

Bye.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

booze.

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The Big Flop is a production of Wondery and At Will Media, hosted by Misha Brown, produced by Sequoia Thomas, Harry Huggins, and Tina Turner.

Written by Anna Rubinova and Luke Burns.

Engineered by Zach Rapone with support from Andrew Holtzberger.

Managing producer is Molly Getman.

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Theme song is Sinking Ship by Cake.

Executive producers are Lizzie Bassett, Dave Easton, and Marshall Louie for Wondery.

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This was 100%

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