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

Episode Date: November 11, 2024

The restaurant business is tough: The margins are slim and the risk of failure is high—but that doesn’t stop celebrities from trying to open their own restaurants over and over again, even though they should definitely know it is a bad idea. Britney Spears had Nyla, Guy Fieri had Guy's American Kitchen & Bar, Eva Longoria had a steakhouse for women called SHe (that is not a typo), and they each went bust in their own special way.Cody Rigsby (Peloton, Tactful Pettiness) and Amanda Hirsch (Not Skinny But Not Fat) join Misha to dish on three failed celebrity restaurantsFollow The Big Flop on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to The Big Flop early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. It's a June night in 2002 and restaurateur Bobby Ochs should be having the best night of his life. He's standing in the middle of his newest restaurant, Naila, and the drinks are flowing and the music is bumping. It's Naila's grand opening, and he spent $300,000 on this shindig, a soiree fit for a star. You see, Naila 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 Britney's friends are coming tonight. Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Timberlake,

the whole crew. Bobby looks around the room. He sees Britney 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 Britney, 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 Britney's restaurant will end up like all those other celebrity restaurants, right? Princess Margaret Lottery early bird deadline is midnight Friday. Win the $2.7 million prize, a coartha lakefront cottage, and 50 grand cash. Early bird deadline is midnight Friday. Buy now at princessmargaretlotto.com. Play responsibly.

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If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. Bet MGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. You know him from the Food Network, and now Guy Pieri is bringing his culinary know-how to the Big Apple, with his very first New York City restaurant. Actor and activist Eva Longoria. Britney Spears. Why does she want to do this?

Why are we here? Well, honestly, I'm about to take six months off. I need a new hangout. We've got to talk about this restaurant review. Absolutely brutal, funny to some people, but probably not that funny to Guy Fieri, talking about his new restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar.

I'm about to go to Vegas, so I'm gonna definitely stop by and check out the base of Vegas. We are on a sinking ship. From Wondery and Atwill 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 Rixby. Welcome to the show, bestie. Hi, Amisha. 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 Hersh 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 canned answer. 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 Sancerre as I watch her destroy the kitchen. Yeah. 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'd 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, Nylah, as our appetizer. Mmm.

The story of Nylah starts in 2002, not with Britney, but with Bobby Ochs, 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 Tapp. Damn. 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 Brittany's business manager, a man named Bert Paddell. And as luck would have it for Bobby, Burt 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 Burt 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. 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. Yeah, same. 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. Trying to save my waistline as I approach 40. Chicken fingers with a really nice aioli. Oh, my God, yes. Or a fantastic side of ranch. And I have a feeling that Brittany does know ranch.

You think she loves ranch? She's a ranch girlie. I bet. 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 Brittany 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 a Brittany. 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 Brittany. Like a shrine to her career. Like go all in, you know. Yeah, fuck the essence. Just give me, like smack me in the face

with the Brittany 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. Wait, the dream within a dream tour, I think was like 2002, Cody. Yeah, and Crossroads.

Exactly. It's the peak, honestly, the peak of her career. 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 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 Naila. 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. Naila. 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, got it. Okay, I was pretty close. Oh, it's N-Y-L-A.

Yes. Got it. Oh, cute. That was, I was pretty close. Oh, it's N-Y-L-A. Yes. Got it. 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. Um... Toxic. No. Shaved head and broken umbrellas. Let's go. That's a good cocktail.

Yeah, yeah, for sure. 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 style invitations already went out. Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, JLo, Puffy. I did take a peek at Britney's personal invitation list and Justin Timberlake was in fact invited. Looks like Nilo will be music to Britney's ears. Oh, wow. I'm gonna assume nobody showed up.

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston? Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, J.Lo, and Sean Diddy comes. Yeah. Voldemort himself, okay? Did anybody show up? Wow. Not a single one of them showed up on opening night. Not even Britney Spears?

Britney 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 where though? Please. Nikki Hilton. Rudy Giuliani. I was going to say Rudy Giuliani. And Donald Trump.

I literally was going to say Rudy Giuliani. Yes. Yeah. Wow. Jenna Jameson. 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 a 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. Sorry girl. Well, in short, the opening night vibes are horrible.

The owners blame the bad turnout on the rain, but Naila 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, bitch. Told you, told you. But one Naila 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 Naila?

Baby, 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 Nailah 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 a 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 Brittany's Louisiana roots. But the way that plays out is with dishes like duck and wild mushroom etouffée,

lobster salad with fried green tomatoes, and grilled salmon with sauteed 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. 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 slaw, is that flying good? Does that mean that the slaw should have more mayonnaise? Is that what an anemic slaw means?

It needs more sauce, 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. 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 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 is bad. 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 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, Naila 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 NILA team, the most 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 Nailah, 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 opened. I'm actually surprised it lasted eight months. But like no one gave a shit because it was catered to freaking like businessmen. This is the dumbest shit I've ever heard.

Finance Bros 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 in Isla? 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? 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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Find what peaks your imagination. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial, and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca to sign up. Now, we arrive at our entree. Guy's American Kitchen and Bar. Are you familiar. 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 Diner's 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?

Mm. Tacky. I know that decor is horrible. There is no style, It is not chic. No. Yeah, not chic. Not quite luxury vibes, you know? I would say it's the worst parts of America that we love.

Does that make sense? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. You know? I get you. Like, it's those elements. Mm-hmm. 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, you know what I'm saying? But he ages so well, Guy Fieri, you know? Like, drop your skincare routine, Guy. Mm-hmm. Well, Guy's 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 fake. Amanda, ding ding ding. It is a real. What's that bad about it? Guy's burger joint. It sounds pretty normal, but it's on a cruise ship. 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. 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 with fake. No, that one's real.

Oh, my God. 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 guess it's fake. I'm just gonna say it's fake. I want to say fake. No fair. We should both be good. Wrong or right. Okay, fake. You can both be wrong. It is a real...

Oh my God, that one was real too? That 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 like, shortenings are for them, you know? Like how they're shortening it up. I guess it would just be Tex Wasabi's.

Although like I live in Austin, Texas, we do have a lot of like Tex-Mex fusion sushi places. It's actually really good, so I'm not gonna hate on it too much. But one more detail about these places. One of Guy's signature culinary creations that 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 aioli. That's like a trashy way to say aioli.

That's aioli. 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. Wah wah. 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.

Seen it. 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 12, 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. Oh, dude? Okay, Anthony, listen, listen. I know it was a flop, but like, it's Times Square, bitch.

What do you expect? It's already Ed Hardy. Yeah, there's an Olive Garden there. It's not like it's a chic neighborhood. It's fucking Times Square. Like- I know, but like put some respect on Anthony Bourdain's name because he's such- Absolutely icon legend RIP.

I'm just saying Times Square. He probably hated Guy Fieri. Probably. And Times Square. And Times Square. But Guy Fieri is Times Square, if he was a location. If he were, 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. 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,

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. 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 Fieri, 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 Flavortown, were you just messing with our heads? This review is spicy. Way spicier than Guy's bland Cajun chicken Alfredo. I was gonna 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. 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, yeah. Wow. No, I just, I specifically remember walking past it many a time.

Also like tourists, you know, like they, 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 restaurant. So, you know, I'm sure his name alone still attracted quite a few people. So, there's also a Guy Fieri version of SantaCon 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. Hahaha. 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 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? Brittany's Naila or Guy's American Kitchen and Bar? I hate to say it, but Brittany. At least this restaurant was open for three years. Five years.

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's... She. A stacked card featuring two of the most dominant fighters in all of combat sports. In the co-main event, Muay Thai megastar Rod Tang puts his flyweight belt on the line against British bruiser Jacob Smith, a former foe looking to even the score with the Iron Man. And in the main event, three division MMA world champion Anatoly Malikin

looks to keep his perfect record intact when he defends his heavyweight title against Rug Rug Umar Khan. A Senegalese beast dead set on dethroning the undefeated Russian. It's going to be insanity. It all goes down Friday, November 8th on Prime Video at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific. 1-169, Malikin versus Rugrub, included with Prime. Well, that brings us to our final course for dessert. We've got Eva Longoria's Las Vegas restaurant, Shee. Shee, that's the name? She 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... Okay. I don't know. He. LAUGHS 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, Sleigh 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 Besso in Los Angeles. Oh, cute. Kiss in Spanish. She says she wants to use Besso 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. Mm, Delta. Shockingly, unlike other celebrity restaurants, for example, Nailah, Besso Los Angeles does not immediately implode and close down.

In fact, Besso 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. Bezzo 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, 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 man's steakhouse. Like, why do we need pink napkins? 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 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.

La la la la la. 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. OK, see. Yeah. So they close the deal, which is worth $1 million in August of 2011. She opens in the same location as Bessel 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'd love to get your opinion. Oh, yeah. Love the tapes. 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. Flappers, are we 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 from the male gaze, okay? This is definitely giving from the male gaze. I think she flopped on what the concept was because she missed the concept. Yeah, I also, I want to highlight one still from the video in particular, if we can pull that up.

Please. You've got two flapper girls in between them as a handsome gentleman. And then one flapper is feeding another flapper steak. 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.

Two girls, one steak. Two girls, one steak. Thank you. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. So what does Eva think makes she a female-friendly steakhouse? Well, how about weirdly sexist names for steak sizes? Ay, skinny.

At She, you can order She Cuts, He Cuts, and We Cuts. So those sound like haircut options, but they're actually the names for small, medium, and large steaks. Basically, she was like, I go to the steak house 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 to share, it's a sharing vibe. We cuts, they we cuts. It's the Porterhouse for two, the we cut. You're really on your non-binary sizing and labeling era, which I'm all about. Wait, so the she cuts is a small stake. 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. Get it the he cuts, that's too good. Something tells me Eva, 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 do, 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 were 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 a kind of body shaming element here. Like, take a look in the mirror before you decide to order that dessert heifer. You know what I mean? Good intention, bad execution. Yes, yes, absolutely. But mirrors on a dessert menu.

Stonj. 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, where dessert's 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 cuts. Now some other unusual things about She. It features a runway for fashion shows, a dance floor, cryogenic fog and rain curtains, and Cirque du Soleil type performers. Okay. It's a lot. Very Vegas. Very Vegas. Very 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 Seven 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. Oh, that's gross. That's so gross. So, the violations found included inaccurate thermometers and food being kept at the wrong temperature. Look. Ayyyy.

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 always works out perfectly.

Works out. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like a pretty big wee 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. 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 learned 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 steak and it was a cheese eyes?

Like, leave it there. Like, leave it at the... and it was a Zayz. Like leave it there. Like leave it at the... Leave it in the nightmare blunt rotation. Yeah. 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 du Soleil ticket in Vegas. You got dinner and a show for much less than a Cirque du Soleil ticket. There we go. So let's do a little where are they now?

In 2022, Bobby Ox, Brittany's NILA 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 his bestseller, right? Yeah, I'm sure it was. New York City continues to be a guys 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 guys 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 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 fam, you know? Food's 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 Nailah, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, or she? I'm gonna, as much as it hurts my soul, Nailah. Yeah, Cody? Yeah. I don't think it was well executed. And the concept in the food sounds horrible.

I will go with, um, Eva Lingoria's just because, I mean, the health code situation, 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 LaGauria 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's just how real we are. We love these women, okay? You won't even believe it. It sounds too crazy. It's like no. 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, booze. If you like the big flop, you can listen early and ad free on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com

slash survey. 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 Holzberger. Managing producer is Molly Getman. Executive producers are Kate Walsh and Will Molnati for At Will Media.

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