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cygnia ([info]cygnia) wrote in [info]otf_wank,
@ 2013-05-21 11:20:00


Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:food, lawsuits

UPDATE on Amy's Baking Company...
...or "Excuse me, how much is a slice of Schadenfreude Pie?"

***

Amy’s Baking Company gets lawsuit threat, nixes conference


The more than 1,500 people who have requested reservations to eat at Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale during its “grand reopening” week, which starts Tuesday night, will bear witness to the next chapter of one of the most vilified restaurants in the country.

The national media will not.

On Monday afternoon, the restaurant’s public-relations company, Rose+Moser+Allyn Public & Online Relations, announced that the news conference scheduled at 1 p.m. Tuesday had been canceled. Jennifer Parks, an agency representative, said no media would be allowed inside the restaurant and that the owners, Amy and Salomon “Samy” Bouzaglo, would not be giving previously arranged interviews.

A May 17 letter from the law firm representing the producers of Fox’s “Kitchen Nightmares” show, which featured the restaurant in its May 10 season-finale episode, may have prompted the Bouzaglos’ change of heart.

“If you disparage the show, its host, or its producers, you will breach your obligations under Paragraph 10 of your Personal Release and Paragraph 14 of your Participant Agreement,” states the letter from the Los Angeles office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. A breach would expose the Bouzaglos to damages of $100,000 each, according to the law firm.

“That’s not a hollow threat,” said Jason Rose, president and founder of Rose+Moser+Allyn, which is parting with the Bouzaglos after a short-lived attempt to restore their reputation. “That would get anybody’s attention.”

The Scottsdale-based firm will stop representing Amy’s Baking Company after Tuesday’s grand reopening. Rose said the two parties disagreed over public-relations strategies but declined to elaborate.

“It’s been a fun week,” he said. “From the time Amy called on Wednesday through tomorrow (Tuesday) night, it’s been a very challenging and exciting week. The number of reopening reservations is noteworthy and hopefully gives the restaurant a chance for success. We wish them nothing but the best.”

The Bouzaglos plan to donate 10 percent of the proceeds from this week’s dinners to the Megan Meier Foundation, which raises awareness of cyberbullying.

Amy’s Baking Company held a job fair Sunday in an effort to hire 30 employees, from hosts and servers to busers and cooks.

The owners had planned to appear at a news conference before the restaurant reopens to answer questions about the “Kitchen Nightmares” episode and its aftermath.

On the show, the Bouzaglos are seen yelling at and pushing customers. Patrons are unaware that the tips they leave for the servers end up with the owners. The couple refuse to listen to chef Gordon Ramsay’s criticism, prompting the British host to walk away from the restaurant before his job was done for the first time.

What happened on social media after the show aired elevated the restaurant’s problems to a full-blown crisis.

Thousands of people from across the country took to Yelp, Facebook, Reddit and other user-driven websites to voice their disgust with the owners.

A social-media poster claiming to be the Bouzaglos retaliated, spewing obscenities and vowing legal recourse. Buzzfeed called it “the most epic brand meltdown on Facebook ever.” Yahoo, Forbes, the Daily Beast, E! Online and Huffington Post all had stories on the Bouzaglos, who have since claimed their website and all of their social-media accounts were hacked.

The Scottsdale Police Department confirmed it is investigating “a report for computer tampering” taken May 14 at the restaurant’s address, 7366 E. Shea Blvd.

Amy’s Baking Company got into trouble for two liquor-law violations three years ago.

The Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control cited the restaurant for serving a minor and for failing to use proper procedures for checking identification. The restaurant paid $2,000 in fines for the violations in July 2010.

Inspectors from the Maricopa County Department of Health Services turned up a few minor violations at Amy’s in 2012. That included failing to have proper sanitizer in the dishwasher, improper storage of food cases on the floor of the walk-in freezer and improper storage of a knife and pizza cutter.

The restaurant earned A ratings (zero violations) during three other 2012 inspections and the latest on April 2.

In 2003, Amy Bouzaglo pleaded guilty to the misuse of a Social Security number after she applied for a $15,000 bank loan. At the time, her name was Amanda Bossingham (her ex-husband’s last name). She married Samy Bouzaglo in January 2004. She surrendered to federal authorities and entered prison in late 2008. She was released in October 2009.

ETA: Loopywafflehead with some further updated links HERE!

Return of the ETA: The International Meanies are looking to deport Samy!

Revenge of the ETA!: Amy's Baking Company kicks us out after we find flies in the vodka (three times)


(Post a new comment)


[info]hallidae
2013-05-21 03:32 pm UTC (link)
The Bouzaglos plan to donate 10 percent of the proceeds from this week’s dinners to the Megan Meier Foundation, which raises awareness of cyberbullying.

I am torn. On one hand, the charity getting money is a good thing, and on the other, they're so blatantly doing this as a desperate feed-in to their own claims of "oppression".

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]cygnia
2013-05-21 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Someone in the article's comments suggested they'll just use their servers' tips for the donation.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]hallidae, 2013-05-21 03:47 pm UTC

[info]bigbigtruck
2013-05-21 04:00 pm UTC (link)
“It’s been a fun week,” he said. “From the time Amy called on Wednesday through tomorrow (Tuesday) night, it’s been a very challenging and exciting week. The number of reopening reservations is noteworthy and hopefully gives the restaurant a chance for success. We wish them nothing but the best.”

I feel like this paragraph needs a pink, sparkling .gif of the words "PUBLIC RELATIONS" underneath it.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]perletwo
2013-05-28 11:13 am UTC (link)
In my head I hear "It's been a fun week" in the voice of Carlton the Doorman. or Huckleberry Hound. Just that leaden tone of "I'm numb with exhaustion from dealing with these people's batshit"

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]risha
2013-05-21 04:26 pm UTC (link)
The Scottsdale-based firm will stop representing Amy’s Baking Company after Tuesday’s grand reopening. Rose said the two parties disagreed over public-relations strategies but declined to elaborate.

Oh, this is beautiful. I read this as "they found the Bouzaglosas as impossible to work with as Gordon Ramsay did".

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]cmdr_zoom
2013-05-21 05:18 pm UTC (link)
You are not alone in this.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]cinnamonical
2013-05-21 04:36 pm UTC (link)
A social-media poster claiming to be the Bouzaglos retaliated

I love this phrasing, as though there is legitimate doubt that someone actually hacked the Bouzaglos' Facebook/Twitter/Yelp accounts.

"Excuse me, how much is a slice of Schadenfreude Pie?"

If it's coming from Amy's Baking Company, it's likely three times the price you could get it for at CostCo. Also it's a month-stale and as a result has 100 pounds of spices added as pre-emptive revenge on you for complaining about the taste to add some extra zest.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]ekaterinv
2013-05-21 05:00 pm UTC (link)
And 1/2 of it is sugar, and the other 1/2 is made up of about 12 ingredients that don't go together.

Or it was bought from CostCo in the first place.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cinnamonical, 2013-05-21 07:19 pm UTC

[info]abharding
2013-05-22 06:23 pm UTC (link)
Hey, don't knock CostCo. I haven't had the pastries but the chicken and cookies I have gotten there were pretty good.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]tez, 2013-05-25 12:38 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]pfeffermuse, 2013-05-25 11:58 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]taktuk, 2013-05-30 12:50 pm UTC
Also, since we're on the topic --
[info]cinnamonical
2013-05-21 05:06 pm UTC (link)
Here is John Scalzi's recipe for Schadenfreude Pie!

(I haven't tried myself yet, but it looks intriguing.)

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: Also, since we're on the topic --
[info]loopywafflehead
2013-05-21 07:03 pm UTC (link)
Aw, the two people in the pictures are adorable. But I can feel a stomach ache forming just looking at that pie. It looks delicious and deadly.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: Also, since we're on the topic -- - [info]rosehiptea, 2013-05-21 07:17 pm UTC
Re: Also, since we're on the topic -- - [info]loopywafflehead, 2013-05-22 05:53 pm UTC

[info]brennalarose
2013-05-21 05:10 pm UTC (link)
Gee, what a pity.

Popcorn, anyone?

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]hopsandbarley
2013-05-21 08:24 pm UTC (link)
[relevant-ish gif]

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2013-05-21 08:41 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]hopsandbarley, 2013-05-21 10:47 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]major_dallas, 2013-05-21 08:59 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]spawn_of_kong, 2013-05-21 09:47 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cinnamonical, 2013-05-21 10:06 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-21 10:23 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ahiru, 2013-05-22 12:33 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]loopywafflehead, 2013-05-22 05:42 pm UTC

[info]lanas_archive
2013-05-21 05:19 pm UTC (link)
Rose said the two parties disagreed over public-relations strategies but declined to elaborate.

This is like... twenty pounds of LOL in a five pound bag. I wonder if he tried to push the "get a new chef" advice he gave in that radio interview. Amy's reaction would probably have been spectacular.

Amy’s Baking Company held a job fair Sunday in an effort to hire 30 employees, from hosts and servers to busers and cooks.

And I'm guessing at least a few of the new employees are setting up dedicated twitter accounts as we speak.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-21 05:22 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]singe, 2013-05-24 05:24 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-24 09:13 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]loopywafflehead, 2013-05-21 07:01 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-21 09:11 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]loopywafflehead, 2013-05-22 06:18 pm UTC

[info]uldihaa
2013-05-21 05:25 pm UTC (link)
What happened on social media after the show aired elevated the restaurant’s problems to a full-blown crisis.

I'm pretty sure, "On the show, the Bouzaglos are seen yelling at and pushing customers. Patrons are unaware that the tips they leave for the servers end up with the owners," made it a "crisis". The social media meltdown that followed elevated it to a catastrophe.


“That’s not a hollow threat,” said Jason Rose, president and founder of Rose+Moser+Allyn, which is parting with the Bouzaglos after a short-lived attempt to restore their reputation. “That would get anybody’s attention.”

Anyone else reading an undertone of "Oh THANK GOD, now we have a way out of this without looking like we're running from the crazy"?

I suspect most of those reservations are of the 'watching a train wreck in progress' type.


The more than 1,500 people who have requested reservations to eat at Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale during its “grand reopening” week, which starts Tuesday night, will bear witness to the next chapter of one of the most vilified restaurants in the country.

If this is really going to be a week (7 days), that's at least two hundred covers a day. If ten days, it would be a hundred and fifty covers a day. From that tiny kitchen, with those overly elaborate meals (like that "Blue Ribbon Burger"). Even if it's all pizza, that oven looked like it could handle two pizzas at a time, tops. I think it was mentioned that the place sat thirty, at most?

Yeah, this will end well, I'm sure. /sarcasm

Incoming restaurant belly flop! Get your popcorn and alcohol of choice ready Find some cover!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-21 06:12 pm UTC

[info]loopywafflehead
2013-05-21 06:26 pm UTC (link)
I was just about to post an update!

The cease and desist letter.

At least two people have promised to attend the grand reopening and live stream/Twitter the proceedings:

https://www.facebook.com/events/660596757290792/

https://plus.google.com/113851203379375756942/posts

Amy goes on a local radio show, apparently refuses to acknowledge she did anything wrong (this is going by comments, I haven't listened to it). The link to part one of the interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVYOtvaea1Q

PR company explains why ABC is no longer a client: Rose, president of Rose+Moser+Allyn Public & Online Relations, told me Monday his company and restaurant owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo had “differences” in the five days they worked together.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cygnia, 2013-05-21 06:30 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cygnia, 2013-05-21 06:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]loopywafflehead, 2013-05-21 07:05 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cinnamonical, 2013-05-21 07:14 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ekaterinv, 2013-05-21 07:25 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cinnamonical, 2013-05-21 07:32 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]mmanurere, 2013-05-21 07:38 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]frenzy, 2013-05-21 11:03 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]jkefka, 2013-05-22 03:12 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-21 09:17 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]puipui, 2013-05-22 05:28 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-22 12:03 pm UTC

[info]caffeine_fairy
2013-05-21 09:03 pm UTC (link)
I cannot get my head around this woman. Her husband is clearly just a thug, but she is simultaneously very scary and very, very sad...

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]ekaterinv, 2013-05-22 12:05 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]caffeine_fairy, 2013-05-22 08:04 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-22 11:58 am UTC

[info]major_dallas
2013-05-21 09:15 pm UTC (link)
Generally I don't have a problem with people airing their grievances working with TV/Radio/Movies or anything in the Entertainment industry, but this one time, I'm gonna say that Amy and Sammy should really not try to blame Gordon, Fox or anyone but themselves for what happened. They won't of course but hey, good for the Network for protecting Chef Ramsey, he didn't do anything but help a waitress and anyone else who were pry victimized by Amy and Sammy.

still, should be entertaining

(Reply to this)


[info]cinnamonical
2013-05-21 11:00 pm UTC (link)
Ahahahaha, this cartoon. The cats strike back!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]hopsandbarley, 2013-05-22 09:23 am UTC

[info]thoms
2013-05-22 05:16 am UTC (link)
Just found this on reddit: http://www.azcentral.com/video/2400243186001

Sami Bouzaglo may be getting deported.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]puipui, 2013-05-22 05:33 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]uldihaa, 2013-05-22 06:44 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]puipui, 2013-05-22 04:32 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cygnia, 2013-05-22 02:16 pm UTC

[info]loopywafflehead
2013-05-22 05:37 pm UTC (link)
Anyone find any reviews of the grand reopening? I only found some 30-second vids of security standing outside the place. ONTD has a post about the possible deportation and there's a little on the grand reopening:

On Tuesday, Amy’s opened to a thin crowd and began serving those holding reservations at 5 p.m., using security guards to prevent gawkers, media and others without reservations from entering. The restaurant had a sign saying its patio was closed for security reasons. The reopening appeared to be running without incident for the first wave of diners. Some onlookers showed up hoping to snag a reservation, but most were turned away. The nearby Pita Jungle restaurant appeared to be drawing more business than Amy’s.

This part is both hilarious and interesting:

On Tuesday, Samy and Amy talked about their past records and indicated Samy had served time in prison before immigrating to the United States 13 years ago. Reached by phone as they drove to their restaurant Tuesday morning, Amy and Samy each tried to talk over the other -- interrupting, yelling and even cursing one another as the conversation continued.

“We both made mistakes in the past. We have done our time,” Amy said. “We can’t comment. We know God is with us.”

Samy said he could not talk about any past records but added he has not had any problems since immigrating to the U.S.

“The FBI knows all about me.... The IRS knows,” he said.


If it's true that the US govt. knows about the drug distribution, threats and extortion, I'm curious as to how he was allowed in?


In other news, the petition to get the US Dept. of Labor to investigate the stealing of tips has apparently succeeded:

I just got off the phone with the Regional Office of the Department of Labor in AZ, and I was given OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION that an investigation has been opened!

WE DID IT!

I'll keep you posted as they update me...VICTORY for the servers may just be in sight! *fingers crossed*

As always...THANK YOU ALL! Each and every one of you has proved that even a debacle like the "Kitchen Nightmares" episode can be turned into something positive for those who need it most. I hope justice is fair and good, and grants these young, industrious men and women the monies and apologies they so rightly deserve.

Sincerely,

(a very grateful) A.J. Bray

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]loopywafflehead, 2013-05-22 05:39 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-22 06:31 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cmdr_zoom, 2013-05-25 12:11 am UTC

[info]pfeffermuse
2013-05-25 12:25 pm UTC (link)
Now that the wank has died down, I'm seriously wandering in "what if" territory.

- Did Samy marry Amy because she wasn't bright enough to figure out that there might be any improprieties in any of his businesses, and she made a good cover?

- How has Amy's delusional attitude on live TV, radio and internet, toppled the apple cart? Amy isn't the quality chef that was able to make Rao's into a public sensation after a New York Times food review exposed the restaurant to the world. (For decades, there's been rumours that Rao's wasn't simply the delicious neighbourhood restaurant it appeared to be; sort of like Connie's in Richmond Hill.)

- Certain organisations don't like publicity, and with the internet bringing loads of things to light, including worldwide scrutiny, where does this place self-proclaimed gangsta Samy?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]ekaterinv, 2013-05-26 05:29 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]athersgeo, 2013-05-27 09:42 pm UTC

[info]uldihaa
2013-05-26 12:55 am UTC (link)
we immediately noticed a small fruit fly in it.

The second drink, this time on the rocks, had yet another fruit fly on the bottom.

So the third drink came. And we noticed not one, not two, but three fruit flies swirling around in the drink.

That's one fly.

That's two flies!

That's three flies!

That's four flies!

That's FIVE fabulous floating flies!

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]ekaterinv, 2013-05-26 05:25 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]lanas_archive, 2013-05-27 12:26 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]spawn_of_kong, 2013-05-28 12:15 am UTC
FANART!
[info]anarchicq
2013-05-29 06:36 pm UTC (link)
http://i.imgur.com/gZan5UI.jpg

(Reply to this)(Thread)

Re: FANART! - [info]cygnia, 2013-05-29 09:39 pm UTC
Re: FANART! - [info]anarchicq, 2013-05-31 12:41 am UTC

[info]metallicar67
2013-06-28 07:24 pm UTC (link)
The wank keeps on giving: ABC made employees sign contract including provisions that took the cost of any broken plates out of the employee's paycheck, and a non-compete agreement where the employees agreed to not work for any competitor within 50 miles for a year after leaving/termination.

Also, "any type of attitude will result in immediate termination." Maybe they need to be hiring robots?

(Reply to this)


 
   
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