Zayna Flaming Grill, which was featured in a double episode of Kitchen Nightmares, is still successful today, but it is now under new ownership.
Although Kitchen Nightmares was a fairly well-known and successful show, the featured restaurants did not all survive after the show ended.
One of the restaurants that did survive is Zayna Flaming Grill, and even though some of the issues that Gordon Ramsay addresses on the show remained after the fact, the new owner of the restaurant has refocused the menu and marketing to ensure that the restaurant continues to be successful.
What is the Kitchen Nightmares success rate?
The inherent drama and conflict that is built into the premise of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and the satisfaction of seeing each restaurant being transformed in only a few days was enough to keep viewers coming back for all seven seasons of this show.
However, the success rate of the businesses after the show aired is much less than one would expect. In the seven seasons of the show, Ramsay visited 106 restaurants, and only 30 of these remain open to this day.
Kitchen Nightmares: Zayna Flaming Grill
Although most of the restaurants that were featured on Kitchen Nightmares did not end up making it after the show ended, a rare few did.
Zayna Flaming Grill in Redondo Beach, California is one of the restaurants that actually ended up being quite successful in the end.
The Zayna Flaming Grill episode of Kitchen Nightmares first aired in a special two-part episode during season seven of the show on 2 May 2014.
These episodes featured many of the tropes that long-time fans of the series have come to expect, including familial drama between Fay and Brenda, who are the aunt and niece that own the restaurant, a control-freak boss, and slacking staff members.
However, Ramsay managed to help the owners and the staff to see the error of their ways, and this helped the restaurant to set much better standards for their service and food moving forward.
Unfortunately, even though Ramsay left his “bible” for running Zayna Flaming Grill in the hands of Fay and Brenda when he left, it seems like the owners and the staff went back to their old ways eventually, which once again resulted in a decline in business.
This led to Zayna Flaming Grill being sold to a new owner, Ray Younis, in 2015. Fortunately, the reviews for the business since it was sold to the new owner are mostly positive and it seems like the restaurant will be around for many years to come.
Which issues did Gordon Ramsay identify with the original Zayna Flaming Grill?
One of the best parts of the Kitchen Nightmares show is getting to see how Ramsay applies his extensive knowledge and experience as a businessman and chef to help the failing businesses on the show.
When Ramsay tasted the food at Zayna Flaming Grill, as he always does on the show, it was immediately apparent to him that they were not making their dishes fresh, as they claimed to on the sign on the front of the business.
He later proved how bland their food was by substituting store-bought hummus for their own and showing them which one customers preferred.
Perhaps the biggest issue with Zayna Flaming Grill when Ramsay first arrived at the restaurant was that the two owners bickered non-stop.
Moreover, Fay simply refused to give Brenda and the rest of the staff enough control to actually do their jobs during meal services.
What happened after the Zayna Flaming Grill episode aired?
By the time that the second episode of the Zayna Flaming Grill special ended, it seemed as though Ramsay had gotten through to Fay about her control issues and to the kitchen staff about their bland menu.
The changes seemed to have worked for a while, as the restaurant only received a few negative comments following the airing of the episode.
However, Fay seemingly could not maintain her new hands-off approach, which even led to some of the staff members leaving the restaurant, This is likely why Fay and Brenda eventually decided to sell the business a year later.
What has happened to Zayna Flaming Grill since the new owner took over?
Ray Younis bought Zayna Flaming Grill in 2015 and he has since been focusing on perfecting the restaurant’s Greek-Lebanese dishes.
Since Ray took over the business, it has been thriving and his focus on marketing the restaurant on social media platforms has ensured that it remains one of the most successful businesses that featured on the show.
Zayna Flaming Grill currently has 4.5 stars on Yelp and a 4.5 rating on Facebook.
