Allan Love, the former owner of Love’s Fish Restaurant, may have fibbed about the real reason why the restaurant closed down.
The original UK version of Gordon Ramsay’s popular show, Kitchen Nightmares (also known as Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares), was in many ways the forerunner for everything that we know and love about this sharp-tongued chef and his entire Kitchen Nightmares franchise today.
This, of course, includes (but is certainly not limited to) Ramsay’s unique, ‘break them down, before building them back up’ -approach to business rescue.
And while Allan Love’s Love’s Fish Restaurant (which was formerly named Ruby Tates) is a shining example of the absolute melodramatic peaks that Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares can reach.
After all, what is more entertaining than watching a seafood-hating, seafood restaurant owner kick Ramsay out of his business?
It is also a great example of why Ramsay’s interventions are not always enough to keep these businesses going.
What really went wrong at Love’s Fish Restaurant
When Ramsay returned to Love’s Fish Restaurant two months after his first visit, Love happily reported that business had almost tripled, and it seemed like the business had really turned a corner.
That is, of course, until the restaurant closed its doors permanently just a few years later.
Love did leave a note which explained that “Unfortunately because of the credit crunch and lack of bookings, Love’s Restaurant has had to close for business.”
But it seems as though this brief explanation does not tell the full story of the restaurant’s slow decline.
A community board discussing Love’s Fish Restaurant’s closure reveals that the local Brighton diners actually really disliked the restaurant, even after its Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares intervention.
Overall, the comments on this forum convey a resounding “not surprised.”
One comment on The Argus’s report of Love’s Fish Restaurant’s closure even went as far as stating “the credit crunch has nothing to do with its failure, overpriced poor quality food, the place stayed open on the fact Ramsay had been there.”
This certainly makes it seem like the restaurant’s financial troubles had less to do with the credit crunch and more to do with its bad reviews.
Love’s Fish Restaurant’s Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares timeline
Love’s Fish Restaurant is not the only restaurant in the Kitchen Nightmares franchise that may (or may not ) have shut its doors during The Great Recession.
But unfortunately, this restaurant did have a rather short run of it, as is outlined below:
| Date | Event |
| 2006 | Ruby Tates opens |
| July 2007 | The episode is filmed |
| September 2007 | Ramsay visits the restaurant for a second time |
| October 2007 | The “Ruby Tates” episode first airs |
What happened to the Love’s Fish Restaurant staff?
The second time Ramsay visited Love’s Fish Restaurant, Allan had already made a few significant changes to the restaurant.
This included getting rid of Alex, who Jaime admitted was struggling to accept the change. But Alex had apparently returned to France, because he could not accept his new, lower salary.
Jaime seemingly stayed at Love’s Fish Restaurant until it closed, but except for some rumors that Jaime eventually returned to Australia floating around on Reddit, there have been no real updates about his whereabouts ever since.
Did Allan Love blame Kitchen Nightmares for the restaurant’s failure?
It was evident throughout most of this episode that Ramsay and Love struggled to see eye-to-eye about what needed to change in the restaurant.
But, regardless of their rollercoaster relationship, it does not seem like Love blamed Ramsay or the show, for Love’s Fish Restaurant’s failure.
In fact, he even included Ramsay in his parting message when the restaurant closed down and thanked the celebrity chef for his efforts during his visit.
His message read, “P.S. Also! Thank you Gordon Ramsay for all your efforts, at least we tried eh? Love you!!”
What Allan has been up to since Love’s Fish Restaurant closed
Although Love had a difficult time dealing with the closure of his beloved Love’s Fish Restaurant, all of these events happened more than a decade ago.
And it seems like this actor-turned-restaurant-owner has now moved on to yet another new chapter in his life.
Love’s LinkedIn profile confirms that he has been working as a director, writer and producer for a production company called West One Media Ltd. since 2013.
However, Love has also seen quite a few changes in his personal life over the course of the last few years.
This former Love’s Fish Restaurant owner has now also moved all the way to the Philippines, where he seems to be enjoying quite a laid-back life surrounded by his wife, Rhocky Love, and his two children.
