Bella Luna could’ve succeeded after “Kitchen Nightmares” former owner says

Forks Township eatery Bella Luna could’ve succeeded, after getting a makeover from celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, says former restaurant owner Rosario Scollo.

But, she contends, the restaurant was forced to close by the building’s owner.

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The restaurant, which closed last fall, four months after Ramsey shot Fox reality show “Kitchen Nightmares” at the site, is featured in the show’s finale at 9 p.m. Friday on Fox.

Although a press release for Friday’s episodes says Scollo “refused to acknowledge the restaurant’s flaws”, she says the family, which includes her two sons Gianfranco and Maurizio, took Ramsey’s suggestions to heart and saw business triple after the show was shot at the restaurant at 3417 Sullivan Trail.

However, she says, they were shut down by the owner who claimed they defaulted on their lease and are now in litigation over the matter.

Scollo opened Bella Luna, which means “beautiful moon” in Italian, in 2010 when she and her sons moved from New York to fulfill Gianfranco’s dream of becoming a chef. Gianfranco, who studied cooking in Italy, headed up the kitchen and Maurizio managed the front of the house and tended bar.

However Scollo says, although he had gone to culinary school, Gianfranco had no experience in running a large kitchen and the restaurant was struggling.

She says her son “just adores Ramsey” so she reached out to the producers of “Kitchen Nightmares” in which the famed chef tries to save failing restaurants.

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“I knew we needed some help,” Scollo says.

Ramsey’s first critique was that the restaurant was too big for someone who had just graduated from culinary school.

“Don’t start big, start small,” he told the Scollo family.

First to go was Bella Luna’s expansive six-page menu which required so much inventory that some of it had to be frozen, a no-no in Ramsey’s book.

Scollo says Ramsey was tough on them, but adds she is tough too.

“He had his challenge with me,” she says. “I can be stubborn but you get to a point where you have to listen.”

Ramsey also told the family they had to decide if they wanted to have a bar, a restaurant or a pizzeria.

The family agreed it wanted a restaurant with authentic Italian cuisine and with that in mind, Ramsay simplified the menu cutting it to three pages.

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“He did an amazing job,” Scollo says. “The menu was great and easy for the kitchen. And nothing was frozen.”

The show also renovated the restaurant giving it what Scollo calls “modern country decor.”

“It reminded me of Sicily where I came from,” she says. “It was wonderful. Everything was fresh and light when before it was dark.”

She says the restaurant also got new dishes, cutlery and a new computer.

“We followed his instructions but we didn’t have the chance to fulfill our dream,” she says.

She says the family, who lives in Easton, is not done with restaurants and pledges Bella Luna will return.

“We’re looking for a new location,” she says.

Another Italian restaurant, DeLorenzo’s, nearby in Forks Township, has announced it will open in the former Bella Luna building in early June.

Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens