The Restaurant (U.S. TV Series)
| The Restaurant | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality television |
| Starring | Rocco DiSpirito |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Mark Burnett, Robert Riesenberg, Ben Silverman |
| Location(s) | Gramercy Park, New York City |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | July 20, 2003 – June 5, 2004 |
The Restaurant is a reality television series that aired on NBC in 2003, with a second season broadcasting in 2004. The series had encore presentations on CNBC and Bravo.
Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito opened the Gramercy Park, New York City, restaurant Union Pacific in August, 1997. The NBC series, it was announced, would follow DiSpirito as he launched and operated a new Manhattan restaurant. The first season revolved around the construction and opening of Rocco's on 22nd, scheduled to open in five weeks. Some 7.5 million viewers tuned in for the July 20, 2003 premiere focusing on the search for a location and construction work for the new restaurant.
Among the 2000 people who showed up hoping to be hired were various actors, models and show business hopefuls. In addition to Rocco's mother, Nicolina DiSpirito, known for her famous meatballs, the show's on-camera personnel included David Miller "Michael Miller's little bro" (Sous-chef), Alex Corrado (Maitre d'), Domiziano Arcangeli (Himself), Heather Kristin (Waitress), Natalie Norman (Waitress), Topher Goodman (Waiter), Lisa Wurzel (Herself), Brian Allen (Himself), Gideon Horowitz (Waiter), Heather Snell (Bartender), Amanda Congdon (Coat-check attendant), Pete Giovine (Waiter), Uzay Tumer (Captain), Emily Shaw (Captain), Lonn Coward (Waiter), Carrie Keranen (Waitress), Colleen Fitzgerald (Captain), Caroline Matler (Waitress), Brian Petruzzell (Busboy), Lola Belle (Bartender), Susanna Hari (Kitchen staff), Tony Acinapura (Chef), John Charlesworth (Kitchen staff), Laurent Saillard (General manager), Perry Pollaci (Kitchen staff), Matt DiBarro (Bartender),Tim Donoho (Himself)and Randy Pezz (also Meg Ryan's cousin) auditioned for the (Maitre d')position as (Himself, Steve Pezzino),but after meeting producer Mark Burnett, Mark saw Randy as a (kitchen staff) chef instead and wanted him in the kitchen, so Randy a former restaurant owner "traffic Pizzeria" in Newark, New Jersey in the 1980s did not accept the position. Randy was also a star of Manhattan towers a small production by Beverly Bonner in NYC at Don't Tell Mama's and that same year starred in an off Broadway production of 12 Angry Men as juror number 5.
Only 6.5 million viewers tuned in for the second season premiere, despite launching a week after the finale of the hit first season of The Apprentice. The second season, filmed six months after the restaurant's opening, showed an ongoing power conflict between part owner Rocco DiSpirito and financier Jeffrey Chodorow, stemming from the restaurant's lack of profitability despite its popularity.
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