How Fiesta Sunrise Is Doing After Kitchen Nightmares

While viewers can appreciate chef Gordon Ramsay's noble attempt to renovate failing restaurants on "Kitchen Nightmares," the odds are stacked against the establishment finding success and keeping its doors open. Only around 16% of restaurants featured on the show stayed afloat after Ramsay and their owners parted ways. With that in mind, Fiesta Sunrise always had rough sailing ahead, but in particular, the restaurant had the unfortunate case of closing before its episode even aired. 

Ramsay visited the New York establishment in 2008 as part of "Kitchen Nightmares" sophomore season. The restaurant was run by married couple Yolanda and Vic and Yolanda's daughter Patti, but the establishment had fallen on hard times and was one step from closing by the time it caught Ramsay's attention. In addition to in-fighting, particularly between Patti and her stepfather, Fiesta Sunrise was failing due to the inability to draw in customers (only two tables of 120 were seated during Ramsay's initial visit) and unsanitary kitchen conditions. The family drew the ire of the ever-hot-tempered "Hell's Kitchen" icon for having old ingredients like rice and a roach infestation that could have got the restaurant shut down. 

While Ramsay went about trying to save the restaurant, it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. After Ramsay left, the restaurant would last several more months before closing in September 2008. Ultimately, mismanaged funds contributed to the restaurant's closing. 

On its now-defunct Yelp page, it was obvious that customers were less than pleased with Fiesta Sunrise, as they left multiple redacted one-star reviews. A stabbing at the establishment painted the place in a bad light in the local community, which made it harder to recover. However, the business closed after the owners failed to pay back taxes, and the IRS ended up seizing the restaurant. So ended Fiesta Sunrise's hopes of a comeback.

The worrisome signs were there during Gordon Ramsay's visit to the restaurant. Previously, Vic had been the owner of a similarly named Fiesta Garibaldi, which ended up going under as well. For Fiesta Sunrise, he turned to his wife and stepdaughter to help fund the current restaurant venture. However, by the time Ramsay arrived, the restaurant was over $850,000 in debt and barely made $30,000 a month. It had already run afoul of tax obligations in 2007, but it managed to sort that out and keep operating.

As what happened to the owners after the episode aired, there's little but speculation and rumors with some viewers forming their own theories. Reportedly, based on photos at another restaurant, Patti ended up moving on to work elsewhere. However, little is known publicly about the family or what happened to Vic and Yolanda.