If you are a food simulation games lover or a fan of Gordon’s show ‘Kitchen Nightmares’, you must have often watched or read about Nightmare restaurants getting closed after the show.
But, have you ever wondered why they got closed? Well, there are a number of good reasons for the closure of Nightmare restaurants!
Here in this blog, we will particularly discuss the reasons behind the closure of New York City’s popular Nightmare restaurant, Purnima.
Read further to find out the nightmarish things Ramsay witnessed in the restaurant’s kitchen, what did Gordon witness on his revisit to Purnima, and why did Purnima restaurant closed.
When was the Purnima restaurant episode aired?
The Purnima restaurant episode was filmed in March 2007 but originally got aired in September 2007. It was the second episode of Kitchen Nightmares season 1 when Ramsay visited Purnima restaurant and witnessed the nightmarish things happening there.
Recap: Purnima Restaurant Episode on Kitchen Nightmares!
The episode started with Ramsay heading to Purnima restaurant, formerly named Dillons Lounge, located off-Broadway in the heart of New York City. There, he meets the restaurant owner, Mohammad Islaam who initially started the business for the betterment of his family.
On reaching the place, Ramsay discovers that the restaurant is run by three managers – Martin (the general manager), Andrew (the operations manager), and Khan (the floor manager).
And since the restaurant was managed by these high-level fat-salaried employees, the business was losing $20,000.00 a month.
While chatting with Martin, the general manager of Purnima, Gordon finds out that the restaurant serves Irish-American food combos with an Indian flare. According to him, it’s a weird food combination since Indian flavors don’t go well with Irish dishes.
To kick things off, Ramsay ordered some food from the expansive menu of the restaurant, swatting a fly away. To cover this up, the server tells Gordon that the restaurant is nearly always empty and hence there are flies in the dining area.
Another pathetic revelation discovered by Gordon was that the restaurant had Indian cooks who were absolutely unskilled at cooking western cuisines. In events when customers order western dishes, Andrew, the operations manager steps into the kitchen to cook them.
Finally, Gordon was served a vegetarian platter with rotten tomatoes in the curry and pieces of lamb in the beef dish. Suddenly after eating the meal, Gordon starts feeling unwell. To this, the chef informs Gordon that he might have served him stale and old lamb out of nervousness.
Now, when Gordon steps into the kitchen at Purnima, he again notices flies all over the room. Stepping ahead, he finds the general manager, Martin lying down in a booth and no food left in the kitchen while the dinner service just started an hour ago.
So, although these were not the reasons why did Purnima restaurant closed, but definitely the ones that made Gordon relaunch the restaurant and revamp the menu with big changes.
Why did Purnima restaurant originally close?
It’s no secret that running a restaurant in New York City is tough! No matter how glamorous the plates look or how skilled the chefs are, it’s all about the graft behind the scenes. Having that said, read further to find out what happened to Purnima restaurant and why it was closed.
Overall, there was a lot of drama happening at Dillons (Purnima) long before their Kitchen Nightmare episode was aired. The restaurant’s general manager, Martin Hyde not only tried to sue Gordon for $3 million but also attempted to file an injunction to prevent the episode from being aired.
However, given that the episode was finally aired, it’s evident that Martin’s lawsuit failed. Still, the restaurant got permanently closed in 2009 – exactly two years after the Purnima restaurant Kitchen Nightmare episode was aired. And that’s mainly due to excessive complaints about the food being overpriced or because of the noisy environment.
What did Gordon witness on his revisit to Purnima restaurant?
After Gordon’s rebranding and relaunch of Dillons to Purnima, the restaurant seemed to run smoothly. On revisiting the place in Season 2, a year after the Purnima restaurant Kitchen Nightmare episode was aired, Gordon found the business to be doing well.
Chef Vikas was still there and everything was perfectly managed at the place. The customers were also invited to see how clean the kitchen or the dining area at Purnima was.
And as expected, everything was running smoothly – the food was excellent, the kitchen was clean, and the customers were happy with the service.
Final Words
Sadly, the famous Kitchen Nightmare restaurant, Purnima could not survive more than a couple of years after the relaunch made by Gordon. As of 2022, Purnima New York City restaurant is occupied by Dillon’s Comedy Club.
Martin Hyde, the general manager at Purnima joined a limo car service company named Swish Car Service. And there’s no trace in the internet about Mohammad.
To get more updates on Kitchen Nightmare restaurants, consider playing top-rated restaurant simulation games or reading articles featured on food-related gaming sites.
