Season 2
The Restaurant is an American reality television series produced by Magna Global Entertainment which tracks chef Rocco DiSpirito's progress as he tries to open the ultimate ultra-trendy Manhattan restaurant.
The series aired in the USA on NBC from 20 July, 2003 to 5 June, 2004. There are 12 hour-long episodes in two seasons.
The Restaurant originally aired in South Africa on M-Net. It later aired on DStv's BBC Food channel.
A rebroadcast of Season 2 airs on BBC Food from Thursday 28 August to Thursday 4 September, 2008, at 22h30. New episodes air Mondays to Fridays.
Repeats
Weekdays: 10h30, 16h30
Season 2 Synopsis
The second season, filmed six months after the restaurant's opening, shows an ongoing power conflict between part owner Rocco DiSpirito and financier Jeffrey Chodorow, stemming from the restaurant's lack of profitability despite its popularity.
On July 27, 2004, New York Supreme Court Judge Ira Gammerman issued an injunction barring Rocco DiSpirito from Rocco's on 22nd street and gave Jeffrey Chodorow permission to sell or reopen the restaurant under a new theme.
Chodorow and DiSpirito were ordered to return to court on August 31 to determine if there was an agreement between the parties and if DiSpirito violated the agreement.
After that ruling DiSpirito attempted to file a $6 million countersuit charging that Chodorow made accounting irregularities and that he (DiSpirito) was owed $175,000 in unpaid salary, and DiSpirito sought to regain fifty percent ownership of the restaurant.
Chodorow initially invested $4 million in the restaurant and claims to have lost an additional $700,000.
After the restaurant closed its doors on September 15, 2004, it reopened in 2005 as a Brazilian steakhouse called Caviar and Banana. Chodorow's partner in the Brazilian restaurant was chef Claude Troisgros of Roanne, France, renowned for his namesake restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Caviar and Banana has since closed, and the location continues to live up to its cursed reputation.