Amy’s Baking Company Announces ‘Kitchen Nightmares’-Themed Merchandise Line To Benefit Yarnell Hill Firefighters
Amy’s Baking Company, the infamous Phoenix-based restaurant that spawned a meme after its disastrous appearance on an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares,” announced on Tuesday that it has created its own line of merchandise based off the publicity “nightmare.”
“Our new t-shirts are in! To purchase them please visit our website,” the company announced, with a link to their website, where they had newly added a “catalog” of products. Amy’s Baking Company merchandise currently includes T-shirts and baseball caps, which range from $25 to $30. All of the products feature the restaurant’s logo, superimposed with quotations that reference the “Kitchen Nightmares” episode.
Amy’s Baking Company states on its website that 10 percent of the profits from the merchandise will be donated to the families of the 19 firefighters who were killed fighting the massive Yarnell Hill Fire in central Arizona in June. “The firefighters were young men with wives, children and a bright future ahead of them. We are devestated by their loss [sic],” they write. “We humbly thank them for the sacrifice that they made to protect us and keep us all safe.”
Baseball caps come embossed with either “I’m the Gangster!” or “Here’s your pizza, go f--- yourself!” T-shirts also come with the phrases, “I speak Feline, Meow!” and “I survived Amy’s Baking Company.”
Amy and Samy Bouzaglo, the owners of the Arizona restaurant, skyrocketed to fame after appearing on Ramsay’s show in May, in the only episode that the British celebrity chef has ever walked out of. After getting into a heated argument with the Bouzaglos, Ramsay stormed out of the restaurant, declaring that the couple was delusional and beyond his help.
Fan reaction to the episode was negative and immediate, with viewers flocking to social media sites like Reddit and Yelp, where they shamed the Bouzaglos for allegedly engaging in practices like stealing tips from servers, and repackaging food from other establishments, the latter of which Amy Bouzaglo admitted to.
After the episode aired it was also revealed that Amy Bouzaglo had a criminal past and had served 14 months in jail for bank fraud charges. The viewer backlash reached an apex when a former waitress who had appeared in the episode hosted an “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit, where she further criticized the restaurant.
The Bouzaglos are also rumored to be in talks with multiple production companies about creating a reality show based on their establishment’s dramatic antics. A source with knowledge of the situation told Radar Online, “Right now Cineflix is the most serious production company trying to secure Amy and Samy. They want to develop a show around their restaurant and their bad behavior.”
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.