ROCCO DiSPIRITO famously opened his namesake restaurant in a reality show last summer and was famously thrown out by his partners in July. Now he has been removed from a second restaurant, Union Pacific, once the jewel in his crown, which will close at the end of the year.
Starting next week Mr. DiSpirito will no longer be the executive chef at Union Pacific, where he first made his mark when the restaurant opened in 1997. Main Street Restaurant Partners, his partners in Union Pacific, said yesterday that it would close on Christmas Eve, and until then Laurent Tourondel, the chef at BLT Steak, would act as a consultant. That leaves Mr. DiSpirito without a kitchen to cook in.
Rocco's on 22nd closed last week. In July, Jeffrey Chodorow and China Grill Management, its owner, were granted a court order barring Mr. DiSpirito from the kitchen, even though his mother, Nicolina, remained and made meatballs.
The rest of the blah blah blah: Rocco DiSpirito Is Out at Union Pacific (NY Times)
Posted by Kim at September 28, 2004 10:45 PM | Hollywood GlamourOoh, now he can check in to the Jane + Dollie Home For Wayward Celebrities and I can fix him. He can cook in this kitchen. And clean it too, while he's at it.
Posted by: Jane at September 29, 2004 09:18 AMThis is the best idea I've heard. Maybe also you could invite Jamie O. over for a visit and they can get into fights.
Posted by: Kim at September 30, 2004 12:13 AMThis is an excellent plan! Especially if the fights involve cleaning.
Posted by: Jane at September 30, 2004 08:23 AM