Kitchen Nightmares: Is Finn McCool's Still Open?
Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" was a must-watch show from 2007 to 2014 — that is, as long as you enjoyed watching the celebrity chef scream at disheveled restaurant owners. In the show's inaugural season, Ramsay made his way to Westhampton, where he visited disorganized Finn McCool's. Andrew "Buddy" Mazzio, the restaurant's owner, was struggling to keep his head above water. Although Ramsay gave it his best shot and things seemed to be going well when filming ended, Mazzio couldn't make Finn McCool's work long-term.
Mazzio owned the restaurant for about two more years after Ramsay offered his help, but he ultimately sold it. Still, Finn McCool's kept its namesake for another three years after that before the new owners closed it as well in 2012. Not only did the restaurant close, but chef Brian Mazzio also took issue with the producers' way of editing his episode, saying things were not as dramatic as they appeared.
Finn McCool's closed in 2009
From the start, it appeared there were a ton of issues with the restaurant. Family drama aside, Westhampton is a tough place to own a restaurant because it's only heavily populated in the summer months. That means that nine months out of the year, Andrew Mazzio had to keep the ship running on very few customers, leaving little room for error with service and food. The Irish pub's head chef happened to be Mazzio's son, only adding to the tension with the family. After hearing negative feedback about the fried food, Gordon Ramsay added new items to the menu, made the family clean every inch of the restaurant, and gave it a makeover.
But even Ramsay's expertise wasn't enough. It's unclear what Mazzio did after selling the restaurant, but sadly, Mazzio died in January at the age of 69. His cause of death was not revealed, but it's clear he still had a close relationship with his son, Brian, based on his Instagram tribute to his father.
At least one of the Mazzio sons is still in the restaurant industry
Although Buddy Mazzio's life after the closure of Finn McCool's is unknown, his son, Brian Mazzio, is still working in the restaurant industry. Brian was the head chef at Finn McCool's and is now the executive chef at Sunday's on the Bay, a restaurant in Hampton Bays, New York, according to the restaurant's website.
"Kitchen Nightmares" wasn't able to save Finn McCool's from closing, and that isn't the only one of Gordon Ramsay's projects to succumb to such a fate. Many of the restaurants that once appeared on the show are no more, but Ramsay is giving the series another try after canceling it in 2014.
A new season of "Kitchen Nightmares" is set to premiere in September, with a new season of failing restaurants that Ramsay will attempt to save. Rumor has it that no more than 20 of the roughly 100 restaurants to appear on the show have now closed, but the new batch of eateries might have a better outcome.