The Restaurant

Released: 2003-07-20

Runtime: 60 minutes

Episode Overview

Rocco DiSpirito is a kid from Queens who's made good. He's the chef of a three-star Manhattan restaurant, and he has a dream. He wants to open a new restaurant to get back to his Italian American roots. He's even getting his Mom to help him. The problem is he's only got seven weeks to build it and open it - and that usually takes seven months. Rocco begins to search for the ideal location and he encounters pitfalls along the way. He finally finds a space and the PR machine starts to kicks in. Following an announcement on the Today Show, two thousand people show up to interview for jobs. As Rocco trains his new staff, the old space is demolished. The building phase begins and quickly falls behind schedule. With three days left to go, the construction reaches a frenzied pitch, and tempers fray. The looming deadline looks like an impossibility, the staff has not had time to properly train, and the clock keeps ticking. In the frantic last minutes before opening, everyone pitches in. The re

Series Overview

The Restaurant is a reality television series that aired on NBC in 2003, with a second season broadcasting in 2004. The series had encore presentations on CNBC and Bravo. Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito opened the Gramercy Park, New York City, restaurant Union Pacific in August, 1997. The NBC series, it was announced, would follow DiSpirito as he launched and operated a new Manhattan restaurant. The first season revolved around the construction and opening of Rocco's on 22nd, scheduled to open in five weeks. Some 7.5 million viewers tuned in for the July 20, 2003 premiere focusing on the search for a location and construction work for the new restaurant. Among the 2000 people who showed up hoping to be hired were various actors, models and show business hopefuls. In addition to Rocco's mother, Nicolina DiSpirito, known for her famous meatballs, the show's on-camera personnel included David Miller, Alex Corrado, Domiziano Arcangeli, Heather Kristin, Natalie Norman, Topher Goodman, Lisa Wurzel, Brian Allen, Gideon Horowitz, Heather Snell, Amanda Congdon, Pete Giovine, Uzay Tumer, Emily Shaw, Lonn Coward, Carrie Keranen, Colleen Fitzgerald, Caroline Matler, Brian Petruzzell, Lola Belle, Susanna Hari, Tony Acinapura, John Charlesworth, Laurent Saillard, Perry Pollaci, Matt DiBarro and Tim Donoho.