Britney’s Restaurant Redone

Britney Spears’ foray into the restaurant business has not been smooth sailing, with Nyla suffering a bad opening night (dubbed "Worst Party of the Year"), less than stellar reviews (dubbed "another bad Midtown New York restaurant"), and recently receiving a complete menu makeover while dealing with behind the scenes troubles. Three food suppliers for Nyla have gone to court to force the restaurant into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, due to $25,000 in unpaid bills for items such as seafood, dairy products and equipment.

Nyla, named after Spears’ two favorite places, New York and Louisiana, opened in Manhattan in June. Originally billed as a "hip restaurant with a Southern flair" the reviews were rather lukewarm compared to Spears’ spicy image. Bobby Ochs, Spear’s partner in the venture, has since departed as have Spears’ original consulting chefs. Ochs helped launch Marla Maples (Peaches) and Patrick Swayze’s (Mulholland Drive) restaurants, both of which have failed. It seems he has that magic touch.

The Southern-inspired menu has been given the boot and chef Larry Forgione, known as the "Godfather of American cooking" by some, has been brought in to "lend some credibility to Britney’s venture." The new flavor of cuisine will be "continental with an Italian flavor." When the restaurant first opened, Spears told reporters "I am so excited. This is going to be my new hangout." Um, not so much. Rumor has it that she is almost never at Nyla. According to Reed Tucker, restaurant writer for Time Out New York, part of the problem – besides the food – is that the restaurant holds "no trace of Britney Spears." Tucker also predicted the fate of Nyla, saying "I think it’s definitely over."