It looks like Amy's Baking Company, the restaurant at the center of the "Kitchen Nightmares" season finale brouhaha, is going into damage control mode.
Owners Amy and Samy Bouzaglo have hired PR firm Rose + Moser + Allyn Public and Online Relations and closed down their Scottsdale eatery. But like an ironic phoenix rising from the ashes, it will reopen on May 21 for a "Grand Re-Opening," according to a press release posted to the restaurant's Facebook page.
A portion of the proceeds will go to an unnamed charity "organized to bring awareness to cyber bullying," a not-so-subtle reference to Amy's assertion that the restaurant has been unfairly singled out on the internet.
"We are very upset by what has taken place, apologize about the acrimony that has ensued but now must fight back to save our business," Samy Bouzaglo said in the release. "We hope and believe much good can result from what has transpired. We ask the public to keep an open mind as we begin to tell our side of the story."
According to a Twitter page associated with Jason Rose, a principle at Rose + Moser + Allyn Public and Online Relations, the grand reopening event has already sold out.
The Huffington Post reached out to Mike Saucier, a Rose + Moser + Allyn associate handling the reopening, who was unable to offer more information about the event. However, Saucier said more details would be released to the public later today. We will update the post as needed.
Saucier told HuffPost that Rose + Moser + Allyn has experience with crisis PR cases, which, it would seem to an outside observer, aptly sums up what it faces with Amy's Baking Company.