‘Kitchen Nightmares’ disaster Amy’s Baking Company owner faces deportation

Amy’s Baking Company, the restaurant at the center of an episode of Kitchen Nightmares, is now facing more problems than just an out-of-control Facebook page. Salomon “Samy” Bouzaglo, the co-owner of the Scottsdale, Arizona restaurant could be facing deportation.

According to AZ Central, Scottsdale immigration lawyer David Asser said that his client, Bouzaglo, is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and it could result in his residency status being revoked. Asser said that the investigation began two years ago and that it was not started as a result of their appearance on the Gordon Ramsay show. “I didn’t know they were going to go on (the show),” he said.

Bouzaglo and his wife, Amy, had closed been closed since the episode of Kitchen Nightmares aired on May 10. After it aired, their Facebook page was littered with responses from customers and comments from critics. The owners lashed out at every comment with curses, but later claimed that the page was hacked.

This week, the restaurant was hoping to reopen this week and took over 1,400 reservations and were planning to donate proceeds to the Megan Meier Foundation. But news of Bouzaglo’s possible deportation has derailed those plans.

It turns out that Bouzaglo, who came to the U.S. 13 years ago, was in prison before he came to this country. He wouldn’t be specific, telling AZ Central, “The FBI knows all about me.... The IRS knows.” Bouzaglo was born in Morocco and is an Israeli citizen, Asser said.

Amy, who also pleaded guilty for using someone else’s Social Security Number in 2003 and did a year in jail in 2008, added, “We both made mistakes in the past. We have done our time...We can’t comment. We know God is with us.”

According to Gawker, Bouzaglo is banned from going to Germany and France. He had faced drug and extortion charges.

The reason why the restaurant opened without a major event on Tuesday was because the Kitchen Nightmare producers had told them not to say anything bad about the show, notes Radar. The site reported that they would be sued for $100,000 in damages each.