Melissa Gorga is opening up about why her family’s New Jersey restaurant — Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza — is closing less than one year after it opened.
“I can speak about it mildly because it’s a major situation unfortunately,” the Real Housewives of New Jersey star said during an appearance on The Morning Breath show on Wednesday, January 10. “I will admit one thing— we are overwhelmed with the amount of people that are going. We had no idea it was going to be as busy as it is. That’s first of all.”
“Second of all, yes, there are partners, obviously, that we’ve gone into it with,” Gorga explained.
The reality star’s husband, Joe Gorga, and her sister-in-law, Teresa Giudice, opened the eatery as a tribute to their parents, Giancinto and Antonia, in May 2017. Their mother, who passed away in March, served as an inspiration behind the recipes for the restaurant, which was the setting of several conflicts throughout this season. As previously reported, Us confirmed on Saturday, January 6, that Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza was closing.
“We were having issues with the management and the way they were running it. There were a couple shady things going on,” Gorga said on Wednesday.
She added, “There is going to be a larger location. The food’s amazing, the concept’s amazing, we need to regroup and make it bigger and go down the street and do it solely on our own.”
A source told Us exclusively on Wednesday that Joe is angry with his restaurant partners for not being honest with him.
“Joe is furious. He feels duped,” the source told Us. “They never made good on their end of the deal so Joe was done … This isn’t a good look and people don’t understand why they didn’t give Joe the money he promised him.”
The source continued, “Aside from anger, Joe isn’t worried — his name is not on the lease or legally tied to the restaurant. If they are in a pickle financially or otherwise, Joe isn’t tied to it. He just wants nothing to do with them or the restaurant after being burned.”
Gorga’s partners have not responded to Us Weekly’s request for comment.
