Real Housewives in the Restaurant Business: Teresa Giudice, Lisa Vanderpump and More

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Real Housewives in the Restaurant Business: Teresa Giudice, Lisa Vanderpump and More

Not just a bunch of pretty faces! The ladies of Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise may flip tables and fight like cats and dogs, but they’re also shrewd businesswomen. Case in point: Many of the ladies have used their reality TV success as a way to launch other endeavors, including restaurants. Teresa Giudice, for example, joined forces with her brother, Joe Gorga, and sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, in 2017 to open Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza in East Hanover, New Jersey. Though the restaurant’s grand opening was featured on Real Housewives of New Jersey, not even a little reality TV exposure was enough to prevent the pizzeria from shuttering less than a year later. At the time, sources told Us Weekly that Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza met an abrupt and premature end all because of a business deal with Joe that had gone awry. The arrangement, which stipulated that Joe would lend his name and image to the restaurant in exchange for money, went sour by November 2017. [ami-related id="1478149" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/food/pictures/celebrities-who-own-restaurants-jay-z-ryan-gosling-more/" title="Celebrities Who Own Restaurants" target="" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Celebrities-Who-Own-Restaurants-pp.jpg"] “Joe hasn’t posted about the restaurant since November 4. He’s pissed,” the insider explained, noting that his wife and sister were no longer affiliated with the establishment, either. While Giuduce’s restaurant was a flop, she’s still a respected figure in the food space thanks to her trio of bestselling cookbooks. Kandi Burruss, on the other hand, has parlayed her Bravo fame to launch a restaurant empire in her native Georgia. In 2017, the Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member opened Old Lady Gang, a Southern eatery that features a menu filled with dishes inspired by family favorites from Burruss’ mom, Joyce, and two aunts. Meals on the menu include “Mama Joyce’s BBQ rib tips” and “Mama Sharon’s seared crabcakes.” The latter item was inspired by Burruss’ mother-in-law, Sharon Wells, who died in 2014. [jwplayer 03PKpxb8-l3ahXupL] By 2018, the Bedroom Kandi founder had opened a total of three Old Lady Gang outposts in Georgia, including one in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena and another at the nearby Philips Arena. The trio of restaurants have attracted stars such as Will Ferrell and several members of the RHOA cast, who frequently head to OLG to film scenes for the Bravo hit. Scroll down to see more restaurant mavens from the Real Housewives franchise!

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Teresa Giudice, Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga

The Real Housewives of New Jersey trio opened Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza in East Hanover, New Jersey, in May 2017. The eatery was meant to serve as a tribute to Joe and Teresa’s parents, Giacinto and Antonia, but it closed in January 2018 after less than a year in business. At the time, a source told Us the closure was related to a bad business deal. “Joe is done with Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza,” the insider explained. “The actual owner of the restaurant and Joe worked out this deal where Joe would get money … if he lent his name and image to the restaurant. But the owner never made good on his end of the deal so Joe is done.”

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Kandi Burruss

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star and her husband, Todd Tucker, opened Old Lady Gang, a Southern comfort food restaurant, in Atlanta in March 2017. The establishment was inspired by recipes from Burruss’ mom, Joyce, and aunts Nora and Bertha. A second Old Lady Gang location opened in October of that year at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, and OLG 2, the reality star’s third eatery, opened in October 2018. That location, which is inside Atlanta’s Philips Arena, serves dishes such as deviled eggs and shrimp and grits. “The menu is going to be mixed with soul food and family recipes,” an insider told Us ahead of the official debut of OLG 2. “Kandi’s cousin is the main chef and all the dishes have been inspired by family.”

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Caroline Manzo

The Real Housewives of New Jersey alum is no stranger to the food biz, considering her husband, Albert Manzo, owns and operates an event space in the Garden State. Known as The Brownstone, the Patterson, New Jersey, establishment is a popular wedding venue with its own catering staff. It was often featured on RHONJ during Caroline’s years on the show, and the Let Me Tell You Something author was frequently shown helping her husband run the thriving business.

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Cynthia Bailey

Considering the Real Housewives of Atlanta star was once married to restauranteur Peter Thomas, it’s no surprise that she has entered the food and beverage business herself. In April 2019, the model opened The Bailey Wine Cellar in Atlanta. Though not a full-fledged restaurant, the establishment does sell, well, wine, along with some small food items. What’s more? The reality star’s latest venture holds an important place in her heart for more reasons than one: It’s where sportscaster Mike Hill asked for her hand in marriage in July 2019.

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Lisa Vanderpump

When it comes to restaurant-ruling Housewives, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum easily takes the cake. Together with her husband, Ken Todd, Vanderpump owns four eateries in Los Angeles ⁠— Villa Blanca, Pump, Tom Tom and SUR. The latter establishment serves as the setting for the hit Bravo show Vanderpump Rules, which follows the lives of several SUR staff members. In March 2019, the Brit took her empire beyond California and opened Vanderpump Cocktail Garden at Caesars Palace Las Vegas. As she told Us in February 2019, just before the venue officially opened: “I think that the Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, it’ll be like an oasis in the middle of the craziness that Vegas has to offer.”

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Ashley Darby

The Real Housewives of Potomac star and her husband, Michael Darby, opened an Australian-themed restaurant called Oz in 2015. Though the Arlington, Virginia, establishment served as the backdrop for many crucial RHOP moments, the couple announced in June 2019, as Ashley was preparing to deliver their first child, son Dean Michael Darby, that they would be closing the eatery in order to focus on other projects. “We are replacing one Aussie baby with a new Aussie baby, as we prepare to welcome our little boy,” Michael said in a statement.