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.
“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.
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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