Melissa Gorga isn’t revealing much about why her and Joe Gorga’s restaurant is closing after less than a year, but the Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member is clearing the air about her acumen as a businesswoman.
“We’re moving to a new location. The Gorga’s that is [there] right now, we just pulled the sign off the top yesterday,” Melissa said during a Wednesday interview on Watch What Happens Live of Gorga’s Homemade Pasta & Pizza, which opened in May. “The line’s been out the door, honestly, since we opened it, to the point to needing new management.”
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“We are relocating and making it bigger, so we closed down that location,” she continued. “Do not go to that location. It is not Gorga’s.”
She also added: “You’re gonna hear a lot more. Let’s just say that location is not ours.”
Earlier in the day, during an appearance on The Morning Breath, Melissa also talked about the restaurant closing.
“I can speak about it mildly because it’s a major situation unfortunately,” she said. “I will admit one thing โ 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.”
She added: “We were having issues with the management and the way they were running it. There were a couple shady things going on.”
Wednesday, a source told Us Weekly that Joe is upset with his restaurant partners for not being honest with him.
“Joe is furious. He feels duped,” the insider told the publication. “They never made good on their end of the deal so Joe was done โฆ This isn’t a good look and people don’t understand why they didn’t give Joe the money they promised him.”
“Aside from anger, Joe isn’t worried โ his name is not on the lease or legally tied to the restaurant,” the source continued. “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.”
Photo credit: Instagram/@melissagorga