Is Anna Vincenzo's still open?
Current Status: >> CLOSED <<
(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: March 26, 2010
Anna Vincenzo's Address: 1930 NE 5th Ave Boca Raton, FL 33431
Episode Recap
Anna Vincenzo’s was a Boca Raton, Florida restaurant featured on season 3 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Anna Vincenzo’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on March 26, 2010, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay happened all the way back in July, 2009.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 3 Episode 9.
In this episode of Kitchen Nightmares Chef Gordon Ramsay takes us to Anna Vincenzo’s restaurant, in Boca Raton, Florida, where we meet the owner, CeCe.
CeCe is a self-taught cook who doesn’t think there are any rules when it comes to cooking.
Her menu is based on serving whatever she likes and wants to cook at the time.
When the restaurant first opened, business was booming and she was making a lot of money.
However, the restaurant started to decline; it has gotten so bad and overwhelming that CeCe is now losing interest in her own business.
CeCe is on the verge of bankruptcy and is about to lose her house, with over $190,000 in debt owed to her father.
These are the main reasons why she reached out to Gordon Ramsay for help and why the Kitchen Nightmares Anna Vincenzo’s restaurant episode exists.
When Gordon Ramsay arrives, he is impressed with the decor of the restaurant.
He meets CeCe, CeCe’s father, and CeCe’s husband, Michael, who is also the head server.
Gordon then sits down to eat and orders the salmon divino salad, snapper Anna, and a pizza.
When the salmon arrives it is dry and overcooked.
Despite the restaurant claiming that the salmon is fresh, Gordon can tell that it was frozen.
When the snapper Anna arrives Gordon claims that it looks like a dog’s dinner, which isn’t something you want to hear about food from a restaurant.
That’s an understatement lol.
Last to arrive is the pizza and Gordon says that it is soggy in the middle and crispy on the outside and very bland.
Afterwards, Gordon gives his feedback to CeCe and the kitchen staff, but CeCe is defensive and not receptive to Gordon’s criticism.
In fact, more than just not listening to Gordon, they get angry in response to him.
I mean, he’s only Gordon Ramsay – what could he known about food? /sarcasm
Later that night Gordon returns to observe the restaurant during a dinner rush.
He begins by inspecting the kitchen, where he finds frozen gnocchi and a tray of over-cooked meatballs.
The food that night goes out quickly, but it is sent back just as fast, and the customers are unhappy with what they received.
The next day Gordon comes in and tells CeCe that the menu is too big and has a negative effect on the kitchen.
Gordon Ramsay then introduces a special that is not only fresh but it’s delicious.
His aim is to position the restaurant as an ideal place to get value and quality for a family dinner.
Gordon revamped the menu by eliminating a lot of the items and introduced a family style lasagna special and a new soup.
That night Gordon and his team give the restaurant a makeover with new tableware, a caricature of CeCe, and a new family style menu.
As part of the makeover, Gordon invites players from a bunch of local sports teams for a pizza contest.
This included the Miami Dolphins (football), the Miami Heat (basketball), and the Florida Panthers (hockey).
Gordon also has the staff taste the new menu items and they all love it.
The night of relaunch and the service starts with the food going out quickly and enjoyed by the customers.
At the end of the night the customers complimented the food and the relaunch was a total success.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Anna Vincenzo’s episode a long-term success?
Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if this Florida restaurant is still open in 2024 and beyond.
Anna Vincenzo's Update - What Happened Next?
While things seemed to be going well after the Anna Vincenzo’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired, the good times would not last.
Here’s the bad news…
Is Anna Vincenzo’s still open in 2024?
Despite the high note at the end of the episode, Anna Vincenzo’s closed in April 2010, one month after the episode aired.
Remember, the episode was actually filmed in July 2009, so the closure actually happened around nine months after Gordon’s visit.
As of 2023, the old Anna Vincenzo’s Boca Raton Florida location is occupied by a new restaurant named Arun’s Indian Kitchen.
It seems to have good reviews, with a 4.5 star rating on its Yelp page.
They’re also a NY Floral shop next door that seems to match the location from the episode, but the actual address matches the Indian restaurant.
Here’s what the old Anna Vincenzo’s Florida location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view…
The picture is from May 2022:
Gordon Ramsay tried to revisit Anna Vincenzo’s in Season 4
Gordon revisited the restaurant in the Kitchen Nightmares revisited #5 episode from season 4 in 2011.
This was the same episode where he revisited Le Bistro in Florida and Lido di Manhattan in California.
In his visit, he found that the Anna Vincenzo’s restaurant was closed.
Instead, he ended up visiting CeCe and talking about why she closed the restaurant.
In the revisit, we see that CeCe had lost a lot of weight – congratulations to CeCe on her weight loss.
Here’s a before and after picture so you can see CeCe’s weight loss – she said she reduced her weight by about half, and I can believe it:
You can see the full revisit at around the 21:50 mark of this YouTube video:
Why did Anna Vincenzo’s close?
CeCe said that the sold the Anna Vincenzo’s restaurant so that she could spend more time with her kids.
She said that the business was actually doing well, but she still wanted to get out of the business.
The reviews after Gordon’s visit were actually fairly positive, so it does seem likely that this was the reason rather than issues with the restaurant itself.
That’s totally understandable and I hope that she’s doing well.
What happened to CeCe from Anna Vincenzo’s?
Other than CeCe’s weight loss and generally lower stress life, I’m not sure what else CeCe is up to.
I hope she’s healthy and enjoying more time with her children.
What happened to Michael from Anna Vincenzo’s?
After Anna Vincenzo’s closed, Michael opened a new restaurant called Il Contadino in Delray Beach, Florida.
As of 2023, Il Contadino is still open and has a four star rating on its Yelp page.
Congratulations to Michael on his success!
Final thoughts on Anna Vincenzo’s restaurant
Though Anna Vincenzo’s seemed to be set up for success after the visit from Gordon Ramsay, it closed just one month after the Kitchen Nightmares Anna Vincenzo’s episode aired on TV.
CeCe said that she sold the restaurant to spend more time with her family.
Gordon Ramsay tried to revisit the restaurant but found that it was closed.
Instead, he had a talk with CeCe, in which she revealed her weight loss.
As of 2023, the old Anna Vincenzo’s Florida location is occupied by a new restaurant named Arun’s Indian Kitchen.
Michael opened his own restaurant in Delray Beach which seems to be doing well.
If you want to see some other South Florida Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you can check out our updates for Le Bistro in Lighthouse Point FL and Fleming in Miami.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Anna Vincenzo’s episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/anna-vincenzos-ristorante-italiano-boca-raton
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Last updated: 2023-05-16 07:20
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