(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 7 | View All Season 7 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: May 2, 2014
Zayna Flaming Grill Address: 1310 S Pacific Coast Hwy Redondo Beach, California 90277
Episode Recap
Zayna Flaming Grill was a Redondo Beach, California restaurant featured on Season 7 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Zayna Flaming Grill Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in January 2010, the actual visit from Gordon Ramsay happened before that in mid-2013.
It was a two-part episode that spanned Kitchen Nightmares Season 7 Episode 7 and Episode 8.
In this two-part episode of Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay heads to the Zayna Flaming Grill restaurant in Redondo Beach, CA.
The Zayna Flaming Grill owner is a duo, instead of a single owner.
There’s Fay and her niece Brenda.
They were both 50/50 partners in the business, but they also both told Chef Ramsay they would fire the other if they were not related.
So yeah…things are a little tense in the Zayna Kitchen Nightmares episode…to say the least.
Fay brought well over a decade of food experience to the business, while Brenda brought $60,000 that she borrowed from her parents.
Despite being 50/50 partners, they disagree over the work arrangements and direction of the Zayna grill.
The one thing the two did agree on, was that their food was excellent.
Given how things usually go on Kitchen Nightmares, you can probably guess that Gordon Ramsay did not agree with the duo’s conclusions.
The food was advertised as being freshly made and healthy.
However, unfortunately, Gordon Ramsay discover that it was in fact frozen, unappetizing, or over cooked.
The hummus at the restaurant was watery and bland, and during a dinner service Ramsay switched it with shop bought product.
Personally, I love hummus, so I’m pretty offended if a restaurant gets it wrong.
The diners’ much more positive reaction to the bought in product helped show The Grill’s owners that something needed to change with the food.
The fava beans weren’t much better, as Gordon Ramsay described them as “it looks like someone puked up on my plate”.
Oh, Gordon does have a way with words…
Another issue Chef Ramsay noticed was tension between the owners and the staff.
Control freak Fay, the older owner, was unable to trust her staff or her business partner to prep or run the kitchen.
This lead to feelings of resentment on both sides, with Brenda arguing that no one could help her aunt, because she is so critical.
The staff meeting with Chef Ramsay quickly turned into a shouting match, with blame and accusations being thrown around about the staff and the owner’s work ethics.
Fay observed a lunch service using secret cameras, which allowed her to see that while there were some issues, her niece was capable of running the restaurant.
After a modern makeover with pop art in blues, reds, and white The Zayna Flaming Grill relaunched, with a new, fresh menu.
Once the kitchen got busy communication became an issue, but Gordon and Brenda were able to support Fay, and the service was a success.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Zayna Flaming Grill episode a long-term success?
Keep reading to learn what happened next and whether this Redondo Beach, CA restaurant is still open in 2024.
Zayna Flaming Grill Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Zayna Flaming Grill Kitchen Nightmares visit, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Redondo Beach, CA.
After the cameras left, the Zayna Flaming Grill continued with Gordon’s menu and fresh food incentive, and also kept the new decor.
Their reviews, though not entirely negative before the appearance on the show, were mostly positive after the changes.
Unfortunately, not all these changes stuck, and Fay was unable to give up her micromanaging attitude.
Though the food changes were kept, communication broke down again, and Fay returned to her critical ways.
As a result, some of the staff featured in the show left, which may have created further tension, as the business was family run.
It does seem that Brenda was able to maintain some leadership, and keep the diners generally impressed with the restaurants food.
Is Zayna Flaming Grill still open?
As of 2023, Zayna Flaming Grill is still open and serving customers in Redondo Beach, which means it’s survived for over a decade since the visit from Gordon Ramsay.
Though the restaurant has bucked the ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ trend by staying open, it has changed ownership since the series was filmed.
The new Zayna Flaming Grill owner, named Ray Younis, still runs the Zayna Flaming Grill as a family restaurant, and the business is active on social media, posting on both Facebook, where they have a 4.8 star rating, and Twitter.
Reviews are still overall positive, with diners enjoying the food, and the friendly service, often from the new owner himself.
The Zayna Flaming Grill, despite changing hands, still makes the most of its time in the spotlight, posting on social media and their website with links to the show and Chef Ramsay.
For example, here’s a 2022 Facebook post that still advertises having “recipes curated by Gordon Ramsay” and “Featured on Kitchen Nightmares”:
In addition to changing ownership, Zayna Flaming Grill also had to change its location in 2022.
While it was originally located on Pacific Coast Highway, an issue with their landlord forced them to move to Artesia Blvd in Redondo Beach.
Here’s an image from the restaurant that explains the move:
Here’s what the original Zayna Redondo Beach location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view in September 2022 (the one you saw on Kitchen Nightmares). You can see a For Lease sign on it
And then here’s what the new Zayna Flaming Grill Redondo Beach location looks like in street view (it doesn’t seem to have updated yet – but hopefully Google gets a new picture soon):
Beyond the full restaurant, there’s also a second Zayna Flaming Grill Express location in Santa Monica.
This restaurant seems to be doing a good business, and is deservedly one of only ~20% of places features on Kitchen Nightmares that have not end up closing their doors for good.
Here’s a video of popular YouTuber Brennen Taylor eating at Zayna Flaming Grill in 2022.
Usually Brennen tries to interview the owner as part of these videos.
However, he did not do that in this video – probably because the original Zayna Flaming Grill owner that you saw on the episode had long-since sold the restaurant.
Speaking of who the current Zayna Flaming Grill owner is, let’s cover that in more detail next…
Who is the Zayna Flaming Grill owner?
The original Zayna Flaming Grill owners sold the restaurant to Ray Younis in 2015, just around a year after the Zayna Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on TV.
His actual name is Raid Younis, but he seems to go by Ray.
As far as I can tell, Ray is still the Zayna Flaming Grill owner as of 2023.
Ray very much leans into the Kitchen Nightmares angle, even still keep a Gordon Ramsay recipe binder.
Brenda and Fay, who you saw on the episode, did seem to file a 2016 lawsuit against Ray Younis.
However, I can’t access the files to see what it’s about, so I have no idea what that means.
You can find the files here if you want to see if you have better luck.
What happened to Brenda from Zayna Flaming Grill?
Brenda was one of the owners who you saw on the Zayna Flaming Grill Kitchen Nightmares episode.
She got married in 2016 but I’m not sure what else she’s been up to as her LinkedIn page doesn’t have anything after Zayna Flaming Grill.
I hope she’s doing well!
Final thoughts on Zayna Flaming Grill Redondo Beach
Overall, Zayna Flaming Grill is a real Kitchen Nightmares success story.
While it has changed ownership (and later location), the owner still leans into Kitchen Nightmares and seems to have taken Gordon Ramsay’s lessons to heart.
The location that you saw on Kitchen Nightmares did have to close in 2022 because of a landlord issue, but Zayna Flaming Grill moved to a new location in Redondo Beach and remains open as of 2023.
If you want to see some other nearby California Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you can check out my updates for Nino’s Italian Restaurant in Long Beach, Lido di Manhattan in Manhattan Beach, and The Burger Kitchen in downtown Los Angeles.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Zayna Flaming Grill episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/zayna-flaming-grill-redondo-beach-2What did you think about the episode? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
You can also click the buttons below to share this post!
And don't forget to check out all of the other Kitchen Nightmares updates.
Last updated: 2023-11-24 08:48
I enjoyed watching the episode. I was horrified with the bickering amongst the staff. I think Fay should have stepped back. She should have included her business partner equally. Glad to hear it is still operating even if it has changed hands
We really enjoyed dinning there too, lamp kobobs so delisyes.
Typical yanks can’t cook anything
How is your restaurant doing, has GR called in ?
Fay, the aunt needs to stop being a control freak. Wherever she is working now, I’m sure she’s driving everyone crazy. I really hope Brenda has left her aunt. Brenda is young and beautiful and deserves to enjoy where she is working.
Is Brenda working with the new owner or has she left as well?
I dreamt I was eating a piss poor attempt at another countries food. When I woke up I realised I was clearly in America. Quality not quantity, words to live by
What does that have to do with America? This woman was an Egyptian immigrant. Did she suddenly become bad at cooking by moving to the US?
This kind of stereotyping is bizarre and unfounded.
There should be a closed-but-open category lol
Not surprised the staff left and not surprised the aunt reverted right back.
This is another one for poor Chef Ramsay that was doomed from the start.
I think you would have to be blind and ignorant to believe a single word that Zayna spewed forth.
She wanted to completely control and manipulate everyone and every situation.
It was her way or the highway.
It’s amazing how one person can bring down a business
I’m glad someone bought it and if Brenda isn’t still with the restaurant, I believe Gordon Ramsay would hire her. Brenda is Awesome not only does she excel at her job but she controls the disruptive people around her.
Gordon should have changed the name on this one. No one wants to eat in a restaurant on fire.
FYI, the restaurant finally closed.
Thanks for letting me know! I will update the post soon
Fay should have fired Brenda and Brenda should have fired Fay. That would have evened things out and given the restaurant the mercy killing it deserved. Plus, it would have been funny.
Didn’t close, they moved. The landlord is making changes and everyone on that little strip has had to either move or close. Zayna Flaming Grill was able to find a new spot and is now located at 2302 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach 90278.
Thanks for sharing! I need to update this post. It’s been a while since my last update.
It is permanently closed now. The new location has closed. Not sure when.
I’m sure I’d have a different opinion if I worked for her, but I liked Fay. When she was sad and teary I felt sorry for her, and when she was so happy and grateful to Gordon she was so sweet and sincere.
I liked it when she told that girl not to cuss like that to her! Don’t people respect their elders anymore? I was brought up not to cuss like that around old people and children!
Anyway, what happened to Fay? Is she still alive?? I hope she has retired and is enjoying her golden years without all that flaming grill stress.
Hopefully she has retired that godawful fushia lipstick!
You sound quite gullible, Fay put on the waterworks to get sympathy but in reality was a tyrant.
Where is Fay now? I hope she was able to retire, because she is elderly. However as a boss she was a nasty bee.
Imagine a revisit of owners, and how many of them are in nursing homes now?? A big percentage of the KN restaurants were owned by elderly people.
Brenda’s wedding registry:
https://registry.theknot.com/brenda-keroles-nik-garcia-june-2016/14189334
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenda-keroles-garcia-9025539/
is her Linkedin page.
July 20th, 2023 Walked by the restaurant tonight and it is closed.
According to their website they have 2 locations, and #3 is opening soon in Santa Monica, CA.
https://zaynaflaminggrill.com/locations.html
Zayna Flaming Grill – Downtown
701 W Cesar E Chavez Ave, Suite 108,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Zayna Flaming Grill – Vun Nuys
6159 Van Nuys Blvd,
Van Nuys, CA 91401
Zayna Flaming Grill Express – Santa Monica
More info on the court case.
https://www.docketbird.com/court-cases/Brenda-Keroles-vs-Raid-Younis-Sana-Younis-et-al/c-lasu-2016-cv-YC071376
Here’s a podcast with Fay and she talks about Zayna.
https://moneyloveswomen.com/podcast-item/turning-your-passion-into-a-business-with-fayza-gerges/