After a 10-year absence, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares returns to save America's struggling restaurants. In the Kitchen Nightmares season 8 premiere, Ramsay went to Queens, New York, to help the Bel Aire Diner and the brothers who took over the operation from their parents.
The family owned 24-hour diner with a 40-page menu boasting a thousand options has been open for over a quarter century, but things needed to change if it was going to stay in operation. Now that it has been through Ramsay's tough love, we wonder if the Bel Aire Diner is still open.
We found a Reddit post indicating that the Bel Aire Diner was closed for a week back in May 2023. The reason for the closure was listed as filming, which lines up with the show's production schedule. Several Redditors answered a casting call and were approved as test diners, with many other posts hoping for a big change because the diner was known for having issues.
At the end of the episode, Ramsay provided an update filmed two months after the show was taped and indicated that things were going strong with the new menu and the newfound cohesion between the brother/managers. This allowed their hard-working parents a chance to finally retire.
According to the Bel Aire Diner's website, the restaurant is still in business after its complete revamp and it seems to be going strong. There have been some changes: the diner is only open 24-hours from Thursday through Sunday, and the rest of the week it's open 5 am to 2 am. The 40-page menu is down to one page with about 20 items on it, and they offer late-night specials.
Recent reviews on Google indicate the changes implemented during Ramsay's visit have made a difference. Not surprisingly, several of the most recent reviews came in after the episode of Kitchen Nightmares aired and either cite the diner's poor conditions before the renovation, or the complaints are lodged based on what was seen on the show.
Diners who have actually been to the restaurant and sampled its food seem to be pleased with the new version of the Bel Aire Diner, so things are looking up for the beloved eatery.
Kitchen Nightmares season 8 airs Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on Fox. Stream episodes on-demand on Hulu.
