"Here’s one major reason why celebrity chef Jose Garces shuttered his Battery Park City version of Amada: The Philly-based restaurateur has been wildly underwater at several restaurants — with several lawsuits against him regarding finances and one investor couple alleging that the chef was running “a Ponzi scheme.” Garces, who gained acclaim for tapas at the Philadelphia outpost of Amada, opened the New York location in 2016 primarily because a shuttered restaurant lost tons of money, and he “needed ways to make up that shortfall,” the chef told Philadelphia magazine in a lengthy profile. The magazine suggests that Garces had become “even less discerning in the opportunities he chose” when he pursued the NYC project due to his financial problems. But instead of boosting the rest of his businesses, Amada in New York took way longer than predicted and cost Garces an extra $1.3 million in construction costs, he told the magazine. Then once Amada opened, it didn’t quite catch on despite Garces’ cred and appearances on TV. It closed at the end of March this year." - Serena Dai
