Irvine backs out of St. Pete restaurants

Posters of Robert Irvine in the windows of where his two St. Petersburg restaurants were to go. The posters disappeared Friday. [Scott Keeler | Times]

ST. PETERSBURG -- Celebrity chef Robert Irvine, caught fibbing about his education, culinary experience, British royal relationships and assorted bits of his life, will not open two highly anticipated restaurants in downtown St. Petersburg.

A statement jointly released today by the landlord and Irvine's business partner sidestepped the recent controversy, saying merely that "the timing is not exactly right'' and that and Irvine "cannot commit to spending at least four days a week'' at the restaurant as he had planned to ensure its success.

Home Shopping Network's recent decision to sever ties with Irvine means he will no longer spend much time in the Tampa Bay area.

The project was planned for 400 Beach Drive, the new 29-story, condominium tower at Fifth Avenue N.

Irvine, known for his popular Food Network show, Dinner: Impossible, was going to call his first restaurants Ooze and Schmooze. Ooze was to be a casual, tapas-style spot, and Schmooze was to offer fine dining. The restaurants were to be side-by-side, occupying 7,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Beach Drive tower.

John Hamilton of Beach Drive Retail, which owns the 8,000-square-foot space that would have been Irvine's, said all parties came to an amicable end of their lease terms, but he would not specify what the arrangements were. He said he and partner Bob Churuti were not forcing Irvine out.

"I still to this day think Robert is a vibrant personality,'' Hamilton said. "In a lot of ways, I wish we still had him as a restaurateur."

The restaurant and Irvine's life story began unraveling last month, after the St. Petersburg Times revealed he had fabricated large parts of his resume. The British chef claimed to be a knight, tapped by Queen Elizabeth II, and said he should correctly be announced as "Sir Robert Irvine, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.'' He owned a castle in Scotland, he said, and was a chum of Prince Charles. He also claimed to have worked on the many-tiered wedding cake for the prince’s wedding to Princess Diana.

When his fabrications became public, some of those in business relationships with Irvine began damage control. The Food Network announced it was looking for a new host for his show. HarperCollins, publishers of his cookbook and biography, Mission: Cook!, promised to investigate.

The Home Shopping Network, which had sold eight Robert Irvine products on its Web site, including cookware and knives, stopped promoting the products. Some had been produced by Irvine, such as his book and spice mixes, and others simply carried his name.

Friday, the signs that had hung on the windows trumpeting the upscale restaurants' arrival had disappeared. There's no telling what will become of the custom furniture and kitchen that his business partner, J. Randall Williams, said were being built for the much-anticipated gathering spots. Williams did not respond immediately to phone calls.

Wendy LaTorre, who coordinated work on the kitchen and interior for Ooze and Schmooze and led marketing and promotions for the effort, expressed disappointment with the decision.

"It’s unfortunate. I’m really sorry that happened,'' she said of the canceled plans.

But all is not lost. LaTorre, who says Irvine owes her more than $100,000 for marketing and promotions and for helping him find the property, said she has received queries from restaurateurs who have expressed interest in going into the space, but she declined to name them.

"It’s a great space, and I know we will have another fabulous restaurant there,'' she said.

Irvine has apologized for his misrepresentations. "I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences regarding the royal family. I am proud of my work while serving in the Royal Navy and on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, also as part of the guest chef program in the White House with the United States Navy, in addition to my culinary accomplishments. I should have stood on those accomplishments alone, without embellishment,'' he said in part.

Hamilton said there is yet no new tenant for the restaurant space because not until today did he know Irvine would not open. Now, he said, he can re-engage with those who have inquired.

"Now we can actually pursue a restaurant,'' he said. "It’s just a matter of finding the best fit.'' Hamilton said he has had calls from potential restaurateurs from the Tampa Bay area and from out of state.

"It’s a great location, and somebody's going to want it,'' he said. "But Tampa Bay's a large area, and there’s a lot of opportunity.''

-- Waveney Ann Moore, Mary Jane Park and Paul Swider, Times staff writers

Comments

So what, who cares. Find some better storys and quit putting a-hole in the news.

[Annette]

I vote that the Times hires Wendy LaTorre to report the tabloid trash!

[Kenneth]

Jesus people, it's newsworthy because it affects the development of a large commercial space in downtown St. Pete. Don't you think that potential investors would want to know if the person they were investing in was a fraud?

[John]

Okay so I never would have eaten at a restaurant called Ooze anyway. Perhaps our illustrious leaders can now get the Ruth's Chris folks on the phone. I haven't had a good steak since I moved to this backwater.

[TPAme]

Ooze and Smooze went SPLAT!

Like this was not already known the day the news broke on Robert Irvine.

Just go with the Ruth Chris offer already.

[JOhn]

John, this place is backwater? And I quess you come from NY right? So move back to NY you moron. Sheez, you people want our weather and our beaches, but all you can talk about is how much you miss NY. So go back to the crime and the filth and the other nice people like yourselves and leave us to our backwater. We're better off without jerks like you!

[john manny]

he's a fraud stop calling him a celebrity chef he's a punk

Why can't everyone leave this poor fellow alone? Talk about Mob Mentality! He lied and he apologized for it. Must we ride him out of town like this? I hope everyone is happy that they've kicked someone while he's down. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

[Paul]

Backwater? Yeah, its sooo much better with the fake chef and a place being called oooze and sploooge. You don't like it here, move back to the 'better' place you came from. St Pete is nice because of us folks who've spent the last 10 years fixing up our buildings and houses. Not because some Royal Chef or Wall Street boys moved into town to help us out. Riddance.

[Dale]

Hey John, I got your backwater. Move back to whatever sewer you came from.