NEW YORK, April 6 (UPI) -- Rocco DiSpirito from NBC's "The Restaurant" has filed a lawsuit blaming his business partners for the failure of his New York restaurant.
The suit, filed Monday in Manhattan's State Supreme Court, claims China Grill Management R.I.A. L.L.C. and China Grill Management 12 East 22 L.L.C., have denied DiSpirito his 50 percent interest in Rocco's on 22nd Street and damaged the restaurant with repeated contract breaches, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
DiSpirito's legal complaint followed a suit filed in February by the China Grill companies, in which the partners claimed DiSpirito failed to provide food and service of sufficient quality to distinguish the restaurant and make it a success.
The partners said DiSpirito ignored the new restaurant while basking in his newfound celebrity from the NBC reality show.
Rocco's on 22nd Street opened last June.
The second season of "The Restaurant" begins April 19 on NBC, six months after the first-season finale.
