Britney Spears Sticks a Fork in Nyla

By Todd Peterson

Tuesday November 26, 2002 01:00 PM EST

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Her act may be hot onstage, but Britney Spears's restaurant venture failed to get cooking.

Now, Spears has abandoned her Manhattan eatery, Nyla, altogether, claiming the establishment suffers from mismanagement, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Nyla, which opened to great fanfare in June, just recently underwent a menu overhaul, according to the New York Post, and some of the eatery's original chefs also left the restaurant.

The menu, however, wasn't the only problem. In September, the city cited the restaurant for several minor health-code violations. And according to court documents published on TheSmokingGun.com, three companies say they are owed more than $25,000 for goods sold to Nyla, including dairy products, lobster and dinnerware.

It was amid those claims (and the subsequent bad publicity) that Spears decided to extinguish her Nyla connection.

Named for two of Britney's favorite places, "NY" for New York and "LA" for Louisiana (Spears was born and raised in Kentwood, La.), the restaurant was intended to feature dishes with a Cajun flair, including fried okra.

That offering, along with meals like vegetarian hominy stew and Southern sushi, were reportedly dumped in favor of more traditional Italian dishes. The Post reported this week that the restaurant had brought in veteran chef Larry Forgione, founder of New York's An American Place, to take over.

Food critics, however, said the changes came too late to save Nyla's credibility among finicky New Yorkers.

Spears, who turns 21 on Monday, apparently agreed. According to the Times, the pop star released a written statement saying she has no involvement in the restaurant's day-to-day operations.