Irvine's business partner wouldn't talk about Nice's lawsuit. "Everybody ... involved in the restaurant is up to date," Williams said. "Robert is not interested in avoiding any obligations at all. What I'm trying to do is gather all of these claims and figure out what's real and what's not real, and it's difficult because everyone is claiming to have agreements with Robert."
Irvine says he was pressured into starting the restaurants by LaTorre. He says he wanted a much smaller restaurant, and could have afforded a smaller place without financial backers.
"Wendy is a very, very intense woman. She'll say things and I'll go yeah, yeah, yeah, and then she'd just go with it."
Irvine says LaTorre was working on her own and he never expected to pay her until she demanded a cut.
"It's almost like I'm being held hostage," Irvine said. "I get a pain in my gut any time I hear this woman's name."
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The sign in front of the empty restaurants suggests Ooze and Schmooze will open this spring, though experts say it will take at least six months.
Irvine has found a new backer, Orion Communities in Clearwater. But he also has had second thoughts.
"I just don't want to go into a negative environment," he said. "To me it's sad that I'm trying to do something good for the area."
LaTorre still has two of Irvine's white chef jackets in a closet. In her desk is a resume she made for him. At the bottom, in bold letters, is a quote from Irvine:
My passion is to reach beyond inspiration - to be spectacularly creative.
Bad chefs and bad food can be much more entertaining if there's a taster involved who isn't supposed to let on that it's bad food.