No, if Joey is to be believed - and that is a big if - their bottom line is not the problem; it's the balance sheet. The restaurants themselves are operating just fine. You are correct that Joey is the problem.
And it's "consultant", singular; I highly doubt anyone other than Gay is still associated with this.
I think Joey knows his, and the entire company's, days are numbered if he doesn't get a deal done. They can't have much cash left and handing out shares will hurt Joey more than anyone else.