There is a show called “Restaurant Impossible” and another called “Kitchen Nightmares” with Gordon Ramsey. in each one they go into a failing restaurant and turn it around.
My question is, have you ever been to a restaurant done over by those shows?
Had a friend who frequented Piratz Tavern that ended up on Bar Rescue. It was having trouble just as advertised in general, but the parts specifically for the show were mostly staged as they only had a week to film in and they couldn’t otherwise guarantee a “normal” turnout if people had wind of the cameras coming.
He said on opening night of the new grand unveiling, all the customers were hand-picked. He tried to get in but was not allowed. Basically, they didn’t want any old regulars getting in to raise a ruckus or being negative - makes sense from a show standpoint. And with a pirate themed tavern, yeah, you’re going to get some rowdy regulars.
It was to be turned into a corporate type hangout - upscale, sleek, etc. In the end the owner immediately turned the bar back into what it was within a couple weeks because she just liked pirates too much. Same for the staff - the sort of people who work dressed up as pirates are the kind of people who are a little bit neurotic and not good at adapting to a big change like that. Or being overly professional, for that matter. Of course a change to a corporate feel would cause people like that to think they were being “constrained”, “inauthentic”, “non-creative” etc. Doesn’t matter if it was a sound business decision or not, they’d reject it on an emotional basis.
Here is a list of the Kitchen Nightmares restaurants, with which ones are still open. Note: there is a 60% failure rate.
Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale, AZ has become sort-of a tourist destination. Whatever happens to that place, it was a memorable episode for sure.
I have not been to any KN locations, nor RI, however, I would check them out if I knew I would be near one.
Apparently, the bar went back on the show. It went under earlier this spring.
It would be interesting to see what the failure rate is for comparably bad restaurants that don’t get on the show. I would imagine that the failure rate for restaurants that get that bad is pretty high.
I live in Caseyville, and went to this one once – there’s a reason it failed. Although I went before the show was filmed, so I should say “there’s a reason it was featured on the show – it needed help”. There have been two restaurants in the same location since the one in the episode. The current one is pretty good diner food, but overpriced for what you get.
I ate at one in Port Charlotte FL. It was called “captains and Cowboys”-it was a very basic place, serving steaks and seafood. It wasn’t very upscale, and the food was really basic. The Restaurant Impossible team went in a few years ago-but the place closed 6 months later. I think it was basic economics-the astronomical increases in food prices made it impossible for them-their clientele was mainly retired people on fixed incomes.
You know…
Its one thing if a place is dying because the menu sucks, or the staff is a bunch of wankers, or the overbearing mother in law is running the place for gawd knows why.
But many of these episodes seem to have the “well golllleeeyyy…we didn’t know dead rats floating in the stew we were saving in the fridge till we needed it was a BAD thing” aspect to them.
Its going to be a cold day in hell before I visit a place that needs to be told that ain’t right.
Missed the edit: Piratz Tavern closing Sunday after 8 years in Silver Spring – Strong Allegations Against Reality TV Show - PoPville
True. These weren’t a random selection of restaurants - they were restaurants that were already failing before the show intervened. Considered in such a light, the fact that forty percent of these restaurants are still in business is pretty good.
Any in SoCal? Or anywhere in CA?
Went to this place a few times before the makeover. Maybe once after. Apparently they closed early this year.
Mill Creek Cattle Company in Redlands, CA. Still open, still sucks.
Yes, a local Mexican restaurant that was failing because they had opened a new location that failed. Restaurant Impossible renovated the original location. They pared down the menu a lot and the decor they put in was cheap and tacky (a board with sombreros on it, all painted white). They’r still in business but lost their character.
I’d been there several times before and after the Bar Rescue (after they’d already switched back), and I was not impressed any of the times I’d been there. The food, drinks, and service weren’t awful, but it wasn’t good either. Ultimately I would always rather go to the bar directly across the street, Quarry House Tavern, which actually now temporarily occupies the former Piratz Tavern.
Yes, I never had a desire to go there personally when in the area. You know how we have the term “man-child”? Well, that was the owner, just as a woman. And she hired staff similar to her. I’ve had enough of that sort of flakiness and theater through friends when I was a teenager and I’m not interested in having it in my waitstaff as an adult. Or having it at all really.
I went to Luigi’s D’Italia while in Anaheim on business. Looking around on Yelp for a place for dinner, saw that it had been Ramsey’d. Thought what the heck?
Worst friggin alfredo I’ve ever had. Tasted like cream of mushroom soup. That was the only time I’ve ever complained to the management about food.
I went to La Galleria 33 in Boston this fall, not knowing anything about it . . . just wandered up and down the streets a few times and went into the Italian place that had the menu/price/atmosphere that looked the most appealing, and didn’t have a wait. I did notice the newspaper clipping on the door with a famous TV chef (whose name escaped me), but didn’t think much of it.
It was delicious, pleasant, and a very nice evening. It was after the fact that I looked them up online that I realized they had been on Kitchen Nightmares. I’d definitely go back again.
I ate at The Black Pearl, in NYC. It was only afterwards I learned it had been on Kitchen Nightmares. It was okay, kind of overpriced, but ok. The problem there was the three owners never agreed on anything. It ended up going under but not due to Rats in the Stew ™ thank god.
Interestingly, a barbecue place came in and succeeded, despite being directly across the street from Hill Country, a super popular, two-story Austin-style barbecue place and music venue.
Buddy’s Bakery Rescue did a bakery in our town. We have been there both before and after the makeover. The bakery wasn’t failing because of bad food or service - their food and service were and are good. It was failing because they weren’t selling enough and the owners were blowing through their savings. Being on the show gave them a boost and it has been busier since their appearance on the show. They also got a new kitchen and some updates to the decor out of the deal. I don’t know if they’re making a profit now but they’re still in business so they must be doing better.
The owner of the bakery is pretty shrewd. I would not be surprised if she tried to get on the show just to get the new kitchen. She didn’t need advice on baking.