In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits Pinehurst Country Lodge in Greeley, Pennsylvania.
Pinehurst Country Lodge is owned by Roger and Sandy Murray.
The couple bought Pinehurst Country Lodge six months ago and are already in deep trouble.
Roger worked in the legal service industry for about twelve years.
He started as a general manager and eventually worked his way up to become the VP of Operations.
About four years ago, the directors sold the company that he worked for.
He found himself looking for a job and struggled to find a new job.
Roger and his wife had been customers in the Pinehurst Country Lodge for 18 years and had fallen in love with the place.
When it came up for sale he decided to take a risk and purchased the restaurant.
Sandra wasn't supportive of him buying the Pinehurst because of his inexperience in the restaurant's business.
Now, Roger spends all his time in the restaurant while Sandra lives and works in New York, about three hours away.
Roger is solely responsible for the restaurant and Sandra now makes the three-hour drive every other week.
Sandra was spending her time flitting between work and the restaurant, which resulted in 12 hour days.
Sandra currently is the breadwinner of the family due to her full time job.
She pays all of the household bills and also helps offset the cost of the restaurant by paying the bills for the restaurant.
The restaurant has been losing approximately $20,000 monthly.
Roger and Sandra have four children and four grandchildren and Roger misses all of them as he is constantly working.
Being away from his family has been the most challenging part of owning the restaurant.
Robert arrives at the restaurant and thinks that the dining area has a nice warm and cuddling feeling.
He loves the stone fireplace but is not impressed with the old furniture and dirty looking carpet and thinks it definitely needs an upgrade.
Robert meets with Roger and Sandra for a brief and they tell him that they hoped they could retire at some point.
They thought that the restaurant would make them more money for retirement, even though they had no knowledge on how to run a restaurant.
The couple paid $302,500 for the restaurant with $75,000 upfront that they had borrowed from friends and family.
They've also invested all the savings that they had and some money from their 401K accounts.
The revenue at the time of purchase was $150,000 but Roger believes that the revenue was declining at this time.
Robert asks to see a service to see what the issues are at the restaurant.
Roger shows that he is clueless in the restaurant and the cooks show that they are useless in kitchen.
As a result the customers are not liking the food.
The presentation of the food is poor and the taste is also poor.
One table has a complaint and Roger doesn’t know how to handle it. He also doesn’t know how to set up a table correctly.
Robert wants to sample the food and is not impressed with any of the food that he samples.
The prime rib has been cooked too fast and is too tough. It also tastes like it is old.
Other dishes that he has been served have too much garlic or are frozen.
He asks Roger to taste the food and he doesn’t like the food either.
Robert is also critical of the overuse of carrots on every dish.
Robert immediately thinks that he needs to put a new meny in place as they aren’t able to deliver on their current menu.
He asks Roger to make a list of the things that he needs help with as an owner and Robert will discuss it with him later.
As profit was falling when they bought the restaurant Robert wants to find out how to stop this.
It emerges that the couple changed nothing since buying the restaurant and so the decline continued under their new ownership.
Robert thinks they can turn around the decline with an updated decor and menu, training for the cooks and effective marketing.
Robert meets with designer Taniya and the design team to talk about ideas and he wants to keep the character of the dining room.
The staff help to empty the restaurant ready for the design team to be able to get to work on the transformation.
Roger isn’t very confident in talking with the staff.
Robert helps Roger and Junius, the head cook to have a conversation about the future of the kitchen and issues.
Robert checks in with the design team before finishing for the day and is impressed with their progress so far.
He urges them to continue with the same momentum overnight in order to be ready for relaunch.
The next day, Robert arrives at the restaurant and immediately proceeds into the dining room to check in with the designers.
Robert meets with Taniya and Tom and is impressed with the pace of the progress and the progress that has been made overnight.
Next, he meets with Roger to discuss the homework that Robert had given him at the end of the previous night.
Roger asked Robert the questions that he needed answering and areas that he needed help with.
The exercise was a comfort for Roger and he seems more confident after their conversation.
Robert reveals that they will be doing a TV interview about the restaurant in order to drive new customers.
For Roger to feel more comfortable in front of a camera, one of the cameramen helps him by him interviewing into the camera.
Robert checks in with the kitchen to see the progress of their training.
He receives news that they won’t be doing the TV interview anymore so they decide to record an advert that they put out on social media.
The design team is nearly finished so Robert goes into the kitchen to teach Roger, Junius and the cooks the new menu.
New dishes Chicken Sliders with Tomato Chutney and a Prime Rib with Herb Rub dish are to be added to the menu.
Robert shows them how to prepare the prime rib using fresh herbs that they will slow cook for three hours.
Robert is clear that it should not be served with carrots!
Robert also shows them how to make the chicken sliders with thigh meat and a fresh chutney, that he describes as a bundle of love.
They all enjoy the session and enjoy the taste of the new dishes too.
Junius says that he will try his best but they all tell him they are confident he can succeed.
Everyone is now ready and excited for the relaunch of the restaurant.
The design team have finished in the dining room and it is time to reveal the new look to the owners.
The whole family are shocked and impressed when the new decor is revealed to them.
They love the new decor and think that it is beautiful and unique.
On relaunch night, the customers love the new charming atmosphere and are impressed with the new menu, branding the new food as delicious.
What Happened Next at Pinehurst Country Lodge?
Roger reported that sales were up and revenue was up 10%.
Roger is more familiar and experienced and they have made only small changes to the menu.
They have added some new dishes to the menu and carrots are no longer the only side vegetable.
Junius is still in the kitchen and is more confident with the new menu.
Pinehurst Country Lodge closed in October 2015.
They closed due to the local economy, government regulations and taxes and the closure of route 739.
Reviews were more positive after appearing on the show.
Pinehurst Country Lodge was Restaurant Impossible season 6 episode 7 and aired on 9th June 2013.
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