In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits The Fork Diner in Calhoun, Georgia.
The Fork Diner is owned by Diana Forster.
Diana says that this restaurant started as just a big idea.
Three people own the diner: Diana, Michael (Diana’s husband) and Gray (Diana’s best friend).
Gray says that she recently came into some money and was looking for an investment.
She also says that they all had restaurant experience so owning the diner seemed like a good idea.
Michael and Diana invested $75,000, while Gray invested $300,000.
They view themselves as all equal partners, despite not having invested the same.
Michael is the kitchen manager and head cook, Diana is the day manager and book keeper and Gray is the night manager and the marketing person.
Michael thinks that people do like the food, however they just don’t have enough customers coming through the doors.
They owe a lot of money and tensions have never been higher between them.
Diana feels like Gray isn’t putting in as much work as she does.
Gray says that she doesn’t want to work there 80 hours a week.
She would rather this be more of an investment rather than a day job.
Robert heads into The Fork Diner as a guest to see how service and food are.
Robert orders a glass of water to drink.
He thinks that the decor doesn’t seem to match and there are different themes.
Robert asks what this place is known for but they aren’t able to give him an answer.
He orders a handful of dishes off the menu to get a taste for how this restaurant is.
While waiting for his food, Robert asks the customers how they feel about the diner.
One customer says she isn’t impressed with the cleanliness at all.
The restaurant is disgusting and there is dust and grease everywhere.
When preparing the food it is clear that the diner uses canned vegetables.
They are also using frozen meats, which is effecting the quality of the food.
Robert says that he’s had enough of the food and he asks to speak with the owners.
Robert tells the owners that this is one of the most atrocious restaurants he’s ever eaten at.
He asks the owners to give him a brief about the restaurant so he can see what the issues are
The diner is losing around $3,000 each week and they are around $18,000 behind on taxes.
Robert asks them why they are failing.
Michael says they don’t have enough cooks in the kitchen and he is surprised that Robert didn’t like the food.
Diana was hoping that they would impress him a little bit but they didn’t impress him at all.
The server says that she knows that they lack motivation and that they are used to being yelled at regularly.
Robert asks her who yells at her and she says Diana is the one who yells at the staff.
Robert asks for all the servers to meet with him right now.
He asks them how they are treated.
They say they lost motivation because they aren’t getting paid.
They haven’t been paid in three months.
Robert meets with Gray to talk about what he uncovered.
He stresses that Diana and Michael shouldn’t be 50% partners when she put in four times the amount they did.
Robert meets with Diana and Michael to ask who they think is more of an owner.
Robert meets his designer Cheryl to come up with a plan for the restaurant.
They begin remodeling this restaurant and take down all of the art.
Cheryl is completely overwhelmed but she loves the artwork.
Robert brings the staff and the owners back to the restaurant so the staff can tell the owners how they feel.
None of the staff like working with the three owners.
They’re tired of being yelled at and feel like there needs to be more training.
Robert tells Diana that she’s messing with peoples’ lives by not giving them their checks.
Most of the staff say that they are only staying here because of Gray.
Robert wants Gray and her partners to discuss what they just heard.
The design team reveal that the floors are going to take all night to be redone with how much filth has built up.
Robert meets with the owners to discuss what they staff has brought up.
Gray isn’t sure she wants to stay in the restaurant business.
Robert meets with Gray at a coffee shop to figure out her decision.
Gray says she wants out of this business.
She says she no longer wants to spend 60 hours a week from her family.
Gray believes that it is time to walk away.
She’s going to help them get rolling tonight, but she will tell them her decision.
She says it’s going to be really hard.
The next day, Gray tells them she would like to sign the restaurant over to them and that she is out.
Diana says that she is disappointed.
She doesn’t understand why Gray won’t give it a chance.
Diana says that this is very sad and she’s not sure where to go from here.
Robert checks in with the design team and the floor looks amazing, it’s all consistent now.
Diana tells the servers that they need to start pulling their weight.
Robert asks them who is going to leave since Gray is no longer part of this business.
They all say that they will continue to work for Diana.
The servers tell Diana how they would prefer her to go about asking them to step up and work faster.
Robert tells Diana that it is important how she delivers her words.
She apologizes for her past behavior.
Robert checks in with the design team and Cheryl created a display for the artwork.
They are reusing the metal sheets to create lampshades.
Robert shows Diana and Michael how to properly cook certain foods, like the French onion soup.
Robert’s construction staff make the finishing touches to the diner.
Robert brings the staff back to the diner to show them all of the changes.
Gray is hoping she will get at least some of her money back.
The new restaurant is revealed and they love the way their restaurant looks now.
Diana hugs Robert.
On relaunch, the diner opens to a queue of waiting customers.
The customers like that they kept some of the original artwork from the diners.
The food looks great and customers seem to be very impressed with the food that they have ordered.
The diner’s vibe is much better now and it is an exciting new beginning for Michael and Diana.
What Happened Next at The Fork Diner?
A few weeks later, Gray decided to walk away from the restaurant.
Some of the servers left after complaints from customers.
They returned some of their customer favourites to the menu alongside Robert's dishes.
They bought in a new manager and partner to the restaurant after appeaing on the show.
Shortly after appearing on the show the owners set up a GoFundMe to help pay their debts from before the show.
Fork Diner closed in September 2014.
They had closed for further refurbishment but failed to reopen.
Fork Diner was Restaurant Impossible season 9 episode 1 and aired on 23rd July 2014.
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