In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits Uncle Andy's Diner in South Portland, Maine.
Uncle Andy's Diner is owned by Dennis and Tina Fogg.
Robert arrives at the restaurant to see the most awkward moment of his career.
Dennis was dressed in a gorilla suit with an adverts in his hand, trying to bring in customers to the restaurant.
They have owned Uncle Andy's Diner for about ten years.
The couple bought the landmark restaurant after hearing that they were having some problems at the restaurant.
Tina and all of their four children work at the restaurant.
The restaurant makes $100,000 a year and they don’t get paid from the restaurant.
Both of them have other jobs that they work at night.
Dennis is a standup comedian and he travels 5 hours to work.
He comes back at 4.30am each day to be able to open the diner for breakfast.
When they first bought the diner his brother was coming in to run it at night and Dennis was running it during the day.
Eight months later, his brother sadly passed away from cancer.
Dennis should know the costs as he worked in corporate but his excuse is that he doesn’t have the time.
Dennis enjoys his job as a comedian on a personal level but he wants the restaurant to succeed for his family.
Robert can see that Dennis likes to joke about but he doesn’t think the restaurant is funny.
The restaurant is filthy and run down.
The ceiling is disgusting, the carpets are worn out and the chairs have seen better days.
Robert wants to see a dinner service to find out what the issues are at the restaurant.
Robert meets with Dennis’ children to learn more about him as an owner.
They feel like he is a better comedian than he is a business owner.
Robert is surprised to see Dennis performing a stand up routine for the customers.
The food takes a long time to get to the customers.
Some customers are left waiting up to 55 minutes for breakfast.
Dennis is confident that he knows what the customers like but Robert doesn’t think he does.
It is clear after speaking with the customers that Dennis is letting them down.
Robert decides to try the food and orders some dishes.
He is unimpressed with the food that he is served and gives his feedback to Dennis.
Robert meets with his designer Lynn to discuss the restaurant and plans for transforming the space.
Lynn has just $10,000 and 48 hours to transform the restaurant.
Robert asks Dennis and the staff to remove everything from the dining room so that the design team can get to work.
He asks the family to come back into the restaurant to see it for the last time before they get to work.
It is an emotional time for the family and Dennis because of his brothers passing.
Robert asks the family to join him at a park across the street to talk about the issues at the restaurant.
With Dennis running the restaurant during the day and doing comedy shows at night he is close to burning out.
Robert tells him that he can’t keep doing both for much longer.
He needs to work out a balance between the two passions that he has.
Robert checks in with the designers and is impressed with the progress that they have made so far.
Robert decides to go and see Dennis at one of his comedy shows.
He thinks if he is funny as he says he is then maybe he needs to give up the restaurant and focus on his comedy.
The next day, Robert arrives and checks in with the design team.
They have made excellent progress overnight and the restaurant looks completely different.
Robert meets with Dennis to talk to him about his comedy routine from the previous night.
He tells Dennis that he loved the show and thinks that he has great material and energy on the stage.
It was clear to Robert that comedy was his true passion and he tells him that maybe he should focus on this.
Dennis tells Robert that he would rather do the comedy than run the restaurant.
He agrees to take a backseat at the restaurant and allow his wife and the children to run the restaurant.
Andre is passionate about the restaurant and is eager to take a more active role in the restaurant.
Robert is surprised that they don’t have lobster on the menu.
He sources a local supplier of Maine lobster and plans to add it to the menu.
The staff have never cooked with it before and Robert shows them how to make it cost effective.
They enjoy learning the new menu items and are more confident for the relaunch.
Before the relaunch, the new restaurant is revealed to the family.
They love the changes that the design team have made to the restaurant.
Andre will be taking the lead for the relaunch with Dennis able to focus more on his comedy.
On relaunch night, the customers are let into the restaurant.
They love the new decor and the new food.
The customers promise to return to the restaurant.
What Happened Next at Uncle Andy's Diner?
A few months later and business had increased 4 or 5 times.
They installed booths to be able to seat 15% more customers to meet demand.
His children are more involved and the family situation is much better.
Uncle Andy's Diner closed in May 2020.
They were only allowed to offer takeaway for two months, applied for a PPL loan that they didn't get and decided to close before getting into debt.
Reviews were mostly very positive after the show but had declined in late 2019 with complaints of a dirty restaurant and poor service.
Uncle Andy's Diner was Restaurant Impossible season 9 episode 6 and aired on 27th August 2014.
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