In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits the Copper Still in Crestwood, Illinois.
Copper Still is owned by Christina and Dominic.
The show been contacted by bar manager Stephanie, who has worked there for 18 months.
Christina is the General Manager but she has had no prior experience in the industry.
It is disorganised and the staff lack proper training so the service isn’t great.
Dominic is a police officer and former marine and is more hands off of the business.
Robert sends in his producers ahead of him to interview the owners.
It is clear that Christina and Dominic do not agree on how to run the place.
Robert arrives at the venue and the owners are not there yet.
Two of the production staff are undercover with a phone camera.
They are posing as cousins looking to book the place for a party.
They enter first talking to Christina and Stephanie, who had no idea they were coming is suspicious of them.
Robert arrives and surprises them.
He talks to Christina immediately and she tells him about how she became a manager.
She tells him that they have been losing $4000 a month since opening.
Stephanie should know some of the details but she has little knowledge of the financials and it is a failing of Christina.
Robert says that a bar should not be losing so much money.
Stephanie is nervous of Roberts comments and walks out as she thinks she will be blamed.
This does not inspire confidence for Robert and he has his team pause setting up.
She is afraid of getting all the blame and producers talk to her.
She eventually calms down and is committed to the success of the bar.
Robert brings in his design team of Cheryl and Tom.
They go in to look at the space and they see it is confused, dark and boring.
Dominic comes in as they are getting ready to start work on the space.
Dominic recognises Robert but is shocked and speechless.
He has no objection to the much needed renovation of the space.
They begin clearing out the space, ready for the design team to be able to get to work.
The main attraction is the vodka brand Dominic co-owns but the space does not look like a place you order vodka.
Robert samples the food they sell in the restaurant.
He does not enjoy any of the food and lets them know.
Robert tackles the couple’s dynamic to running the business.
Dominic is assertive in his ways while he also thinks Christina is a push over.
Robert plays the video footage of the owners and staff saying where they think the issues are.
Bartender Marty confesses he gives away a lot of drinks and Robert lays into him.
Christina does not allow Stephanie to do the hiring and she ambushes her with new staff at bad times.
Meanwhile work has started with Cheryl having looks put together and Tom is making a new back bar for the space.
There are only two volunteers as opposed to the usual twenty.
Robert sees they are behind on work and he gets some of the crew to help with painting.
The next day, Robert walks in to see work has progressed.
He gets bad news from Christina, who mistakenly left her briefcase in front of staff the day before.
She noticed later that over $1000 is missing.
She is afraid to tell her husband and Robert insists on calling the police.
Robert gets the staff together hoping someone will confess.
He tells them they have time to come clean before they call the police.
Robert goes to break the news to Dominic, who is not happy about the situation.
He is more upset that his wife thinks he will be mad at her.
As work progresses, no member of staff comes forward and they are forced to call the police.
By 4pm they are finally working on the new menu.
Robert presents them with some updated dishes, paired with vodka cocktails.
He demonstrates making some sliders using fresh fish.
With two hours to go until the reveal the police have arrived.
They there to do the initial investigation into the missing money.
The bar is coming together.
An hour later, Dominic and Christina are waiting outside the restaurant.
Robert has Dominic pledge to be different in his approach to expressing his opinions to his wife in front of everyone.
They are taken inside and the bar finally has a theme with blacks and whites.
There are pops of colour making the space look clean and modern.
Their back bar is also up with the vodkas on display.
The couple’s 11-year-old son is also let in to see the space.
They all love the changes and the customers are let in.
On relaunch, they all love the changes to the space as it is more open and not dark.
The food and drinks are loved by the customers along with the fast service.
What Happened Next at Copper Still Restaurant?
Three months later, it is revealed the bar is at a standstill.
Stephanie is improving service daily and is stricter with staff.
There are new rules and procedures and the staff are more controlled.
The menu is a mix of their original dishes and the dishes Robert added.
Copper Still Restaurant closed in September 2017.
They closed after moving to a new location in July 2016.
Reviews were mostly positive after they appeared on the show.
Copper Still Restaurant was Restaurant Impossible season 12 episode 3 and aired on 5th November 2015.
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