In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits Mike Audia’s Family Restaurant in Nutter Fort, West Virginia.
Mike Audia’s Family Restaurant is owned by Mike Audia.
The restaurant opened in 2008 as an Italian restaurant.
They are worse off now than in the beginning as he lost most of his staff.
He now works alone aided by his young son on some days.
Mike is a struggling single dad who is in danger of losing everything.
Robert arrives the restaurant and isn’t impressed.
He thinks that the outside is uninviting with a large barbecue grill in front.
Inside it looks like a diner with dirty floors and dirty tools.
Robert looks at the coffee machine and in the fridge.
He almost throws up at what he finds.
Mike meets Robert and they sit down to talk about the restaurant.
He tells Robert he leases the space and is 18 months behind on rent.
He has no money to pay for anything as he is bankrupt.
Mike is moved to tears telling Robert that he does not sleep well.
Robert watches the service.
It is very inefficient with just one cook and one server.
The kitchen is swamped with orders and is unable to keep up.
Food takes 47 minutes after ordering to go out.
The food is not good and the customers complain.
Mike is emotional upon hearing the feedback from the customers.
Robert thinks the menu is too big with no focus on a single cuisine.
He asks Mike to make the best dishes for him and he only likes one dish.
Robert thinks the ribs are delicious.
Lynn and Tom are the design team for the restaurant.
They also immediately think it is a diner.
Everything is worn out and nothing works except the countertop.
Robert is unsure about the direction to take with the restaurant.
He’s unsure whether to keep it Italian or work to Mike’s strength with ribs.
The restaurant is emptied out by volunteers and family members.
In order to help Robert make up his mind, he talks with server Allie to find out how the restaurant went south.
She tells him Mike got divorced and depressed.
He never really recovered and because of this the business suffered.
Robert sits with Mike and has his questions ready.
Mike says he was blindsided by his wife leaving.
She was having an affair at work and took money from the business and their joint savings.
Mike was so depressed he took it out on his older daughters, only having time for his 12-year-old son, Roman.
Robert asks Mike to commit to the restaurant being a barbecue restaurant.
They draw up an American menu with barbecue as the theme.
That evening, Robert tells the team that the theme is barbecue so they have a direction.
They have already done their homework with plans for a space that works with the theme.
They work all night as they are behind.
In the morning, some work has been done although Robert thinks it is not enough.
Robert then sits with Mike and surprises him with a visit by his daughters.
They tell their father what he did to hurt them and he apologises whilst explaining what he was going through.
Robert leaves them to talk in private and they hug it out.
They are hopeful that their relationship will improve.
The team in the restaurant are pressed for time with delays.
Robert takes Mike to the kitchen to demonstrate making a twist on mac and cheese.
They also make French fries and a ribeye barbecue sandwich.
By 5pm the team are rushing to put everything together and staff are helping with the final setup.
By 7.30pm they are running late with customers waiting and wet paint.
Robert brings in Mike first to see the space.
The space has been transformed and it is more upscale with warmth and colour.
It is now counter service for customers, to make the process more efficient.
The children are brought in and they love the changes.
The family all have a group hug.
On relaunch, the customers are let in by Mike, introducing his new barbecue restaurant.
Mike has some help in the kitchen with orders coming in fast.
Some servers and his daughters are helping for the night.
The food goes out in just 12 mins.
The customers love the taste of their meals.
Mike is happy working in the kitchen and he is really transformed.
What Happened Next at Audia's Family Restaurant?
Two months later, the restaurant is making $3000 in sales each day.
Mike talks to his daughters daily and he is planning a family vacation.
Audia's Family Restaurant closed in January 2020.
Audia's closed as a result of the landlord selling the building.
At the time of closing they weren't sure if they would relocate and have not reopened elsewhere yet.
Reviews after the episode was filmed were mostly positive with compliments to the food quality.
Audia's Family Restaurant was Restaurant Impossible season 15 episode 7 and aired on 10th August 2019.
Click for more Restaurant Impossible Restaurants
Next episode - Rosie's Diner
Previous episode - Chez Olga
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments will be moderated prior to being published. Those with spam links, offensive language or of an offensive nature will not be published. All comments are the opinion of the commenter and do not represent the opinions of the website owner.