Drake's Place - Restaurant Impossible Update - Open or Closed?

In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits Drake’s Place in Ferguson, Missouri.

Drake’s Place is owned by Sonny and his wife Bridgett.

They opened the restaurant six years ago and serve American cuisine.

Sonny wanted to build a legacy for their family.

Their son Bub is the sous chef but Sonny wants him to be executive chef.

Sonny is very old fashioned and doesn’t like to listen to new ideas.

Bridgett says that Sonny tends to rush to get his shift over with.

Two months after they opened, there was unrest in Ferguson.

Sonny says it was a very scary place to be at the time.

Bridgett says that people are still afraid to come to Ferguson so business has declined.

Sonny says that they have invested around $150,000 into the restaurant.

This money came out of Sonny’s savings.

They are currently losing around $2,000 a month.

They’re pretty much maxed out in terms of money they have and can borrow.

Both are very stressed out about the finances of the restaurant.

Bridgett says it’s scary because they love their employees.

She says that some customers feel like family and she doesn’t want to let them down.

Robert arrives at the restaurant and isn’t impressed.

Robert points out the wet ceiling tiles, suggesting there is a leak.

He says overall, this place isn’t very appealing at all.

Robert calls Bridgett and Sonny to the front of the house.

Bridgett says that the customers say that the food is good but it comes out too slow.

Their son doesn’t always show the same passion as Sonny.

Sonny is afraid that he will push his son away if he puts more pressure on him.

Robert wants to see the service to find out any issues with the restaurant.

He invited has invited locals to fill the restaurant for a busy service.

They don’t have sections assigned to the waitresses and they just take turns.

The tickets are rolling through into the kitchen.

Sonny doesn’t cut the vegetables beforehand and they prep to order.

Robert says that everything will take a lot longer if you don’t do any prep before a service.

The food is getting cold on the pass and they do not have a heat lamp.

After an hour, customers are still waiting for the food.

The kitchen is a mess and Robert says he has to stop the service because it’s getting ridiculous.

Sonny closes down the restaurant for the night and Bridgett feels defeated.

Robert tries a handful of items from the menu.

The wings are very small and over seasoned.

The linguini alfredo sauce is very thick and the pasta is overcooked.

Robert says the best thing he’s tried so far is the shrimp.

Robert meets with his design team of Lynn and Tom to discuss the remodel.

They all begin taking everything out of the restaurant.

Tom says the biggest challenge is that the restaurant is so small.

Bridgett says she didn’t realize that this was going to be so hard.

Robert meets with Bridgett and Sonny’s children.

Their son wants to add barbeque recipes to the menu but Sonny doesn’t listen.

He also wants to prep food before they open.

Robert meets with the staff to discuss adding sections for the waitresses.

Robert has asked Bub to prep some shrimp in advance to show Sonny the advantage of prepping.

Sonny realizes that he should’ve been listening to Bub this whole time.

Robert checks in on the design team.

Lynn wants to play with textures and says the old restaurant was too colorful.

He fixed the bar so people can actually sit at it but the floor is an issue.

Robert gives the family homework.

He tells Bridgett and Sonny to go home and relax.

He wants Bub to make him some barbeque.

He wants Bub to tell his parents that he is 100% in.

Bub says he is going to prove to his family that he can do this and that he is ready to take over.

Sonny says he learned how to prep things yesterday.

Bridgett says she learned how to take control and organize the front of the house.

Bub lets Robert and his parents try the barbeque that he has prepared for them.

Robert says that it is really good and full of flavor.

If he can do this consistently, then it would be great for the restaurant.

Robert shows Bub and his parents the proper way to make the recipes he tried earlier.

These recipes have a low food cost and people will fall in love with their food.

Bridgett says that this is 5 star food.

Robert says they are about two hours from opening.

Bridgett and Sonny are showing Bub how to run the restaurant.

Bridgett is assigning tables to the servers.

Robert says he hopes Sonny, Bridgett, and Bub love the new look restaurant as much as he does.

Sonny says that this is a blessing and that it’s life changing for them.

Bridgett realizes that her son has more to offer than they give him credit for.

They can’t wait to get started on this journey with him.

Bridgett says that things are looking very bright for their future.

Robert is going to take Sonny and Bridgett in the restaurant first and then Bub.

Robert says this has been a tough few days.

He shows them their new restaurant and they are shocked.

Sonny says he could never have imagined this.

There are new chairs and a new ceiling.

Robert has added a hostess stand and there’s a brand new bar.

Robert brings in Bub who is amazed by how great the restaurant looks now.

They open up the restaurant for the first time since remodel.

The restaurant looks cozier and the lighting is beautiful.

On relaunch, the restaurant is full and there are two tickets waiting.

The kitchen is under control.

Prepping the food ahead of time has really helped them keep up with the tickets.

The customers love the food.

They also point out how great the lighting is and that atmosphere has improved a lot.

What Happened Next at Drake's Place?

A few months later, Bridgett is now running the front of the house successfully.

Bub has taken more responsibility and they are doing well.

Drake's Place 2020 Revisisted episode

In 2020, Robert Irvine revisited Drake’s Place.

He visited owner Bridgett back in 2019 for season 16.

Robert visited Sonny and Bridgett seven months ago.

After Robert left, they practically doubled in sales.

But things have changed with the pandemic.

They are only allowed 25% capacity, which is 20 seats.

Bridgett says she doesn’t think they have filled it to 25% yet.

Sonny says they have lost 70% of their business.

Bridgett says they have built a bond with the community and want to keep the restaurant open.

As Robert heads to the restaurant, he rewatches the original episode.

Robert says that it is difficult to run a restaurant but it’s worse with the pandemic.

Missouri is open but different counties have different rules.

There are boards on the windows due to the protesting and there is a sign for George Floyd.

Robert says the inside of the restaurant looks exactly how he left it.

He is upset that there aren’t any signs that say you are supposed to be social distancing.

Sonny says their profits had doubled before covid hit.

Bub is still wanting to make it into smokehouse.

However, the smoker broke for two months and after they fixed it, the pandemic hit.

Sonny is hoping they can somehow get Bub back on track with that.

Their break-even point is around $600, but they aren’t even making that.

In order to keep the place running, they took out a second mortgage on their house.

They’ve had to take out a home equity line of credit in order to keep the place open.

You can only order over the phone.

They have a patio but it is shut because of the protests.

Someone stole the bases and the umbrellas.

Sonny says that they were closed for three days because of the protests.

Bridgett says that her biggest fear is not knowing if things will get better or go back to normal.

Robert says he wants to taste Bub’s barbeque.

After Robert left, Bub and Sonny worked together a lot better.

Robert finds a warmer in the kitchen but it doesn’t work so they have to reheat food.

Robert tries the food and it is really good.

Robert talks about his ideas for the patio.

Bub wants to rename the restaurant to Sonny’s Smokehouse.

Bub says he has a passion to do this and he gets it all from his father.

Robert has his crew begin remodeling the patio.

They are installing lights, adding plants and more.

Robert shows them some ideas for the smokehouse menu.

Robert shows them their new patio.

The patio is beautiful with eighteen seats.

The patio is called Sonny’s.

Robert got them a new warmer.

They open up for the first time since Robert came.

Bridgett says she feels like revenue is going to skyrocket.

The customers love the food.

Bub is so proud of everything and is very thankful for Robert.

They unveiled Bub’s new barbeque menu the following week.

Every item sold out.

Times are still hard but they remain optimistic about the future.

Drake's Place is open.

Reviews are very positive after Restaurant Impossible with only minor complaints on service and delays in receiving food.

Drake's Place was Restaurant Impossible season 16 episode 8 and aired on 13th February 2020.

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