Mizz Juju's - Restaurant Impossible Update - Open or Closed?

In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits Mizz Juju’s in Huntsville, Alabama.

Mizz Juju’s is owned by Daniel.

The soul food restaurant was named after his mother and grandmother.

He was the first to graduate from college in the family.

He worked a corporate job at NASA but walked away from it all to open a bakery.

He later turned this into a restaurant.

His mother ran the bakery but she fell ill and this damaged the business.

She handed it over to Daniel, who felt guilty about his parents’ retirement savings.

He restarted the business as a soul food restaurant.

He now runs the restaurant with his mother as manager.

Robert arrives and he sees a dark and boring office-like space with flimsy furnishings.

He meets with Juliet and Daniel, who tell him their story.

Robert questions Daniel’s involvement as he is not trained in hospitality.

Juliet is moved to tears by Robert’s feedback.

People are brought in so Robert can observe service and it is all wrong from the start.

There are no staff so guests come in and sit anywhere.

There are no menus available for the customers.

Daniel has to make an announcement for people to use the Instagram page to find the menu.

The diners must also come to the counter to make orders as there will be no table service.

Daniel takes the orders, cooks and serves with the help of a friend.

The customers wait for more than 20 minutes for their meal.

They can tell most of it is from a can or reheated.

Robert checks in the kitchen and the equipment are all household grade.

All the ingredients are supermarket bought and stored improperly.

Robert immediately tells customers to leave as it is not safe to eat the meals.

Daniel's friend that helped is the bartender but there are no drinks to even serve.

Robert orders off of the Instagram menu but Daniel has thrown everything away after service was shut down.

Robert is forced to look at the meals left behind by other guests but the assessment is still the same.

Robert brings in Tom and Luke, his builder and designer, who immediately think the restaurant is an office.

The space is blank with no theme or concept.

They have a task coming up with a new concept from the family story.

Daniel’s family help to clean out the space, which is fairly quick as there is not much there.

Daniel does not join in with the cleaning.

He is upset because he feels indebted to his parents.

Robert reminds him he needs to be involved for the process to work.

He also tells him to gather staff as he needs the support.

Robert meets with Daniel after a while to give him some things to think about to hopefully change his mindset.

Robert goes on a shopping spree as the restaurant kitchen has no proper equipment.

Robert is able to find some second-hand equipment.

The team bring family pictures into the space to inspire a theme.

Daniel and Juliet call as many people as they can to fill positions.

The next morning, Robert goes straight to the kitchen.

The equipment has been delivered and installed.

The team finally have a theme for the space that Robert is happy with.

Robert sits with Juilet first to talk about the bakery.

She in turn talks with Daniel to help him let go of the guilt for how the bakery unfolded.

Robert takes both to the kitchen to show the new equipment that should make food prep better.

Daniel is tasked with making Robert a dish so he can sample his cooking.

Robert looks at the finances to see where Daniel can save money to hire staff.

Robert demonstrates how Daniel has been losing money shopping from the grocery store rather than using a supplier.

With the savings this will make he can easily afford new staff.

Robert takes them through other aspects like pricing.

Next, he takes them through making some soul food dishes from fresh ingredients.

The team are struggling to finish up on time and go over by almost 2 hours.

This gives Daniel and Juliet time to train the new staff.

Finally, at nightfall, they are both taken in to see the space.

The space is warm and modern with an upscale feel and family pictures all over one wall.

They are both teary-eyed seeing all of the changes.

They let customers in for the relaunch.

All of the locals are amazed at how beautiful the space is.

Robert continues to give Daniel lessons at the beginning of the night on what he should be watching for.

He does great, as do the staff.

The orders come in and the dishes are prepared quickly.

The food is taken out to the customers in a timely manner.

Juliet is in front of the house managing customers and she is happy.

What Happened Next at Mizz Juju's?

After the show, 3 new kitchen staff and 4 new servers were hired.

Sales increased by more than 70%.

This has enabled Daniel to start paying his parents back.

Mizz Juju's is open.

Reviews are mostly positive.

The food seems to be highly regarded.

However, diners have been struggling to find it open as the opening times online appear incorrect.

Mizz Juju's is Restaurant Impossible season 20 episode 11 and aired on 24th March 2022.

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