Restaurant: Impossible - General Discussion

[buttersister]

I haven't bothered getting my free sub from Verizon. For what? This show sucks (mostly due to Robert's persona of tough guy/heart of gold barking at his staff--loser boss). I'm over the Gaines family. And I'm super happy to put an all-music station on as background if the alternative is hearing Flay/Fieri all day/no way. 

In the meantime, I have no doubt the business model is cord cutters. Time will tell how long that'll take (they're counting on younger people growing into a loyal audience--not going to happen with this content;-)

[nitrofishblue]

Did anyone watching episode two last night on Discovery+?  I know I didn't. I got my dose of silliness watching Hell's Kitchen. So sad that FN aired a Beat Bobby Flay marathon. Bobby and Guy are two FN celebrities that I will not watch. Guy especially grates me down to my last nerve.

[Yeah No]

On 1/11/2021 at 12:44 PM, buttersister said:

I haven't bothered getting my free sub from Verizon. For what? This show sucks (mostly due to Robert's persona of tough guy/heart of gold barking at his staff--loser boss). I'm over the Gaines family. And I'm super happy to put an all-music station on as background if the alternative is hearing Flay/Fieri all day/no way. 

In the meantime, I have no doubt the business model is cord cutters. Time will tell how long that'll take (they're counting on younger people growing into a loyal audience--not going to happen with this content;-)

I have Discovery+ and I haven't watched the latest episode.  Didn't even think about it.  I think this is where old series are going to go to die.  And I agree with you that the younger people aren't going to find the content interesting enough to subscribe in order to watch.  If I even find it boring, imagine them?  Bobby and Giada in Italy?  Snore.....

[buttersister]

48 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Bobby and Giada in Italy?  Snore.....

LOL, thought the second showing would help me fall asleep, but I started laughing and couldn’t stop. Old hipster Bobby meeting up with pals for pizza—three girls who looked like they could be his daughters. Ew. 

Quote

 where old series are going to go to die

So many promos for cold case stories. Maybe old detectives can stop by Robert’s Cafe to ask his help solving mysteries?
 

[nitrofishblue]

It seems that not many people have watched episode two of the new season since there are no comments. I watched episode one when it was shown on basic cable. However I can't stream anything. I don't have a smart tv. So Discovery + is out of the question for me. I have checked on-demand and so far  they haven't shown any there. Guess Food network is a thing in past for me.

[Gramto6]

I don't have a smart TV either and being a clueless old lady, have no idea how On Demand works. Thing is the shows they moved to D+ (think the name applies) no great loss to me. I already pay for cable and won't pay double for shows I don't give a rip about anyway... I think in a while they are going to realize they have shot themselves in the foot with this whole project.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Gramto6
addition to post

[chessiegal]

33 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

I don't have a smart TV either and being a clueless old lady, have no idea how On Demand works. Thing is the shows they moved to D+ (think the name applies) no great loss to me. I already pay for cable and won't pay double for shows I don't give a rip about anyway... I think in a while they are going to realize they have shot themselves in the foot with this whole project.

Discovery+ is primarily aimed at folks who have cut their cable cord. It's just another streaming service. Discovery is a large company and I'm sure they've run the numbers to make sure this new venture is profitable. I have no intention of signing up, and am quite happy that shows like RI is safely tucked away where I don't have to see it.

[Yeah No]

56 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Discovery+ is primarily aimed at folks who have cut their cable cord. It's just another streaming service. Discovery is a large company and I'm sure they've run the numbers to make sure this new venture is profitable. I have no intention of signing up, and am quite happy that shows like RI is safely tucked away where I don't have to see it.

If they only aim at part of their audience I think they are shooting themselves in the foot.  I think their strategy is to take advantage of people cutting the cord with cable anyway, but they are making a bet on that continuing and increasing.  The problem is that people soon realize that they are actually paying more than cable for less if they have to itemize several streaming channels in order to get everything they want to watch.  The more streaming services there are (and there are more all the time) the less each of them will attract new customers as people quickly realize they have to limit their subscriptions.  And there will be much more interesting channels appearing in the future.  Plus if there are less viewers on cable their cable ratings will go down and that can't be good overall either.  If they keep shuttling their new episodes of existing shows over to their streaming service those shows' ratings will be lower and become more limited as time goes on as more competing streaming channels open up all the time.  So what is their plan, to eventually only have repeats on cable and keep encouraging viewers to move to streaming by removing their favorite shows from cable?  That's really stupid too.  The cable people that have no interest in leaving cable aren't going to bite and the people leaving cable are going to see Discovery as less important than newer, more exciting channels coming out all the time.  Let's face it, this is just Discovery we're talking about.  You can find most of their stuff for free elsewhere and the new exclusive content isn't going to be worth paying for.  They aren't HBO Max or anything like that.  My father used to say it was never a good idea to be in competition with yourself.  I think he was right.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Yeah No

[chessiegal]

I've seen posts from folks who say they are saving over $70/month by cutting cable. You'd have to sign up for 14 streaming services to get to $4.99/month to cost more than cable. $4.99/month is low compared to a streaming service like Netflix. I'm not stopping cable, and Discovery is not going to stop new content on cable. There is definitely a market for the cable cord cutters. Discovery hasn't moved anything I watch to their streaming service. Their exclusive streaming shows aren't enough to move me. As far as RI, good riddance. Can't stand Robert Irvine.

[Yeah No]

On 1/29/2021 at 9:23 AM, chessiegal said:

I've seen posts from folks who say they are saving over $70/month by cutting cable. You'd have to sign up for 14 streaming services to get to $4.99/month to cost more than cable. $4.99/month is low compared to a streaming service like Netflix. I'm not stopping cable, and Discovery is not going to stop new content on cable. There is definitely a market for the cable cord cutters. Discovery hasn't moved anything I watch to their streaming service. Their exclusive streaming shows aren't enough to move me. As far as RI, good riddance. Can't stand Robert Irvine.

Well, given that this is the thread for "Restaurant Impossible" I don't know what to say to that except that it hasn't affected you yet.  I think any savings is dependent on how much cable costs where you live and how broad your interests are.  Already Discovery has moved 2 shows I watch over to Discovery+ for new content (Restaurant Impossible and Long Island Medium - no judgment please).  And I can see the writing on the wall for several others in the future, like "Sister Wives" and "My Big Fat Fabulous Life".  Already they are luring "90 Day Fiance" fans over there with new spin offs based on the show that won't be available anywhere else.  Not to mention new series like "Bobby and Giada" or "Magnolia Table" that would normally air on FN but are going to be launched on Discovery+ exclusively.  I watch an awful lot of Discovery shows on their various channels.  If only one moved over exclusively for new content on each that would be a lot of my lineup. I already pay a lot of money for those channels on Comcast to have to miss out on new programming and face losing a number of old favorites or be blackmailed into paying even more.  Cable subscribers in general are pissed and posting angry comments all over the internet so I am far from alone.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Yeah No

[satrunrose]

I agree. I'll watch RI in passing, but I'm not a huge fan, so this is no particular loss, but there are others like Dr Pimple Popper and the Ghost Hunting shows that are bothering me.  It really annoys me that I have to either pay twice (D+ and cable) or track down the services that show the other non-Discovery shows that I watch, sign up for those multiple services and then cut the cord. I'm fine with them starting a new service to attract the cord cutters and maybe offer a good archive of old shows to entice some cable folks to get both, but I don't like the current approach of taking away something I'm already paying a premium for at all. 

[nitrofishblue]

It is fine and dandy to provide the ability to download and stream programs. HOWEVER,it is not fine that TPTB are kicking folks in the ass that can't or don't want to do streaming by taking away the ability to watch new episodes unless they go to streaming. I can't stream. Don't have a smartTV and all the equipment necessary to stream.

I notice that not many folks are commenting on all the new episodes of RI that are showing on the streaming channel.

Edited February 6, 2021 by nitrofishblue

[Claire85]

I liked this week’s episode. Alexandra was obviously a hard worker with high standards. It was interesting seeing what all goes into keeping kosher. I had no idea broccoli could be so problematic. 
 

On a side note, I did end up subscribing to discovery+ not just for RI, but also for other shows I enjoy like A Crime to Remember and Disappeared. 

[nitrofishblue]

So Food network is showing two new episodes of RI tonight. Wonder how many folks have been watching it on Discovery +?

[Gramto6]

3 hours ago, nitrofishblue said:

So Food network is showing two new episodes of RI tonight. Wonder how many folks have been watching it on Discovery +?

Not me for one!! Never will...can live without it...will watch when on regular cable but will never pay for streaming.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, nitrofishblue said:

So Food network is showing two new episodes of RI tonight. Wonder how many folks have been watching it on Discovery +?

Probably not that many.  I've only watched a couple of eps. with my free trial of Discovery+.  Interestingly I notice that FN will be showing two new episodes in the upcoming weeks.  I wonder if they realized moving it was a bad move for this show.

3 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Not me for one!! Never will...can live without it...will watch when on regular cable but will never pay for streaming.

It looks like new eps. will be shown on regular cable for the next couple of weeks.

[Yeah No]

Hello, alert the media, a new episode recorded on my DVR last night and will next week too.

So be on the lookout for it on cable!

[Yeah No]

According to this article Food Network made the decision to bring new episodes of Restaurant Impossible back to cable after having moved them exclusively to Discovery+.  The author is wondering why they changed their minds, but also makes mention of the many fan posts on social media begging Robert Irvine to bring the show back to cable.  It also mentions that the show is one of FN's most popular and that moving it might have been their effort to coerce cable viewers into buying Discovery+, but when they found out how so many of the fans were against it, they brought it back.

Also, and this is BIG news - "Dinner Impossible" is now back by popular demand - Robert Irvine is filming new episodes, also being shown on regular cable.  YAY!

Edited March 16, 2021 by Yeah No

[Gramto6]

Is there a thread for Dinner:Impossible? I can't seem to find it. Tonight's show was interesting kind of a fun crossover for RI and that ghost hunter show (can't remember the name) with Amy and the retired police officer. Glad they decided to put this on cable and not D+ as I will never subscribe to that...

[Claire85]

I watched DI and I thought the ghost crossover was stupid. The show is almost too gimmicky now. I miss the old days with David and Big George and the mad dashes to the supermarket and 10-15 dishes in the white board. 

[nitrofishblue]

1 minute ago, Claire85 said:

I watched DI and I thought the ghost crossover was stupid. The show is almost too gimmicky now. I miss the old days with David and Big George and the mad dashes to the supermarket and 10-15 dishes in the white board. 

I so totally agree with you on this. Dinner Impossible USED to be more interesting. The producers are turning it into Dinner: Cutthroat Impossible. Make the challenge so ridiculous then insert all the stupid ghost stuff that had nothing to do with the food prep. 

[Claire85]

In the old days, Robert would put the ghostbusters to work as sous chefs and tell them to “move their bombas.” 😉

[Gramto6]

"Potato barrels" who the heck is he trying to impress with tater tots??? Give me a break!

Edited April 2, 2021 by Gramto6

[Claire85]

Robert said on Twitter he couldn’t say “tater tots” on TV since it’s a brand name. 

[Gramto6]

2 hours ago, Claire85 said:

Robert said on Twitter he couldn’t say “tater tots” on TV since it’s a brand name. 

Thanks for that, I don't follow him on Twitter. It just sounded so pretentious...

Edited April 3, 2021 by Gramto6

[Polliwollidoodle]

I didn't know if the show was still on, but within the past 2 weeks, apparently they were filming a new episode at a restaurant which is probably less than 10 miles away. So this got my attention and of course I have no idea when it will play or when the new episodes at all will be.

Curious to see it as the restaurant is a super old building (if I remember it might be from 1700's) and I believe has been a restaurant or inn forever. I have never been there ( we are kind of new to the area anyway) but would notice it when I passed it. It looks like it would be a lovely place, but most of the time it was pretty empty. So I guess this is really a perfect restaurant for the show. Looking forward in the days to come to see about their new menu and to hear or read comments on local FB pages etc.

[Maverick]

Food Network just showed an episode with a restaurant in a Tennessee marina run but a vet with PTSD.   Unless I missed it, there wasn't the usual "Sales are up since Robert's visit and the the owner is reformed" blurb at the end.  I'm guessing this one didn't have a happy ending?

[lu1535]

18 hours ago, Maverick said:

Food Network just showed an episode with a restaurant in a Tennessee marina run but a vet with PTSD.   Unless I missed it, there wasn't the usual "Sales are up since Robert's visit and the the owner is reformed" blurb at the end.  I'm guessing this one didn't have a happy ending?

I noticed that too so I came here to get the scoop! I thought my tv broke.😁

[chessiegal]

This web site keeps up with all the RI makeovers. Here is the review of The Anchor: The Anchor review on Food Network Gossip

[iwantcookies]

I am watching this show. I can’t believe people who have no experience with restaurants opening one ? Why? You don’t know what you are doing. 
 

Its basically a train wreck. 
 

Discovery is worth $.99 that I’m paying for it lol.

[chessiegal]

Discovery couldn't pay me to watch this show. Irvine is a pompous ass.

[Emkat]

On 5/24/2020 at 10:31 PM, cmpbl said:

I have a feeling that this couple will end up on the ID channel. The husband was beyond creepy. 

I just did a rewatch of this episode and it has been heavily, HEAVILY edited since it first aired.  So they knew how badly it came off and that is disturbing. 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

New episode this week. The couple seemed like decent people who were just way in over their heads. I loved when Robert showed them how their ghost kitchens were literally costing them money (i.e. $173,000 in gross ghost kitchen revenue vs $178,000 in ghost kitchen expenses) and taking their focus away from the restaurant itself. Also: it's one thing for Robert to go into histrionics about how bad a restaurant's food is. It's quite something else for him to calmly and matter-of-factly say "This is the worst Mexican food I've ever had."

On the other hand, reports post-show say they've gone back to their crappy old food and just raised the prices. Robert can try as hard as he likes but you can't always cure stupid.

Edited January 25, 2022 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

New episode this week. The couple seemed like decent people who were just way in over their heads.

Actually they weren't a "couple", they were mother and son.  She must have had him very young.

[Yeah No]

Did anyone see the most recent episode with the mother and son "Juju's" in Huntsville?  It wasn't even a restaurant plus the son couldn't cook and seemed clueless about running a restaurant.  I hope his mother can help the place succeed.  So far the Google reviews seem pretty good since the makeover, so you never know.

[nitrofishblue]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

Did anyone see the most recent episode with the mother and son "Juju's" in Huntsville?  It wasn't even a restaurant plus the son couldn't cook and seemed clueless about running a restaurant.  I hope his mother can help the place succeed.  So far the Google reviews seem pretty good since the makeover, so you never know.

He was totally clueless even though he was a rocket scientist. That equipment Robert provided probably cost a pretty penny. Poor guy didn't even know how to purchase food. He did hire more workers and his sales increased 70%.

[Jaded]

I had gotten in the habit of watching this show then after it moved to the app I lost interest. With so much else out there to watch I wasn't really motivated to pick it back up when it returned regularly to FN.

[Kenzie]

This Miz Ju Ju's episode nagged at me for hours after viewing it.

How could anyone call that a restaurant by any imagination? He couldn't even afford menus and the customers had to go to Instagram to order while sitting at the table. 

I give this guy points for trying to pay his poor mom back but he really had no real understanding of how to run any business.

I have a feeling some of his back story was glossed over. Very odd he graduates with a degree in physics but drops out of a good job at NASA after only a few months and then pursues opening a terribly under funded hole in the wall restaurant.

High I.Q. definitely didn't equal street smarts in this case.

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, Kenzie said:

This Miz Ju Ju's episode nagged at me for hours after viewing it.

How could anyone call that a restaurant by any imagination? He couldn't even afford menus and the customers had to go to Instagram to order while sitting at the table. 

I give this guy points for trying to pay his poor mom back but he really had no real understanding of how to run any business.

I have a feeling some of his back story was glossed over. Very odd he graduates with a degree in physics but drops out of a good job at NASA after only a few months and then pursues opening a terribly under funded hole in the wall restaurant.

High I.Q. definitely didn't equal street smarts in this case.

Thank you, that's exactly what I was thinking.  Something was left out and the story as told didn't add up.  Some of what his mother said happened with her and the bakery didn't add up either unless there was more to it than that.  

[chessiegal]

Here's a website that keeps track of Restaurant: Impossible shows. Seems like there is not much info on Mizz Juju's.

Food Network Gossip - Mizz Juju's

[Emkat]

The poor guy seemed to be seriously depressed.  Something going on there for sure.

[Kenzie]

Dreadlife Cafe:

 

I wish Robert as part of the turn-around could have convinced the owner to rename the restaurant. Naming his soul food place after his mound of hair is not appetizing. 

[Mondrianyone]

It's such a bad name on several levels.

I don't think that place has much of a chance. When the updates say that sales have increased by 10% and you know they always try to put the best spin on it, that can't be good. The owner seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't get the sense he comprehended a whole lot. And if people came there for wings, changing the whole menu and jacking up the prices hugely seemed like a recipe for failure.

[Emkat]

That's what I was thinking. If people came there for wings why get rid of them? Just make it a really good wing place.

[Yeah No]

17 hours ago, Kenzie said:

Dreadlife Cafe:

I wish Robert as part of the turn-around could have convinced the owner to rename the restaurant. Naming his soul food place after his mound of hair is not appetizing. 

Plus all I could think was "Dread-ful Life".  Unappetizing AND depressing!

[Mondrianyone]

I watched the revisit to the Retro Diner this morning, and I couldn't understand why Robert was so optimistic about their prospects. It made no sense to me why a business that was supposedly doing so well after his first visit would move to a new location (let's assume it's true they had to move) and completely change its identity. If you had a good reputation under your previous name, wouldn't you keep it so your customers could find you at the new place? Some of the things these people do totally confound me.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm always amazed at how people who know nothing about running a restaurant put every penny into starting one, or worse, borrow retirement funds from parents, and then squander everything. 

   Between this show, and Ramsay's show, I think only a couple of restaurants turned around where they probably could pay back the parents,' retirement money.    

Edited April 15, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Kenzie]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I'm always amazed at how people who know nothing about running a restaurant put every penny into starting one ...

Remember a few episodes ago when Robert bought a commercial stove, oven and other items for Miz Juju's at a store specializing in used restaurant kitchen appliances?

Anthony Bourdain devoted an entire chapter in his book Kitchen Confidential to all the knuckle-headed reasons people open restaurants and why they are doomed to fail. He wrote about how other restaurants and businesses circle like vultures around these soon to close restaurants so they can pick up good kitchen ware at rock bottom prices.

[DougJones]

I’m finally catching up and I can say for the most part, the first half (or even third), is always entertaining, but I can do without Irvine’s counseling and emotional struggles with his clients. You want people to do well(most of them) and hope they have more success in the future, but painful to watch after the first half. 
 

i don’t mind watching Robert, but sometimes I can’t tell if he’s just full of himself or acts humble as a facade. He does seem sincere in wanting to help people in all ways. 
 

maybe I’ve posted this before, but WHY DONT PEOPLE CLEAN AHEAD OF TIME If they know Robert is coming. Jeez

[Maisiesmom]

Years ago I worked at a restaurant that eventually did go belly up because of poor planning and management. The owner had a beer and shot type bar that did very well for many years and decided he wanted to open a fine dining place. He put a bunch of money into it and it did well at first. The cooks were excellent, the servers were wonderful, but the owner had a habit of inviting his friends in after closing where they would drink up all the top-shelf booze and he would go in the kitchen and give away steaks, sides of ribs, stuff like that. He really had no idea of how much it cost to run a place like that. Soon he couldn't pay his vendors, the power was shut off more than once for non-payment, and employees left in droves. He became ill and ended up losing the building but couldn't shake the huge debt he had accrued. It seems so many people bite off more than they can chew.