The Good Reviews:
- "Dale Bishop of Three Rivers doesn’t consider himself a “regular,” but has eaten at Frankie’s off and on since 1981. “The changes were great,” Bishop said. “I love the openness.”
- "Since Chef Robert Irvine renovated the place and added his signature dishes to the menu, Frankie's has been much more appealing to people. We will be back!"
- "I don’t know what Frankie’s used to be, but I liked what it is now. The atmosphere is something really unexpected in a place like this which may be why some of the long time customers seem to not like the remodel. As someone who’ seeing Frankie’s for the first time, I liked it. All of our meals had a number of home made elements to it and that’s always a winner with us."
- "Good food, nice atmosphere, a little noisy but all around I think the makeover was a success and Three Rivers now has an attractive new restaurant that could become a destination dining experience. Congratulations!"
- "My husband and I are not fond of the new pizza by any means much less the atmosphere as now it is so noisy and not ONE TV in the whole place....So now we must find another pizza place but if Frankie's decides to bring back THEIR pizza, we will return, in spite of the noise."
- "Horrible! Over priced, small portions and bland food. The old frankies was much better. Pretty sure they'll go out of business soon."
- "We just tried the "new" Frankie's. The menu, food, and service were disappointing. The "chicken burger" was so bad I couldn't eat it. French fries tasted like they were made yesterday. A Subway sub would have been an improvement. We liked the "old" Frankie's better. We will NOT go back."
- "We were definitely not hit with the "wow" factor. We thought the workmanship was poor, menus cut way down and printed on cheaply on a piece of paper and a curtain covered the caboose entrance which they have done nothing with. Prices have increased."
Conclusion:
According to one of Frankie's owners, the publicity surrounding the makeover and a new awareness of Frankie’s has created more traffic at the restaurant. It seems as if some of the people that have been eating there over the years do not like the change to the restaurant that they grew up in, but that is understandable. Others are embracing the change, while all are still glad to have the popular onion rings as a menu item.
What are your thoughts after watching the episode? Do you like the changes? Do you think Frankie's will succeed?
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Reviews taken from Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google, and Foursquare.
Also info from SW Michigan Dining Blog and Sturgis Journal
I always find it amusing to hear the negative feedback about the improvements that are made by restaurant impossible . I feel that the few customers that they had are worth losing , considering that the nasty food they were serving much putting them out of business . after all if the people loved the food so much and the atmosphere so much before the changes why was the restaurant going out of business and reaching out to Robert for help? these people really need to get a grip !!
ReplyDeletethe old customers complaining are ridiculous - they were eating microwaved canned food and they're complaining about fresh food and a fabulous makeover. these are the kind of customers that would have ridden the restaurant to its grave
ReplyDeleteI really hope to see this restaurant succeed. As said before, if the improvement drove away old customers that loved their microwaved and days old food, they're worth losing! The interior on a side note is so beautifully done, I want a restaurant just like it!
ReplyDeleteHope nothing but the best!
ReplyDeleteTough business I can't believe they were grossing 750k a year with that awful microwaved food. I wish them the best going forward!
ReplyDeleteDo I understand correctly that the one lady is complaining because there is NOT a TV in the restaurant? She could stay home if she wants to watch TV...
ReplyDeleteI was passing through the area and stopped in Three Rivers (a little out of my way) to try this restaurant. I had never been to Three Rivers before, but I was really impressed with Frankies. Our service was good and the food was really good. They mark the menu items from Chef Irvine, and I tried his meatball sub. The flavor was great and the bread was really fresh.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I were not impressed. All the "new" menu was gone within a couple of weeks and the staff were very slow. It took an hour and a half for a pizza and an order of pasta with a total of five tables of paying customers. Not going back!
ReplyDeleteVery delicious we got the chicken burger and pizza omg very juicy and tasty.we will be back.
ReplyDeleteI like the tagine, slowly roasted goodness. I'm glad they decided to add morrocan food.
ReplyDeleteI am a new fan to "Restaurant Impossible" and enjoyed watching this episode because who hasn't had a co-worker or supervisor they couldn't work with? I am disappointed at all the negative reviews! Remember the saying, "Rome wasn't built in day?" When turning a restaurant around, you have to allow time for the changes to set in. I hope with all the publicity Frankie is enjoying, they will use the profits they make to further develop their restaurant, and not depend on what the show has done for their business to bring them continued success.
ReplyDeleteI agree with several other posters here, if are going to a restaurant because it has a TV just stay home, at least at home you can change the channels. My wife and i do not go to restaurants with TV's we are there for the food and atmosphere, this is what they make DVR boxes for..
ReplyDeleteGoodRiddance. With bad Rubbish. Buy a Damn Tv ifu don't have one jealousy is wasted energy. U want to go out for a change of scenery not. To watchtvget a life or eat pizza. At bjs. Or Costco and watch tv in the tv section
ReplyDeleteseems that so many of these restaurants only stick to the new menu for a few weeks then go back to their old ways. Makes you wonder what they are thinking. If what you were doing wasn't working, why go back to it???
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time seeing the show I love the change. I'm so sorry to say that I know some American like can food and microwave food. Maybe that's why they have problem with Franky now. There is nothing better than home made. It's good for your health. They should be worried now about what they've eating in that old dirty and microwave restaurant.
ReplyDeleteJust went on Frankie's site to see reviews and most were great ( new reviews from this yr) so seems like bad reviews are people with no knowledge or no taste in good food) good going Frankie's !! Ignore idiots who are just hating
ReplyDeleteI had to try Frankies because of the show. I will not address the decor except to note that a few simple light bulbs had not been replaced when needed. If 5 minutes could not be allocated to fix this, I wonder what else is not being done. We entered to find an empty house except for a man at the bar. We were greeted promptly and seated. A very friendly waitress did not know the soup of the day....trip to find out....she did not know what beer was on tap....trip to find out....2 more trips to find out which beers were included with happy hour and a beer ordered....oops that beer is full price she says after putting our order in for onion rings. Onion rings were good but not great and we decided not to order anything else because as we heard when others came in, ordering could be a real chore. One of the owners was nearby as we left and he remained silent but he was not friendly looking for sure. I had greater expectations for folks that have been enlightened.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! Love the remodel and am sure the food is a huge improvement.
ReplyDeleteFor those idiots that liked the old food, seems they have never had anything but frozen microwaved meals, probably never had home cooked food, ever. Embrace Chef Robert's advice and they will be a success!
They son of the original owner from years ago is taking it back over to get back to the 'hey day' of Frankie's
ReplyDelete