Restaurant Impossible - Frankie's Update

Tonight's Restaurant: Impossible has Robert Irvine going to Frankie's in Three Rivers, Michigan, which is also referred to as Frankie's By the Tracks.  Frankie's has been around for over 25 years and it looks like it is under new ownership that hasn't been keeping it up to the previous standards, which is why Restaurant Impossible had to be called in.  I again searched around the internet to read stories and reviews about Frankie's, so you do not have to and here is what I found:


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!"

The Bad Reviews:

• "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