Restaurant Impossible - Whiskey Creek Steakhouse Update

Photo - Food Network

Tonight on Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine is going to Whiskey Creek Steakhouse in Keyport, Washington, which has been in business for about 20 years.   Owners Karan and Pat have said that their business has been as slow as ever and due to not having electronic records, it makes it hard to keep track of money and food.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Whiskey Creek Steakhouse to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews and comments are post Restaurant: Impossible):


The Positive Reviews:

• "We had the hamburger with fries and I have to say we both enjoyed it very much.... I do think they may still need a bit of help with staffing and customer service technique but all in all it was a good lunch and I'd be happy to go back."
• "As to the food, my prime rib was excellent and cooked as ordered, I also enjoyed the garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus that came with. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meal, one person had chicken and the rest had different cuts of steak.... I was moved to take the time to write this review because I really feel the folks at this restaurant are trying hard to improve their business and give good value. I think our experience was improved by the folks who wrote negative reviews and that the owners have taken these complaints to heart and made improvements."
• "Service was prompt and friendly. I like the new menu; trimmed down with a much tighter focus. The food arrived in a reasonable timeframe. My wife ordered Prime Rib and I had Chicken Cordon Bleu; both were very good! For dessert, we had the Apple Crisp and it was excellent. Overall, I thought the wait staff and kitchen did an excellent job. I will definitely be returning and bringing a few friends." 

The Negative Reviews:

• "The portions were so small that we went home and had additional food. This was our favorite steakhouse. Now poor food with no flavor, good service, nice atmosphere and no live music. We won't be going back anytime soon. They ruined the place."
• "I asked for the check and had to flag down a busser to remind the server, after we waited. No one asked us how our dinner was, no one noticed my mother didn't eat but a few bites, and by the time we were leaving, the restaurant was pretty empty.  We were really disappointed, the service has not improved, and the menu is lacking flavor and variety and so completely overpriced its laughable. Alas this was our last visit to Whiskey creek."
• "We decided to go there to check out the remodel after filming Restaurant Impossible and was terribly disappointed....The other customers looked extremely unhappy as well.  On the drive home I started experiencing nausea and the need to vomit, which I did upon coming home and was sick the rest of the night.  I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE AT ALL!! THEY WOULD GET ZERO STARS IF YELP WOULD ALLOW IT."
• "Everything was horribly underseasoned, we had to add salt and pepper to everything we ate.....Sorry guys, we won't be back."
• "The menu has changed the fries are limp and greasy, the entres over priced.  the only good thing the make over did was get rid of the chairs in the main dining room."
• "The bad news is that the food and service are the same i.e., bad....We certainly won’t be back and I doubt that others will either after the novelty of the press coverage and show wear off."
• "The decor has changed for the better but the food and service is not good. I give them 3 months before they go under. They no longer have music during the week which was their big attraction." 
  
• "Renovated & revamped and I still give this place an F! The service was terrible and our food sat under the heat lamps for an hour before it reached our table. We will never return to this establishment again."

Conclusion:

The reviews for the Whiskey Creek Steakhouse were overwhelmingly negative.  The majority of the time, a negative review will at least give 2 or 3 stars, but the a good amount of the Whiskey Creek reviews were 1 star reviews.  It seems like the service is very lacking, the food quality not up to standards, and the prices too high.  Some customers miss the live music that was at the restaurant, but that was costing the owners too much money.  The menu shrunk from 48 items to 22 items after the makeover, but some of the items that were removed have made their way back onto the menu due to customer requests.

Whiskey Creek saw a strong increase in visitors during October, after news spread that Restaurant Impossible was filming there.  However, the owners have said that in November things were back to normal.  They hope when the show airs, it will bring more people into the restaurant again.

It looks like this may not be one of the success stories of Restaurant: Impossible if they do not turn things around quickly.  They even have negative reviews on their Facebook page.  You would think that a business would delete negative reviews on their Facebook page.  Another telling thing is that restaurants usually have a viewing party the night the episode airs on the Food Network.  The owners have stated they are not doing one for their episode, and will watch at home tonight.

What are your feelings on the Whiskey Creek Steakhouse?  Will they suffer the same fate as Paliani's?

Reviews from Google, Tripadvisor, Facebook and Yelp 
Some information from Kitsap Sun


Update 6/30/2013 - According to the North Kitsap Herald,  Whiskey Creek decided to move to a location across the street, pretty much undoing all of the Restaurant Impossible changes.  Despite business 'falling off' in March, the location they are moving to is a bigger one, where they plan to re-create the 'old' Whiskey Creek Steakhouse look.  They said the new contemporary look drove away customers.

Update - Whiskey Creek Steakhouse was sold to new owners in 11/2013 - Restaurant Impossible Update page.