Monday, April 15th was their last day in business, and they posted the following message on their facebook page:
"To all of our Facebook friends and family. After 5 years of being in our Rivergate location, I have decided to close the Dinnerbell restaurant. Monday, April 15 will be our last day of operations. We will open at 10:30 AM and close at 3 PM. This was an incredibly hard decision for me to make. But with today's economy and rising cost of food, we've found it very hard to survive. This is a difficult time for me, my family and our employees, we ask for you to keep us in your prayers. Thank you for many great memories!"
Maybe if food costs were rising, they should have listened to Robert and not gone back to charging $5.00 for meals at their restaurant. Judging by the comments from the original update, this will probably not upset many people, and some will actually be happy that the restaurant closed due to the owners being ungrateful.
This now puts the total amount of restaurants from Restaurant Impossible that have closed at 16, and I have updated the Restaurant Impossible Page to reflect that.
Shocked that the Facebook message didn't flat out blame RI for the closing.
ReplyDeleteNot a huge surprise. The owner was a joke.
ReplyDeleteWOW.What a shock ... Fugazi TV at its finest.... And yes the owner was a ASS CLOWN. TA TA!!!!"
ReplyDeleteThe owner seemed like a smart know it all and uncooperative. Why he wanted help and behaved the way he did was a mystery to me.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not a surprise. It seems like whenever Robert goes to Tennessee, he tends to get more attitude from the owners than anywhere else- recall the BBQ restaurant owner in Memphis that Robert almost walked out on mid-episode, for instance.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I saw Robert's live show in New Buffalo MI over the weekend and he's still only saying that 4 have sold and 10 have closed.
Even with them fudging the number of closures a bit, I'm surprised how many are still in business and doing okay.
ReplyDeleteIf you're failing and call for help, there should be no surprises as to RI's M.O. The owners knew full well what to expect and should have been cooperative. On the other hand, all is not as it appears with Irvine's show. I found out personally from the owner of one of the transformed restaurants. Some of it is scripted, his own personal chef makes the food and Robert himself is a jerk. He's a bully; arrogant, aggressive and mean. It can be done without the anger, yelling and insults. There's much too much of that in the world anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt is, after all, a television show. Robert bullies people because it makes good TV. The show would not be as entertaining if Robert wasn't a bit of a bully the first day, and then comes across as a nice guy the second day. The restaurants get significant benefits even if Robert is a jerk, as shown by the number of these restaurants that have survived when they were on the verge of closing. They get a big makeover and lots of publicity.
ReplyDeleteMany restaurants need help, and would be grateful for help....not all who need it even get it. One here who does, fights it. What they've done hasn't worked, change is inevitable....stubbornness doesn't work in business. They did it to themselves. Sad.
ReplyDeleteEspecially on a $10k upgrade. I think the ones that last are the ones where dedicated successful restaurateurs get burned out and lose their way. Once they are rejuvenated with either equipment that works and/or a beautiful dining room its those people who turn it around IMHO.
ReplyDeleteAgreed but not the kind of benefits you get from being on Bar Rescue. If I had a failing bar I'd let John Taffer beat the holy hell out of me for a room full of HDTV's, fat ass liquor and beer delivery systems and everything else those jokers must spend. I commend RI on that front. They do seem to prioritize and make the greatest impact for $10k but that's a drop in the bucket compared to Bar Rescue. And it is "entertainment" - You want to hear about some real unfortunate reality TV go read this one about Wife Swap!
ReplyDeletehttp://thetruthaboutwifeswap.blogspot.com/
If you don't want to change, then don't call for help, DUH!!
ReplyDeleteTen thousand dollars is just a number. They have designers workers and professional chefs helping out. It would easily cost 30,000 to do what they do.
ReplyDeleteThough i think 10k is a joke I can say the Dinner Bell's food really wasnt all that good, the ONLY reason they had local business was the price was cheap.
Friches is a perfect example. the food with the exception of a few items is generally not that good at all yet its cheap and older people feel comfortable there so its keeps plugging along.
Dinner Bell was Kind of like the 1$ menu at mcdonalds.. you know its not that good.. but its cheap so you get it sometimes.
They put them selves out of business; bad before RI and bad after... yeah I dont think it was Robert Irvines fault. Reality TV or not.
This owner was a joke and not capable of leading. No wonder it closed.
ReplyDeleteNo surprise, the owner was a sart ass who didn't want to listen to what he was doing wrong and thought his food was wonderful, and apparently it wasn't that great.
ReplyDeleteWhen I watched the story broadcast on the local channel I had to laugh. After one of the waitresses bemouns how they were treated, she is shown carrying food to a table and sure enough, her thumb is in the food! The beauty of technology, you can freeze frame on the shot, enlarge and there it is. Thumb in the food.
ReplyDeleteJust watched the episode. I wouldn't say that he was a 'nice guy" the 2nd day.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant was failing before they asked for help from RI, and after the makeover, the owners change the menu back to the original failing foods and low prices. Need anyone be surprised that Dinner Bell fails again. And so typical, the owners and staff blame RI. The audacity.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe this show is a scam. These businesses are obviously in trouble, as several have closed doors. Irvine is a jerk, but with good reason. He kicks the bad habits in the rear, gets all up in their business, and provides them with the tools to be successful. I would call the show a scam if every restaurant aired was successful. The restaurant industry is tough, and I applaud this show for trying to help those who are in trouble. In this case, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink it. Reverting back to old ways that leaded you to failure is not going to create success. Getting a makeover isn't going to generate more business. Irvine offered them tools to be successful, and sadly, the owner refused to listen.
ReplyDeleteTommy's petulance did him in. I pretty much knew before checking this site that the business would close. He had no business being in the restaurant business.
ReplyDeleteOk, this restaurant was far from good. However this does not give Chef Robert the right to be a bully. He should be ashamed of himself.
ReplyDelete