Restaurant Impossible - Pinehurst Country Lodge Update

Photo - Food Network

Tonight on Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine and crew are going to Greeley, Pennsylvania to help out the Pinehurst Country Lodge.  After losing his successful corporate job, the owner Roger, who has no previous restaurant experience, purchased the Pinehurst Country Lodge.  After six months, he is now supposedly $350,000 in debt and on the verge of losing everything.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Pinehurst Country Lodge to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant Impossible):



The Positive Reviews:

• "Where shall I begin?  Great ambiance, service was excellent.  Limited but quality menu.  Salad bar was nicely stocked with numerous vegetables, dressing choices and fresh bread....I ordered off the nights specials, sirloin and shrimp.  It was excellent, cooked perfectly and the portion was adequate as well.  I highly recommend this place!"
• "There is something very special about PineHurst...the comfortable atmosphere ...the friendly welcome .... the delicious food .... the super salad bar .... new decor.........now serving lunch and dinner...my favorite local restaurant....no longer lost....you must dine here..."
• "Been to this establishment in the past and never really cared for it. Now there is a new owner and the tables have turned. The food is very good. Everything tasty and fresh. Prime rib, chicken, and seafood dishes all up to par. Plus a great salad bar to compliment your meal. The staff is very attentive-friendly and the owner really seems to care. I expect great things from this cozy restaurant and can't wait to come back."

The Negative Reviews:

• "After waiting over three hours for our reservation on re-launch night (The Restaurant was chosen for an airing of Food Network's Restaurant Impossible), I am sad to say we walked out.  The over all atmosphere remained nice, but obviously service and kitchen were struggling severely.  I normally wouldn't leave a review, but I was terribly disappointed that most tables that were seated were friends and family from NY and Long Island.  If you want to remain in business, and you are truly struggling, then I am sorry, but reservations should be given to those who you would like to return.  I am not in any rush to go back for this sole reason."
• "What a shame - used to be such a pretty place - now looks like decor for a teenager's bedroom. What is with painting everything black? Went Sunday evening - tea was cold, food was cold. The prime rib was plunked right on top of the mashed potatoes and made them mushy. Spagetti was cold and lumped together with a couple of pieces of brocolli in the one dish. Just awful - will not go back. We had been going there for over 10 years - new owners don't have a clue."

*Reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor, Urbanspoon

Other Stories:

• An article in the Wantagh Patch stated: Restaurant Impossible "will highlight how Roger and his wife Sandy decided to tackle owning their own restaurant near a vacation home in Greeley, Pa. after the husband lost his successful corporate job during the economic downturn. Sandy Murray remains in Wantagh working for a company in Melville while Roger is in Pennsylvania running the day-to-day operations of the new restaurant."
• In an article from NEagle.com, Roger said "they did a "wonderful, wonderful job" and has had good feedback from his clientele. He says he was probably picked because his story is a bit unusual- changing careers in mid-life and facing an uphill struggle, not knowing what they were going to do.

Conclusion:

The restaurant was called Pinehurst Lodge before the new owners bought it and changed the name to Pinehurst Country Lodge.  While there weren't too many reviews post-Restaurant Impossible, there were a good amount of reviews since Roger and Sandy took over the restaurant.  Most of these reviews were 5-star reviews and complemented the new owners and how they are doing a great job.  So, it looks like with the publicity and positive feedback that they shouldn't have any issues being successful with this restaurant.


What I think is interesting is how they claim to be $350,000 in debt just six months after buying the restaurant.  When you have a home in Long Island, NY and a vacation home in Greeley, Pa, and have enough money to buy a restaurant, I doubt you can be $350,000 in debt.  Unless you don't consider properties as assets.  Also, to get picked to be on the show that quickly, they must have filled out the application right after purchasing it.  While the fact that someone decided to open a restaurant rather than find another job was probably interesting to producers, I bet there are a lot more restaurants in greater need.

UPDATE - Pinehurst Country Lodge closed in 10/2015 - More info on the closing.


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