Restaurant Impossible - Urban Roots Update

Tonight on Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to makeover the Urban Roots restaurant.  Urban Roots is a restaurant and entertainment venue owned by Chaya and Michael, which is struggling due to the food and the staff.  The restaurant is failing despite being in an up and coming location.  Chaya is the chef at the restaurant and seems to have lost her passion for cooking, which Robert is going to try to get back in hopes of turning the restaurant around.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Urban Roots 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):



Positive Reviews:

• "We just came in to kill some time before heading to our destination spot. I  loved the decor, vibe and ambiance. The reggae band that was playing was very nice....I would like to come back because it seems like a creative place that I would enjoy."
• "Crab Mac n Cheese appetizer was melt in our mouths fantastic. Gumbo Ya Ya was very authentic Cajun style with excellent flavors. Catfish, Grits, & Greens had unique seasoning that I highly recommend. Chocolate cake was light in color and richness. No unsweetened ice tea was the only negative. Parked free at the front door Service was fantastic, timely, but not over baring. Will definitely return."
• "The chicken and waffles is absolutely incredible. Service was prompt, drinks were great, and the good was beyond impressive. I would definitely recommend urban roots"

Negative Reviews:

• "Overall, I left feeling like I overpayed for my experience. Service was lacking, but the restaurant overbooked large reservations  and got swamped. Their bad...Probably won't be back again on the account of downtown drink prices in a not so downtown environment. You can stick to ripping off the corporate kids with expense budgets. Oh and your beer selection was lacking. They sell lime-a-ritas if you're feeling fancy though."
• "The food and music were good. And my waitress was friendly and on point. My issue is with the atmosphere and the bartender. The flowers on my table were dead!....Also, serving water in plastic cups was a little hobo-ish ... I was eating there not getting food & drink "to go" which is the ONLY reason plastic ware should be involved @ a restaurant at all.Buyer BEWARE!"

*Reviews from Yelp, Urbanspoon

Other Links:

• Here is the Urban Roots website, Facebook page, and menu which is small as Restaurant Impossible usually suggests.
• Here is a post on Chaya's Facebook page from right after the Restaurant Impossible makeover where she thanks God, her family, and the volunteers.
• Here is a VERY long Facebook post from someone who was a part of the Restaurant Impossible filming.  To summarize, they think the Restaurant Impossible team did a great job at keeping the atmosphere and intent of the restaurant.  They also thought the food was great and that the Restaurant Impossible crew were some of the nicest people they have ever met.
• Here is a blog post about the restaurant right after the makeover, which has a lot of pictures of the interior.  It also revealed the restaurant closed after the makeover so they could clean up the restaurant and get it ready for business again.  Chaya also confirmed that the Restaurant Impossible makeover still reflected her vision.
• Urban Roots is in the Deep Deuce section of Oklahoma City, which has a lot of history.  There are multiple articles referencing the history of the city and it being the birthplace of music legends such as Charlie Christian and Jimmy Rushing.  The city also hosted legends Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Martin Luther King Jr.  These articles give a lot of credit to Chaya Fletcher for trying to maintain this history of this section of the city so it is not forgotten. (Article 1, Article 2, Article 3).

Conclusion:

The Deep Deuce section of downtown Oklahoma City has a lot of history, and was once the only place in Oklahoma City that blacks could legally live.  The area is being revitalized and developed with shops, restaurants, apartments, hotels, etc.  Despite the history of the Deep Deuce, Chaya Fletcher is the only African-American business owner.  The building that the restaurant occupies is also one of the last original buildings in the Deep Deuce section of the city.  It was probably really important to Chaya that Restaurant Impossible wouldn't ruin her vision, and apparently they didn't as she was satisfied with the makeover.

As far as the reviews go, there were not too many reviews, but the positive reviews complemented the atmosphere, food, drinks, and service.  The few negative reviews were mostly about drink prices being a little high.  It should be interesting to see how much input Robert has on the entertainment aspect of the restaurant or if he just focuses on food and the passion for cooking in Chaya.


UPDATE - Urban Roots closed in June 2015.  More information on the closure.


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