Restaurant Impossible - Uncle Andy's Diner Update

Photo - Food Network

Tonight on Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in South Portland, Maine to makeover Uncle Andy's Diner.  The owner Dave happens to be a stand-up comedian, and one of his problems is that he is more worried about telling jokes than the quality of food coming out of his kitchen.  His side gig as a stand-up comedian is also straining his relationship with his family.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Uncle Andy's Diner 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:

• "This place is such a cute diner, and I'm not sure what it looked like before the Restaurant Impossible makeover, but it looks very clean and hip now. The best part about this diner has got to be the pricing...Overall, I thought the food was great for the price and it's a very pleasant diner to go if you're in South Portland."
• "After the "re-do" by the television program, the interior is new, with dark contemporary wood floors, new chair seats, new popular paint colors, etc...We'll go back, since we live in the neighborhood, and the cafe is in a convenient location. Food was average, but fairly priced."

 
Negative Reviews:

• "I dont think the current owners understand how to CLEAN nor do they understand good SERVICE. They have a brand new place and it's already dirty and dusty. I can't even tell you how rude the waitstaff are...Anyway-sadly disappointed! I was really hoping to get my neighborhood diner back!"
• "A total, dirty, overpriced breakfast joint that after its TV makeover makes me wonder just what they were thinking."
• "The makeover itself was a little bit disappointing.  The ladies room was very dirty and had a terrible stench.  The service was TERRIBLE....The food was only ok. Never again!"
• "The wait staff was so unorganized it was painful to watch. When a waiter did actually come speak with us, 20 minutes into our wait, he told us that he would not be able to take our order for another 20-30 minutes and gave us the option to leave, which we did."
• "So all in all an OK experience at the refreshed Uncle Andy's. Service was subpar....sorry but it was.The manager was nowhere to be found to expedite or man the register. The waitress was overloaded and no one bothered to notice let alone help. FAIL. The food was good. It was a good meal but not a very memorable experience."
• "We immediately noticed that all the black tables were very dusty but we sat down anyway near the window. There were cobwebs in the windows and the bowl that held creamers on our table was also very dirty....The prices are reasonable and the service was very good and welcoming. Unfortunately, the food and the cleanliness will not make me come back."
• "Ditto all the previous reviews about non-existant service and degraded food quality since the "upgrade". This used to be a good basic diner, but it is worse than it was before the show arrived."

 *Reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor

Other News and Links:

• Here is the Uncle Andy's Facebook page.
• The Fogg's have owned Uncle Andy's for 10 years
• Here are some Uncle Andy's Restaurant Inspections (Link)
• In a May 2014 article (before the show was filmed), owner Dennis Fogg said they were fans of the show and were shocked they got picked.  He was quoted as saying, "There’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t seem to fit at first.  We’re not a failing restaurant. We’re here 10 years, so we’re doing pretty good.”  He then went on to say, "At first, the failing-restaurant thing sort of got me, because it’s not.  But my kids were more worried about my wife and I striving and striving and not getting anywhere. Once I realized that, it was OK."
• On their Facebook page, they asked fans to leave positive comments on review sites, and if they had a negative experience to contact the restaurant directly (Link).  Sounds like they are trying to get their rating to increase on review sites, which some people may consider unethical.
• In a recent local article has a lot of updates about the restaurant since the show filmed: 
• Dennis said the business has had an uptick in popularity, and they are now preparing for an increase in customers after the show airs.  He also admits to having trouble keeping up with the business, which has caused long wait times for customers.  They have hired six additional employees to try to keep up.  
• The old set up of the kitchen allowed Dennis to entertain with his animal pancakes and jokes, but the new set up has a window in between the diners and the kitchen.
• The increased business has allowed the Foggs to finally pay their adult children for working at the restaurant — they previously worked just for tips. The family has also paid off debt, and Tina has been able to work fewer nights as an Alzheimer’s nurse.
• A "Customers Wanted: Apply Within" sign has returned to the front window

Conclusion:

The reviews for Uncle Andy's Diner since the Restaurant Impossible visit have been mostly negative and people have a lot of complaints about the service and the cleanliness of the restaurant.  The few positive reviews about Uncle Andy's seem to say the prices are fair.  Judging by the amount of local articles and the uptick in business at the diner, it seems the local people were excited to go try Uncle Andy's Diner, but ended up disappointed.

The restaurant admitted that they had trouble keeping up with business after the show filmed, and they have hired additional employees to help out.  If they want to succeed, they will need to provide better food and service to the people that come to the restaurant after their episode airs.

UPDATE - Uncle Andy's Diner closed in May 2020 - More info on closure.


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