Restaurant Impossible - Caffe Positano/Tornatore's Pizzeria Update

Photo - Facebook

Tonight on Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Orlando, Florida to makeover Caffe Positano.  This is a unique episode as Robert ambushes the restaurant and the owners supposedly do not know that Restaurant Impossible is coming.  This is done to try to get a truer picture of why the restaurant is failing.  During the makeover the name of the restaurant is changed from Caffe Positano to Tornatore's Pizzeria.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Tornatore's Pizzeria 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):


Reviews:

• "As a New Yorker who is transitioning into a full-fledged Floridian I have to say that this is the best Pizza I have had in Orlando since moving here almost two years ago....I could write a long review about this place but the above should suffice. Trust me and the ratings, this place is a home run!"
• "Enjoyed the food. The service was attentive. The atmosphere was comfortable - but it was too hot. Was the air conditioner turned off?"
• "I went here on a Sunday evening after a day at Universal Studios, based on the yelp reviews. I was not disappointed. The pizza was outstanding, the service was great and fast."
• "I just happened to be driving by and was craving some spaghetti! I stopped in...cute little place....emphasis on the little. The place was hoppin. I got an order of garlic knots....a little too crispy for me, but good. The spaghetti and meatballs were amazing. So good! I want to go back for more! Great service, friendly staff. I highly recommend it, would encourage them to start looking for a bigger space :)"

*Reviews from Yelp



Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover happened in March 2015
• Here is the Tornatore's Pizzeria website which plays up the fact that they were on Restaurant Impossible.  Here is the To-Go menu.
• Here is the Tornatore's Pizzeria Facebook Page which is kept up-to-date.
• Here is the Caffe Positano's website, and there are still two additional Caffe Positano locations in Florida.
• Denny Tornatore posted on Facebook that the first day they opened as Tornatore's Pizzeria, they broke a daily sales record. (Link)
• In December of 2014, the restaurant announced they bought out their partners from Positano's and were changing the name to Tornatore's Pizzeria and Cafe.  They also said they were changing the menu and decor. (Link)
• Kind of unrelated to the episode, but interesting - A competitor of the restaurant was supposedly caught on surveillance video spitting on Caffe Positano's windows in January 2015. (Link)
• The restaurant had good reviews before the makeover and has a 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Yelp (Link) 
• A comment on this article said the problem with the restaurant was they didn't advertise at all, so people didn't know about the restaurant.
• A restaurant marketing agency was brought in to help out during the makeover and Tornatore's is still working with them for the branding and marketing of their restaurant. (Link)

Conclusion:

The reviews for Caffe Positano/Tornatore's Pizzeria both before and after the makeover are positive and people seem to love the food.  Perhaps one of the problems was advertising, which it seems they have addressed by hiring a restaurant marketing agency.

The name of the restaurant didn't get changed until Restaurant Impossible visited, but it was planned months before the show came.


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