Loyd Have Mercy - Restaurant Impossible Update

Tonight on the season 17 premiere of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Titusville, Florida to makeover Loyd Have Mercy. Loyd Have Mercy is a homestyle restaurant owned by pastor Andrew Loyd who invested $200,000 into the restaurant and is now losing $4,000 a month.  He has lost hope of saving the restaurant and Robert Irvine needs to motivate him to turn things around.


As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Loyd Have Mercy 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:

• "Take out was quick and easy, and the folks at the window were so friendly! Definitely refreshing to feel some positive vibes during this time. As for the food, the grouper had so much flavor and veggies complimented the dish nicely. Also, I love the new mac n cheese!! Thank you guys."
• "Freshly updated- love this restaurant. Fried Green Tomatoes and many new recipes due to an upgrade by Restaurant Impossible. Glad to see this Titusville treasure get a face lift. Well deserved. Loved the meatloaf and banana pudding. My husband is all about the fried chicken."
• "I have never been here before. I had the oxtail with sweet potato puree and Brussels . I don't even like Brussels sprouts and ate every single one. The whole dish was Mind blowing good. The flavor spectrum was 5 star restaurant. Absolutely recommend this place."
• "We went there because we we liked the name and the menu looked delicious and simple. The place wasn't crowded but the service was prompt and courteous. The meatloaf and oxtail is delicious. Mr Loyd came out and spoke to us asking how the food was. He is very personable. The place is newly remodeled and staff is very friendly. If you are in Cocoa Beach this place is a must."
• "The food was still excellent. The new decor was beautiful and the staff was very friendly. We will definately eat there again."
• "Restaurant makeover - still the best fried okra, catfish, chix gizzards and fried green tomatoes! Catfish only available on Friday dinners, which is sad."
• "Very cozy atmosphere, the food here is delicious and the service was great. Good ole southern charm with all of the fixings."

Negative Reviews:

• "We heard that restaurant impossible was here making the place over so we wanted to come see what it looked like. We were saddened to see that the menu only had 7 items on it and they were all very fancy sounding but expensive too. No kids menu at all. I didn't think my 7 year old would enjoy any of the menu choices so we went elsewhere. The interior is very nice and upscale looking but the menu just seemed a little too upscale for Titusville. I doubt we will ever return here."
• "new menu sadly lacking ... tried one old item and one new item Old chicken livers appetizer very good Properly cooked and tasty New item Broccoli salad entree not too good ! onions heavily pickled with vinegar and overpowering, broccoli fresh but not seasoned well ... would not order again and i love broccoli. Menu short and many of favorites no longer available. They strictly enforce lunch cut off time will try one more time but appears to be a new yuppie theme , don't think it will survive"
• "I gave Lloyd’s 5 stars in my last review. This was my go to place for soul food with the best catfish around. I was SOOO disappointed today. The decor makeover is lovely but what happened to the menu!!!! Way less choices and since when is soy glazed fish soul food. Catfish isn’t even on the daily menu, dishes on the main menu don’t come with a choice of what used to be their great sides but ‘fancy’ accompaniments. Cornbread is not served with each meal. Your menu is a disaster compared to the old one. This will be off my list of restaurants to visit which is a shame as it is the only soul food restaurant I knew of around here. A real shame."
• "I was so disappointed with their new menu. Who pairs ox tail in a bed of sweet mash potatoes and Brussel sprouts!!!!! Yuck yuck and more yuck!!!! Wish I could go negative on the stars. :/"

*Reviews from Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google


Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover happened in January 2020.
• Here is the Loyd Have Mercy website and Facebook page.
• In 2018, there was a robbery at Loyd Have Mercy and an employee was beaten with a shotgun. (Link)
• Here are the restaurant inspections that have happened at Loyd Have Mercy.  There was an inspection two months after the makeover (March 18, 2020) that found 23 violations, 5 of which were high priority.  Most of the high priority ones were related to food temperature and food storage. (Link)
• Loyd Have Mercy currently has a Groupon Deal available.
• Here are the reviews for Loyd Have Mercy from Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google.
• The reviews for Loyd Have Mercy on all of those sites are very positive both before and after the makeover.
• Loyd Have Mercy has been open for takeout during the current pandemic and plans to open the dining room at 25% this Friday (5/15/2020).  They will follow all CDC guidelines for sanitizing. (Link)

Conclusion:

The reviews for Loyd Have Mercy since the Restaurant Impossible makeover have been mostly positive with food, service, friendly atmosphere and the makeover.  The reviews before the makeover were also very positive.  The few negative reviews about Loyd Have Mercy are all related to the smaller menu.  Loyd Have Mercy had a restaurant inspection a few months after the makeover which had a lot of violations, some of which were high priority.

UPDATE - Robert Irvine went back to Loyd Have Mercy for a second time to help them reopen after the pandemic. The episode aired on August 6, 2020.

*Visit Our Restaurant Impossible Update Page to see all Restaurant: Impossible updates, and which restaurants are open, closed, or have been sold. Also Like Us on Facebook and Follow Us on Twitter