Restaurant Revisited: Soup to Nuts Diner by Maria Russo in Shows, March 17th, 2013
Soup to Nuts Diner in Tavares, Fla., was in such poor condition when Robert Irvine arrived that he promptly deemed the restaurant “dangerously dirty” and refused to let anyone eat the food coming out of the kitchen. Littered with bugs and coated in dust, this 1950s-style eatery featured a cluttered dining room with tattered seating, but unfortunately for owner Sharon Whitmore, even more serious problems were in the kitchen. There, Robert found tools and equipment caked with grease, raw meat being kept at unsafe temperatures and a complete lack of management among the cooks.
For the last four years, Soup to Nuts has struggled with decreasing business, and Sharon admits that prior to Robert’s visit she was losing nearly $1,000 per month, which resulted in the foreclosure of her home. With a $10,000 budget and only two days to work, Robert and his Restaurant: Impossible team reworked all aspects of her restaurant, deep cleaning every surface in the front and back of the house, demonstrating the how-tos of making a fresh menu and restructuring Sharon’s schedule so that she’d be able to abandon her 100-hour workweeks. At the end of what Robert called “one of the most-ambitious projects we’ve ever tackled,” Soup to Nuts reopened to hundreds of customers with in-control management at the helm. We checked in with Sharon a few months after the renovation to find out how her business is doing.
She tells us that in the weeks immediately following filming, Soup to Nuts was “overwhelmed with” a 40 percent increase in business, and now the restaurant is “up consistently about 20 percent over last year.”
While they’ve made a few tweaks to the decor like additional paint, new blinds and adding “a door from the front counter area and a wall so the kitchen is no longer seen by the dining room,” Sharon, the staff and much of the customer base have been wowed by the other changes at the eatery.
Employees are now washing the restaurant each night, Sharon tells us. “I have had to get on the cooks for poor closes a few times, but Alan is closing five nights a week to reinforce a proper, clean closing.”
In terms of management, Sharon has interviewed several applicants, but she’s yet to hire a full-time lead cook. Jeanie is still working at Soup to Nuts, as Sharon believes that she “grew from the experience,” explaining that “she is not as hotheaded.” Sharon adds that “several of the people who gave [her] the most grief are not [t]here anymore.”
Soup to Nuts is still serving its original offerings but with additional dishes from Robert’s menu, including fried green tomatoes, disco fries, salmon burgers and roasted chicken.
For the most part, Sharon is sticking to the schedule she developed with Robert. “With Alan staying and riding his bike home, the restaurant has guidance and supervision,” she explains. “I am very thankful for the privilege to have been picked for this experience,” she adds, looking back on the renovation. “I am happy personally and with my restaurant’s makeover and volume.” She is no longer living with her parents and is looking forward to what the rest of the year brings to her business.
More From Restaurant Revisited:
Caseyville Cafe (March 13)
Maniaci’s Italian Restaurant (March 10)
Dinner Bell Restaurant (February 27)
Nanny Goat’s Cafe & Feed Bin (February 20)
Sapori D’Italia (January 23)
Windseeker Restaurant (January 16)
Whiskey Creek Steakhouse (January 2)
Rising Sun Bistro (December 19)
Boys & Girls Club of Southwest Missouri (December 9)
Bronk’s Bar and Grill (December 5)
Rohrer’s Tavern (November 28)
Poco’s on the Boulevard (November 21)
Oleander Bar and Grill (October 17)
Valley Inn (October 10)
Whistle Stop (October 3)
The Maple Tree Cafe (September 26)
Michele’s (September 19)
Paliani’s Restaurant (September 12)
Frankie’s (September 5)
Gusanoz (August 29)
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More posts from Maria Russo.
We are breakfast at Soup to Nuts on 3-5-3 , the breakfast was not good at all, not fit for a dog, the hash Brownes were burnt, toaste was burnt,and the patty sausage was burned on the one side. Was not happy and told the girl we were not happy with the meal. All she said was she was sorry. We have ate there for 4 months and that was the worst. RV & NV
I am greatful to Robert and his crew for helping Sharon out. I am sure this was a humbling experience. It is also easier to tear down then to build up and encourage an individual or a group of people. Sharon called out for help. Yes, the restaurant may have been overly discusting, but Sharon was given a second chance. I am sure she learned from her mistakes. I also believe this process want happen over night. I believe if she perserveres, in time, her restaurant will stand, and she will do well.
I don't think he's lying. I think he was joking. Just googling the name he typed said commonly found in the southern US. Eggrolled- next time type something like :::eyes rolling::: so it's obvious. It's unfortunately very hard to read the inflection you would use if actually saying what you type. That way there's no mistaking your intent. :)
Sorry, for some reason this posted down here instead of under eggrolled'd post'
i have eaten here before and tried after the renovation…. service never really that great and food the same …last time was the last time for me had hair in my girlfriends chili and was still made to pay for it
Show after show the owners return to the same menu items that brought them down in the first place; back to frozen or packaged food and canned goods. I'm baffled by that. Everyone nods "yes sir," to Robert, then it's back to the old ways the next day, including the owners' who complain about the experience. This owner was a little "off," and also too attached to her staff. Crying on their shoulders even though they were a huge part of the problem. Won't be tuning in for the new season. Cookie cutter outcomes – new restaurants and faces, but same end-results. It's too bad, one hopes people can turn a new leash, but seems the restaurant business doesn't generate that type, or at least the places being selected for RI are not ready for it.
She was more than a LITTLE off. She actually seemed bipolar. I see by reviews she's often accused of being rude to guests. I'm not surprised.
I hear you, was just trying to be somewhat polite, but truth be told if you've lost 1-2 restaurants before, near losing another one, have already lost your house, and to continue to be rude to customers, you've got what's coming to you. Never mind that the waitstaff must come off the end of a shift after getting paid maybe $3/hr. or something with only a few nickels in tips in their pockets because of the poor service, one has to think they're all thick as bricks!
I was watching the makeover and noticed that NO ONE in the kitchen wore hairnets or hats. Disgusting! Being a cook in the Navy for 12 years and 8 yrs in civilian restaurants, I know what should be done and see a lot of problems here.
This place is between two lakes and when you drive over the bridge at dusk or dawn during certain times of year you drive through a shower of those same bugs. This is very typical for Flor-i-DA, the people here do not care about anything, they are just trying to survive each day, its a very sad state that the rest of the country does not see outside of the high walls of Disney, I eat at home and only in emergencies eat out, I will never get any drinks out here. Health inspector, yeah they should get one of those in this state.
Thank you for denigrating an entire state over one restaurant….. If things are so bad here MOVE BACK UP NORTH!!!
Well, the way I look at your comment. Is if you don't like Florida take you butt back where it came from. Don't sit here and run the state down, because you Yankees are who made it this way.
"You Yankees?" You are aware that the Civil War ended almost 150 years ago, right?
What are you even doing here? Go back where you came from….if you can't see the beauty of Florida…you don't deserve to be here!
OK…..You dislike Disney, stay home, don't like your neighbors, don't drink.
I have a feeling you don't like anyone or anything………sad.
The inspectors are NOT from the Health Departments in Florida…and this restaurant is hardly alone in its abysmal state. Since I investigated foodborne illnesses for a living, I know. What I have seen…let's just say, my family eats out very rarely and only in a very few spots! Been in Florida as a professional almost all my life. Love my State, despise the way the Legislators have destroyed Public Health…
I love my state, so I don't know about you, but I don't drive around all sad and whatnot about the mosquitos. Florida is beautiful, and if we have to deal with a few flies every now and then, so be it. It's the sunshine state! So unlike, according to you, the rest of Florida, I'm proud (and incredibly happy) to live here.
Never say never because I'm back, Just heard that the owner is leaving the sad state of Flor-i-Da and moving to Merry-land. I suspect that the WFTV Action 9 report at the end of April helped finally convince her it was time to go. Most people I have encountered in this sorry state take little pride in what they do. They have little hope of escape from here so how could they. They do not care when they handle your prepared food with the same gloves that they just used to clean or handle raw food. Oh and by the way, I have lived in different parts of this state most my life. I am happy that someone has made it out.
Sorry Robert, love your show and what you and your staff do to renovate restaurants, but you missed the boat on this one! Ate there recently….some of the decor shown in the show has changed a bit. Nevertheless, the food was very bland, menu's were the old ones with a few new items on it, staff is still VERY young and still acts like they don't want to be there. For some reason there is a small bench/seat to the right as you come in the front door with a coffee table in front of it. Why!? The front windows were covered with sheets of "butcher paper" hung in strips (to keep the sun out?) . Were they waiting for the blinds you mentioned in the show? Perhaps your "investigating team" should do a little more investigating before you put your wonderful reputation on the line. Just sayin
I totally agree with the above comment. I also was in the restaurant recently and it was far worse now than before. The staff was bragging about the show bringing in people just to see the place. Our server was more concerned over other tables leaving his tip than making sure our food was correct, which it wasn't and he did not offer to do anything about it. I personally will not waste my hard earned money to go back there!!
Robert did it again:brought in guests who ordered food BEFORE he did his
kitchen inspection and finding bad food and dirty conditions. If I were
approached to be a guest on the first day of his makeover I'd tell him NO WAY.
The dining room was also filthy and a health hazard yet he had those
people come in to try the food. Robert stated "Right now I'm thinking who's going
to get sick first" yet he allowed the food to go out. By not checking the
conditions first he is also responsible if someone does get sick.
Yeah. he should check the kitchen first & not even get started until the whole restaurant is up to health standards, even if it means changing the 2 day format.
It's not his restaurant. He is an observer.
Exactly.
I agree. This show could be so much more. I have yet to read about a successful turn around. In order to make real change, there needs to be some kind of after the show help. A person that can give good advice and question the owner when they slip back into bad habits. It takes 30 days to break a habit but you cannot 'fix' a personallity. These folks need to be set up with mentors to help them finish the task that was started…
I disagree. All you have to do is do what he tells you to do from day 1. You can't hold someone's hand for 30 days.
It's more dramatic for Irvine to storm out of the kitchen bellowing not to eat the food and that he's shutting down the kitchen because it's so filthy.
I think Robert made a mistake telling the manager in front of the staff that if she doesn't respect them they'll "bury her"… the staff's comments were about her getting angry when they didn't do what they were told to do. That's not lack of respect, that's reaction to staff who need to be fired. A good manager would be firm/not angry but that isn't a reason to give them a green light to "bury her".
Judging from the comments here from folks who have gone back, there are still some staff who still haven't gotten the message.
I never managed a restaurant, and I never will; however, I did manage retail businesses for more than 20 years of my life, and I can tell you, this "You respect me and I'll respect you" attitude that the younger generation has is total hogwash. I'm the boss for crying out loud, just that fact alone demands that you give me some respect. You show me that little bit of respect, and I'll respect YOU more, not the other way around. You don't show that small amount at first, you're out the door. If this girl was truly a manager she'd would have fired those who "disrespected" her. That will get you some respect right off the bat.
I was once hired by a large, nationwide company to be an asst. manager at a store. My soul purpose my first few months there was to thin out the staff who would not show respect to the new store manager who'd been brought in and the district manager who was trying to save their store from getting closed down. Funny, the first week I wrote up 7 people, fired 3, had 2 quit, and for the next two years I was there never had another problem with any employee, and I got the respect I deserved. When I was finally promoted out of that store to another one, people actually cried because I was leaving. Some still call me today wanting me to come back, because as a manager I demanded respect from the beginning, but the employees are the ones who have to start.
I always found it fun to warn any or all of the underlings not to do something, have them ignore me, tell them again not to do it adding the threat of firing and then have them call the owner asking if I can really fire them. It's amazing the amount of respect you get after the owner tells them yes, I can fire them!
Jobs are scarce. If you can't follow directions and do your job, there are others who will gladly do so. Do your job correctly, and we're friends. Don't and you're gone. Its that simple.
I do agree there needs to be a bigger follow thru.
Other shows give you a 'bit' of 'how they are doing now' at the end of the show-but not this show.
Very disturbing that after taking the time to go 'online' to see comments-you see that many times all this work and help has gone in vain.
Agreed. I think "Tabitha Takes Over" does a much better job of follow-up – well, and also improvement in general. Less on-camera focus on yelling, time constraint reminders, and decor drama, more on-camera focus on fixing the people problems.
He used to but it was taking up too much space and often, a lot of the places were not keeping to Robert's plan and therefore were not doing well. That's why he changed it to "check it out on the website." it is also a plug to get more people onto the http://www.foodnetwork.com website.
I have eaten here a handful of times when visiting my parents and definitely noticed a difference last time I went. The food was always decent diner fare, pretty much what you would expect from a 50's themed diner in Florida. Of course I didn't know how dirty the kitchen was at the time but I've worked in quite a few restaurants and sadly wasn't shocked. The last time we went the staff was much more friendly and the food seemed better quality. I think I preferred the old decor but I'm a sucker for kitsch.
Disgusting. How does a place like this pass a health inspection? How does anyone own a restaurant and serve food without concern they could kill a customer with their negligence? There is an article about a couple that ate breakfast there every morning for ten years. I am sure they felt good seeing the filth in the kitchen.
This woman does not want to be in business. How does she support that labor costs?
Based on reviews online since the makeover, the dirt has returned, the indifferent service remains, and she will soon be back on the downward trend. All that work could have gone to a worthy restaurateur; this was like giving a new liver to an unrepentant alcoholic. People like her cannot change their behavior.
Robert, this was a wasted show. Muy pathetic.