Plot Synopsis

Using $10,000, his creativity, and his resourcefulness, chef Robert Irvine has only two days to save America's most desperate restaurants from impending failure. Day one begins with a thorough business assessment, as Robert launches the restaurant into full service, closely observes the staff and kitchen, samples the eatery's food, and determines their weakest spots. Then, he springs into action by updating the menu, retraining the staff, and implementing aesthetic changes with the help of his design team and construction crew, led by Tom Bury. To ensure a packed house for the grand re-opening at the end of day two, Robert hits the streets to tell the community about the improved restaurant.

On Sunday, April 14, 2013, RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE returned for its sixth season, rehabbing Joe Willy's Seafood House (Fishkill, NY) and Old World Italian Restaurant (Murrells Inlet, SC) in the first two episodes of Season 6.

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 10pm ET/PT, Food Network presented the Season 7 premiere of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE, featuring the St. Louis landmark Mama Campisi's Restaurant. Other restaurants in the show's seventh season included: Ducky's Family Restaurant (Kokomo, IN); Windsor 75 (Windsor, CT); Coach Lamp Restaurant & Pub (Louisville, KY); and many more.

RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE returned for its eighth season on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the Season 8 premiere, Robert helps the owners of Mill Creek BBQ in Redlands, CA, where Steve and Lisette opened a restaurant, which was a casual version of her father's nearby eatery. In subsequent episodes of Season 8, Robert visits these restaurants: Tootie's Texas BBQ (Cathedral City, CA); Pasion Latin Fusion (Albuquerque, NM); Mama Della's N.Y. City Pizzeria (Baton Rouge, LA); gratifi kitchen + bar (Houston, TX); Urban Roots (Oklahoma City, OK); and Bryant's Seafood World (Hueytown, AL).

On Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT, Food Network aired the Season 9 premiere of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE. In the season opener, Robert has just two days to address the boring food, lack of cleanliness, disinterested staff and an owner with one foot out the door at the nearly three-year-old Fork Diner in Calhoun, GA, where owners Gray, Diana and Michael are faced with a failing business and a suffering friendship. Later in Season 9, Robert transforms these eateries: Marie's at Ummat Cafe (Atlanta, GA); Paul's Bar & Bowling (Paterson, NJ); The Pomona Golf and Country Club (Egg Harbor City, NJ); Country Cow Restaurant and Bar (Campton, NH); Uncle Andy's Diner (Portland, ME); and more.

RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE returned for its tenth season on Monday, November 24, 2014 at 10pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the season opener, "Recipe for Disaster," Chef Robert Irvine travels to Oklahoma City, where, a few years ago, Keith and Stephanie's restaurant, Mama E's Wings & Waffles restaurant was thriving and was featured on DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES. But a failed attempt at opening a second location put a strain on their finances -- and their marriage. Chef Robert Irvine must get this volatile couple communicating again if he's going to be able to save their restaurant. Season 10 also features these eateries: Knife and Fork Gastropub in San Antonio; Double H Ranch, a 320-acre camp in the Adirondack Mountains of New York; and more.

On Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered the eleventh season of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE. In the Season 11 opener, "WhaBah Steakhouse," Chef Robert Irvine travels to Bowling Green, KY, where WhaBah Steakhouse, at over 4,000 square feet, presents Robert with his biggest challenge yet! The eight-year-old restaurant/music venue made more than a million dollars in its first year, but the owner has hit the wall and is now facing bankruptcy. Robert and his team will have to turn the owner's spirits around and tackle the many challenges of this supersized space in just two days. Subsequent episodes in Season 11 include: two Italian family restaurants in Summerville, SC; Cocoamoda (Calvert, TX); Zest Bistro (Chicago, IL); Lyon's Pharmacy (Elkton, MD); and many more eateries that Robert transforms.

Season 12 of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE premiered on Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. This season, titled RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE AMBUSH, Robert and his team drop by unannounced, all set to take over an unsuspecting owner's business, and what results simply cannot be anticipated. In the season opener, "Ambush: Breakfast Break-In," Robert ambushes Jodi, the owner of Theresa's Restaurant in Bradenton, Fla., after her friend and banker, Miriam, puts out a call for help. Robert quickly learns that Jodi is her own worst enemy, and must deal with her micromanaging ways, a kitchen staff threatening a walkout, and the surprises that greet the design team. In subsequent episodes of the new season, Robert helps owners of these eateries: Copper Still CD Vodka Lounge and Eatery (Crestwood, IL); Lake Arrowhead Sports Grill (Blue Jay, CA); The Rose Restaurant (Pagosa Springs, CO); Ellendale's Restaurant (Nashville, TN); Stella's Dine-Inn Restaurant (New Kensington, PA); and more.

Season 13 of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE premiered on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network, with another season of ambushes. In the season opener, "Ambush: Faded Star," Chef Robert Irvine heads to Starlite Restaurant and Pizza in West Orange, N.J. after receiving a plea from the owner Patty's son. Patty has worked there since she was 13 years old and considers it home, but hasn't made a profit in almost ten years despite cashing in her retirement and mortgaging her home. When Robert arrives, he finds an extremely dirty kitchen and an old-school staff that is completely unwilling to change, including Patty herself. Will Robert be able to return this beloved restaurant to its former glory, or will the Starlite shine no more? Later in the season, Robert also ambushes these restaurants: De Rican Chef (Virginia Beach, VA); BFE Bar and Grill (Waynesboro, GA); Peppino's Ristorante Italiano (Oviedo, FL); SiP Bistro (Holly Springs, NC); So Natural Organic Restaurant and Market (Harker Heights, TX); and more.

The four-episode 14th season of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE premiered on Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the season opener, "Dying Diner," Robert Irvine steps back in time at a struggling retro joint in Escondido, CA, called Rosie's Cafe. The owner of the ugly, disorganized restaurant is a young woman who has the passion but lacks experience -- and has lost money every year since it's been opened. Robert has two days and $10,000 to make major changes before the restaurant has to close its doors for good. Other episodes include the Incredible Cafe in San Diego, CA, where Robert finds a restaurant that is anything but incredible, and the Copper Steer Steakhouse in Safford, AZ, where a Deputy U.S. Marshall and a judicial assistant followed their dreams to open a restaurant that is now turning into a nightmare as the restaurant is wreaking havoc on the family with no idea on how to turn it around. And finally, in Costa Mesa, CA, Robert visits Filomena's Italian Kitchen and Market, where despite having a clean kitchen and an organized dining room, the owner hasn't been able to pay herself one dime the entire time the restaurant has been open. Robert figuring out the problem turns out to be only half the battle. During the course of the season Robert is joined by familiar faces, including Tom Bury and Taniya Nayak, along with Luke Caldwell, to help right the ship for these struggling restaurants and their owners.

Season 15 of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE premiered on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the season opener, "Hard Times at Josephine's," Robert heads to Chicago's South Side to try to save an iconic restaurant from closing its doors. After more than 30 years as a beacon in the community, Josephine's Cooking is one month from closing. Robert must motivate the co-owner, Victor, to take over the reins and relieve his aging, strong-willed mother, Josephine. With only two days and $10,000, Robert has his hands full trying to keep an important piece of South Side history alive. Later this season, Robert also helps these eateries: McLanks Family Restaurant (Columbia, MO); Chez Olga (Grand Rapids, MI); Mike Audia's Family Restaurant (Nutter Fort, WV); Rosie's Diner (North Chelmsford, MA); and more.

The sixteenth season of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE premiered on Thursday, December 26, 2019 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the season opener, "Dumplings in Delaware," Chef Robert Irvine rolls up to the Southern Grille of Ellendale in Ellendale, Delaware. The owner of the Southern-style restaurant, Ronald, is working too hard to be in so much debt. If Robert can't help him reconnect with what makes him and his restaurant special, the local spot for Southern home cooking is doomed. In subsequent episodes, Chef Robert Irvine helps owners of these restaurants: Rossini's Cucina Italiana (Ridgeland, MS); Edgar's Restaurant (Akron, OH); Perella's Ristorante (Warren, RI); Foxfire Grill (Alexandria, VA); Carmine's Chianti Cow (Port Jervis, NY); Garrett's Mill Brewing Co. (Garrettsville, OH); and Drake's Place (Ferguson, MO).

On Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered Season 17 of RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE. With a little outside-the-box thinking and a lot of muscle, Robert looks to rescue these desperate restaurants from complete collapse. In the season opener, "Saving a Pastor's Passion," Pastor Andrew has lost hope of turning things around for his home-style restaurant Loyd Have Mercy in Titusville, FL after investing $200,000 and losing $4,000 a month. It's up to Robert to help Andrew rediscover his passion and his self-confidence, or his restaurant will be shutting its doors forever. Later in the season in a 90-minute episode on Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT, Robert returns to Escondido, California, where one year ago he helped Kaitlyn, the owner of Rosie's Cafe, turn around her failing restaurant. But after Kaitlyn suffered a near-fatal car accident, Robert comes back to pull off a spectacular event to help Kaitlyn with her mounting medical bills. Other stops this season include: Habanera and the Guero (Houston, TX); T. Phillip's Alehouse and Grill (Glendora, CA); and Ginger Monkey (Chandler, AZ). After fixing over a hundred restaurants over the years, Robert now surprises some of the most memorable places and people with a visit to see how things have changed with new episodes of Restaurant Impossible: Revisited, premiering Thursday, June 18 at 9pm ET/PT. And catch special episodes of Restaurant: Impossible starting on Thursday, June 25 at 9pm ET/PT, as Robert counts down some of his favorite episodes, including the biggest restaurant transformations in RI history, the worst bites, best meals and most touching reveals, and a special look at the most memorable Restaurant: Impossible relationships though the years. RESTAURANT IMPOSSIBLE returned to linear television with new episodes on Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network after debuting on discovery+ earlier in the day. In this episode, "Listless in Louisiana," Robert travels to Lafitte, LA, to visit Boutte's Bayou Restaurant, where owner Nick is too proud to ask for help as he tries to keep the iconic coastal watering hole afloat. Robert must help Nick become a real leader and learn to trust his staff before it's too late.

RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE returned for its winter debut on Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network. In the mid-season premiere, "Big Ego, Big Trouble," Chef Robert Irvine rolls into Colorado Springs, Colo., where the chef and owner of Momma Pearl's Cajun Kitchen is on the verge of losing his wife and his business if he can't shed his arrogant alter ego. His over-the-top persona in the kitchen has alienated family and staff and threatens to derail Robert's efforts to help him. Robert has to find the real person hidden beneath the surface if he has any chance of saving this failing business and crumbling marriage.
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After a five-month break, RESTAURANT: IMPOSSIBLE returned with new episodes on Thursday, December 29, 2022 at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network. In this first new episode, "A Mother's Guilt," Robert Irvine heads to Ash Fork, AZ, where owner Felicia's failing restaurant has forced her to sacrifice her time with her children. Overwhelmed by guilt, she is ignoring her mountain of debt and her deteriorating business. Robert must help Felicia turn her attitude and strategy around to save the restaurant and her family.