Please note, this is not the only restaurant with the name Sweet Tea that Robert has done. He went to another place called Sweet Tea in Chapin, South Carolina. This restaurant has since closed down. This follow-up is about the Sweet Tea's in Pineville, North Carolina.
In this episode of Restaurant Impossible, Robert is trying to help out a restaurant has has only been around for 6 months. The owners started the restaurant after 3 years of catering. Now they are losing $8,000-$10,000 a month and are a couple months away from closing down their restaurant. Robert lands a hand to them as well as to Sysco Food Services' advertising department.
Sweet Tea's Resturant and Catering | Click here for the restaurant's menu
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Problems Robert Had to Address
1. Lack of signs on the road to direct customers
2. Wait staff that is not properly trained
3. A menu that doesn't fit with the Sweet Tea name
4. A kitchen crew that is not ready to handle high volume
5. Frequent trips to the grocery store because they do not stock enough food
The shameless plugs for the Sysco food services continue. This time Robert shows an app that can be used for them to keep track and order food. The camera made sure to capture the Sysco logo and Robert raves about having quality food on hand. Of course the commercial break started up with a Sysco commercial. I just find it funny how blatant the advertising for this company has become. But advertising is the way Food Network makes money. I have ads on this blog so that I can make money. So I don't have a problem with this, it's just funny how they are getting more blatant each week.
Recipe
Chicken and Waffles | Print the recipe
Classic southern dish of fried chicken and waffles. The chicken is par-cooked then deep fried. I think that is a wonderful idea. The chicken is not overcooked then and not too oily. A short fry session just to get that crispiness.
The waffle is served with a hot sauce butter and maple syrup.
I also liked how Robert mentioned why he uses grape seed oil. It's an oil that I like to use as well. It has a high smoke point and a natural flavor that won't effect the food's flavor.
Follow-Up
The doors are still open. Naturally revenue is up (see Food Network's review). That doesn't equal future success to me because all the restaurant's revenue goes up because of the publicity. What I was happy to read about is that they now have a new training program for their staff, so they can be better equipped at doing their job.
There were quite a few recent reviews on Yelp. Both good and bad. Still a lot of complains about service, especially with paying your bill - appears they use an old system that is slow and confusing. There were compliments about the food. I would say they are making progress with a lot of work to still do. Hopefully they will continue to work out the issues and become a destination that you can actually find in Pineville, North Carolina.
Let me know if you enjoyed this recap/follow-up in the comment section below.
Recommended Products Based on this Episode
Robert's cooking oil of choice. It has a delicate flavor that won't burn when sauteing and won't add unwanted flavors to your food. The oil is cold pressed from grape seeds and is known for being high in vitamins E & F.
A popular hot sauce available in restaurant chains like Noodles & Company. Would make a good choice for the hot sauce butter for the Chicken and Waffles recipe.
Diana
If the husband continues to call the business "his" and the kitchen "his" this tells me that he is not "allowing" his wife to be a 50% owner. He is a pig! Shame on him!!! It won't work this way, just like it didn't work his way before.
karen
According to their Facebook page, they closed their doors July 19th.