Original subtitles

"restaurant impossible" is intense.

You better shut up talking to me.

It's emotional. This is done.

I'm not angry. I'm disappointed.

And it's incredibly rewarding.

-Oh. -Aah!

It's beautiful.

Woman: It looks like a whole different place.

This kind of stuff doesn't happen to me.

But it's all over in just 48 hours.

Come on, guys! Let's go! Come on. Let's push.

What happens when I leave? Do the changes stick?

Are the owners doing their job?

Are they making money, or are they still struggling?

After all these years, I'm on my way to find out.

♪♪

[ sledgehammering ]

I'm back!

2014, I first visited mama e's restaurant in oklahoma city.

And shortly, I'll be going back to revisit them.

There's a couple of things that stand out the most

about this episode --

first of all, the disgusting nature of the restaurant itself.

It was just like a pig sty.

I have never seen such a crap place in all my life.

But the second part about that was the tumultuous relationship

between keith and stephanie,

the two owners of this restaurant.

They couldn't even look at each other in the face,

they couldn't talk to each other.

Every time you decide that you want to make a quick decision,

I have the fall from it.

I was more a marriage counselor

than I was thinking about the restaurant.

No, I didn't. I didn't, so...

All the stuff that happened,

all the blow-ups, the drama, and all that --

I guess I wanted to try to wipe that out of my memory.

Ooh, yeah.

[ laughs ]

okay.

[ laughs ]

mentally getting my mind set for this, okay?

Producer: Okay, let's get into it.

Let's get into it and see.

♪♪

I'm in oklahoma city to give a down-and-out restaurant,

mama e's, a second chance.

I've been running mama e's for the last nine years.

We are a soul-food restaurant.

Here's your chicken and waffle.

It was his wife, stephanie, who urged him

to open up a restaurant in honor of his late mother.

Keith: Mama e's is my mother, evelyn patterson.

I named the restaurant after my mom

because she was the best soul-food cook in the world.

Irvine: Before long, business was better than

keith or stephanie could ever imagine.

"diners, drive-ins and dives" came to our restaurant

and did wonders for us.

It's time to check out mama e's.

Wings and waffles...

Pure awesomeness.

...Like his mama made.

This is gonna be an adventure.

Being on that show really changed our lives --

I mean, dramatically.

We just never thought we would make money like that.

When guy fieri comes in, you've made it.

Sales go through the roof, and they become very successful.

When robert irvine comes in, you're closing,

or you're having a really hard time, or you're about to close.

With more money than know-how,

keith overexpanded his business, closing for renovations

until his customers were lost for good.

As far as the business side of it,

neither one of us know what we're doing.

It got so bad here that I had to go back

to work at a country club

as an executive chef to make ends meet.

Irvine: In his absence,

keith left stephanie to run his business.

I just feel like he started this,

and then he just put it on me.

I do feel trapped

because it's like he doesn't really push me

to do what I want to do.

God.

Mm.

Just brings back a lot of memories, man.

Brings back a lot of pain.

When restaurants are doing great, they get guy.

And when they're failing, they get me.

Watch out, mama e's. I'm coming to get you.

♪♪

why do I get this funny feeling

that I'm gonna hate this right now.

Disgusting, dirty, filthy.

Oh, bugs dropping out of this. That's disgusting.

I was literally horrified.

It was the worst restaurant I've ever seen on any show

I've ever done -- seriously.

What on earth is this?

I freaked out, flipped.

What is a hairdressing piece of equipment

doing in a restaurant, period?

Hair and food do not go together.

My feet are sticking to the floor.

Oh, there's my buddy, guy fieri.

Keith! Stephanie!

Come in this pig sty you call a restaurant!

Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

I was scared. What's gonna happen?

What is he gonna say? I didn't know what to expect.

I have to say something

'cause I've got to get it off my chest.

This is the worst restaurant I've ever seen in my life.

And I mean that. Can you hear my feet?

And you have people come in here to eat.

How do you let it get like this?

I pastor a church, and I work two jobs --

this place and a country club.

Whose fault's that?

It's mine because we've allowed the restaurant to go down,

and we have to do it to keep surviving.

No wonder nobody comes in here, keith.

Do I sound angry? Yes, you do.

I am because this is a business that can hurt people!

My goodness. Oh, give me a minute.

I've got to calm down because this is ridiculous.

While I am venting my frustration outside,

keith is inside, ready to throw in the towel.

Yes, we've had problems.

But you're not gonna disrespect me.

You won't disrespect me.

And so, they can get their cameras

and go on down the road 'cause I won't do it.

I was boiling at this point.

I was like, "I don't want to do this,"

because now I'm looking like a fool on national tv.

And I lost it. I lost it.

Where did he go?

Are you leaving me again? I'm trying to --

he's not gonna disrespect me. I don't care.

But I'm right here. He's talking to both of us this way.

Yeah, disrespect you gave me. That was disrespect?

That was disrespect. In what way?

Yeah, I have problems but I work to keep this thing alive.

And I don't care.

You're not keeping it alive.

How are you keeping it alive?

Is that how you call that alive?

Are you going with me? That is disgusting.

Well, he can disrespect me.

Listen, turn your cameras off.

I think it was the fastest time

that anybody threatened to leave.

The truth is it's a pig sty,

and it needs to change for you to stay in business.

And if you can't handle the change,

I'm okay with that.

Yeah, we can handle it.

That wasn't disrespectful. That was telling you the truth.

And the truth sometimes hurts, keith.

It hurts. It hurts very bad.

It hurt me to the core for you to have to say that.

The country club you work at, keith, does it look like this?

No.

No.

No, now you're not gonna talk to me.

That's okay.

Hey, you want me, you let me know

what you want me to do.

I'll be outside. You let me know.

Sometimes, the truth does hurt.

And robert was just brutally honest.

And now I sit back, and I'm looking --

I'm like, "you almost threw away a chance to better your place

because of your pride."

the place is a mess.

Come on, why are we in denial of that?

There's nothing wrong with getting help.

I don't get it.

If they don't want me here, that's fine. Robert: Mr. Rob.

Can I say something? Yeah, of course you can.

We appreciate you coming down. We do know it's like that.

But he can't seem to take criticism.

But he know he wanted you here.

Then I want to hear it from him.

The cook, robert, came out, and he said, "listen,

the guy is a great guy.

He's not sure what's happening. He's scared."

da-da-da.

And that kind of made me think again, saying,

"hey, okay, I understand why you're scared,"

but he shouldn't be scared of somebody

that's here to help him.

And that's why I stayed, 'cause of robert.

Listen, I want you to understand something.

I know. You know why? It's okay.

You know why it hurts? Because it's the truth.

It is, and I've tried, robert.

I've tried. I've tried to make my restaurant.

I took this place from nothing, man.

This was a dump when I first got it.

I'm not a nasty person.

No, I'm not saying you're nasty. Listen.

I'm one person. That's what I keep trying to say.

I'm one person, man.

It's not about pride, okay?

This is not about pride

because it's not about me, and it's not about you.

It's about a restaurant that's failing.

Yes.

Okay, because if it's failing --

it's for a reason.

And that's all I care about.

And I apologize, man, but I just -- it hurts.

The truth does hurt.

I have to eat humble pie.

[ laughs ]

that's what it felt like.

That blow-up wasn't for him.

It just that you happened to be there at that time.

And I apologized to him and forever apologize to him

because he didn't deserve that.

Stephanie!

And I want to apologize to you, too.

I'm sorry. Come here.

All right.

What did you just say?

I apologized to her for walking out

'cause I do walk out.

I do get mad, and I --

that's anger. That's just getting in the way.

Does he do that a lot?

Yes.

How long have you been married?

18 years this past Saturday.

18 years?

Good years? Tough years?

It's been some good years, and it's been some tough years.

17 good ones. One bad -- devastating.

One bad.

Let's talk about the business.

So, you run it day to day?

Yes.

Irvine: Things got worse when keith left stephanie

to run his business without any training at all.

But she put other talents to use,

creating a catchy, local jingle for mama e's.

Stephanie: ♪ I want me some mama e's ♪

♪ and some of that mac and cheese ♪

♪ and, oo-ee, some of those greens ♪

I would rather he do it because this is his passion,

his dream, and this is his field.

He knows what he's doing.

I don't. I mean, I'm a hair stylist.

You set up a hair salon in a restaurant?

I did.

My wife doesn't stick to one thing.

Like, tomorrow she was like,

"this season right now, it's hair."

and next season, it may be, "I want to do --

I'm done. I'm done. Hey, hey, whoa, whoa. Come here.

No, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good.

That's not -- yeah, no, I'm good.

So, I just get over keith walking out,

keith coming back, and all of a sudden,

stephanie gets up and walks out.

It was crazy,

jut to try and get them both to stand in one room

together so I could get the answers

I need to make a plan to fix the restaurant.

This is tumultuous to say the least, right?

Oh, my goodness.

18 years. Why did you marry him?

Why? Yeah.

Because I love him.

Why did you marry her? 'cause I loved her.

Actually, you said, "loved." "loved"?

Wow.

No, no, no, no. Sit down.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Bye-bye. Bye.

Man: Steph. Steph, steph.

♪♪

well, there you go.

I've never seen a couple that have been together 18 years

be so explosive with each other.

I could fix the restaurant, but not with both of them in it.

The relationship? Ha! I don't know about that one.

That was gonna be a tough one.

It was six years ago when I first visited mama e's,

and I'm heading back there today.

I truly believe this was the episode

that I wouldn't be able to fix it.

So, I'm not quite sure what to expect.

But we're gonna find out really soon.

Irvine: I'm revisiting mama e's in oklahoma city,

a restaurant I first visited six years ago.

Mama e's was the worst, with a capital "w,"

restaurant I have ever visited,

and I literally called it a pig sty.

Oh, bugs dropping out of this. That's disgusting.

I walked in the door,

and my feet instantly stuck to the carpet.

And married owners keith and stephanie

were in serious turmoil.

I'm done, I'm done.

Hey, hey, whoa, whoa. Come here.

No, I'm good. I'm good, I'm good.

That's not -- yeah, no, I'm good.

They couldn't talk to each other.

Keith ran off one minute,

then stephanie ran off the next minute.

Why did you marry her? 'cause I loved her.

Actually, you said, "loved." "loved"?

Wow.

No, no, no, no. Sit down.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Bye-bye. Bye.

♪♪

I truly believe this could be the one

that I cannot fix, period.

Can I get stephanie back? She just drove off.

She's over it.

My head is about to explode.

I've got to figure this out, big time.

I think, when stephanie drove off

keith realized that he'd opened mouth, inserted foot.

The realize came after that.

This is how it's been for months.

I think he felt really bad that he said something

that he really didn't mean.

It's some deeper issues.

It's some -- we need inner healing.

We need inner healing.

I thought, if we could fix the restaurant,

we could fix the marriage.

But it's deeper than just fixing a building.

While I was waiting for keith and stephanie to figure out

who, what, why, when, and where, I gather the staff.

I just ask them -- "tell me what's going on."

so, what I've got you here for is

I'm trying to fix the restaurant.

Why is the restaurant failing?

Lack of communication.

Irvine: Just when I'm getting the staff's take

on the restaurant's problems, stephanie has decided to return.

Hey, whoa, come here! Miss stephanie, come here.

All right, you guys, go and get ready for a service.

Thank you.

I apologize for what I said outside.

You know, I did not mean to offend you.

I do love you. I love you.

Miscommunication has a whole lot to do

with me and stephanie's relationship

because we don't communicate,

and when we do talk, either I blow up or she'll blow up.

I know you're hurt right now, right?

It's like I try to give, and the more I give,

the more I give, it's like he does not appreciate me.

I mean, I don't have a clue what I'm doing here.

I'm always looking out for him,

but it's like, when it comes to me,

he doesn't offer that, and I just -- that hurts me.

She has to know that you support her.

Like, she has become second to you.

You don't mean to do it, I don't think.

I think you do it because you're an old-school pastor,

and now you treat her like one of your disciples.

Oh, my god.

That's how I see it.

Why are you upset?

[ crying ] that's exactly how he treats me, and I hate it.

That's the biggest thing that hurts me so much

is that my husband does not acknowledge me as his wife.

It's like I'm just a member just like everybody else.

It hurts.

That has been my biggest complaint.

I want you to go to lunch. I want you to talk.

Come back here at 1:00, and tell me

whether you're in or you're out.

All right?

As simple as that. Okay?

The whole day 1, I didn't feel

we achieved anything in the restaurant.

I played marriage counselor.

So, I sent them to lunch to try and defuse

the animosity between them,

thinking if they sat across each other

and they had something to eat, maybe that would help them.

All right, you all are ready for service, right?

Usually, watching service is one of the first things I do.

But with the constant fighting today,

I'm getting to it hours behind schedule.

I love coming to mama e's,

and when I come I feel like I'm at home.

When you walk in, you get a warm impression --

you know, kind of a loving, peaceful spirit in here,

and the food is great.

Irvine: Mama e's is known for their chicken and waffles

and despite the filth out front, the kitchen is pretty clean --

with one exception.

Where do you make all the waffles? Oh.

Right here.

How old is that?

It's old.

When was the last time this was cleaned?

Well, they tried to clean it the other day.

Ooh!

Oh, it was very embarrassing.

And I understand because we're serving something to somebody

that they're gonna consume.

We should have that much respect for our food.

When he sees my waffle iron now,

he won't be able to call it disgusting.

[ laughs ]

look at this. That is rotten lettuce.

Irvine: Despite everything I'm finding,

the customers are definitely not finding fault with the food.

For the price, these portions are huge.

I ordered the chicken and waffles. It was good.

The waffle was very sweet. The chicken's good.

Woman: I had baked chicken and dressing -- very tasty,

and the macaroni cheese was very good.

Irvine: It's clear to me that food and customer service

are not their issues.

Keith and stephanie's biggest hurdle is their relationship.

Now I need to know if they're willing to work on it,

or is this all for nothing?

How was lunch? Thank you.

It was great.

Yeah?

Mm-hmm.

♪♪

now I'm stressed because we're so far behind.

I've only come close to not doing a restaurant once before.

So, you want to do it?

Irvine: It's been six years

since I last saw keith and stephanie

at mama e's restaurant in oklahoma city.

Confronted with a disgusting restaurant

and the explosive relationship between the owners,

I was certain this would be a restaurant

we wouldn't be able to save.

My head is about to explode.

I've got to figure this out.

In a last-ditch effort,

I sent keith and stephanie to lunch

to decide once and for all if they were in or out.

What did we discuss?

Stephanie: Moving forward.

We're much better together than apart.

So, you want to do it?

Yes. We want to do it, yes, sir.

I love mama e's.

Do you want her here? Yes, I do.

I truly believe in her. I believe in him.

I believe in our marriage.

Okay. Are you willing to give 150% here?

Yes.

Get all your staff inside. I'll be there in a minute.

Listen -- it can work if you want it to work, right?

And if he wants it, too. It's not only him.

Right.

And you have a great voice.

And I'm sure you have some great ideas.

He has a great voice, too.

He does? Yes!

Keith and stephanie: ♪ ...A better home awaiting... ♪

I have to tell you this --

it's the first time I've ever been serenaded

and the first time I've actually been bowled over with goosebumps

and wowed with a song.

I could not believe the beauty of them

and the harmony of them singing together.

Wow!

Why can't you -- look, I get goosebumps.

That was awesome.

The harmony that you have when you sing

is the same harmony you need in life,

in this business.

I'm serious. That was beautiful.

Robert had us sing together.

It took us into a whole nother place.

It felt at that moment like, "this is ours,"

and that we were really making things work

in that time and space.

And it felt good. It really did.

Now I feel better.

Me too.

Tom! Lynn! Come in here.

What's going on?

They're in it for the long haul, all right?

We're gonna do the restaurant.

So they're in. We're in, right? Absolutely.

Are you ready to change? Ready to change.

I can't hear you. Are you ready to change?!

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Now let's empty the place.

That's what I want -- the energy.

Empty this place out. Everything goes!

Where do you want to go first? Just take everything, put it right out the front door.

Let's just take it all down.

♪♪

this is a very small space,

and a lot of work's got to be done --

the floors, the ceilings, the lighting, the painting.

♪♪

I hope day 2 at mama e's in oklahoma city

gets off to a better start than day 1 did.

We made some great progress yesterday,

but there's still a long way to go.

Now I need to make sure the owners of mama e's

have a financial plan to make a profitable restaurant.

So, did you sleep? Sleep well.

Do you feel any different towards each other? Yes.

A whole lot. A whole lot.

In a good way? In a good way, yeah.

Well, to make this successful, you have to be here.

I know you've got another job,

and somehow you've got to get yourself out of the job

and spend time here because it's not fair to stephanie.

She doesn't have the training -- right? --

Yeah, I don't have it.

...And the know-how to do this. Right.

A couple things I want to show you just quickly.

Here's what you're gonna have to do.

So, every plate of food that you have

has a cost associated to it. Okay.

Now, the lucky part for you is your overheads are low here.

After going through a typical meal at mama e's buffet,

I show keith and stephanie how not costing the plates

has cost them money.

We've been undercharging.

Well, he has no clue -- that's why.

And it's okay, as long as you don't go forward without a clue.

That was eye-opening

because it was like you can keep just spending and spending

and not realizing that you're not making nothing.

Is this easy enough to remember?

Oh, yeah. I got that right there, yeah.

I think we're gonna be making some money now. I know we are.

Let's go in the kitchen. I'm gonna show you some new dishes.

Come on. I'm excited now.

Next up is the menu.

Keith's soul food is the real deal.

So, I'm just going to show them some tricks

to take it to the next level

without losing the magic that is mama e's.

I'm gonna redo one of your classical dishes

which is the waffle and chicken.

Then I'm gonna show you my way of making collared greens

and peach pie.

Get that flavor going.

Smell that? It's like an aroma.

Secret ingredient -- apple juice.

Apple juice, oh. Ah!

Irvine: I've even got a couple of gifts

up my sleeve for keith's kitchen.

Look to your right.

A new waffle iron.

A new waffle maker -- two of them,

instead of that disgusting, old one you got.

This is what I call sexy.

Whoo-ooh!

That looks good.

Go for it.

Oh, my god.

The spice is really good.

Irvine: With updates to keith's best dishes

and my signature peach pie,

mama e's soul food will be heaven on earth.

Oh, my god.

That's when I trusted robert.

I figured out that he was for me and not against me.

He was actually working to help us get back on track,

and so then I trusted him the rest of the ride.

It was six years ago when I first visited mama e's,

and I'm heading back there today.

Hey, keith!

I got a bone to pick with you,

and it's gonna be your leg bone in a minute.

Irvine: Today, I'm going back

to revisit mama e's restaurant in oklahoma city.

When I first visited in 2014, my mission almost didn't happen.

If you think that's disrespect -- listen, turn your cameras off.

But after finally getting the owners on board,

we could get some real work done.

Restaurants are not successful unless people know about them,

so I decided to take them to a tv station.

♪♪

it's a twofold mission.

It's, one, marketing to get the word out there

that there's a new renovation

and it's gonna be great,

and two is to give stephanie that feeling

of being part of the restaurant so she can be creative.

I'm gonna have her sing because that catchy commercial

that they have on the web right now is really good.

My producer told me, "she's got to sing the jingle."

so, take it away. All right.

♪ I want me some mama e's ♪

♪ and some of that mac and cheese ♪

♪ and, oo-ee, some of those greens ♪

♪ and can I get some kool- aid, please? ♪

I love it!

I think that's very sweet.

I know, hey, any song

that you can incorporate mac and cheese --

I'm sold.

Oh, we got plenty of business from that.

People came in, and it helped us tremendously.

It helped us.

That short amount of time,

even though it was only three minutes

is enough to hit three and a half million people,

both on the web and tv.

Wow.

So, that's the beginning

of getting the name out of a new restaurant.

After so much pain, I want to create a new beginning

for keith and stephanie's relationship.

So, I've got a surprise for them to keep them in harmony

when times get tough.

So, we got a recording studio and some help

and I'm gonna have you record that song.

But before you record it.

I want to ask you each a question.

Give me three things that you love about this woman.

I love stephanie because she's a go-getter.

I love stephanie because she's always got my back.

And I love stephanie for her personality.

I love keith because he's a very honest person.

I love keith because he has a really big, gigantic heart.

And I love keith because he's such a great provider.

Thank you. You're welcome.

Okay, and I've got goosebumps 'cause I'm all excited.

I decided to take them to lay that song down on a track

because I felt, if they ever got into problems,

they could play this song and it would be kind of cool.

Keith and stephanie: ♪ build a circle ♪

the song was unbelievable,

and when they sung and they closed their eyes,

I got goosebumps.

It was unbelievable to listen to,

and I still listen to it now.

Yeah.

Hey, glory hallelujah!

What do you feel right now?

Just feel good, man.

Why do you feel good?

I got just an inner peace that's just -- it's good. Amen.

What about you?

I'm just like -- I finally got to do something

that I love to do with my husband.

You complement each other so much.

I see two completely different people in front of me

than I saw yesterday.

That was one of the best days that we had,

me and her together, in a long time.

That day. I'll never forget that day.

It was like when we first got married.

It was like we knew what we wanted.

We knew how to come together and make this thing happen.

And robert irvine did that for us.

That's my dude, robert irvine.

Now we got to get back to the restaurant.

I've got the restaurant to finish.

Oh, goodness.

[ exhales sharply ] wow! Thanks, guys.

Thank you. Thank you. Robert.

See you back there. All right.

Irvine: Let's start wiping everything down.

Servers, come and clean all this and start setting this up.

Let's get a broom in here, and let's brush this out.

Then I can actually move here and start to set it.

♪♪

this is one mission that almost never got off the ground.

But I think when stephanie and keith see the new mama e's,

they're gonna be pretty happy that they stuck around.

I thank god for robert

because no one has ever really cared for me like this.

He said I'm gonna give you this second chance

to do it right.

And this time, we won't mess up. I promise.

I know it's been a tough two days,

but believe me, I'm very happy.

Are you ready to see the new and improved mama e's?

Yes. Yes, we are.

Open your eyes.

What in the world?

♪♪

this is so nice.

[ sobbing ]

♪♪

oh, keith, look at all this.

Oh, my god! I love it! It's crazy!

This is so nice!

This here is phenomenal.

This is phenomenal.

Look behind you.

♪♪

[ crying ]

♪♪

look at the door.

[ crying ]

♪♪

mm.

Out of everything that robert could have done,

that was the best.

And I knew my mom would be happy.

And I knew she would have been like,

"my picture on the door," you know?

We got a new place, and that...

[ sobbing ]

...And that her name is on something that is ours

and we're working it --

me and stephanie have come back, and we can all work it.

You believe that?

Yes.

[ both sobbing ]

this is ours.

I'm so proud of the transformation

that you both have made in this short period.

And I know it's a lot of work, okay?

If this is sound -- this, you're gonna make a million bucks.

Pfft!

There's a lot of people that want to come in.

Are y'all ready?

Are y'all ready?

[ cheering ]

you're not gonna believe what's inside this place.

First thing I noticed was the floors.

I love the floors.

It's just beautiful.

I think they did a good job,

and the wall over there is outstanding.

Before, you could scribble on the walls, but now it's classy.

The meatloaf and chicken.

Man: I ordered from the buffet.

It's some of the best meatloaf I've ever had.

Woman: My favorite thing is the collared greens

'cause they taste like they were soaked in bacon.

Woman: I ordered the chicken and waffles.

The waffle is amazing. The chicken is crispy.

It's delicious.

Girl: I love the food!

I would definitely come back. I love it!

It's new, it's fresh, and it's a whole big change

for this restaurant, mama e's.

I'm asking you one question, guys.

Can I get an, "amen"?

Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen!

[ cheering ]

♪♪

it was six years ago when I first visited mama e's,

and I'm heading back there today.

Keith and stephanie had the most tumultuous relationship

I've ever seen.

I truly believed this was the episode that I would fail,

I wouldn't be able to fix it.

The big questions I have heading back there now are simple.

Is stephanie doing hair in the restaurant?

Is the restaurant clean? Is keith working full-time

and doing a great job in the kitchen?

And do they have a lot of business?

You know, a lot can happen in six years,

so I'm not quite sure what to expect.

But we're gonna find out really soon.

♪♪

♪♪

it was six years ago when I first visited mama e's,

and I'm heading back there today.

The biggest thing that sticks out about this restaurant --

it's the only one that's been featured

on "triple d," guy fieri's show,

and "restaurant impossible."

it was the worst restaurant I've ever done

or attempted to do on "restaurant impossible."

so, I only hope, six years later,

all those lessons that I gave them. They've learned,

put into action, and are doing great.

All those questions I have are gonna get answered right now.

♪♪

[ indistinct conversations ]

♪♪

well, here I am, back at mama e's, six years later.

Beautiful floor -- I remember this

when I came in six years ago,

I couldn't literally lift my feet up.

The buffet looks good.

I remember, guy fieri's poster was on this wall that we re-did.

So, one of the questions I had --

was keith here full-time, and what is stephanie doing?

I don't know, but we're gonna find out in a minute.

Keith! Stephanie! What are you doing, buddy?

Just trying to make it happen. Good to see you.

Where's stephanie?

She's out doing her job.

What do you mean, doing her job?

She works doing petitions.

Oh, well, we'll talk about that in a minute.

Listen, are you doing good now?

Oh, yes, I am.

I want to try the chicken now,

and I want to try the cobbler.

Now. Now.

I don't care -- right now.

Some chicken and the cobbler. Chicken, cobbler, and collared greens.

Just like that, and we'll sit down in a minute and chat.

Last time I saw robert was fear.

This time is excitement.

I hope he sees the hard work that I do

and this place be a successful place.

Hey, keith!

I got a bone to pick with you,

and it's gonna be your leg bone in a minute.

Why is that so big, and why is mine small and I'm hidden?

They just -- I fixed you!

I got cake in front of me.

And we're gonna get you a big picture this week.

When I walked into mama e's

and saw they had a big picture on the wall right there,

I laughed to myself.

What do you mean, "this week"?

It's been six years you've been closed. Look, look.

I get this -- the miserable-looking guy.

And he gets this.

Guy and I are best friends.

Guy was also my best man at my wedding.

So, we're very close.

I'm really upset right now. I'm gonna fix this right now.

Hang on. Stay there.

I know you getting something. Oh, you know it, dude.

Guess what? He's gonna have a huge picture of robert irvine on the wall.

I'm gonna make sure of that.

Guy who? Guy who? Guy who?

This is what goes on that wall -- right there.

[ laughs ]

we got you. We got you.

Guy was my best man at my wedding.

Okay.

But I'm way cuter than he is.

I'm cuter. Am I cuter?

See?

[ laughs ]

well, guy fieri, congratulations.

I've just matched you.

He has a passion for food.

People travel for miles and miles and miles

to come and see keith and try his food.

The moment I've been waiting for.

Oh, man.

I want to taste the food

because I want to see if he's kept up

with how he started off six years ago.

Sit down. Let's have a chat while I eat.

Let's do that. It looks delish.

♪♪

well, I'm gonna tell you that chicken's great.

I mean, it's moist.

It's flavorful, seasoned correctly.

The collared greens are great.

But this dessert, the cobbler, they went wrong.

Ice cream on this?

I want ice cream on mine. I want a full, you know --

it's like a full thing. I appreciate that.

I can see why -- I can see why people love the food.

I mean that, seriously. Thank you.

You talk about stephanie --

what's stephanie doing nowadays?

She's pursuing her dreams.

She's doing what she likes to do.

She's doing hair. She's doing makeup.

She's also doing government work.

Okay.

And how hard is this business on your relationship?

We're in a good place now.

We're like any typical other couple.

Everybody has their problems.

But when I came six years ago, you were like this.

Oh, yeah. We were clashing.

And, you know, we still have our days.

We have our moments. But we work them out in the end.

She's off doing her thing, so make sure you say hi to her.

I definitely will.

When I came in and I was really abrupt with you

and very direct with you, you didn't like it, right? No.

Was I truthful with you? You were very truthful.

And that's the part that hurt. The truth hurts.

There was a turning point that you started to understand --

"he's here to help me."

that was day 2.

And that was after I saw who you really were.

You didn't come here to hurt me. You came here to help me.

And that's when I felt your heart.

And that's when we knew.

Were the life lessons and food costs

and cooking and time -- were they worth it?

It was very much worth it.

What did you learn?

I learned how to make sure

that I'm focusing on portion.

I learned how to make sure that, at the end of the day,

I'm winning and not losing.

I'm not just giving my product away.

I'm actually making a profit off of what I'm doing.

So, six years ago, food cost was what?

About 60, 70%.

It was a little bit more than that if I remember.

Yeah, you're right.

Yeah, it was almost like 100%, if I remember.

Because we were giving everything away.

Yeah, your portions were ridiculously big.

Now I'm glad to see they're manageable

and that's still plenty of food

for a guy like me, and I eat a lot.

What are they now?

Now I'm at 34, 35% food costs. It's looking good.

I'm able to make money, put money up, and live.

So, making money.

Give me some kind of round figure --

what you were making six years ago.

Six years ago, we went from maybe a couple hundred a day

to maybe $2,000 or $3,000 a day.

You know what I'm saying? Wow, that much.

It was a good change.

You know, it was a step from -- I can now pay a bill

and not worry about if it's gonna have enough

in the bank to cover everything

and still have something left over

to be able to pay me and her.

You know, I would never have thought

that mama e's would make that.

Paid off all your debt?

Paid off all the debt, living like I want to live,

being able to enjoy life, and don't stress.

I appreciate everything. I can't thank you enough.

So, what is your next venture?

Oh, my next venture

is this food truck that I'm working on.

This isn't enough for you?

You've got to get another business?

I want another business. Yeah, I'm greedy.

[ both laugh ]

I'm kind of intrigued to see this food truck.

Let's go do it.

Food truck is a great business because it's much cheaper

than it is to run a brick and mortar store.

Truck's right around here.

But keith will need to use everything that I've taught him

if he's gonna capitalize on that successfully.

Irvine: I'm revisiting mama e's in oklahoma city,

and owner keith seems to have turned a new leaf.

Paid off all the debt, living like I want to live,

being able to enjoy life, and don't stress.

But now he's on the verge of opening a food truck.

Let's hope it doesn't turn into the disaster

mama e's was six years ago.

So, where's this truck then?

Truck's right around here.

On this side of the truck, I've got my mom's mural on it.

You paid how much for this?

I paid $500 for this.

500 bucks? $500 bucks.

Yeah, it's still got some work.

I'm just gonna put a new seat in,

and just take a look.

Irvine: Oh, you got a sink in there.

Yeah, I've got everything in there, yeah. We're ready.

Yeah, I just need somebody to do what needs to be done to it.

I can roll after that.

You've got $10,000 of work in here

and it's a brand-new truck. Yeah.

And the truck runs, right? It's got an engine in it?

Oh, it runs. I put a new transmission and a motor in it.

With a food truck, instead of having people come to you,

you can go out into the masses of people

that would never venture to your area.

And I think that's really important

because it grows new business.

And at the end of the day, people thrive on new business.

I'm excited.

I just need you to give me some input

on what you think would work.

Well, you've got to play something off waffle

because you're known for that, right? Yes, yes.

So, you've got to have something with waffles.

We'll go in the kitchen. We'll play a little bit. I like that idea.

I do like this, though.

And for 500 bucks, and you're putting all new equipment in.

Not only is keith doing amazing,

but he was asking me for some dishes

that would be unique to that food truck

that you can't get at mama e's, which I think is really cool.

So, I thought about two dishes --

a deep-fried shrimp on waffle

and a vegetable with jalapeños,

broccoli, and deep-fried brussels sprouts.

So, I've got a waffle working over there.

I've got cooked shrimp.

Gonna start with some seasoned flour,

egg wash, panko breadcrumbs.

The coolest thing about this is, for the food truck

you're not putting raw products, and it's fast.

Shrimp in, drop it in nice.

While that's in, the waffle is getting nice and warm.

Use ketchup, soy sauce, spice, and some vinegar.

I've got my waffle.

♪♪

take a little bit of the sauce.

Try that now.

Oh, my god.

Oh, my god.

Mmm! Now that...

My god.

I get that.

Keith: The shrimp is a million dollars.

I can't wait to get them on my food truck.

We're gonna do another dish.

So I thought we'd take jalapeños,

brussels sprouts roasted in the oven with broccoli.

We made a gochujang sauce with ketchup.

The idea of this is it's got to be really quick -- in and out.

There it is, fried up right.

I'm gonna take my gochujang ketchup.

All right -- look, you didn't even wait.

I didn't. I'm sorry.

'cause it just -- this one caught my eye real good.

Oh, my goodness.

Mmm-mmm-mmm!

Mmm!

This one's money.

That's money.

These are two dishes that are gonna fly that food truck.

This here is money.

Six years ago, I walked in this place.

I was horrified.

I come back six years later, you're killing it.

You paid off all your bills, got money in the bank,

you bought a food truck, you're happy.

Very much so. Which is really good.

It's a real pleasure to see that.

I really appreciate him, and I know he cares about me.

I know he cares about my success and mama e's

because if he didn't he wouldn't have came back.

And to share these things here, it's priceless.

I couldn't come in without bringing a gift.

So, before I leave, I bought you another waffle iron.

Oh, my god.

You can use it on the truck or use it in here.

Thank you. All right, buddy.

You made me very proud.

Thank you.

What are you crying for now?

I don't know. Just happy. Just happy, bud.

I'll see you soon. All right, pleasure, man.

Thank god for robert irvine.

♪♪

hoo!

[ indistinct conversations ]

I came here before robert was here.

The place wasn't that great.

But after he got here, it's beautiful. I love it.

The food's good. The service is great.

Who wouldn't want to come here?

Who had catfish dinner?

Mama e's is the best soul-food restaurant in oklahoma city.

♪♪

this is the buffalo shrimp and waffle -- amazing.

Everything is complementary

because you have the tanginess of the cheese

against the hot sauce.

Man: Mama e's makes the best chicken and waffles.

When my wife was pregnant, she had me come here

every day for over two months -- I'm not exaggerating --

'cause she had to have mama e's greens.

Woman: I would come to mama e's

just for the fried brussels sprouts and broccoli.

Fantastic.

Your order of chicken and waffles is ready.

I like working for keith because he's an awesome person.

He works extra hard to make sure the legacy stays alive

because he's just always doing something.

Today's visit with robert means the world to me.

[ indistinct conversations ]

that I was feeling that I wasn't doing right,

and he assured me that I was on the right path.

Now I can stand and say, "a legend said it's good."

irvine: Six years ago, I stepped into this place, mama e's.

It was the worst place on the planet.

And when I came back,

I find a thriving, energetic, happy man,

and here we are with a restaurant that's thriving,

and it started with this young lady here.

I wish keith and mama e's the best.

See you later, keith.

♪♪