Monday, November 24, 2014

Restaurant Impossible - Mama E's Wings and Waffles Update

Photo - Food Network
Tonight on the season 10 premiere of Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to makeover Mama E's Wings and Waffles.  Mama E's was a thriving restaurant and was even featured of Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in the past.  They attempted to open a 2nd location, which failed and put a strain on the owner's finances and marriage.  Robert needs to get the owners Keith and Stephanie communicating again to help save their restaurant.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Mama E's Wings and Waffles 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:
  • "Menu says four wings but these are huge turkey sized chicken wings. The waffle is huge, heavy, doughy (buckwheat?), hot, freshly made, and satisfying.  I could not muster more than three or four bites...The best part are the people working here who are really nice and will make effort to be welcoming to newcomers...Sure, looks a little scary from the outside, but inside, it's homey and nice.  Service is slow but that's how it is in OKC."
  • "First off, the new decor is fabulous! It is clean and modern...As for the food, it was delicious!...The service at Mama E's left a bit to be desired. The owner was charismatic and friendly but the rest of the employees, who seemed to be family, lacked zeal and were curt...All in all my experience was decent and better than expected. A solid 3 star rating. I look forward to trying them a few more times and will update my review accordingly."
  • "Awesome food and very friendly service!..Everything was delicious! Atmosphere is clean and tasteful but nothing fancy. However, the food makes up for it! Will definitely be back!"
  • "I have been wanting to try this place out for a long time and finally my boyfriend and I went during our lunch break. Excellent!!...Of course we had to end the meal with a piece of pecan pie, and like all the rest of the food, it was so good! On top of all the deliciousness, the lady who helped us was amazing and extremely attentive:) Will go back again!!"

Negative Reviews
  • "They lost me at the drinks. Sweet tea was sour, meaning old and rotten. I've been drinking tea my whole life & if you can't make good tea in Oklahoma then you should just shut it down.... The food was either drowning in sugar or salt. Wings not battered enough, burger bun sopped in grease, served late to the table, fries no flavor but grease, the greens had no spice, the jambalaya had 3 small pieces of sausage. It's a no! The people were very nice but the food just isn't. Sorry."


Other News and Links:
  • There is no website or Facebook page for Mama E's that I can find.
  • The episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives originally aired in July of 2009 (season 6).  I was unable to find it on YouTube, but its available on Amazon (Link to it on Amazon)
  • The second location referenced in the episode description opened in 2010.  Here is a few lines from the article that reference Guy Fieri's advice:  "The first promise Fieri made the Pattersons was that a segment on his popular Food Network show would exponentially increase business. When that promise came true, the Pattersons decided to put their faith into his second bit of advice.  "Guy told us the exposure would give us the chance to expand our business," Stephanie Patterson said. "So, that's what we're doing."
  • Here is a commercial for Mama E's from 2012 with a little jingle. "I want me some Mama E's. And some of that mac and chee. And ooh wee some of those greens.  And can I get some Kool-Aid please...."


Conclusion:

The reviews of Mama E's are mostly positive with people complementing the food and there being many references to a friendly owner.  The food was probably never the issue if they were able to get on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  I guess you could say Guy Fieri gave them bad advice about a 2nd location, so Robert Irvine is needs to come in and save the day.

With this being the second time Mama E's Wings and Waffles has been on national television, you would think they would have a website or Facebook page for people hoping to check them out.  This may be something they want to get created as Facebook is free, and a basic website does not cost much to get created.


*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

48 comments:

  1. Sounds like they are sorely lacking on marketing their restaurant. Marketing their establishment could make a huge difference in the bottom line. They could use some direction there.

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  2. Get out the hankies....I feel a Dr. Phil episode coming on.

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  3. Did Guy encourage them to open a second location before or after the owner's mother passed away? It sounds like things steadily went downhill after her death. It sounds like they didn't start anything new after she died either, which may explain why they don't have a website or a Facebook page.

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  4. The owners were both like "I am only one person" but they had a bunch of employees...


    I stopped watching toward the end to watch people loot bags of snacks and beer in Ferguson and didn;t turn back. There was almost nothing about food again this episode.. More Robert playing Dr, Phil in a too small POlo shirt.

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  5. I hate the places that let people write on the walls, that is just so dirty to me.

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  6. I have to agree.
    On the dirty theme, I'd like to see what this place looked like when Guy was there. I've visited a few places here in town that he's featured on 3-D and they weren't what I'd call scrupulously clean. It makes me think Guy doesn't really concern himself with that, but I could be wrong.

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  7. The writing (and pictures, mine included) is cool thought on the walls of Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in Nashville!

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  8. I think the owners misunderstood Fieri. What they should have said was "Guy told us the exposure would give him the chance to expand his business."


    Could this be the beginning of a DDD jinx? Fieri puts a restaurant on DDD and later it fails and goes on R:I to be rescued. If FN's budget ever started getting tight, they could combine the two shows into one new one...DDD: Diners, Drive In's and Disasters.

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  9. Way over the top with the drama. No marriage can be fixed in two days.

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  10. R.I has one divorce to his name. Surely he comprehends how complicated marital problems are. They can't all be saved nor should some of them.

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  11. Now that Irvine has gotten into the counseling business and out of the food business.....Will Dr. Phil soon get his own cooking show???? " Whine and Dine with Robert and Phil"

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  12. Neither restaurant redemption nor restaurant takeover depend nearly as much on the silly human interest stuff that this show has turned into.

    On the other hand, it's refreshing to think that RI can fix any marriage in a day or two.

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  13. I would pitch Diners, Drive In's and Dives Impossible, but whatever. A Fieri vs. Irvine meetup show sounds amusing. The cheerleader for bar food and the grouchy cooking version of Dr. Phil/Drew.

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  14. He couldn't have fixed mine.....thankfully!!!!

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  15. Fieri and Irvine are buds. Fieri was the best man at Irvine's wedding.

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  16. The place Guy visited close by me is an old diner known to have pretty bad food. The owner took one of Guy's seminars though so it is probably some sort of payback. They made 3 dishes that all looked below average.
    Every now and then DDD has someplace with some amazing looking scratch made food, but more and more often it is just greasy food "with an avalanche of melty cheese".

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  17. Sounds like his mother passing may have cause him to be depressed, I have seen that affect many people for years.
    Hopefully he can use this as a fresh start to get things back on track.


    They had mostly older people working there, probably nobody tech savvy at all.
    A possible solution might be contacting a local college for some kids to set up some simple marketing like on facebook and get a few college credits in exchange. Throw in some free food and they should have no problems gettings a few takers. College professors are actually "graded" as much on community outreach as teaching skills in many colleges.

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  18. I didn't realize Guy did seminars. That's interesting.
    Several places here have been on 3-D, but usually they are pretty small, old diners or holes in the wall that are in poor areas of town.

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  19. Yes, he was. That surprised me.

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  20. They left that pretty ambiguous, didn't they? I do find the lack of FB or a website very odd. I dislike going to places that don't have either of the two because I very, very rarely eat meat & like to see what's on the menu before trying a new place. I know I can't be the only person that wants to know ahead of time & I think businesses that don't get a website are hurting themselves.

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  21. Next month that guy will probably show up on chopped. Disgusted with RI anymore, this played out more like a show from MTV.

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  22. But the show makes you think they are doing extremely well, all the regulars love them.

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  23. Did you notice that the show started at 10:20??? And then they edited the airing so it ended at 11. I have no idea why it started after 10. It's not that Food Network was covering Ferguson. I have no idea what happened

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  24. I also tend to avoid going somewhere if I can't see the menu online first; I'm a vegan.

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  25. That's what I'm thinking - his mother probably wasn't tech savvy either, and even if any of them are, they just seem hesitant to change anything. I hope they get a fresh start too. Too bad you can't get your marketing suggestion to them.

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  26. I didn't notice that. How weird.

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  27. If that's really how they got DDD to sing their praises, that's disgusting.

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  28. I hope not. Dr. Phil is a disgrace to the field of counseling.

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  29. It's like a sitcom - any problem can be solved in an hour.

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  30. I watched about half of "Wedding: Impossible" but didn't remember that fact. As a wrestling fan I was too busy being shocked he was marrying Gail Kim.

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  31. So it's even tougher for you.
    Facebook is free, so my thoughts are, if you can't a) have a FB page for your restaurant or b) put a photo(s) of your menu up there, you don't want my business.

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  32. Did RI want to fix a restaurant or save a marriage in a jiffy AND launch a singing career for these two? RI has lost his focus.....he is not a marriage counselor (he has one failed one himself), he is not a music promoter and he has restaurant failings himself. I cannot stand this show anymore.

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  33. There was almost nothing about food or the staff of the restaurant. The décor was lightly touched on. The marital problems of the owners were the star of the show. Imagine, airing out dirty laundry in public is what a restaurant makeover show has been reduced to. Maybe the Kardashians should get a restaurant......gee, wouldn't that be fun to watch (NOT)!

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  34. Instead of a tally on which restaurants are still open and which have closed, how about a tally of which marriages have survived and who has split up?

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  35. LOL he definitely married a cutie.

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  36. RI turned me off going out to eat anyway.

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  37. I can't either.

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  38. Or just cancelling the show already and bringing back Dinner Impossible.

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  39. This episode has made it to Comcast "on demand". This is the only episode offered. Without a doubt, this was the worst episode of RI EVER!!! Needless to say, I could not watch it. RI is loosing its market share due to putting out CRAP like this episode. I have lost interest.

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  40. Restaurant Takeover is probably the most honest "restaurant rescue" program on the air. First of all, it's usually not the owners themselves who ask for help, but rather, it's often a family member or partner who calls the team in. Secondly, the owners actually have to invest half the cost, so they're not getting a free ride. And many of the owners don't learn anything from the experience.

    Which brings me to my favorite part. The follow-up information presented at the end of each episode is scrupulously honest, often showing that the owners went back to their failing ways. And sometimes, the owners don't allow production back in for a follow-up. One owner even complained after telling the show how much he liked the changes, refused to let them back in for a follow-up, and initiated a suit against the show after changing everything back.

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  41. I wish I got the Cooking Channel so I could watch this.

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  42. I agree. Despite all his bravado, I think he's basically insecure. He has to mention his credentials and pat himself on the back on every single show. I am sick of his shtick...I'll be back and "put verbs in my sentences"...blah blah blah. I used to be a fan, but his shows this season remind me of Maury Povich...they're pathetic.

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  43. Don't blame it on this episode. I'm SICK of looking at this muscle-bound, grammar-challenged noodle wearing too-small shirts and sick of the show and have been for a long time. It's time to retire it.

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  44. Well I always hope for the best, BUT: people don't get that fat, and their restaurants don't get that filthy dirty, unless they are L-A-Z-Y and have a seriously lagging work ethic. Maybe they will turn things around in their lives and their restaurant, but I doubt it.

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  45. I'm from the area, and I think the second location failed more because it was in a poor location. Attached to a gas station, in an area with a VERY high traffic of homeless folks due to multiple shelters, good day time industrial traffic but not on the evenings or weekends. Just my opinion.

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  46. Thanks for your insight, Tara!

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  47. Giada is Sooooo annoying!!

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