Sunday, June 23, 2013

Restaurant Impossible - Angelo's Restaurant Update

Angelos Restaurant Impossible Update
Tonight on Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine and crew are going to Woodstock, Illinois to help out Angelo's Restaurant.  The restaurant is right near Woodstock Square, which is where all of the outdoor scenes were shot for the movie Groundhog Day.  Cousins Angelo and Angelo are now in charge of the restaurant after their fathers opened it 40 years ago.  They still have the same menu, same decor, and lots of family drama.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Angelo's 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:

  • "I went to Angelos today for dinner and had the Greek Burger and the Jalapenos as an appetizer.... One of the best appetizers I have ever eaten. The burger was alright. I asked for it medium but it came well done. Still it was easily worth the $8.99 it cost. The decor is very nice. Nice job Restaurant Impossible."
  • "My family and I ate at Angelo's for the first time since the transformation. What a great experience. The interior is clean and modern. I love the rustic but modern feel to it. The food was amazing.....The transformation was definitely a good change for the Resturant.  I'll be back again."
  • "The Restaurant Impossible make-over was transformational.  How they did this in less than 3 days is short of a miracle...The reason to come to Angelo's is for the Woodstock Square, and now there is a beautiful restaurant to go along with it."  
  • "I have been dieing to see Angelo's since the Food Network Remodel....I can tell you that the remodel is AMAZING!! It's a completely different place. New more up-to-date décor...In all we had a great experience and have agreed that we will be going back."
  • "Decided to give the new Angelos a try and it was delicious. The menu is great and has many options for breakfast and lunch. The staff is very friendly as well. The new decor is awesome and place looks really good. Chef irvine and crew did a great job.  Will be back!!!!!"


Negative Reviews: 

  • "Service was not the best....Food alright, but price overall high for what you get I think and I wouldn't avoid here or anything, but it wouldn't be my first choice either."
  • "The food was fine although one of the diners with me had an order delivered wrong. We ordered sandwiches and eggs and waited an hour for a party of four. I love a sit down for a couple hours restaurant, but this is not a two hour experience restaurant. Seating is tight."
  • "They redesigned the interior but the food is an epic FAIL. One piece of cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich (menu says cheese is oozing out - NOT) and the BLT had 3 pieces of bacon and more lettuce then the average salad. Woodstock resident that will not be going back."
  • "The food will fill you up if you are really hungry, but food lacks flavor and owner spends more time spent smoking a cigarette outside side door than mixing with his staff or customer."
  • "I have been twice since R.I. completed their project. As for breakfast......nothing has changed. Coffee is mediocre, bacon is cheap and NOT thick as the menu states. As for lunch...... fruit is NOT fresh, strawberries were obviously frozen. My wife's Cesaer wrap was made with iceburg and NOT romane lettuce. Not impressed."
  • "We tried this diner because of the tv show that will be airing this weekend.  Not sure what it looked like before but I was not impressed.....We will not be going back anytime soon nor would we ever recommend this place to our friends and family.  There are lots of other places to eat where you dont end up on the toilet minutes after eating the food."
  • "Our server was very poor.....When the food came it was mediocre at best...If you want the experience of seeing a place that you will see on TV, then stop in.  If you want good food and service, then this is not the place....Chef Irvine has had a number of successes on his show, but I doubt this will one of them."
  • "Not sure if I'll be going back or not after multiple bad experiences. Used to love coming here, but something isn't right and it's lost the old diner feel that I loved."
  • "The new Angelo's= Higher prices, smaller portions and bad customer service. I will not be returning."

*Reviews from Urbanspoon, Google+, Yelp, Tripadvisor 


Conclusion:

There are a lot more negative reviews than positive reviews for Angelo's Restaurant, and people think the food is mediocre, and that there are still a lot of problems with the service.  As far as the makeover goes, there were some complaints about the painted tables as there was paint chipping off of them, and also complaints about uncomfortable seats.

Some positive things about the restaurant are that they have started accepting credit cards after Restaurant Impossible came, and they have recently started opening for dinner service during the week.

With the good location of the restaurant near Woodstock Square, they may be able to make it work if they can improve on their food and service, however this may be a restaurant that needs to be watched.


UPDATE from a 6/30/2013 article: Co-Owner Angelo said he would do the Restaurant Impossible experience again, but would do it without family involved.  His wife actually applied to the show through a letter as a Valentine's Day gift to Angelo.  Apparently they wanted to boost business to get married in a religious ceremony rather than a civil ceremony.  As for the restaurant, they are digging out of debt 'little by little' and are starting to bring back daily specials.

UPDATE from 12/2013 - Angelo's has closed.  More information on the closing.


*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  
 

16 comments:

  1. Wow...so many negative reviews. At least this site is honest about the feedback! Hopefully Angelos can get it together!

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  2. Would be sorry to see it go under. That restaurant has been an institution on the Square as long as I can remember. I grew up in Woodstock & used to stop there after school in the '60s with my girlfriends. It was called Vierigg's (sp?) then. From the before pictures, it hadn't changed much in the 45 years since I moved away. It was kind of hard watching those booths get torn out--I have such good memories of sharing them with girlfriends as we discussed unreasonable teachers (lol) and our latest crushes.

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  3. wow i just watched this episode and i would of thought it would be better

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  4. No credit cards? One reason - cash is easier to slush. Total tax dodge.

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  5. We've eaten at Angelo's 4 times since the rescue. First two--limited menu; fun to experience. So-so food. Servers keen to please. Keeps getting better. Yesterday, we took house guests late morning and waitstaff offered breakfast or lunch which suited our group. Coffee is below par. Guessing Robert Irvine isn't picky about his coffee, because no changes made to brand selection. Offer me Intelligentsia or Conscious Cup--both local roasters and do it well.

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  6. I've always went to Angelo's with my mom for breakfast or lunch. I heard about Restaurant Impossible coming in and I was interested to see the changes, it makes me unhappy to say that I will no longer be dining in at Angelo's again. Been going there for years and I loved the food and atmosphere, for the most part the staff was friendly and relatively quick. Now it is uncomfortable and the food was less than mediocre. I also noticed that the people I seen on the show I've never seen at the restaurant before, usually it was a very sweet older woman and the usual wait staff.

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  7. It's Six Months after the Makeover and I will be going there with a dining group I belong to on Tuesday 9/10. I posted on Angelo's FB page that I wanted someone to get back to me as there was no way on FB page to message them. . .Haven't heard from them. I'd like to give them a heads up that we're coming for their sake and for ours!

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  8. Six months after the makeover and I'll be going there Tues. 9/10 with a dining group I belong to. I tried to contact Angelos via their Facebook page and wanted them to get back to me (there was no way to message them) Wanted to give them the heads up for their sake and ours. Haven't heard back from them yet.

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  9. We love Angelo's.. Nice small town feel, great breakfast, as a long time Resturant worker, every place has drama and so far I have not seen that come through their service or food!!

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  10. Biggest mistake of restaurant operators, is starting to cut back on quality and inconsistency ,

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  11. hahaha, ene up on the toilet minutes after eating not possible even with food poisoning it takes 4 hrs. Oh yea prove where you get the actual complaints plz (the actual link) sometimes it sounds like the same person posting multiple accounts of their visit an as for as no room? it looked like plenty of room in the show

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  12. no cc duh 30 cent fee plus 10 percent of the check uh

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  13. yet you keep going and take new people hmmm

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  14. bahahahaha..duh us the phone duh

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  15. Well they've sold it to Papa G's since the makeover so I guess things didn't go well for them. The new owners are operating it now but will be closing in January to remodel. Says it needs an overhaul. Anxious to see what they do. If you have a FB page for your business, you should keep up with it. I never heard a response because Angelo's wasn't even in touch with their own page. I was trying to forewarn them of the upcoming critics. I don't have time to call them. The feedback and post I left was a gift.

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  16. Yeah, so have I. I wanted to do all I could to support them. The whole town was so happy for them, but the key to their success was the group of originals that owned it (before handing it down to their grown children) They were the sweetness that kept everyone coming back.

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