Sweet Potato Cafe - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Stone Mountain, Georgia to makeover Sweet Potato Cafe. Sweet Potato Cafe is owned by Karen and Darrell and the restaurant is destroying their finances and 25-year marriage.  Karen feels overwhelmed at the restaurant from handling most of the responsibilities while Darrell takes a back seat.  Robert will need to get Darrell to take on more and Karen to regain her passion in the kitchen to turn the restaurant and their marriage around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Sweet Potato Cafe 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:

• "This quaint restaurant was the perfect place for a family dinner. The weather was beautiful so we sat outside. The server was attentive and so kind answering all our questions and giving her recommendations. The food was top notch from the appetizers of fried green tomatoes to all our entrees. The salads are HUGE and i had a loaded sweet potato which is a must!! The variety on the menu allowed everyone to choose their perfect dinner. Gluten free options are plenty!!"
• "Stopped in after a visit to Stone Mountain with friends. I could not imagine how honey shrimp would taste on a sweet potato. It was fabulous!!!! Shrimp grains was a pleasant surprise as it is served cold. Service was slow - only one but seems like every restaurant is struggling to find help. Our server was pleasant and did a great job."
• "Finally got a chance to stop here for lunch. Well worth it. The converted house is charming with eclectic furnishings. The staff is friendly. Enjoyed a turkey burger with tasty garnishes and crispy sweet potato fries. Plus a slice of sweet potato pie to go."
• "Overall, this place is excellent. Outstanding staff, and great food. To be quite honest with a lot of places that sell BBQ pork, it's usually extremely dry, so they have to soak it in BBQ to overcome its dryness, but not here. It was smoked just right and had just the correct amount of BBQ...I would highly Sweet Potato Café to anyone who appreciates great food and good service. Plus, it is always great to be able to help support local businesses."
• "Bravo! Excellent food quality. Excellent service. Jalapeño sweet potato muffins -- Yes, please! So tasty and easy on the wallet. So delicious."
• "The chef is a master! If you live in the Atlanta area this is worth the drive. Ordered the Meatloaf and pot pie. Don't tell mama, but this was better. Truly delicious and authentic recipes. Enjoy!"
• "We've visited this cafe over the past handful of years and still love it. The service is wonderful, everyone we have had serve us is always very friendly. The food is delicious and taste very fresh! Family friendly too! We will continue to support and visit the sweet potato cafe!"
• "Found it on a google search...loved it. Cozy little place awesome menu food was great friendly staff...will definitely be back....found me a little gem in the midst of the normal places."
• "Run to it! You will not be disappointed. So flavorful. So yummy. Homemade. Not your corporate dinner chain. If you want authentic recipes and great service eat here!"
• "The new Sweet Potato Cafe is off the chain. I had the pulled pork Mac and cheese, and it was delicious, though I wanted a bite of my friend's burger with pimento cheese. The decor is beautiful, the service was great, and the food is amazing."

Negative Reviews:

• "My friends and I came here after a long hike in Stone Mountain, so we were starving. We were very disappointed in the service provided, though. The first lady that greeted us was very nice, but clearly didn't want to be there. We couldn't sit on half of the tiny restaurant or outside (not sure why, but they gave us some lame reason), so we had to wait for another customer to vacate their table, although they were plenty of tables open. Our waitress barely checked on us, and it's not like she was busy - like I said, half the restaurant was empty (on purpose). We even had to ask another waiter to get us water because our glasses were empty and she was nowhere to be found. And last, but not least, it took a good 45 minutes to get our food! It totally threw off all the plans we had after and, like I said, we were starving! The food was good, but the sweet potato fries were terrible. The taste was ok, but they were limp. I was expecting crispy sweet potato fries, like pretty much anywhere else. I couldn't finish them. The bathroom was clean and nice, though."

*Reviews from Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google

Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover for Sweet Potato Cafe happened in January 2022.
• Here is the Sweet Potato Cafe website and Facebook page.
• The websites boasts farm-to-table cuisine with a lot of items made from sweet potatoes.
• The restaurant is holding a viewing of the Restaurant Impossible episode on the Friday after it airs and that event is sold out. (Link)
• Here are the reviews for Sweet Potato Cafe from Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google.
• The reviews both before and after the makeover are positive.

Conclusion:

The reviews for Sweet Potato Cafe since the Restaurant Impossible makeover have been pretty much all positive.  The reviews compliment the food, cozy atmosphere, staff and service.  Even the reviews before the makeover were positive, so it seems like they have what it takes to succeed.


*Visit Our Restaurant Impossible Update Page to see all Restaurant: Impossible updates, and which restaurants are open, closed, or have been sold. Also Follow Us on Twitter