You know what worries me
is that you think you're doing something and you're really not.
You're $450,000 in debt.
It just blows my mind that you let it go this far.
Holy moly!
The food, the cleanliness...
That's coming from the ice machine.
...is garbage.
Look at this chicken On the floor.
This is not acceptable.
You shut down right now.
Who's running the restaurant? 'Cause you're not.
The servers... They didn't show up.
If I don't get staff by 2:30, I'm not doing a service.
That's not a threat. That's a promise.
I'm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
on my way to meet Maurice, the owner of Boil & Roux.
You know, for me, when I hear the name, it says "Cajun".
Cajun boils with crawfish and potatoes and corn.
So it's a Cajun restaurant in the middle of Baton Rouge.
Normally, these restaurants do really well.
So why are they calling me?
[Maurice] Eric, sauté.
How are those oysters looking over there, man?
[Eric] About two minutes.
My name is Maurice Walker.
I am owner, executive chef
of Boil & Roux in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
[Eric] Pork chops up in the window.
The restaurant officially opened in 2015
and we were the first casual dining restaurant
that was black-owned here in Baton Rouge.
That makes me very proud. Makes me very, very proud.
I need that crawfish nacho first.
Need to be going out with this six, seven minutes.
Boil & Roux is more of a Louisiana, comfort type of cuisine.
You know, your gumbo, your pork shrimp,
pork sausage, your red beans and rice.
I can say for myself, I think I make a mean pot of red beans.
And I love making people happy
with the food that they're receiving,
that they're paying their hard-earned money for.
Drop me five shrimp right now
so they can be ready when I'm ready with the pasta.
Before owning the restaurant,
I owned two barbershops.
When I graduated high school
I went straight to barbering school.
Did that for 10, 15 years.
But I also love to cook,
so I would do barbeques at the barbershop
in between clients.
And I had a pretty good following with barbering
and selling little plates on the side.
And that's when it dawned on me, like,
"Man, I'm pretty good at this."
So that's what inspired me to start a restaurant.
The first year, everything was going great with the restaurant
and going great with the customer.
Making a profit, saving some money,
um, all of, you know, the American dream of owning your own business.
In 2018, business started declining
due to bad customer service.
I noticed servers,
bartenders, cooks not coming in on time.
People not showing up for work
and I couldn't figure out why.
What happened to you?
Maurice as a person, I think, is a gentle giant.
And I think that he kinda play like big brother,
big uncle towards the staff.
And I kinda think Mo might need to change,
being a little bit more firm.
So, we started getting bad reviews online about the service
and that took a real big toll.
My lunch crowd went from 100 people
to 30, maybe 20 people in just two or three months.
Revenue went down
and now I've been losing 50k a month
just in revenue.
I find myself taking out loans,
dipping into money that I really don't have
to actually keep the restaurant going.
It's just too much on me,
the pressure of the restaurant.
It being the first casual dining restaurant that was black-owned
keeps my wheels turning every day.
Like, "Don't give up 'cause, I mean,
you did something that no one has done yet."
So if I have to close the doors,
I will really be down on myself well and truly
and I feel like I'm letting everyone else down.
I don't wanna give up, but Boil & Roux's in shambles now.
I don't know how long I can keep the restaurant together.
[Robert] Driving up here... Lots of business. Lots of traffic.
So, as I walk in, I'm hit with this mess.
This is supposed to be the bar.
Pretty nondescript.
Lots of dirt and lots of paint missing.
Look at the state of the walls.
Not only... Oh.
I didn't even... I mean, that's just touching it.
Rusty old chairs.
Some old banquettes.
Look, you see how worn these are?
[metal clanging]
It's a metal... I don't know what that is.
A little dining room up here with more garbage in it.
Then we come into the back room.
Different tables.
I mean, could be a really great room.
It's not.
I'm already upset.
The minute I see something like this
where it looks like people don't care
and then they want me to come and fix their problems,
it upsets me.
So I'm gonna find out what's going on.
[shouts] Maurice, come in this room.
-How you doing, Robert? -I'm not doing good.
What have you done to your leg?
I dislocated my knee.
[Robert] Sorry about your leg.
I know how painful that is.
Right, first of all,
I'm gonna get it off my chest 'cause I'm really upset
because of the state of the place.
I don't care how bad you're doing.
Look at the walls.
It doesn't cost money for a gallon of paint.
All right, so, tell me about yourself.
Um, I'm a native here from Baton Rouge.
Been in the restaurant business for seven years.
What did you do before that?
Before that, I had my barbershop.
I would do cooking on the side for my customers.
And I also worked in a seafood restaurant
on the line, cooking in the past.
[Robert] So you already worked in the kitchen.
-Correct. -Okay.
What made you get into the restaurant business?
Love food.
Seeing the smiles on the customers' faces.
[Robert] What was your revenue in year one?
Uh, about 2.2 million.
[Robert] Okay.
And then last year, what was your revenue in this restaurant?
About 1.2 million.
You made a million less than the first year.
-Correct. -Why?
Um, customer service actually went down.
Guys showing up late, not showing up to work,
not really caring about, you know, the job in hand.
[Robert] But whose restaurant is it?
Mine.
[Robert] So who's to blame?
[Maurice sighs] Well...
[Robert] What are your bills per week?
Around... Around 8k a week.
Are you sure?
It has fluctuated.
Somebody get me the P&L, please.
Thank you.
What's your food cost?
Food cost about 35%.
[Robert] Are you sure?
Uh, when I last checked.
[Robert] So, your food costs are 50% of your revenue.
It's just basic maths. It's right there.
It says it right there for you.
How much you making a month?
200.
So you're doing 50k a week.
Are you sure?
Uh, that's around... That's a ballpark figure.
[Robert] You're making 35k a month
based on your P&L,
which means you're not doing 1.2 million like your thought you do.
This is all wrong.
[sighs]
You know what... You know what worries me
is that you think you're doing something and you're really not.
How much in debt is this restaurant right now?
About 400k.
You know what 400,000 looks like?
It's a lot of money.
What is that money?
Um, it's a loan through the bank.
[Robert] At what percent?
Ooo, man.
Uh...
22%.
22% on $400,000.
Why would you do that?
I was desperate.
[Robert] Okay. I understand.
-No, I understand desperate. -Very desperate.
I don't wanna have to close the doors.
Any other debt?
My food vendor. 20k.
[Robert] 20k.
Anything else?
About 27k taxes.
Okay, so you're $450,000 in debt.
It just blows my mind that you let it go this far.
[Maurice] Looking at what you're actually telling me,
I'm feeling [exhales]
very discouraged, uh, hurt.
It's not insurmountable to change this.
But you're starting off behind the eight ball.
Literally, the eight ball's hitting you on the head.
Now, I'm gonna work as hard as I can to change that.
I'm willing to do it if you put in the work.
Okay.
[Robert] I wanna see a service. Get yourself ready.
When you're ready, tell me that you're ready.
Don't hurt yourself. Take your time.
[Maurice] It's very disturbing where I'm at.
I need to get it right
not just for me but for the community.
Being that black casual dining staple
is very important to keep the doors open.
This is it. I don't wanna lose it.
Y'all pretty much ready?
[Eric] Pretty much.
Fried side good. Sauté side good.
Sides up. Bar side ready.
Why didn't anybody say this yesterday, right?
This is just unbelievable.
You can't serve all the people by yourself.
And we do not have a host right now.
You serious?
Man!
Brie? All right, [sighs]
I'm gonna need you
to take over the role of being the host, okay?
All right, any other surprises I don't know about?
So, what's gone wrong?
Um, I had three servers and only one showed up.
Wow. You have a lot of people out there to feed.
Maurice's staff didn't show
and he's done nothing to get them to come in.
That means he's not holding staff accountable
and that's a huge problem.
Let's see if we can put the food out with one server.
I'm at Boil & Roux in Louisiana
and only one server showed up for work.
Brie, I'm gonna need you
to take over the role of the host, okay?
I think Mo needs to be a little bit more harder on the front of the house.
He needs to be a little bit more direct.
[Robert] Ready or not, service has begun.
[Brie] Hello. Welcome to Boil & Roux.
Y'all may come in.
[Lexx] Hello. How y'all doing today?
[woman] Good. How are you?
Good. What can I get y'all to drink?
So, here we are in the restaurant.
Um, out of three servers, one showed up.
You want your Sunrise still?
[Robert] The one server that showed up is doing a good job,
but the lack of staff is not the only problem in the dining room.
What does that look like to you?
-A fingerprint, right. -Yes.
[Robert] Two inches of water in the bottom of the refrigerator,
which means it doesn't work.
It is rusted out completely on the bottom there.
Look at that. That's nice and clean, isn't it?
[Robert groans]
The closer I look, the worse it gets.
What is that?
-I can smell it from here. -Yeah.
[Robert] Why?
The food being served here might be dangerous to eat
and I need to see what's going on in the kitchen.
That's coming from the ice machine.
A dirty dining room is far from ideal...
Holy moly!
...but a dirty kitchen is dangerous.
Look at this chicken!
On the floor, number one,
and then sitting in its own juice.
Look. Open. Open.
No dates. No labels. Not packaged correctly.
It's freezer-burnt.
You can see a lot of it over there.
This is no good to anybody. It has to be thrown out.
Oh, my God.
[shouts] Maurice?
You seen that walk-in?
-The walk-in cooler? -Yeah. Come here.
Pasta and rice are the two most hazardous things you can cook and store
because this moist starts salmonella.
Nothing is labelled or dated.
I would not eat in this restaurant.
You shut down right now.
Ladies, gentlemen, you're not getting fed.
I'm gonna shut the kitchen down, okay?
Because I can't get anybody sick.
This is a complete disaster.
Servers not showing up for work
and a filthy restaurant
are signs that the staff have no respect for Maurice as the leader.
You're failing.
The food, the hygiene, the cleanliness is not good.
I cannot serve this
'cause it's garbage.
And you better be ready for change
because it's a huge mountain.
Can we climb it?
Yes, but it's gonna take an awful lot of work.
All right, wrap it up.
And I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow
with real food.
[Maurice] All those people out there,
some of 'em I actually know...
Very embarrassed. Very embarrassed.
[Robert] I'm going to order food,
but I am not going to eat it.
I can't afford to get sick.
But even without tasting it,
I can still get a sense of the quality of the food that they serve here.
How we doing?
-So, what is your name? -Lexx.
How long have you worked here?
I've been here for a year and a half now.
So, listen, first and foremost,
I wanna say you did an awesome job.
-Thank you. -They buried you.
You had the whole room.
Not a good scenario.
-So I apologize for them to you, okay? -Thank you.
'Cause I know it wasn't your fault.
You did a good job running around like a...
-Like a chicken with my head cut off. -Oh!
All right, let's try the crawfish nachos,
rice and beans, the catfish.
I'll do the shrimp, the gumbo
and the lemon, pepper, sweet chili wings.
All right. Cool.
-Thank you. -Sir.
Well, here we are. This is an assortment of what is served here.
The rice and beans. A staple, right?
I'm afraid to eat it
because of what I saw in the refrigerator.
The cornbread.
It's like sawdust.
If you could actually smell...
I wish we could have smell-o-vision and you could smell this.
There's a very strong, pungent odor.
We go to this step of frying the catfish,
then we put something wet over the top of it
which makes it soggy.
I mean, they just... Everything just smells old.
I'm sad.
[shouts] Maurice?
Take a seat.
So, these are all your recipes.
[Maurice] Correct.
[Robert] I didn't eat the food
'cause I was scared to eat the food.
When was the last time you trained the kitchen staff?
Um...
[Robert] Something tells me a long time ago.
Yeah. Correct.
[Robert] You gotta be looking at this.
This is a pretty big restaurant.
There's nobody running it.
Who's running the restaurant?
'Cause you're not.
Are you friends with your staff?
Um...
I try to be friends with 'em. I do.
But you also have to be firm, right?
They can't be that friendly that you can't discipline them.
It will not work.
They have to understand that you're holding them accountable
to do a job that you're paying them for.
You're paying people, but then they're not respecting you.
I'm trying to get in your head.
I'm trying to understand where you are
because this is not acceptable.
I'm really upset right now. I'm really embarrassed. Um...
What are you embarrassed about?
One, um, you're not eating the food.
Two, um, coming in
and actually showing me what's not working.
It seems to me that you have given up.
You seem to have just, like... [exhales]
And why should the staff care if you don't?
I think you failed as a leader.
You like the word "failure"?
No. And I've heard it
at least four times since you've been here.
And I said it to myself in the back.
[Robert] What did you say?
I'm failing myself and everyone around me.
I can fix this,
but, really, what I wanna fix is this
'cause it's gotta come from you.
It can't come from me.
You understand that?
Yes. [clears throat]
Okay, I'm gonna get my designers in here
and see where it takes us, okay?
[Maurice] Good.
People often think that, you know, I'm pretty intense
when I talk to the owners of restaurants.
And then, in this case, Maurice, yes, very.
As much of a nice guy as he is,
I can't be pulling punches. I've gotta be honest with him.
We're $450,000 in debt.
[Maurice] I do feel defeated.
Seeing the things that I wasn't paying attention to...
It's horrible.
So I need to find a solution
and I need to find it before it's too late.
[Robert] Maurice is struggling
with the reality that his restaurant is failing.
I've gotta make sure that he's on board with making changes
to get it back on track.
You all right?
What's the biggest thing you're thinking right now?
I'm worried about Boil & Roux being a part of the community.
I need this place back to where it was.
I need my mental state back to where it was.
Oh, yeah.
What's the mental state?
Mental state is unsure.
[Robert] What are you unsure of?
Don't think. Just tell me what you're unsure of.
How to do it?
The only way is up, right?
Correct.
[Robert] You listen to me,
put systems in place that you can do and do well,
we can change and go forward
and at least have a chance of recouping and fixing.
So you got nothing to lose right now. Nothing.
Whatever self-doubt's in there, throw it out.
You wanna do it, I'll do it with you.
There's gonna be a little pain getting it done
'cause I'm no pushover.
And I don't want you to be a pushover either.
I want you to hold tight like a good leader.
I wanna help you.
"Change" is a word people don't like,
but it starts now, okay?
Okay.
[Robert] Maurice is beginning to understand
just how big a hole he's dug for himself
and I'm not sure he believes that he can get out of it.
But right now, I have to focus on design
or we'll never get this restaurant finished by tomorrow night.
[Taniya] Robert, where are you?
Oh, hi.
[Robert] Come in.
So, where do I begin?
Well, first of all, let me start from the beginning.
I gotta start from the beginning.
I like this wall, funnily enough.
-[Taniya] Yeah. -[Tom] Okay.
-[Robert] What I don't like is all the clutter. -[Taniya] Right.
[Robert] You walk in here. You have the bar, right?
These just need reupholstering and cleaning.
Then you walk into this section
which is pretty much the main dining room.
Tables, chairs, I hate.
You can see how the banquettes are all beat up.
[Taniya and Tom] Yeah.
To my right...
[Taniya] It's like a maze.
[Robert] The floor just needs cleaning. The floor is good.
Imagine that being open now.
[Taniya] We should open it up. I agree.
So, we go from there...
-It just keeps going. -...then we come into here.
-How many days do we have for this one? -[Tom] Yeah.
[Robert] Not much needs to be done in here
except prettying it up.
So, it's kinda scary 'cause it is a big space.
You know I always smile when I'm nervous.
And I'm smiling 'cause I'm nervous.
-It's a lot of work. You get the people. -[Tom] Yeah. Yeah.
[shouts] Maurice, get your staff in here, please.
[Tom] Chairs first, please.
[Robert] All right. Everything goes outside, guys.
[Tom] Come on.
Get some boxes. All this off the top here.
Robert wants to open up these panels
so it feels more cohesive like a big open space.
Piece of cake. No problem.
[Robert] If you can get rid of all this stuff, that'll be good.
It's just dirty in here. It's dark.
[Robert] Guys, hurry up. Let's go.
And what on earth is that?
In the service station.
[Robert] Why would you have a toilet seat in a service station?
Man, this is crazy.
[Robert] All right, ladders out. Let's take the boxes out.
Everybody out.
So, you just watched something amazing, right?
That was the first step in change.
You know if we don't change... You know what happens, right?
I lose everything.
[Robert] Right.
This is probably one of the toughest restaurants
I'm gonna have to touch in 13 years.
For me to make it all cohesive...
A bunch of clutter.
And that's what's in here.
A bunch of clutter.
Now we have to change that.
Take one last look 'cause tomorrow it won't be like this.
Off you go.
[exhales] This is a mammoth task.
And I am not kidding you when I say
"nervous" is an understatement
because there's so much filth.
And then the servers don't care.
Whilst I feel for Maurice, it's his own doing
because he's not a strong leader
and he doesn't understand how to motivate people.
That's why the restaurant is almost half a million dollars in debt.
So we'll wait and see what happens.
It's gonna be a tough two days for sure.
I'm at Boil & Roux, Louisiana,
and this is one of the toughest challenges I've ever faced.
Owner Maurice has no leadership skills
and his staff has so little respect for him
that the servers don't even show up for work.
You're paying people, but they're not respecting you.
The dining room is grimy and covered in dust...
That's nice and clean, isn't it?
...and the kitchen is a disaster.
Look at this chicken! On the floor.
If this place has any hope for a turnaround,
Maurice and his staff have to be accountable
for the jobs they're paid to do
and that starts with him getting his crew to clean the kitchen.
The state of the kitchen this morning is not acceptable, right?
You guys were ready for the service,
but what was in there is why I stopped the service.
The first thing I need doing is clean that out.
None of that food is good to me anymore
'cause it's gotta be labelled and dated,
And if it's not and the health department walks in,
it's no good.
It's gonna cost $8,000 to clean the kitchen.
I'm not gonna clean the kitchen.
Maurice, your guys will all clean the kitchen
the way it should be, all right?
Appreciate it.
Maurice needs to start showing his staff that he's the boss.
We haven't been doing what we're supposed to do.
[Robert] Getting his staff to clean the kitchen
is a good first step.
I'mma take some of the blame for that
'cause I guess I wasn't pushing you guys enough,
and I wasn't.
But from this day forward, we'll keep it clean.
It's gonna stay clean.
Let's just get this done
so we can move on to the next phase.
-Whoo! Hey guys. -Hi.
[Robert] It looks a lot better right now. So, what have we got?
This is all down.
The metal panels are so heavy.
[Robert] Okay. So, are we gonna do from the banquette top up?
Is that gonna be open? Is it gonna be closed? What's the...
Yes and yes. Both.
This space is huge!
We need to open it up and make it feel cohesive.
We'll take down the metal panels.
We'll add windows over where the private dining room is
to create a divider but still keep it open.
And we'll repurpose the metal panels
and turn them into planters.
For all of the paint on the walls,
we need to use color to make the space cohesive.
We have all-new tables and chairs
and we'll reupholster these old banquettes and the bar stools
to give it a brand-new look.
We'll add a mural, some cool lighting...
When all is said and done,
this place is not just gonna be Boil & Roux,
it's gonna be Boil & Hot.
-All right. -Appreciate it.
-See you tomorrow. -All right.
-[Robert] Keep on rocking. -Good luck.
So, that's the end of day one
and there's a lot going on.
Remember I asked them to clean the kitchen?
But look. Now we're actually starting to look like a kitchen.
It's starting to get clean.
These guys have done a great job.
Awesome job.
Maurice's kitchen staff are making good progress,
but the bigger issues are in the front of house.
If Maurice can't get his servers to show up for work,
we're in big trouble.
Homework.
I wanna know what are you gonna do with your staff?
If you let them get away with doing what they wanna do,
you're never gonna keep a staff.
You can't build a restaurant like that.
Listen, I believe you can get this back on track.
If you have good staff here,
I believe this could be over a $2 million restaurant.
It's your job to inspire them, right?
Correct.
[Robert] So how are you gonna deal with your staff and inspire them?
Write it down. You bring it tomorrow.
The front's my biggest issue.
No more bs.
Don't let 'em get away with anything.
And own it.
Okay.
All right. Appreciate you.
Right now, I can't trust his people to come in.
I have no clue what tomorrow's gonna bring.
I'm worried about getting my staff to come on the board
and to do what's needed for tomorrow.
Not just tomorrow. Just for the future.
I have to do some soul-searching.
So, it's day two.
And I start day two
with the biggest hesitation I've ever had on this show
because yesterday Maurice had no clue about his business,
about his finances, about his staff.
Today is gonna be the toughest day,
not only to get the restaurant,
but also to get Maurice...
Well, is he gonna be a leader?
We'll wait and see what happens.
Before I can even get started,
my crew has called an emergency meeting.
This does not happen every day.
So, what's going on?
Well, the servers... They didn't show up.
[Robert] And what about Maurice?
I mean, unfortunately, Maurice is not putting the right foot forward.
You know, he's not doing it.
I mean, we're already behind.
We have to clean the restaurant. I have a lot to do.
-If they show up. What's... -[Brittany] If they show up.
-What if we have nobody for service? -Here's my thing right now.
If they don't show up,
I'm contemplating not doing a service.
Not doing a service means we'll miss out on a lucrative night
and the chance to reintroduce his restaurant to his community.
All right. Appreciate all your hard work.
Let's get back to work.
-Let's go, okay? -Got it.
[Robert] I need to find Maurice and see what's going on.
Good morning.
Good morning, Robert.
[Robert] What are you doing?
Uh, finishing.
But that was homework for last night.
Correct. I... I did start on...
I didn't finish it.
[Robert] Look, if you're not prepared,
that's disrespectful.
I'm at a crossroads here
and I need you to understand why I'm at a crossroads.
Your staff are not here
because you're not holding these people accountable.
You have to control the situation
'cause they're your staff.
I'm not gonna do all the work.
It's not my restaurant. It's yours.
We're at this fork in the road.
And I mean it's a very serious fork in the road for me
because, if I don't get staff by 2:30,
I'm not doing a service.
That's not a threat. That's a promise.
I'm at Boil & Roux in Baton Rouge,
and for the first time in Restaurant: Impossible history,
I may not be sure we're gonna have enough staff to reopen the restaurant.
If I don't get staff by 2:30, I'm not doing a service.
Never seen such a lack of respect
for the owner from the staff.
Nobody in the front of house wants to work
and nobody cares.
I have never seen such disrespect in my life.
[Maurice] When Robert let me know we wasn't gonna be ready,
he wasn't gonna participate in this anymore,
that put that extra fire behind me
and that's when I realized, like,
nothing changed from yesterday.
If this is what's gonna happen from yesterday to today,
I'm still not gonna have anything.
You're on a treadmill and going nowhere.
I'm about to call Jasmine.
Robert finally flipped that switch for me.
He inspired me to get it done.
Hey. I need you at the restaurant.
Right now, I'm trying to get a host for my service
to light the fire up under them.
Earl, get the lead out your ass.
From this morning,
I realized that I have to take control of my business at all times.
That's a no-go. I need a host, too.
We just can't come together and get it done,
I'll find somebody else, all right?
Perfect. Today's a new day.
I have a lot to prove to Robert.
There's a lot on the line
and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get it done.
Good morning.
All right, so, let's talk about this side.
There was the metal there, so we couldn't see in.
Now we've taken that down.
-[Taniya] Right. -What are we doing with that?
We're putting up these glass panels like this,
-which will literally-- -[Robert] Oh, so that's gonna go on the...
It's gonna be the entire wall.
The whole wall.
-All that light's gonna come in here. -Nice.
[Taniya] And then we have some counter height tables going right here,
which is gonna be nice 'cause it'll change up the vibe a little bit.
[Robert] And the chairs?
[Taniya] They're black chairs. We reupholstered every single seat
so they look brand new.
All right. I love so far.
I know there's a long way to go.
-All right. Cool. -Good luck.
[Robert] It's crunch time for Tom and Taniya
and time is running out.
This is that time of day where we all are looking at each other going,
"Is this possible that we're gonna get this done?"
I have no idea.
So, yesterday, the kitchen was a mess.
Today it looks like they're taking it seriously.
It's clean. We can start putting food in here.
Okay. I'm good.
The kitchen is ready for service tonight,
but is Maurice?
I gave him a deadline to get his staff here.
It's do-or-die time.
All right. It's 2:30. What have we got?
Uh, I have six or seven servers,
a busboy, dish guy,
uh, two bartenders
and a hostess.
All right. So we've got enough staff to do this service.
Awesome.
[Robert] I'll do the service. Good job on getting the staff.
But now you've gotta keep them.
I need motivation. I don't need people leaving, right?
-Correct. -Good.
All right, service is on, okay? So let's get pushing.
-Good job. -All right!
Today started off discouraging to me, um, and embarrassing.
My leadership skills wasn't what it should be,
but those days are over with.
Maurice is gathering his team,
and hopefully, he lays into them
about the respect and the teamwork.
All right, everybody,
today is a new beginning.
What we did in the past, we're not doing it no more.
Yesterday was very eye-opening
to what I need to do for everybody around me.
Today, I need the cooperation of everybody.
And don't nobody wanna do it, let me know now.
We can just walk away and we...
I'mma start over. Just cut and dry.
Simple...
So does anybody not wanna do what we're gonna do today?
It don't matter what it is.
No? Everybody on the same page?
Right. We're gonna get it done.
All right. Come on, let's do it.
[all laughing]
[Eric] It was awesome to see him stepping up.
He was a little bit more firm and a little bit more direct
of giving everybody directions of what he wanted
and how he wanted things to go.
[Robert] It's been a long and difficult process,
but Maurice is finally showing signs
that he can hold his staff accountable.
Now I have to teach him
how to get out from under the $450,000 debt.
Let me show you some numbers.
$396,000.
You know what that number is?
No, I don't.
[Robert] That's just your loans
and your overheads to open the door for a year.
So that's just bills to operate.
Just operate.
Then I add in food costs and labor to that,
and just to break even
and to start to make headway,
this restaurant has to do 1.2 million minimum
for you to break even.
-Break even? -To break even.
Wow.
By the way, I think you can do more than that.
If you price correctly, you'll make money.
Right.
I have no hesitation with that.
If you do this, it can pay off all this debt.
Okay.
Breaking down the numbers,
it was a real eye-opener.
I didn't have a clue how much it cost to run the restaurant.
Robert kind of made it clear to me.
So I'm pretty confident now.
All right, so, I'm gonna show you three dishes.
This is the fun part for me.
First thing I'm gonna start with
is a red beans and rice fritters.
So red beans, rice, bread crumbs.
I'm gonna fry them really quickly.
The beans and the rice are dense,
so you cook it slowly at a lower temperature,
then you brown it in the hot oil quickly.
All right, so, plating.
I'm gonna take a little green goddess sauce.
Got my balls.
Remoulade sauce on the top.
[exhales] Done.
Go for it.
Oh! Whoa! Oh! Oh!
You did good.
Green goddess. I love the flavor of that.
[Robert] The food costs to us $1.67.
We're gonna sell it for $8.00.
Profit of $6.33 on every time you sell that.
Money in the pocket.
Rice and beans rolled up, breaded, fried.
Oh, yeah, look at that. You cleaned that, huh?
-[Maurice] I like that sauce. -It's good, right?
-We didn't like that, huh? -That was delicious.
[Robert] All right, next dish is...
Remember we talk about your name, "Boil"?
I'm gonna take a play on boil, right?
I'm gonna use the same ingredients.
I'm gonna switch it up a little bit, though.
I'm gonna start with a pan. I'm gonna get the pan nice and hot.
Sausage in first.
Potatoes. Corn. Shrimp.
Grits are already made.
I'm gonna add into that cream cheese
and just regular cheddar.
Starts with grits first.
Collard greens.
Boil.
Remoulade sauce. A little chive.
You can go for it.
Get the shrimp. Get it...
You know, it's like the boil, just different.
Whoo, that's hot.
Wow. I like the way everything compliments each other.
[Robert] Cost me $3.58 to make that.
You sell it for $18.
-$14.42 every time you make that. -Wow. Wow.
All right, so, I'm gonna do something really cool.
I'm gonna make a smoked, braised turkey pasta.
Watch. Pasta.
Braised turkey.
-I'm a big fan of turkey, too. -[Robert] Me too.
Turkey is beautiful when it's braised.
-It literally falls apart. -Chef Robert.
[Robert] All right. Parmesan cheese.
Bread crumbs have been toasted. And some fresh herbs.
-I want a little texture. -[Maurice] Right.
-So a little... Add a little crunch to it. -[Robert] Exactly.
Dig into it.
Ooo! Mmm. Tastes like a Thanksgiving dish.
[Robert] Smoked, braised turkey pasta.
$2.36 to make it.
We're gonna sell it for $16,
putting $13.64 in our pocket.
All right, Chef Robert, I see where you're at.
Good eating in the neighborhood.
-Tastes awesome. -Thank you very much.
So, here it is. 6:30.
We've got a lot of work to do to get ready for service.
I need that white paint on that baseboard.
The wall is up. The windows are being cleaned.
I've gotta get the floors finished.
Eric!
[Robert] Maurice continues to lead his staff.
[Maurice] I need everybody's cooperation.
[Robert] The servers are making sure the silver's wrapped,
the salt and pepper's done.
You see Taniya putting the foliage up on the bar.
This is one of the biggest, most complex builds
we've ever done. This is tough.
-Bring it over this way. -[Taniya] So, if you wanna put one right in the middle.
[Robert] Once the tables are level, you can set them.
[shouts] All right, guys, wrap it up. Get out now.
Push the tables back. Let's go.
I've gotta open the restaurant.
And I've gotta give this restaurant back to Maurice.
And there's people waiting for this restaurant to open
so we can serve them great food in a great environment.
Not like yesterday.
[Maurice] Two days with Robert.
Man, I tell you. Um...
It's an eye-opener.
Really seeing things that I wasn't paying attention to.
He opened my eyes up to those things.
Robert got me back together
and got things back in order.
The future for Maurice and Boil & Roux is gonna be super bright.
Like the sun in the morning at 6 AM.
Bright and very prosperous.
That's what I can't wait for.
Okay, finally.
You ready?
Okay, I'm gonna ask you to turn around,
walk and take your time.
Coming to the threshold of the door now.
Keep walking. Keep walking.
And stop.
I'm just gonna turn you this way.
This has been a tough two days.
And I hope that all the lessons that I taught you, you learned
because this is your future.
And I mean that.
Are you ready to see
the brand new Boil & Roux?
Yes, I am.
Open your eyes.
Are you ready to see
the brand new Boil & Roux?
Yes, I am.
Open your eyes.
Wow!
Phenomenal. Wow!
This is great.
[Robert] Brand new tables.
Brand new chairs.
New lights.
This restaurant is brand new.
You used to have all this metal.
-It's now there. -[Maurice] Yes! That's... What...
-Wow! -[Robert] These are the original booths reupholstered.
This is truly a blessing.
Truly a blessing.
Thank you, man. Thank you.
You know a way of thanking me?
Be successful.
Most definitely.
A strong leader. Be dedicated.
There should be nothing,
nothing that you cannot do here.
Nothing.
This is your future.
What do you think?
-Good job. Wow! -Good.
-Great job. -Oh!
I think he's happy.
Great job. Seriously.
-Great job. -[Tom] Good. Thank you.
This was a big place.
-A lot of work went into it. -[Maurice] Wow.
-[Robert] You ready to let some people in? -[Maurice] Yes. Let's do it.
[Robert] I think you're gonna have a lot of people who are gonna be very happy.
Let's do it. Let's do it.
How's everybody doing tonight?
-[all] Good! -Good. Good. Good. Good.
I am ecstatic,
excited to invite you guys
to the new Boil & Roux.
[all cheering]
[all chattering]
[Lexx] Hi. Welcome to Boil & Roux.
[Maurice] Welcome, welcome, welcome.
[woman 1] It feels very welcoming.
I honestly cannot stop smiling.
[woman 2] I love it. I love the vibe.
It's, like, a whole different vibe and feel.
[Lexx] Hello. How are you all doing today?
Good. How are you doing?
This is a huge test for Maurice tonight.
I wanna see how he controls the dining room.
And he has to control the staff.
This is his restaurant
and he has to be a firm leader.
We'll see what happens.
How we doing, ladies? How we doing?
We all gotta work together and keep it beautiful.
How are y'all doing? Y'all doing okay over here?
-[man] Yeah. -All right.
[Maurice] Hey, Lexx.
Arms on the table. It's a big no-no.
-Don't do that. -Sir. Yes, sir.
Appreciate you.
[Robert] Maurice is looking a lot more like the owner of this restaurant.
[Maurice] I hope that all this change that we have done
doesn't go by the wayside
and that I hold everybody accountable from here on out
and be better
'cause this is a great start for that.
Strawberry and lemon drop.
I'm very happy for him.
I'm glad and I'm grateful for all of it for him.
[man] Two shrimp and grits and one turkey pasta.
[Robert] The back of the house staff are doing great,
the kitchen is sparkling clean
and the team is energized.
The morale is real up today.
I haven't seen Maurice this happy in a while.
Mo's stepping up and being a better leader.
We're gonna move forward.
Just put the past behind us. Let's go.
[man] All right, table five.
[Robert] The food looks delicious,
but it's up to the guests to give their stamp of approval.
[woman] The red bean fritters are delicious.
They're nice and airy.
You can taste the crunchiness on the outside.
Um, you can even taste the red bean inside.
[man] Totally different take on shrimp and grits.
Grits were nice and creamy
and the shrimp was, uh... Was cooked perfectly.
[woman] I've never had turkey pasta before.
The smokiness is... That's the pop.
Well, there you have it.
Two days of intensity.
The restaurant is beautiful.
I've given everything I've got into this restaurant.
Now it's up to him.
I can't wait to see what he does.
Louisiana takes care of our own.
So the community's gonna be here like we always do.
We appreciate you, brother. We love you.
-I really appreciate that. -[all applauding]
Thanks again. Seriously.