So you just not gonna say nothing.
Woman, I'm busy right now. You see all these orders I got right here?
If you don't know what to do, then I'm gonna tell you what to do.
[GiGi] Stop it. I don't want you guys
to say nothing else.
My daughter and my chef,
they have the same goal, but they don't want to reach it together.
And I am very tired.
He don't have no communication
about nothing.
I don't want you to talk back to me.
Lose the ego!
It's your restaurant.
Your life is about to change.
Get on the same page.
Boom!
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
I'm going to change the food system.
This restaurant can be a million dollar plus restaurant.
But you gotta work together.
Open your eyes.
-Oh, my God. [exclaims and laughs] -Oh! [exclaims]
[phone ringing]
This is Gigi. How can I assist you?
My name is Cynthia Brown. Better known as GiGi.
I own GiGi's place along with my husband, Travis.
I'm retired, so when she told me
that she wanted to open up a restaurant,
I was very supportive.
[GiGi] It's a soul food restaurant.
Home cooking like your grandma used to make.
We have greens and baked chicken.
We have a line where people come up,
and see the food that we serve.
And we also have cooked to order.
We do fish. We do burgers.
We do fried chicken.
Prior to owning the restaurant,
I worked for a telecom company for 13 years.
But I wasn't passionate about working for Corporate America
or working in banking or anything like that.
My passion was always cooking.
I was catering on the side during the weekends for several years.
Someone came to me about opening up a restaurant.
And it happened very quickly.
I took a leave of absence to get it started.
We found a location.
And 30 days later, I quit my job.
And we started Gigi's.
In 2011, when we opened it,
it was a great success.
I have to get a pack of those bell peppers and onions,
out of the other refrigerator.
Okay.
Ryan has been my chef, since day one.
And I trust him.
I can walk out the kitchen and know that he's here for me.
And he'll make sure that everything is in order.
In 2020,
we expanded here to a larger location.
When we moved over here, it was more stress.
So it was harder.
And at that point, I was doing everything.
I'd make sure that the food is cooked,
and the meals are set.
Pay bills, mop, cook, serve.
Because I work so much,
I started to have medical issues,
standing on my feet.
I had back surgery last year.
So I needed help with the business.
[GiGi sighs]
[Leslie] Hey girl.
[GiGi] My daughter Leslie
has been here for two years now.
So it's just here recently, that she has invested a lot of her time.
All right, you're gonna have catfish.
What two sides would you like?
Leslie got on board because
she sees the stress that I've gone through,
and she wants to do whatever she can to help me.
[Leslie] This is her baby. She built this,
from just basically her sweat and tears.
My passion to help her in this restaurant
is because I don't want her to...
stress and die over this.
Most of what I do here at the restaurant
is take care of customers, training, hiring.
But when I came here to work full time,
they did not receive me with open arms.
So you just not gonna say nothing.
You're not gonna communicate at all.
Well, guess what, that's your problem.
Leslie. Leslie. Leslie.
I want you to make sure that
-we have enough food... -Oh,
-there you go with this, boss. -...so that we don't run out of green beans.
All right.
[Ryan] Leslie is...
somebody who wants the same thing as her mom,
but in a different way. She have a controlling problem.
If it's not my way, it's not right.
Ringing up these orders you have to make sure you push the proper button.
-I did. -No, you didn't.
[GiGi] Leslie is no nonsense.
And sometimes she steps on people's toes.
Just make sure that you press the right button.
[GiGi] She is very direct.
But she never yells.
She doesn't raise her voice unless she's arguing with Ryan.
I just need you all to just stop it.
Okay, Ma. I'mma walk away. I'm just gonna walk away.
You're right.
He's just rude and disrespectful.
Because he knows that he's Gigi's guy.
[Ryan] It got so bad between me and Leslie,
if she comes in the building,
I'm ready to go home.
That's what I'm talking, with your daughter.
Baby Boss.
Ryan's been with me, since we opened.
He's been in our life for 11 years.
I consider him...
[voice breaks] ...like my son. I don't have a son, so...
I really love Ryan.
You know, and um...
Um...
Him and Leslie just needs to talk.
They both have the same goal in mind.
But they don't want to reach it together.
At this point, I don't know what to do.
I am trying to keep my head above water, everyday.
I'm tired.
Just tired.
[sniffles]
[Robert] You walk in, and I gotta tell you, it looks like a nail salon.
It says on the outside soul food.
This looks like
nothing to do with soul food.
To my right here, banquet tables and chairs.
Soda boxes on the floor.
This is so sterile, it's not even funny.
Then if I walk back here,
I see, I've seen table.
So it's just a grab and go kind of restaurant.
Is it a buffet? Is it a sit-down?
I have no idea.
There's no feeling. There's no identity.
My goodness.
Cynthia! Travis!
Come in the restaurant, please.
-Hi, welcome to GiGi's. -Good morning.
[Robert] Take a seat.
I feel like, I'm in a nail salon.
What is this place?
It's a soul food restaurant.
Okay.
Is it a buffet? Is it a sit-down? What is it?
We put the food on the buffet.
And then we have cooked to order as well.
Is that what you want it to remain?
[GiGi] I would like for it to be a...
buffet.
I wanna, I wanna make money.
-We'll find out about that in a minute. -[GiGi] Okay.
So first of all, uh, tell me about yourselves?
Well, um...
We met in... 2000.
Married in 2005.
And we opened up the restaurant in 2011.
Before you opened the restaurant what did you both do?
I worked for a telecom company for 13 years.
[Travis] And I worked for the cable company.
I was the maintenance tech.
So what in 2011, prompted you
to get into the restaurant business?
I come from a family of cooks.
-Home cooks? -[GiGi] Home cooks.
Cooking has always been my passion.
My dream was to own a restaurant...
And you ran along with it?
Of course.
You decide because you're a, "a good cook,"
-you're gonna get into the restaurant business. -Yeah.
That's what she wanted to do. That where her passion was.
That's where her heart was.
And I'm behind my wife.
[Robert] So who does what here?
[Travis] I do what I can.
Because of my disability, I can't do much.
What is your disability?
I am partially paralyzed on my right side. I'm a disabled veteran.
-What branch were you in? -[Travis] The army.
Okay. Thank you for your service.
What is your job?
I had back surgery last year, due to standing on my feet and...
I really need to retire.
[Robert] Sorry to hear that.
So who's in charge, when you're not here?
My daughter. She's a part of the business as well.
She came to assist me,
because of my body and my illness.
When did she start with you?
2019.
-She actually manage... -She's the manager.
-She's the front end manager. -...manages the front.
Do you own the building?
No, we rent.
2011, when you leased the building what were you paying for it?
Well, I wasn't here in 2011.
The first location was in a gas station
and it was like 600 square foot.
So the money you made in that restaurant, what was it?
We really didn't make any money.
When did you come into this space?
2020.
Why would you open another restaurant knowing that you failed?
We didn't realize that it was a failure.
Because we didn't keep our books to even know...
that we didn't make any money.
Wow.
When I opened the restaurant, I had...
I just opened the restaurant
wanting to cook.
-I didn't open the restaurant-- -Look cooking at home,
-it is very different to cooking in a restaurant. -Is different. Yes.
Your passion is costing you money.
The dream is not a dream if you have nothing to show for it.
That's not a dream. That's a nightmare.
I've gotta fix this.
All right, I'm gonna watch your service. Do what you do.
And we'll see where to go from there.
-Okay? -[GiGi] Okay.
Thank you.
-[Travis] You okay? -[GiGi] Yeah, come on.
We gotta do service. Get service going.
There was a lot that I needed to know and I didn't know.
I'm hoping that he sees that what I have is good enough.
You guys ready? You guys ready with the kitchen?
[Ryan] Yeah. Hit me.
Go ahead.
Hi. Welcome to GiGi's. Come on in.
-[Leslie] Hello. Welcome to GiGi's. -[waitress] Welcome to GiGi's.
[waitress] All right, what can I get for you, sir?
[woman] Some macaroni and cheese.
-Turkey wings. -Would you like gravy as well?
[Robert] With Gigi needing to take a step back for her health,
I am focused on how Leslie runs the operation.
Is it just one plate for you?
Hold on, one second. Let's take care of these guests first.
And make sure that they get everything that they need.
-[Robert] What's your name? -[Leslie] Leslie.
-[Robert] You're the manager, right? -I am.
What's gonna be your two sides, sir?
I need to you write the sides on the plate.
Finish with this young lady first,
then we'll move on to the gentleman, okay?
[Robert] Leslie is focused and in charge,
but she is a micro manager.
And that can rub employees the wrong way.
So if you don't have a pen, let me get a pen for you.
Who is the chef? What's your name?
-Ryan. -Ryan.
Yes, sir.
[Robert] What do you think the issues are here? How's the owner to work for?
Oh, she's great, man.
I mean, I would work for nobody else but her.
Who is better? Her or her daughter?
Gigi's far better.
-Okay. Cool. -Yeah.
Hey, how much longer on that salmon?
We just dropped the salmon. I mean, you've gotta wait.
Ryan, is there any more green beans?
Woman, I'm busy right now. You see all these orders I got, right here?
If you don't know what to do, then I'm gonna tell you what to do.
[Ryan] Yeah, you can't tell me nothing.
-I can. -[laughs mockingly]
[Robert] For Gigi to step back from running this restaurant,
she's gonna need her daughter and her chef
to stop fighting.
-Stop it! -[Ryan] Okay.
[Robert] If Leslie and Ryan can't get on the same page,
then this place is doomed.
[GiGi] I don't want you guys to say nothing else.
Good bye. Leslie, good bye
[GiGi] Stop it.
-Okay. -[GiGi] I don't want you guys to say nothing else.
Good bye Leslie, good bye.
[Robert] I'm at GiGi's place where Leslie, the owner's daughter
and Ryan, the head chef
cannot stop fighting.
It's dragging the entire restaurant down.
Gigi!
So I have a question. Why the animosity?
Everybody does what they want to do.
And when I come in and say, "Hey, no. No more of this."
It's all, "Oh. Leslie don't know how to talk to people.
Leslie do this."
No, Leslie is trying to maintain this business.
Even asking him to do inventory
or count how many pieces of chicken that he has in his refrigerator
is a problem.
What are you thinking right now, Ryan?
I'm just listening.
That's all he do, is listen. He don't have no communication about nothing.
If somebody tell him that he need to do it this way, it's... [scoffs]
You are forceful.
And by the way, I'm okay with that.
But the leader also has to be able to listen.
-[whispers] She don't. -And you have to be able to communi... What was that?
-[softly] She don't. She... -[Leslie] Yeah.
-Listen to what? -She don't listen.
You don't have no conversation.
[blowing]
We'll get into that later.
Leslie and Ryan's relationship is Gigi's biggest problem in this restaurant.
All right. Appreciate you being here, folks. Thanks very much.
So I can't waste any more time if I'm gonna fix it.
That's what I deal with on a daily basis.
It's like really being... frustrated.
Just to get my point across.
She still hasn't learnt to give people a chance
to voice their opinion.
How can we work on it? It has to start from respect.
[Robert] I'm concerned about the food being served from the buffet,
and the back kitchen.
Give a little bit of each of the sides.
I'm gonna order food from both.
Some fried chicken cooked in the back.
So I can see the full culinary picture.
[sighs]
This is the sample of the buffet.
Mac and Cheese. I know in the south they like it dry and baked.
Not much seasoning. The chicken.
Moist, but again no flavor. The brown sauce itself...
Tastes like wallpaper paste.
There's no stock, there's no bones, there's no tomato.
There's no anything.
You know, to give it some body. Collard greens.
Very bitter. Not good at all.
This is terrible.
All right. I have your fried catfish for you.
-And fried chicken. -Thank you.
Catfish.
Looks pretty. I mean, if I look at this, I look at all of that.
This is a way better look.
It's crispy. It's hot.
Not a bad piece of fish. It needs to be seasoned but,
it's good. The chicken.
Again, no seasoning. But cooked beautifully.
Gigi! Leslie!
Hmm.
The best thing I got so far,
is the way the fish is cooked 'cause it is cooked beautifully.
And the way the chicken is cooked.
-Of course. -But the buffet, this is awful.
Collard greens are over salted.
I don't mind that you bake mac and cheese,
but there's nothing to bake in there.
The gravy, it's disgusting.
It tastes like wallpaper paste.
So here's the dilemma.
Buffet. Service.
What is your ideal restaurant?
When we started this business,
I started it
with a buffet line.
I thought it worked.
But I want to do what it takes to make this business work.
I'm stressed everyday.
I don't want to be here...
-For nothing. -Yeah, just wasting my time.
[Robert] The pros that we have with the buffet,
it is good 'cause it's fast. You can get a lot of people through.
What I like about this is,
if I want to sit down, then I know it's coming.
I know it's gonna be hot. I think there's a play for both of them.
So what I'm thinking, lunch buffet
and then a dinner service.
[GiGi] I'm willing to make changes.
I just need to know what comes with the change,
and how I adapt to those changes.
[Robert] Okay. I'm gonna meet with my designer
Lynn and then my builder Tom.
You guys go and grab some lunch and some coffee or whatever and um,
while I try and figure this conundrum out.
-[Leslie] Okay. All right. -[GiGi] Thank you.
[Tom] GiGi's.
-Hey. -[Lynn] GiGi's place.
-[Tom] Well... -Welcome!
-Interesting place. -GiGi's place.
So look, after talking to the owners.
I'm gonna go lunch buffet,
and then a dinner service.
So what can we do with the corral,
that opens the space up yet still keeps this intact?
Would you be cool if we kept part of it
and then opened maybe in the middle.
And by still keeping some of it,
-then it shows that it's still a corral. -Mmm-hmm.
But not so closed in where you are.
Yeah, I'm okay with that.
Then follow me this way.
I want this all to be dining room
with real chairs, real tables.
-A restaurant maybe. -Yeah.
Yeah, like a restaurant instead of a room.
What are you thinking? Like southern vibe or a hardcore soul food?
No, I don't want a hardcore soul food.
I think it should be a southern kind of,
then it allows me to change the menu and...
-Right, cool, okay. -[Robert] Give me a little bit more adaptive.
-Like just a comfortable southern place... -[Robert] Yeah.
...to come grab some grub.
All right. Any questions?
Let's go.
Travis! GiGi! Leslie! Bring your people in. Let's go.
[Tom] All right. Let's load her out.
Tables and chairs that way.
All the Styrofoam over here too.
[Lynn] You can take that one, yes.
[Robert] Down. We pull out, the curtain down too.
Uh, TVs can come down too.
Has to come off.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
It's overwhelming. We put a lot into it.
And it's almost, like for nothing.
To see what's been happening, hopefully, it's for something.
[Robert] All right, if you're not doing anything, get out.
All right, leave it. Out, out. Everybody out except the owners.
See how fast that was?
-[sighs] -What are you getting all upset about Travis?
Tearing this down. It is kind of...
To build this up.
-[sighs] -As hard it is to see,
take one last look around you because
it will not be like this when you comeback.
Any questions?
You go out the front door,
and don't look back.
Gigi's gonna have to make some huge decisions
if she's going to turn this place around.
But she's not the only one who needs a wake-up call.
So I've come up with an exercise to help figure out
the cause of Leslie and Ryan's animosity.
Okay, I want you to write down the grievances you have with each other.
Leslie, you'll put yours here.
Ryan, you'll put yours here.
Then we'll discuss them. How's that?
Okay.
Your communication has to work,
for the future of this restaurant.
Off you go.
Be honest with each other.
It's the only way this gets fixed.
Put yours over there, Ryan.
Not a lot of words for me.
[Robert] What's that mean?
[Ryan] I love you dearly.
[Robert] So that's not gonna help the restaurant.
I don't have a lot to say because
I feel like, I love you as a sister.
[Leslie] But the grievances is what he asked for.
Why do you have a problem with me?
[Ryan] We are a family.
[Robert] But that doesn't help run the restaurant.
Why the animosity between the two of you?
Because she needs to control the front of the house,
and let me run the back of the house.
I have more experience in the back of the house.
But here's the problem. If she has a problem in the kitchen, comes to you,
what are you gonna do? This?
Why the animosity between the two of you?
Explain unprofessional.
I can't say, "Hey, let's go to the office
"and have a conversation."
Because he want to yell from one room to the other.
And for any reason, I have to say anything to him,
what I get back is,
"I can't do it. I ain't doing it."
That is not true.
This speaking is all about you.
This is your way of talking to people.
"I want this and I don't want you to talk back to me."
Why is he still here, if you don't get on with him?
Because my mother wants him to be here.
-Can you get me Gigi? -[man] Yes.
Seems to be some issues here.
There's a lot of issues.
Why is Ryan still here working
if you can't get on?
She said because of you.
Because I believe, that is not all Ryan.
-Okay. -[Gigi] I think that they both have issues.
[Leslie] That's not the truth.
The truth is, he's been here for you.
-So... -Yes, that is true.
Ryan has been with me since I opened the door.
Ryan has been like my son and I love him like my son.
He's gonna be here for me.
-No matter what-- -That's the reason why he's not gone.
[Ryan] We talk about that back line in the kitchen.
I used to put the meat,
and the vegetable over there.
And she said, "I don't want it over here no more."
She did that without acknowledging him or saying,
"Hey Ryan, I want to change this."
So that pissed you off.
-Oh, most definitely. -Okay.
So, now we're getting somewhere.
-Right? -Right.
Are you angry at her
because Gigi's bordering to run the place
and has knocked you off the pedestal?
[intense music playing]
'Cause that's what it seems like to me right now.
-You were her guy. -Yeah.
You were in charge.
Now you brought her in. Now you're not in charge.
You brought in your daughter
to run a restaurant, with no knowledge.
And put her in charge of him.
If it was me here, I'd be like,
"She doesn't know what she's doing,
she doesn't know the strings, she doesn't know this"
You've got to work together
because, maybe she can help you.
Maybe, she has a little bit more smarts than you in certain things,
but then, you've gotta give him something
to show him you're gonna value him like she did.
Your life is about to change.
And if you want it to change, great.
Get on the same page.
Lose the ego! Lose the ego!
This restaurant could be a million dollar plus restaurant.
I know you're proud.
Chill a little bit. And know that it's not Mum anymore,
it's Leslie. Okay?
You're a fighter.
And I like that, but there's a time to fight
and it should be fighting together against that.
It's been a long, hard road in this restaurant.
And things have to change.
It's hard for Leslie, the same for Ryan.
I hope that they think about and take in
the things that were said to them.
It would be either the end of GiGi's
or the end of Gigi
because of stress and everything that I've been going through.
-Hey, hey. -Hey, Robert.
Oh!
Wow, it looks a lot brighter, a lot lighter, a lot cleaner.
Making some progress.
This was the auxiliary room with that terrible curtain.
What are we thinking in here?
So the main plan is to give you what you wanted first.
Two dining rooms that go together.
So this place has no identity
so what we're gonna do is give GiGi's some flavor.
We've already taken down the wall,
but it feels really open right now.
I wanna build-- put some sitting areas in here.
So we're gonna build some cool dividers
made out of rolling pins.
On the back wall, we're gonna keep the menu screens
but we're gonna frame 'em out
with some rustic wood to give that farmhouse vibe.
I'm gonna bring in a pale yellow color
to really tone down the wall
and it's gonna really pop nicely against the existing black floor.
New rustic farmhouse tabletops and white chairs.
When we're done, GiGi's' gonna be comfortable,
colorful and full of soul.
Good, all right. Love it.
This is gonna be our feature wall.
It's going to have the shiplap that Tom is building now.
D'you remember when we first walked in, it said
"In every spoon there's a little heart and soul"
or something, which is the only way
we maybe even guessed it was southern food?
So we're gonna take that
from being painted on the wall and it's gonna be neon.
-And a custom sign right here. -That'll look kinda neat.
So, when we walk in here, obviously...
-[Lynn] Wall's gone. -[Robert] I like that much better.
I see over here, we're fixing the ceiling tiles.
Those will all be new
and with all the tiles we're able to salvage from there,
we're gonna spill back into here.
-So it looks like it's one-- -Yeah.
-Got it. -Even it out.
All right. I can't wait. Thanks, guys.
[Robert] Okay, homework.
Leslie, you're gonna make a list of the five most common commands
you say to your staff each day.
Ryan and Leslie,
what you want for the business moving forward,
and what you want from each other. Then.
For you,
I want you to go home, have a glass of wine,
and enjoy your night. Okay?
Today's been a long day, an emotional day.
A lot of things happening.
We're nowhere near finished.
Tomorrow is even longer and we open our restaurant tomorrow.
And yet I have a lot to teach you. So, off you go.
Well, for Leslie and for Ryan,
there's a lot of work, lotta contention.
I don't know if they can actually work together.
Find out tomorrow.
[Robert] It's day two at GiGi's Place
in Covington, Georgia,
where owner Gigi needs to take a step back
for health reasons.
But that's impossible with her daughter
and longtime chef Ryan, fighting constantly.
I gave them a lotta homework last night
that I hope starts to get them back on track.
But first, I need to check in with my design team.
Hey guys, good morning.
-Morning. -What a good day.
So yesterday, there was a wall here.
We got rid of the wall.
You created, what I think is iconic "almost walls".
Still letting light through.
But the great thing is now we can put a table here.
I know you love bench seating,
so we can put a bench along that wall.
You didn't change the light, but it looks so much brighter.
[both] It's the color.
-A hundred percent. -Yeah.
[Robert] Let's look at the back room.
Now we're cohesive, same colors, continual through.
Love the back wall, love the wallpaper.
It seems much more airy. Good, I like it.
-Obviously, got a real long way to go-- -[Lynn] Long way.
But I love the feel already.
Yeah, you can get the vibe of what it's gonna look like already.
-Love it. All right. Thanks guys. -Good luck.
-Good morning. -[all] Good morning.
Let's talk about your homework.
The five most prominent things you say to your staff.
Refresh your line.
Prioritize your orders.
Put your boxes in order.
Don't take the last of anything.
Communicate and make sure you label and date.
The way you deliver the information
is the way you start fires or wars.
It's not what you say, it's how you say it.
Because what you say is very right.
As much as you may be pissed off at something,
you can't let that affect you
and the way you run your business.
And I think that's something you have to work on strongly.
Staff needs to know that she's in charge of this restaurant.
They do know that.
I don't think they do.
They don't. Because Ryan don't know that.
-Ryan does know. -[Leslie] No, he don't.
He will say, "I don't work for you.
I don't have to do nothing that you're asking me to do."
This staff need to be clear who's in control.
I asked both of you, Leslie and Ryan,
what you want from each other.
-Ryan, you'll go first. -Okay.
What I want from you is,
let us put our difference to the side.
I gave Gigi my word 11 years ago
that I want her to get to the top.
And I never believed this day would've come
to make her restaurant,
her dream, not my dream,
but her dream.
And it comes now where she could turn it over to you.
I'm not always right.
But I try my best to take the pressure off her.
That was always my main focus.
Gigi, you don't have to worry about it.
That's what I want for you-- from you,
and for the restaurant.
What do you want Ryan to know?
What I would like from you Ryan is
to know that I never wanted to make it seem like
I was stepping on your toes.
So from this day forward,
I want you to know completely
that I am 110 percent on your team.
I don't ever want you to feel like
I am trying to diminish you, I make you feel less than
because I know that you had her back this whole time.
I genuinely want to have a relationship with you
so this can work.
So you committed to each other to work together?
-[Leslie] I'm committed. Yeah. -[Ryan] Yes, I do.
Okay, I've got a little game for you both.
It's really about team building.
You're both gonna head on into the kitchen
where you'll get the instructions.
-Okay. -Off you go.
-Me in the kitchen? Oh, Lord. -[all laugh]
So I gave Leslie and Ryan a little task.
I've sent them in the kitchen.
Uh, they have to create a dish,
but find the ingredients first based on clues.
Work together, maybe have a little fun.
Communicate well.
That's how we build teams.
So that's what I'm having them do.
Now, I'm gonna watch them with Gigi. See what happens.
"Leslie and Ryan,
your task is to make a dish
but it will not be as simple as you wish.
Work together, have some fun.
Call me in when the dish is done."
Yeah.
"Leslie and Ryan,
your task is to make a dish.
Work together, have some fun.
Call me in when the dish is done."
Yeah.
[Robert] Leslie and Ryan told me
they're ready to start working together
without fighting.
But actions speak louder than words.
So I laid out a series of clues throughout the kitchen
for them to solve that will lead them to a recipe
that they must prepare together.
"This is a root vegetable
that can be red, white or green."
That's an onion. Let's go find the onions.
-[Leslie] Yes! See. -[Ryan] Bam!
"What goes great on bread and wards off the undead?"
-Garlic! -Yep.
[Leslie] Garlic. Awesome.
"Two sisters we are.
One is dark, one is fair
One from land, one from sea."
One from land, one from sea One from land, one from--
[both exclaiming] Salt and pepper!
[Ryan] Salt and pepper! Bam, bam, bam!
[Robert] They're actually working pretty good together.
Yes, they are.
-"Find one tin that is out of place" -Outside!
-Okay, go outside. -Outside, we gotta go outside.
Oh, this tin? I have the recipe.
This is awesome. That they're even talking.
[Ryan] Let's get a cutting board.
You do the onion, I'll break the garlic down.
-Okay. Dice? -Yeah.
This is the best they've ever gotten along in years.
[Leslie] How you cut this up?
[Ryan] I like to just take a little bit off the top.
[Robert] Oh, look, he's teaching her.
-They work together-- -Uh-oh.
And she has a domain of the front, he has the domain of the back.
There's nothing you can't do in this restaurant.
-[Ryan] All right! -[Leslie] Woo! Good job.
-[Leslie] Robert! -Let's go.
[Robert] So here's the funny part.
We were watching the whole thing.
It's the first time I've actually--
saw you both smile, funnily enough.
[Gigi] I'm so excited.
All right, try. Yes.
Flavor's good. That's exactly as it should be.
-Thank you. -And that to me,
is a dish I will serve.
How was that for you two working together?
We never have this work time like this without...
It's always a fight.
How did it feel for you?
It felt good, we made it work,
and we created something awesome.
-All right, good job. -[Leslie and Ryan] Thank you.
I've never had that much fun with Ryan ever.
We could definitely rub shoulder to shoulder.
We can work together, we can get along.
We can make this work.
It's a good feeling.
All right, so this is the fun part for me.
I love to cook, I express myself through food.
I'm gonna show you three dishes.
The first thing I'm gonna start with
is a crispy jerk chicken.
This is a piece of chicken breast
that has been marinated in jerk seasoning for 24 hours.
I'm gonna drop that in the fryer.
Plantain, fry them.
While that's happening,
I'm gonna start with rice and peas.
[Ryan] Ah!
[Robert] Okay. Plantains, chicken.
-Aioli. -[Leslie] That's amazing.
[Robert] Pickled onions, add a little cilantro as a finish.
Okay, knives and forks, dig in.
Make sure you get everything in a bite.
[Leslie] Oh, my God.
-Woo, woo, woo! -I like all of that.
[Robert] Here's the best part about this.
It cost me $2.14 to make that plate.
I'm gonna sell it at $14, 15% food cost.
Putting $11.86 in my pocket every time I sell one.
Oh, my God. It was real good.
All right, while you're finishing up,
I'm gonna start with oxtail.
So we're gonna start with a braised oxtail.
And a sweet tea that is braised.
As you are a little spicy on the sauce,
I start with white cabbage, purple cabbage,
carrots, fresh pineapple and green onion.
Into that goes the citrus dressing.
Here's the fun part. Lima bean stew.
This is the braising liquid from the oxtail.
What it cooked in.
Oh yeah! Now we're talking.
All right, now you get to try it.
Don't be afraid. Mix it in. There you go. Y'all get in there.
Oh, this is tasty!
[Robert] The oxtail cost us $4.84 to make.
Thirty percent food cost. We're gonna sell it for $16,
giving us $11.16 in my pocket every single time you sell it.
Beyond good. This is delicious.
I actually like my lima beans.
All right. I'm gonna show you another dish.
Crispy fish sandwich.
This is fresh fish, breaded with coconut,
and panko breadcrumbs. Into the fryer.
While the fish is cooking, this is a brioche bun
and we have a spicy tartar sauce.
[Leslie] Wow. That looks tasty.
[Robert] I've got a little fresh salad here.
And French fries.
-Help yourself. -[Gigi] Mm. Mm!
-You like it? -Yeah.
This looks so juicy.
[Robert] So, crispy fish sandwich. $3.31 to make.
We're gonna sell it for $15, giving us a 22% food cost
and $11.69 in my pocket.
Wow! That's amazing.
-This is good. -All right, any questions?
-No. -I'm gonna check in with my design team.
-Good job. -[Leslie and Gigi] Thank you.
So here it is. It is already 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
Remember, yesterday this was a closed-off, kinda separate area.
Now it's part of the cohesive restaurant.
There's an awful lot going on, not a lot of time to do it.
We're rolling up the protective cardboard.
All this has to come up. Be careful when you pull it up
because there's still wet paint.
The floor's cleaned, polished,
but has to dry for an hour before we can bring tables and chairs.
Uh, we're a little bit behind and I'm running out of time.
It's gotta be perfect when we give it back.
So, get outta here.
And while I finish up inside,
Leslie is outside, addressing the staff.
First, I want to apologize to each and every one of you
for how I have come across
and me and Ryan will be working
very, very closely together
making sure that this business succeeds.
Me and Leslie's nonsense,
you're not gonna hearing all these negative from me and her anymore.
Thank you guys, I appreciate it.
Thank you.
[Robert] Can start bring the tables in.
Put the two top in.
All right, quick, quick, quick.
Hurry up, let's go.
[Robert] All right, let's get some knives and forks on here.
There you have it. It's the last of the polish.
[laughs] Gigi's gonna love it.
[Gigi] With Leslie and Ryan working together,
the sky is the limit.
Robert helping mend a relationship
that I thought was over and done with is amazing.
[Leslie] This is what this is all about,
is to really make sure that Gigi is happy and healthy
and know that the two people that mean the most to her
are working together in a way to build her business.
I'm grateful.
[vocalizing]
It is that time.
I will come back out and get you in a second, okay?
Ladies, follow me.
Leslie, you'll stand in the front,
mom behind, hand on shoulders.
Keep your eyes tightly closed.
I'm gonna hold your hands. Walk.
Stop. Put your hands down.
Turn around.
So I know the last few days
has been interesting, ups and downs.
Are you ready to see the new
-GiGi's Place? -[both women] Yes.
Open your eyes.
-Oh, my God! -Oh! [crying]
Are you ready to see the new
-GiGi's Place? -[both women] Yes.
Open your eyes.
-Oh, my God! -Oh! [crying]
[Leslie] No, this is beyond beautiful.
[Gigi] Oh, my gosh!
Oh, my gosh, this is beautiful.
Oh, this is beautiful. Oh, my God!
-[Gigi] Love it, love it. -[Leslie] It's so good.
[Robert] Come over here.
Oh, my gosh, it's beautiful.
Oh, my countertops, oh, my gosh.
I love the color, I love the color.
[Robert] All new lighting, new tables, chairs.
[Gigi] Wow. This is beautiful. Oh, my goodness.
Oh, my God!
"There's a little heart and soul in every spoon."
[Gigi] Oh, my God! Oh, goodness.
[Robert] This is a restaurant that does two things.
You can still have your buffet and you can still do sit down.
[Gigi] Yes, it's awesome.
I want you to walk out...
I want you to bring your husband in.
-Yeah. Okay. -Off you go, bring him in.
Wow.
[Gigi] All right.
Are you ready?
-[Travis] Yes. -[Gigi] Open your eyes.
[laughs heartily]
[Travis] This is crazy.
Look at the spoon.
I just noticed the spoon.
I'm at a loss for words.
-[Leslie] Oh, my God! -[Gigi] Oh, my God!
-[cheering and clapping] -[all] Hey!
-How are you? Congratulations. -[Gigi] Thank you.
-[Tom] How you been? -[Leslie] Oh!
-[Tom] Do you like it? -[Leslie] I love it.
[Tom] You love it?
You know, I talked to you about dreams.
This wasn't even included in my dream.
'Cause this is your future.
-Head on out now, let them in. -[Gigi] Okay.
-Woo, welcome to GiGi's. -[crowd cheering]
I'm so excited and I hope you guys are excited.
Come on in.
[indistinct conversation]
Hi, y'all.
-What do y'all think? -I'm so excited.
The place looks amazing.
A complete turnaround.
Feels like we are eating at home.
I'm loving the sit down. That's big.
The tables, the rolling pins, everything is beautiful.
[Robert] What I need to see tonight is Gigi stepping back.
Hey, you need some help?
[chuckles] No, we don't need anything.
Go, sit down, enjoy.
[Robert] And Leslie managing this restaurant
with a calm, cool demeanor.
Make sure the tables are getting cleaned up, okay?
-Thank you, baby. -Okay. Thank you.
[Robert] And Ryan trusting and respecting her
while putting out great food fast and efficiently.
Hey guys, the place is looking nice.
Nice place, nice place.
All right, do you guys need anything else to go with your meal?
All right, awesome, enjoy.
[man 1] These oxtails are perfect.
I'm big on flavor and this is an explosion.
It's like somebody is karate-kicking my mouth right now,
that's how good it is.
The fish sandwich is perfect. Flaky, presentation, this makes it great.
[woman 1] I love the jerk chicken.
It's so flavorful.
Pickled onions on top, oh, my God! Wow.
Ryan, everybody is loving the food.
Give it to me, my brother. Give it to me.
-You did it. -Yes, ma'am!
Y'all doing great, keep it up.
Everything is going well tonight.
The service is going flawlessly,
the food looks magnificent.
Me and Ryan are communicating wonderfully.
And Gigi, she is more happy and ecstatic.
I haven't seen her this way in a very, very, very long time.
[all laughing]
I love it.
It is the restaurant that I dreamed of.
It is that time.
I know it was tough couple of days
-but you're gonna be successful. -[both] Thank you.
-[Gigi] Mm-hmm. -God bless you.
-[Leslie] Oh!
I'll be in touch.
Well, based on their success of tonight,
that's the future of this restaurant.
It's gonna be amazing.
Leslie and Ryan are gonna knock it outta the park.
Good luck, guys.
[man] This was supposed to be mostly for business people
and for aviation enthusiasts.
[children screaming]
If I'm the pilot of one of these beautiful planes,
I'm not stopping here.
[man 2] We can't seem to make anybody--
-You're not paying yourself? -That's correct.
[man 2] We're in survival mode everyday.
Everything you had 12 years ago
has to come back.
We're gonna do something unique
that will alleviate the number one problem.
[man 1] Oh-ho, oh, my God!
[man 2] That's so good.
[Robert] Are you ready?
-Oh, yeah, very ready. -Yes.