The restaurant put a wedge in our marriage.
-Do you need help? -No.
Any little thing and she's gonna tear up.
[Leah Fogle] I'm, like, totally broken.
You've gotta work together.
My biggest concern is your low self-esteem.
You have to be a leader.
Get back in there. And own it.
-[Chris Fogle] Let's go. -[Robert] Come on, guys!
Oh, and you made money.
-[Chris] It's delicious. -[Leah] It's so good.
We're a team. This doesn't fail, no matter what.
Open your eyes.
[gasping]
Do you need cream?
-No, thank you. -Okay.
I am Leah of Leah's Korner Kafe,
and I have owned the restaurant for ten years.
My name's Chris. I'm Leah's husband and the co-owner.
[Leah] And we do a breakfast, and we do a lot of burgers and sandwiches.
We serve American comfort food just for the local community.
[Leah] But it's more than just a restaurant.
People come here just for the feeling of it.
They're doing good. Jacob just had a baby.
Oh, yeah?
In 2003, I was a single mom raising two little boys,
living in low income housing.
I came in and applied for a waitressing job.
And I got it.
In 2010, the previous owner passed away of brain cancer,
and I didn't know what was gonna happen to the staff that was here.
So I thought that I had to try for them to buy it.
So I went to the bank to get a loan for $120,000.
And they told me absolutely not.
You're a single mom on assistance, living in affordable housing.
I had nothing.
But that night, one of the customers who comes in here regularly
was on the board of the bank, and he said
that there was something about me that he believed in,
and that he would present it to the board again.
And I got my loan for $120,000.
I cried, and I was so excited, but it was very, very hard.
I was never trained how to own a restaurant.
Um, yeah, we're out of chicken strips. They never come in on the truck.
Like, what am I supposed to do?
Okay.
I was breaking even. There were times like the winter months, got really hard,
but I would catch back up.
[Chris] I've worked in the oil fields for almost 30 years,
and I stopped for breakfast one morning, I met Leah, and we started talking.
[Leah] He was a bad boy. And I was more of a nerd.
So when a bad boy likes a nerd girl, the girl goes all crazy [laughing] the bad boy.
We start dating, and I probably within the first two months,
I said, look, I could come help out. I started doing dishes after work.
And then just kinda moved into, okay, hey, I can help on the grill,
and started working in the kitchen, making toast, expediting tickets.
He didn't care how much he had to struggle.
He would work his full-time job, and then come here and help.
I loved that.
In 2013, I married Chris.
She's probably the most heartfelt and, and giving person that I've ever met.
She's a person who sends a customer a card when she hears that they're sick,
or they had a wedding or a graduation. That's who she is.
[Leah] Chris worked at the restaurant a lot. So I made him part owner.
[Chris] When I first became part of it,
the restaurant was paying the bills, paying the wages,
and business was steadily increasing.
Not where we wanted to be yet, but we were definitely getting there.
Until about 2020, for a variety of reasons, the restaurant went downhill.
[Leah] The restaurant put a big wedge in our marriage.
-Do you need help? -No.
I'm coming to help you.
[Chris] I was basically new to it, and so it was a constant struggle.
I would offer suggestions, and she would go, oh, okay, that's great,
but this is what works at the restaurant.
[Leah] It feels like he was saying,
this is how you're gonna do things,
and, okay, no, I was here for so many years before you,
and all of this worked, so you're not gonna tell me how I do things.
-You want that plate? -No.
[Chris] It was always a fight. I would do a lotta stuff on my own.
The marketing and things like that.
Just because I didn't wanna argue about it.
And she really takes it personally.
She was very emotional.
Any little thing and she's gonna tear up.
So I don't offer a lotta suggestions anymore.
[Leah] The last two years, it was terrible.
And I think that that's why I'm so emotional.
[Chris] The compromise was, I'm not working here anymore,
because it just, it was too much on everybody to do it.
We've all got enough hard times, without having to worry about this.
[Leah] The decline has taken away a lot of my confidence.
You sit here for 12 hours by yourself,
you have a lot of time to think about your whole life.
[Chris] The restaurant is most definitely failing.
We're rolling our own money into it. Probably $60,000, $80,000.
If something doesn't change, then there's no way she can keep the doors open.
[Leah] I just wanna feel like I did something.
Like I'm not just doing it for nothing anymore.
I'm, like, totally broken.
I need Robert's help more than he knows.
If not, we're not gonna be here.
[Robert] This is obviously an old restaurant that's really beat up.
One of my pet hates, carpets on the floor.
Lotta knickknacks on the wall.
Obviously got some water damage and paint damage.
Lots of advertising on the tables.
Mismatched chairs. We got one chair here, and a banquet chair here.
Two different styles.
Pieces of the shades missing.
Service station here, which looks awful.
It's just cluttered and old.
Chris! Leah! Come in the restaurant, please.
-Good morning. -[both] Good morning.
I'm just trying to take it all in. A Christmas tree in a restaurant.
Ohh!
What type of business is this?
Local hometown diner, where everybody just kinda, you know the same old guys come in.
It doesn't look like a restaurant. It looks like some kinda bric-a-brac store.
[Chris] We kinda tried to go with the farm theme.
[Robert] How long have you had the restaurant?
-Ten years. -How did you get into the restaurant?
I worked here for ten years.
And the previous owner had brain cancer, and he passed away.
Sorry to hear that.
And you bought the restaurant for how much?
For $120,000.
Why?
Because...
...I didn't want the employees to not have a job.
Okay.
What was the revenue of the restaurant when you bought it for $120,000?
$95,000 to $100,000.
What did it cost you to make that?
-I don't know. -So you bought a restaurant for $120,000 out of probate,
with no knowledge of what the restaurant actually did.
Right.
Wow.
Okay.
Chris, what do you do?
I'm part owner.
But, um, we had marital problems, so I kinda keep my distance now.
I work... I think I've worked here twice in two years.
So you have another job, Chris?
Yes. I work in the oil fields.
But honestly, I would love to be able to come here.
I loved being part of the restaurant.
But us working together is not great.
-Yes. -Okay. So you're the boss.
Yeah.
Okay. What debt does the restaurant have?
Hundred and...
...$150,000?
With our credit cards and everything.
-Do you own the building? -We owe, like, $40,000-some on the restaurant.
So what are you losing per month?
Probably $6,000 to $8,000.
Five years ago, what was your revenue?
I think we've had one profitable year, that was, what, '19?
Uh, and I think we cleared $9,000.
In 2019?
-[Chris] 2019. -[Leah] Yeah.
What was '20s numbers?
-[sniffling] -Lost.
How much?
$67,000.
Wow.
I don't want to fail. [sniffling] Thank you.
It's been my life for 20 years.
I love this place, and I love the people.
How does that make you feel, Chris?
I'm a fixer.
And I, I can't fix this.
Yeah.
[Robert] Okay.
What is your biggest-selling dish on your menu?
I would say...
...um, I don't...
If you're $150,000 in debt, you're losing $6,000 to $8,000 a month.
You don't know your numbers.
I don't know how to run a restaurant.
Okay. Well, there's a start, right?
I'm gonna bring some people in. I wanna see a service.
I wanna see what exactly you do
and how you run your business.
You let me know when you're ready, and we'll, uh...
...we'll go from there, right?
-Okay. [sniffles] Thank you. -Okay.
You're welcome.
Nice to meet you both.
[Leah crying]
That was brutal.
Knowing that you're failing is one thing, but hearing it from somebody else is hard.
-[Chris] Yeah? -[Leah] Yeah.
[sniffling]
[Leah] I just feel like a total failure.
[cries]
[Roger] We need a little whisk.
Yep, we're ready.
[Leah] Okay, you guys can come in.
Wherever you would like.
Showtime.
Go to whatever tables you can.
Just start taking tables.
How are you guys doing today?
-[customer] Good, how are you? -[Leah] Good. What can I get you?
I'd like the eggs, bacon, and whole wheat.
[Leah] And what kind of toast did you want with that?
-[customer] Can I have a Reuben omelet? -[Leah] Okay.
Uh, a hot turkey.
...bacon, and toast.
[Roger] Chicken bacon ranch wrap.
Irish breakfast.
Crispy chicken salad.
[Robert] Leah sat the entire restaurant at once,
and slammed the kitchen.
[Roger] Excellent.
[Robert] When I confronted her about it,
a bigger problem comes to light.
Leah, look what you just did to the kitchen.
[Roger] We need more hash browns.
So why did you let everybody in at the same time?
[Leah] I don't know.
[Robert] Well, if you don't know, who does?
Right.
[Lean cries]
[Robert] We're 10 minutes in,
and the owner just walked out of the restaurant.
That's a red flag.
[Roger] Leah. Leah?
[grumbles]
It's a lot of overwhelming emotions right now
A lot of anxiety, and...
[sighs]
[Robert] Why are servers making salads?
I don't know. We've always made salads.
So how can she serve if she's making salads?
I don't know.
Okay.
I'm just asking questions.
[Leah sniffles]
[Leah sobs]
[Robert] Ah.
Leah's melting down,
and the restaurant's left without a leader.
[server] Leah?
She's definitely struggling.
They gotta pull together, and they gotta be prepared.
It's upsetting.
[Robert] If she can't face the problems in her business,
there's no way we can fix them.
Leah.
Why do you keep going back there and crying?
[tearfully] Because I slammed everybody.
[Robert] When you control the flow of your business,
you control the flow of the kitchen.
You can't put food out,
because you don't know how to seat the room.
But you don't know that, right?
No.
[Robert] Okay.
Okay.
[sniffles]
[sobs]
Oh...
Oh, my God.
My God.
[Leah sobs]
[Robert] As frustrating as it is,
you can't keep leaving the restaurant.
I'm trying to find out information from you
so I can help you.
Right? That's why I'm here.
I'm not here to beat you up.
-I know. -I'm here to find out what you don't know.
And it's very apparent what you don't know,
just watching the service.
Get back in there.
It's not about tears anymore. It's about fixing it.
[Leah sniffles]
[Robert] I'm keen enough to know
that the restaurant's biggest problem is Leah.
Uh, thank you for coming.
You'll get a chance to come back tomorrow,
and the restaurant won't be like this.
She's having a hard time facing criticism,
and unfortunately,
there's a lot more coming her way.
Okay, give me the Colossus,
the Reuben,
chorizo burger,
a strawberry pancake,
and a meatloaf sandwich.
Here's this.
[Robert] Leah! Chris!
Come in the restaurant, please.
Ah, one big pancake.
A very awful pancake mix.
We're using canned strawberries.
Mediocre at best.
The Colossus, in a country gravy,
it's just a big plate of goo.
Not a good goo, either.
This is [chuckles]
death by sauce.
This is the meatloaf sandwich, I believe, right?
It just looks awful.
It tastes awful.
The sauce, straight from a can,
meatloaf that tastes like dog food.
Reuben.
Wow. Uh.
We have no taste whatsoever.
[clears throat]
[Robert] This is the chorizo burger.
The chorizo is so dry,
and it doesn't have much flavor.
The burger is overcooked.
The bread is just soggy.
It's just...
I don't know how you can eat that.
On a scale of one to ten, you're like a minus 40.
I'm surprised you lasted this long, seriously.
There's nothing exciting,
original,
or even cooked correctly.
[tearfully] But I feel terrible now.
[sniffles]
And I'm not trying to be mean.
Please, I am not trying to be mean.
I just want you to realize
this is the lowest of the low.
All right.
Um, can you get your profit and loss statements?
-Does somebody have that? -[producer] Yeah, I got it with me.
[sniffles]
[clears throat] P&Ls tell me a big picture.
So, if I look at 2021,
your food cost is running, probably 50, 60%.
So, the food costing is totally
out of whack?
Just your labor alone, in 2021,
was 50% of your gross revenue,
without food costs.
So labor, and just your overheads,
your taxes and license fees,
you're already bankrupt.
All right, uh, here's what I want.
I picked off 10 items, off the menu.
I want to go through a little exercise with you.
-[Chris] Sure. -[Leah] Okay.
Okay.
[Leah] Thank you.
[Robert] We have a lot of work ahead of us
if we're gonna turn this restaurant around,
starting with helping the owners understand sales.
Okay, so these are the dishes, right?
Correct.
Put them in order of the most sold
to the least sold, for me,
-that you think. -[Leah] Okay.
[Robert] Leah has no idea what she's selling
every day in her restaurant,
and I need her to realize
that's costing her a lot of money,
and sinking her business.
This being number one.
All right.
This is what you sold of those in a month.
One, one, one, one, one,
one, one, one, one, one.
One a month.
So, this is the bottom of your menu.
So why are they still on the menu?
It's not making any money.
-It's just costing money to make. -Right.
I thought we sold more of it.
[Robert] You should know what you've purchased,
what you've spent,
and what you've sold.
A few years ago, I was kind of doing some of that.
Okay?
Digging through that, going through the POS system,
seeing what sold, what didn't.
-I mean, we were running that. -Why did you stop doing that?
'Cause I saw myself out of this after our...
I've just not been back into it.
Okay.
See why it's important to tap into information
for people and resources?
Here endeth the first lesson.
-[mouthing] Okay. -All right. Cool. Thank you.
I thought I was doing okay.
I didn't realize how bad I really am doing.
And then I just think of all the money I lost
because I didn't know.
I think a lot of this is so my fault.
All right. Let's check it out.
Whoa!
Wow, it's dark in here.
Ah, gentlemen!
[chuckling] There's so much stuff in here!
[Robert] Welcome to Leah's Korner Kafe.
Let's start at the beginning.
You walk in the door, and it just goes downhill.
So, I hate the carpet.
-[Tom] Yeah. -[Robert] Filthy.
I hate the tables,
'cause I'm not a billboard for any other business...
-Oh, yeah. -...except this one.
I hate the different colored banquet chairs.
I hate the knickknacks everywhere.
-[Lynn] Oh, right. This is my worst nightmare. -[Tom] So much.
My head's already going, "Whoo-uh!"
[Robert] The pole.
Obviously, it's a pole supporting
the ceiling and the roof,
but how can I...
[Tom] Do we wrap it in a...
-[Robert] Do we don't wrap it? -[Tom] Right.
[Robert] Do we incorporate it? I don't know the answers.
[Lynn] We gotta address that issue, because
it's dead center of the restaurant, there's a pole.
[Robert] I have this idea.
How do I take the outside and bring it inside?
[Lynn] I like where you're going with it.
When we were driving here,
I haven't been in this part of the world,
I'm like, "Wow, it is really, amazingly beautiful."
-The flowers, and the grass. -[Tom] Yes.
[Robert] It's beautiful, and the town is beautiful. A very quaint town.
All right, any questions?
-No. Let's get it apart. -[Robert] All right.
-I'll go get our gear. -Leah! Chris! Come in here, please!
Let's go! Come on, guys!
Let's start taking everything down.
Everything out here,
-[Lynn] Chairs out. -[Robert] Tables out!
All right, sugar caddies off, salt and peppers off.
I feel sad, because this is what I've been.
This is part of me.
It's emotional.
[Robert] Let's start moving this.
Yeah, that's heavy.
Take that out for me, please.
They can go out, too.
That can go out.
Everybody out! Everybody out!
Good memories?
Good and bad.
-Bittersweet. -Right.
Bad memory.
[voice shaking] Fighting with each other.
[tearfully] A lot of fighting with each other.
[sniffles]
[Robert] You've got to work together,
or your business is gonna go down the tubes.
Right?
-Yes. -Absolutely.
[Chris] We're gonna do everything we can
to improve the restaurant,
but we're gonna worry about ourselves first.
[Robert] Good. Remember that, please,
because if you fix this,
this will work automatically.
Head on out the door.
This is the last time you'll see it
until I give it back to you.
-Okay? -Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
Chris cares about Leah so much.
You can see it in his eyes.
But restaurants cause friction between families.
You can see what happened with them.
That's one problem I have.
-The next one is to fix Leah. -[Leah blubbers]
She's been crying, she's been leaving.
She doesn't have any self-confidence.
Now I have to give her self-confidence in two days.
That's a big job.
Even I don't know if I can do that.
[Leah sniffles]
[Robert] I'm in Coleman, Michigan,
at Leah's Korner Kafe,
where the restaurant has driven a wedge
between Leah and Chris' marriage.
I need to help Leah find her confidence
to face honest criticism without melting down,
so they can work as a team to save this restaurant.
All right. Come over here.
I have a little exercise.
You two stand on this side.
The reason I want you here, Chris, is support.
So, my biggest concern is your low self-esteem.
It's your nonbelief in yourself,
'cause you've got to be stronger.
You're a business owner.
Now you have to start to act like one.
Pick out a color pen which you like,
it doesn't matter.
So, I want you to write down what you are great at,
and that includes anything good you have done.
It doesn't matter what it is.
All right? And then, Chris, you can jump in any time.
Off you go.
Okay. [sniffles]
[Robert] If Leah's going to appreciate her own self-worth,
she needs to understand
just how valuable she is to others.
You're a good wife, mom,
grandma.
[Chris] Daughter.
Opening a restaurant?
You accomplished it, right?
-[Leah] Yep. -[Chris] Yeah.
So let me stop you there.
So, here, I want you to tell what makes you a good wife,
what makes you a good mom, what makes you a good grandma,
what makes you a good daughter.
You raised great kids.
By yourself.
[Robert] Great. So, you're a single mom.
What makes you a good grandma?
[Leah] I love him, and I spoil him.
[Robert] Daughter.
That's a great one, right?
You take care of the employees,
even at your own expense.
It's getting warm out here. I'm gonna take this off.
While you're writing, I'll take this off.
Whew! Thanks, bro.
[Chris] How many customers have you taken care of
when they've been sick?
Sent cards, taken 'em to doctors' appointments.
Hospital? You've taken them to hospital?
No. I was with one of 'em when he passed away.
I was holding his hand.
[Robert] You were his family.
You gave somebody peace in their last moments.
That's a huge thing.
[sniffles]
[Chris] You almost need a bigger board.
[sniffles]
[exhales]
[Robert] That's taking care of Chris, single mom,
grandma, opening a restaurant.
I would say there's a lot of achievements
and pride in this board.
You have to focus on the positive
and not the negative.
It should give you strength.
It should give you happiness.
It should give you hope.
You're a good person.
I know that.
And what you wrote.
So why are we so negative?
I don't know.
I don't think that I saw all of these things.
I just saw all the struggle,
instead of all the positive.
Every time you get despondent,
or you second-guess yourself,
take a picture of this board.
These are huge accomplishments.
Who was the person that called me for help?
Me.
I didn't even know that he did this.
I did not know that he did any of this.
He...
He loves me so much, and wants to help,
and I wasn't letting him.
You talk about a deep layer of love,
that's really special.
Yeah.
-[Robert] Do you have a phone with you? -[Leah] Yes.
Chris, stand on this side next to it.
Get in there with him.
Robert gave me a lot of good things to think about,
and he showed me a lot of positives
that I don't see in myself,
and I needed to hear it.
[camera shutter clicking]
Let's talk about some homework.
Leah, there's a power in thinking.
When you go home tonight, focus on the positive,
and then let that permeate
that not everything you have done is negative.
-Okay. -[Robert] Okay?
The second thing is,
if there is a role for you, Chris,
what would that role be?
Then, Chris, I want you to write Leah
how you feel about her,
and the same for you with Chris.
Okay?
-[Leah] Okay. -[Chris] All right.
[Robert] Enjoy each other's company tonight,
-and then do your homework separately. -[Leah chuckling] Okay.
-Thanks. -[both] Thank you.
I know that I need to be strong and tough,
and I need to change to succeed,
but I know I can be better.
I can totally be better.
[Tom] We're gonna keep going.
What do you think of this, Tom?
-Hey! -[Lynn] Good afternoon!
-Hi, Robert! -How are we doing?
-Uh... -Whew!
-[chuckles] -[Robert] It looks different.
-[Lynn] Oh, good. -[Tom] It's working, right?
Um, I don't know if it's good different,
but it's different, right?
So what are we thinking, an overall kind of...
[Lynn] The plan is to turn Leah's Korner Kafe inside out,
so the first thing I'm gonna do
is enclose the existing counter,
and create a barn,
complete with corrugated roof and sliding doors.
On the main wall, I'm gonna add a picket fence,
and a new mural of wildflowers to brighten the space.
The walls are gonna be
all about feeling like you're outdoors,
so I'm bringing in two different shades of green.
New flooring and all-new tables and chairs
will complete the space.
This is gonna be all about color,
so we're gonna use two different color greens,
one that would be darker,
like the fields of grass which we're surrounded by...
-Okay. -[Lynn] ...and one that's lighter,
to kind of make the space feel bigger.
-Then, on this wall, we're gonna do blue. -[Robert] Okay.
By bringing that vibe with the barn in,
you're gonna hide the service station,
-the cruddy-looking kitchen, right? -[Lynn] Everything.
[Robert] Okay. Great. Awesome, guys.
-Thanks. -[Tom] See you later.
Thanks, Robert.
So, it's the end of Day 1,
and it's been a pretty long day.
My biggest fear
and my biggest challenge, at the same time,
is, can Leah change?
Can she be confident?
I truly believe that if Leah can be strong,
this restaurant will work.
If she can't,
it will fail miserably.
[Robert] It's Day 2 at Leah's Korner Kafe.
Leah made a lot of progress yesterday
finding her self-confidence,
but if she can't translate that
into working as a team with Chris,
then their restaurant, and their relationship,
may collapse.
Good morning.
[both] Good morning.
[Robert] I gave you some homework last night.
Chris, let's start with you.
What is your role?
The first thing was for to help track and chart
what's selling, what's not working,
what is working,
the hours that are working and not working.
To help with menu ideas,
and standard operations that we're gonna follow.
That's my thoughts on what I could,
and would be willing to help with, and be able to do,
but we've got to be able to work together to do that.
We'd have to be open-minded. All right?
My mind is more open to that now.
The board, it was so important.
I saw a lot of positives in me,
and that's what I need to focus on.
And I want Chris to help me with the restaurant,
and I want Chris to feel like the restaurant is his, too.
And I didn't ever allow that before.
We need to be united in everything.
This doesn't fail.
This doesn't fail, no matter what.
We're a team, and I need help to succeed.
I feel confident,
and I'm ready to conquer all of this.
[Robert] Good. All right.
So, the last piece of homework
was
Leah to write Chris, Chris to write Leah.
so he's there.
[Leah] Okay.
[reading] "Christopher, you mean the world to me.
You have shown me depths of love
that I never knew were possible.
[voice shaking] I admire you and I respect you.
I appreciate all the hard work you put into supporting us.
[sniffles] I want you to know
that I love you for so many reasons.
[tearfully] For never giving up on me,
for believing in me when I couldn't believe in myself.
I love us as a team.
I love you so much.
You are my knight in shining armor."
[cries]
Good.
[reading] "I love you for your heart,
which is always giving,
and full of genuine love for others.
I love you for your strength.
So many times you could give up,
but you never did,
and never do.
I love that you have endured so much,
but would endure even more to help others.
I thank God every day for you,
and I know that you truly are a blessing from Him, to me,
and always will be."
[sniffling] I love you.
I love you.
[kisses]
She looks a lot happier today.
She is happier today.
[Robert] A lot happier. Good.
My question is
are you ready to take this on full force?
Absolutely.
It's a really exciting day today.
All right, good hustle. Good job on your homework.
[Leah] I feel like I forgot about my accomplishments,
and I kind of forgot about the people
who really have my back and who really care about me.
I'm ready for the challenge, but I can't promise no tears.
[chuckles]
[Robert] Good morning!
-Oh! -[Tom] Oh, good morning!
[Lynn] Hey, hey!
Is it morning?
Wow, it's morning. [chuckles]
Let's talk about the wall.
[Lynn] You can see the wildflower mural,
which really, as we were driving to this restaurant,
this is kind of what you see,
so we did an artistic version of it,
and then Tom and I are just starting to talk
about the picket fences, which will go up here,
and then we'll have light behind there, and light the mural.
[Robert] I love the fence,
-but what I don't like is it looks dirty. -Oh, because we weathered it.
What, you wanted to leave 'em white?
-I wanted white. -Oh.
-Listen, I want "beautiful picket fence." -[Lynn] It's easy.
-That's an easy fix. -Yeah.
[Robert] So, take me through the building.
The counter's still there,
but it would be a service area that's hidden, right?
Right. Lynn got these great metal sliding doors,
these big doors, kind of like what we--
-It's like horse barn doors, almost. -Exactly.
So, we're gonna put them on either side of the window,
and then this gets a metal roof,
that goes right from here and sticks out a little bit,
so it continues the whole way
from end to end, one solid metal roof.
All right, so, yes, the elephant in the room.
The structural column.
So, here's what we came up with.
That's gonna be a vintage telephone pole
-with the wires that go across. -You want me to show him?
What do you mean, "a vintage telephone pole?"
It's gonna have the old glass conductors.
This thing,
and there's gonna be conductors and wires
-running through this place, somehow. -Run through the wall,
-run through there, and down. -I love, you know...
That's great. I would never have figured that out.
-Well, that makes two of us. -Yeah.
-'Cause I haven't figured it out, either. -I came up with this!
-[laughs] -[Lynn] And then I gave it right to him,
and said, "Tom, figure it out.
-Make it look cool." -Yeah.
I'm trying to figure it out right now,
and I have no idea how I'm gonna do it.
-All right, cool. -[Lynn] Cool, okay.
-I love that. -[Tom] That's the deal.
-We'll catch you in a bit. -All right.
-We'll get these painted white. -[Robert] Thank you.
Now that Leah and Chris are a team again,
the real work begins.
I need to teach them
how to calculate and control costs
if they're going to succeed.
Ah, okay.
Taking a simple recipe, pancakes.
Yeah.
[Robert] Well, let's start with the basics,
the recipe for this pancake.
Five pounds pancake mix,
eleven and a half cups buttermilk,
three eggs,
a couple of ounces of syrup,
a half ounce of butter.
The cost for me, just ingredients,
$2.52.
A third of our plate cost is food,
a third is labor, a third is overhead.
What does that mean to you?
Cost times three equals selling price.
$2.52 times three was my number.
[Leah] $7.56.
[Chris] $7.56.
[Robert] So, I've already covered my costs,
so anything over $7.56
is bonus.
I don't want you to just cover your costs.
I want you to make money.
Us too.
Now the fun part.
Labor.
Because this, remember, was 50%.
Pen. So, write down your revenue is $1,800 today.
All right.
Your staffing is four people,
times, let's say, $17 an hour,
times eight hours, because that's the average shift.
-Yeah. -That gives me $544.
So, you take this,
-and divide it into the revenue. -[Leah] Okay.
[Robert] 30%.
So that is good,
-because that's less than 33 and a third. -Right.
[Leah] I never knew how to do this.
But now you do.
-Okay? -Okay.
-All right. -Thank you.
-Simple! -[Chris] Good deal.
I really wanna kick myself, because there's a total reason
why I haven't been making money.
Now that I know the formula,
I got it.
[Robert] I'm at
Leah's Korner Kafe in Coleman, Michigan.
They've made a lot of progress,
turning their restaurant and their relationship around.
It's time to give them a big menu upgrade.
All right, so this is my favorite moment.
So, we're gonna start with the Drunken Pork Chop,
with whiskey mustard glaze.
All right, let's start with the pork chop.
It's been out at room temperature
for about an hour.
Salt, pepper.
In the meantime, I've got mashed potatoes.
I've got cheddar cheese in here.
I'm gonna start with garlic, bacon, peppers, and onions.
They've just been sauteed,
'cause then I'm gonna add spinach.
Just gonna wilt it. Watch what happens.
All right, so we'll start with the potatoes.
Spinach, bacon, peppers, onions, garlic.
[all chuckling]
[Robert] A whiskey mustard glazed pork chop.
I've got a gorgonzola sauce.
A little scallion, for texture and color.
There's a pork chop. Dig in to it.
[Chris] Oh, man!
Wow!
-Delicious. -That is so good!
[Robert] That pork chop cost us $3.21 to make,
-and we're selling it for $17. -[Chris] There you go!
-[Robert] So there's $13.79 in our pocket. -[Chris] Yeah!
You can sell that all day long.
All day.
So, the next dish I want to show you
is something very different.
Remember, you said try the Reuben you gave me,
and everything was canned and "Nah."
We're going to make a Red Beet Reuben.
It's a vegetarian dish that is spectacular.
All right, it starts with a little oil.
I'm gonna take a couple of bits of butter,
take a nice piece of marble rye bread,
and I want to crisp that up a bit.
I'm gonna drop some fries down in the fryer.
Here's wherein comes the fun part.
Here I've got braised red cabbage
that's been chopped up. It's got vinegar in it.
Fries.
[Chris] Whoo-hoo! [laughs]
[Robert] Roasted beets,
just with a little seasoning on them. Salt, pepper.
You can do it with any cheese.
I've got cheddar here.
And let that just melt for a minute, warm through.
I've just taken the components of that Reuben
-and created something totally different from it. -[Chris] Looks good.
[Robert] Mustard aioli goes over the top.
A little chive.
So, dig in. Knife or fork. Help yourself.
Beautiful. It's delicious.
It's so god.
[Robert] That Reuben cost me $2.44 to make.
We're going to sell it for $12,
-putting in your pocket $9.56. -[Chris] Yep.
If you're a vegetarian, you can eat this.
If I'm not, I'd eat it.
-That's delicious. -[Robert] Right.
-[Leah] Right. -All right, so we'll do one more dish.
And that is the Pig Mac.
So, yesterday if you remember, you made me a chorizo burger.
I couldn't pick it up. It was over cooked.
Okay, we're gonna toast our bun.
Raised pulled pork. A little vinegar. Warm that up.
Okay, so...
Fries. A brioche bun
with a homemade thousand island dressing.
Pulled pork, sliced tomatoes, pickles,
and a touch of shredded lettuce.
Go for it. Just get messy.
It is so good.
[Robert] The Pig Mac cost us $2.70.
We're gonna sell it for $14.00.
That gives us a 19% food cost. That's $11.30 in your pocket.
Just smile and be happy.
All right. I'll check in with design team.
I'll catch you in a bit.
-[Chris] Thank you. -Thanks.
[man] There's an electrical pole in the middle of the restaurant.
Oh, yes, mama.
Remember, I'm trying to open the restaurant by 6:00 but, uh,
my biggest fear right now is time.
Because paint takes time to dry.
Hey, guys. Let's all picking up the pace a little bit, huh?
Right now, everywhere is wet, so, hey.
We'll have to wait and see.
Let's move. We got to be faster.
Let's sweep that whole place.
Sweep, everything has to be swept there.
All right, let's get tables in.
[man] Now we can start bringing chairs.
[Robert] Let's go, guys. Don't have all day.
-[man] All right, we can start setting these. -[Robert] Let's go!
I don't have all day. I've got a restaurant to open.
All right, let's go. Everybody out.
So, right now. Finishing touches. Everybody's out.
Now it's time for them to see their brand new restaurant.
I've got to tell you, this is outrageous.
[Chris] From yesterday to today, everything changed for me.
It's a new adventure. It's a new start.
I'm looking ahead to the future, but...
at the end of the day, the biggest change is with Leah.
I feel hopeful. I feel grateful. I feel blessed.
Robert renewed my confidence
and I feel like Chris and I can make it so great.
All right. I'm going to ask you to walk over here.
Chris, hands on shoulders.
You will keep your eyes closed till I tell you to open your eyes.
Keep walking.
Stop. Put your hands down.
I'm going to move you to your right.
Are you ready to see Leah's Korner Kafe,
-the new version? -Yes.
Open your eyes.
Oh, my God.
Open your eyes.
Oh, my God.
Wow.
[Leah] This is beautiful. This is so beautiful.
[sobs]
[gasps]
[Chris] You would never recognize it.
Oh, my gosh.
Wow.
[Leah] This is more than I ever imagined.
[Robert] This is your new life.
This is your restaurant.
[Chris] It is amazing.
[Leah] It's so amazing.
[Robert] There's no clutter. Have a look around.
[breathing heavily]
-Look at that. -[Leah] I know. It's beautiful.
[Robert] New tables. New chairs.
[Leah] The floor is beautiful.
And I love this.
I love how it looks.
-[Chris] It's beautiful. -[Leah] It is.
[Robert] We've never done a telephone line before.
-We couldn't move this. -It's so cool.
-So cool. -[Chris] That is great.
This is awesome.
Hello. [chuckles]
How do you like your Korner Kafe, now?
I love it.
-Nice job, man. -What do you think?
-You're welcome. -It's absolutely amazing.
Never in my wildest dreams.
[Robert] You're two very deserving people
that lost your way.
I couldn't wish to give it to a better couple.
Thank you. Thank you. You blessed us so much.
There's a lot of people waiting out there.
Let them in.
All right. Let's get servers. Let's get table numbers.
Hello everybody. We want to welcome you
to the new and improved Leah's Korner Kafe.
I hope you guys all enjoy. Man, it is totally awesome.
Come on.
-Oh, my God. -Holy cow.
Wow.
It just feels like something a little out of time.
It feels small town.
But in such a different, new way.
Unbelievable.
[laughs]
This is just awesome.
It is. It is. It is.
The pork chop is, is honestly amazing.
[Leah] You guys know what you want?
Pig Mac?
[diner speaking]
[Robert] Here we go. Pig Mac and Drunken Chop.
Pig Mac.
[Robert] We seated the people, we took their orders and got food out fast.
[Chris] First one's off.
[Robert] But that's not the only important change I'm looking for.
Tonight, I'm laser-focused on Leah.
I need to see her confident and taking charge of her restaurant...
-Missy? -Yeah?
Can you make sure you're picking up the trash
-off of your tables? -Yeah.
-Of course, I'm sorry. -Thank you.
[Robert] ...and willing to listen to Chris' input.
I think honestly we need a full-time hostess, probably.
-I think that's a great idea. -Okay.
[Robert] But in the end, the future of every restaurant,
depends on the food.
This is the best pork chop I've ever eaten.
Thank you.
[diner 2] I ordered the Pig Mac and it's phenomenal.
It's just got this pulled pork barbeque sauce
that's just mind blowing.
[diner 3] I ordered the Red Beet Reuben.
You know it's gonna be good as soon as you see it.
[Chris] Seeing Leah so happy is an awesome feeling.
She's learned a lot about herself,
learned a lot about this business,
has a chance to start new.
The future's in our hands.
All we got to do is follow that guidance and go forward.
[Leah] I absolutely love the new restaurant.
It's a second chance and a new beginning.
My tears are all happy tears now.
No more crying and no more baby crying.
So, um, it's that time.
I want you to remember
everything that you've learned,
not only about the restaurant, but about each other.
All right. Let's give it up for these folks.
[all cheering]
Can someone please answer the phone?
I feel like I'm alone in this and I've been struggling
to keep it together.
-Can I get a little bit of help? -All right, you know what,
you can wait on them 'cause I just can't get to them. I can't.
[Franco] My relationship with my wife is getting destroyed
and my son's relationship isn't there.
-I do not resent. -Franco, please be honest about--
I had a hard time when he first came out gay.
In the beginning, it was absolutely awful.
-[Leah] I have no respect for you. -So why are you married?
That's what I ask every day.
[Robert] Maybe they get divorced. I don't know yet.