When COVID hit, all our savings were gone.
This restaurant has taken its toll on my health
and I would like for my youngest daughter to take over the restaurant.
[Robert] So, what're you afraid of?
Running a business is scary.
I've never really been book smart.
Stuff like that just goes over my head.
I believe in you.
I am asking you to be open-minded enough to learn.
Oh, my gosh! This is so good. I can do this.
-[Heather] We got this, guys. -[all cheering]
[Robert] The new Amigo Cafe!
Oh, my!
I'm in Kayenta, Arizona, a small township, on the Navajo Nation.
This is Monument Valley,
where all those big, Wild Wild West movies have actually been filmed.
And, I'm on my way to Amigo Cafe,
a restaurant on a reservation.
If you look around, this is not a restaurant
that has a lot of locals because... look!
There is miles and miles and miles of nothing.
Before I go to the restaurant, I'm gonna stop at a local museum
to get a little education on the Navajo Nation.
-[shopkeeper] Hi, how are you? -Good morning.
Wow!
-Robert, ya'at'eeh! -How are you?
Welcome to the Navajo Nation. I'm doing well.
Well, thank you. So, tell me.
How has the Navajo Nation adapted from old days to modern times?
Here, in our community,
our young women still go through a coming-of-age ceremony
and we're still taught how to use a grinding stone and how to prepare the corn.
-And how to butcher a sheep. -Oh, were sheep the biggest part of food?
A huge part of food.
Another major food source for our people is corn and squash.
But the local restaurant, Amigo's, has become well-known through their coffee. [laughs]
-Coffee? -Coffee.
Kayenta is the gateway to Monument Valley.
So, Kayenta thrives around the tourism industry.
[Robert] All right. Well, I appreciate all the information.
Now, I just gotta get it done.
In our language we say... [speaking native language]
That means, thank you and take care.
All right. Well, thank you so much.
Welcome to the Navajo Nation.
[Robert] That was beautiful.
[Julene] Hi, guys. Come on in.
So, I'm gonna have you sign in, please.
I own the Amigo Cafe with my husband, Larry.
But, my youngest daughter, Heather,
runs the day-to-day and basically, the front of the house.
We have owned the Amigo Cafe
for 22 years and Larry and I are both full Navajos.
When we took over,
it was basically, all Mexican food
and we tried to incorporate some of our native dishes.
But, basically, just the frybread.
[Larry speaking]
I sit down at table two and do my paperwork.
[Larry] Previous owner was one of my customers at the bank
and one day, he came in and says, "I am retiring."
This was the only Mexican restaurant for a 100-mile radius.
So, it's a great opportunity
because it's a successful business.
But, Julene's restaurant experience is probably just dining at restaurants.
[Julene] Wash your hands, guys. Don't forget. Wash your hands, guys.
[Larry] The restaurant has been somewhat successful.
I was really happy. Julene was really happy
and things were really looking good
and then COVID happened and it just changed our whole life.
[Julene] I was very proud of what we had accomplished and when COVID hit,
we shut down.
But a lot of my staff are single parents and they had to
feed their families and even though there was no work for them to do,
I kept paying them over $200,000.
So, all our savings went.
You know, whatever we had built up was gone within a few months.
Julene is awesome. She takes care of us.
She's practically my family.
You know, if you need help, she's always open-armed for all of us here.
It's a family restaurant and it's a special place for a lot of people.
My health has actually taken a turn for the worse. I mean, I'm older now.
And we live in a community which is exactly 140 miles away from transit.
That's two hours, one way. So, two hours going home is
four hours all together of my day on the road.
And so, my hope is that Heather will take over the restaurant.
One of the things I was thinking of doing is,
-having you do the schedule. -Wait, what?
Heather has worked here full-time for
mostly the last five years.
She's very smart, very creative.
She talks to people very well.
She can do the job.
But she is one of the youngest of all my staff.
So, for her to take on that role,
that's sort of hard.
And also, as a child growing up,
she was picked on quite a bit.
So, she just needs to believe in herself.
If I gave you some direction, do you feel like you could do that?
-Baby steps with me. -Baby steps. Okay.
I don't know what I wanna do with my life.
Honestly, like...
I've never really been book smart
and all of my older siblings are really successful.
So, I worry all the time I can't live up to my mom's expectations.
And also, it's a two-hour drive back and forth, five days a week.
Sometimes, I'm just like, ugh, it's so hard.
And, with her it's, like, she makes it so easy.
I am super struggling right now.
We cannot keep up on our finances.
She's self-taught everything and I think that's amazing.
We're just tired. I cannot wait tables, drive and be here.
I mean, she's such a strong woman.
If nothing changes, I'm not sure what to do.
I just wish I could be more like her.
[Robert] Well, here we are. Let's see what Larry and Julene have to say.
It's a very small place.
Uh, so, we've got all these dividers that are makeshift.
Cheap, uh, booths. Cheap tables.
These are pretty chairs, ornate, but no good for this restaurant.
This is an issue. It's so tight.
A beautiful looking coffee machine here.
It's not dirty. So, why am I here?
Julene, Larry!
Come in the restaurant, please.
-How are you? -Hello, sir.
-Welcome to Amigo Cafe. -[Robert] Very nice to meet you.
So, it's a very small cafe, isn't it?
-[Julene] It's very small. -So, how long have you guys had this?
We've been here 22 years.
Okay, and what are the roles for each of you in the restaurant?
This is my restaurant.
-Larry is a silent partner. -I just retired from 28 years of banking.
-So, that was my day job. -Okay. Okay.
So, five years ago, what was your revenue?
I'm gonna say about 500K annually.
Before COVID, you were doing?
We went to probably $850,000 to $900,000.
-$900,000? For this amount of space? -Yeah. Yes.
What was your net revenue from $900,000?
We, uh, I don't know. I'm sorry. Um--
I really don't know the answer.
I would have to turn to my CPA for that.
But why? You should know that.
Somebody get me P&Ls please.
Are you a profitable company?
Yes, we are. I have to say we are.
You were wrong by $200,000.
Before COVID, you threw away $700,000 to make $733,000.
So, that means you were not profitable in '17,
even though you had some money left.
It's interesting. If I look at your labor, that is a...
almost a third of your revenue.
It is because we are busy.
-And, we-- -But you're not busy based on your numbers.
Our slowest month is December and January.
But if that's the case, why didn't you cut your staff then?
I can't, um...
There's people that depend on the income to feed their families
and we didn't wanna leave 'em hanging.
-So, you pay them. -Right.
[Julene] During COVID, I think we probably lost
all our savings, so at least $200,000.
So, what experience do you have running a restaurant before 22 years?
-No experience. No experience at all. -[Larry] None.
Do you live here?
-We used to live here. -We do not. We used to live here.
And we moved to Farmington, two hours from here,
-in New Mexico. I do. -So, you drive two hour--
-I do. I drive two hours here, two hours back. -Two hour and two hou--
Are you here every day?
So, I'm here maybe, two or three days a week.
[Robert] When you are not here,
who manages the restaurant, then?
Um, Billy does.
But this restaurant has taken its toll on my health
and I would like for Heather to
take over the restaurant because I really don't have anybody else.
Does she want to take it on?
I hope so.
But it has to stay in your family, correct?
No, we can sell the lease.
-[Robert] That would take-- -There are no buyers.
[Julene] Right. There are no buyers because it's hard to--
It's hard to live here. Living is hard here.
-On the reservation. -Buy something on the reservation.
Do you think she could do it if you give it to her?
I don't know. I think she needs more education than training.
[Robert] All right. Well, here's what I wanna do.
Uh, I wanna see a service.
I really don't do anything when I get here now, nowadays.
If you don't normally do anything,
then don't do anything.
-If you do, do what you normally do. -Okay.
-Thank you. -Thank you. Thank you.
[Robert] It's admirable that they're committed to their staff.
But we gotta find a way to make this restaurant profitable in the next
48 hours.
[Julene] You girls ready?
[Heather] I love you.
[laughs]
[Heather] Okay.
Hello! Ya'at'eeh! Come in.
[Heather] Just one moment. We'll be right with you.
-You're the daughter? Hello. -Yeah, I'm the daughter.
-[Robert] Who is the main person? -Um, Billy would be.
He's the main person.
-Hello. How many? -[woman] Hello. Two.
Two? Go ahead and sign in right here for us, please.
[Robert] Things are actually moving pretty seamlessly here.
Billy seems to be managing the place well and Heather is working hard.
[Heather] Three, number seven.
Are you guys ready over here?
I'll have a Navajo taco order.
Okay. I'll get this in for you.
[Robert] They're putting food out fast.
There's tacos, quesadillas.
But there's nothing cooked.
That's why it's so fast. It's all on a steam table ready to go.
And they seem to have a system down. They know what they're doing.
But there's nothing exciting about this menu at all. It's like, ugh, Blahs-ville.
-So, is this the frybread? -Um, yeah.
This is the Navajo taco. Thank you.
[woman] This is nontraditional Navajo frybread.
I would love to see that true representation of my people in the foods.
Who is this?
-Oh, this is Billy. The one by itself. -[cook] That's Billy.
[Robert] There's a lot of hustle to keep this place open,
but Julene has burned through all of her savings.
[Heather] Hey, Billy?
-[Billy] Yeah? -[Heather] You have two drinks up here.
[Billy] Okay, cool.
One, two, three, four.
[Robert] We need to make some changes
or these good people will be out of work.
Table for seven? Oh, my gosh.
[Robert] I'm on the Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Arizona at the Amigo Cafe,
where they're working hard, but not making any money.
Hey, guys. Thank you very much for coming.
I've seen everything I need to see.
And we'll see you tomorrow. Different menu.
-Hey, can I take your order? -You could.
All right. Let me do the chimichanga,
the enchilada plate,
the Navajo burger, the Navajo taco
and I would like you to make me a big latte, three shots.
-[Heather] Three shots? Extra hot. -[Robert] And extra hot.
See how good your coffee is.
-Here you go. -Grab a chair. Sit down.
Mmm. It's beautiful.
So, tell me about you.
Who is Heather?
I went to art school and then, I kinda just dropped out.
-Why? -And then, I had like a,
like a weird living situation where I had roommates and it,
-it got crazy. -Okay.
And like, and then I decided I just needed to get away from Santa Fe.
And then, I just kinda worked here temporarily,
trying to figure out what I'm gonna do.
-And, how old are you? -I am 20... 32.
And you're still trying to figure out what you wanna do.
-You love coffee. -Yeah.
That's a good cup of coffee.
-Thank you. -So, that was your idea to put the coffee machine in?
-It was my parents'. -Okay.
[Heather] But I used to work at a coffee shop in high school in Farmington.
-So, I took it and ran with it. -Mmm-hmm.
-So, you know that your mom wants you to take this over. -Yeah.
So, what are you afraid of?
I just feel like, running a business is scary.
And then, my mom, she's...
a good, strong woman and I admire her so much.
I hope I can live up to her expectations.
Why don't you feel you can live up to her expectations?
'Cause I feel like, she does so much and I try.
But if you ask her what those expectations are...
I, you know, I've never asked her.
Like, what she expects from me.
But, you think your mom does a good job?
Um--
I'm gonna tell you, based on the numbers, she doesn't.
[Heather laughs]
Right? You're making money,
but you break even. Basically, you don't make that much money.
At the end of the day, if you want this to stay in the family,
you've gotta step up and take that.
-I don't know if that's what you want. -Yeah.
But if it is, then you've gotta
really dig deep and find all those fearful things
and attack those fearful things head on.
Otherwise, that's just life. Right? It's got nothing to do with running a restaurant.
-Yeah. [laughs] -All right?
Don't be upset. We're here to help you.
[Heather] Okay. We have the combination plate.
The chimichanga, the enchilada plate with chicken.
And then, we have the Navajo burger.
And then, the Navajo taco.
-[Robert] Thank you. -Enjoy.
[Robert] The Navajo burger.
No taste in dough, no seasoning in it.
The burger,
it's a frozen burger, obviously.
This is the, uh, Navajo taco.
This could be a really great dish.
It reminds me of deep-pan pizza,
if the ground beef and the beans were really tasty, they're not.
Chimichanga. Love chimichanga.
Let's see if I love this one.
Um, the beef, a little tough. No seasoning.
And, um, I think there's a common theme
of no seasoning.
The tacos.
Taco meat, same as the chimichanga.
No seasoning, "eh" at best.
Best thing on this whole menu is the coffee.
Julene and Heather.
So, what do you think I think about all this?
[Julene] It's like fast food.
Throw things together and serve.
You're not impressed by our Mexican food.
I'm not impressed by it, any way, shape or form.
-This is not good product. -Okay.
It's 20 years old.
We've always thought about doing more Navajo dishes.
-Okay. I like the idea because I love the concept. -[Julene] Okay.
The possibilities are limitless.
Food is a feeling.
And the enchiladas have zero flavor.
Beans, nothing.
The chimichanga, zero flavor.
This is a really sweet, neat idea.
-Right. -But the execution is awful.
The bread is very greasy.
Then, I'm gonna flip the coin now and ask how much did it cost you to make that.
-I don't know. -[Robert] Did you ever cost the plate out?
I, I need to learn.
I mean, that's one thing
I want to improve on. Definitely.
-It's a b-- -End of day, I don't wanna know how to do that.
-Stuff like that just, like, goes over my head. -Okay, okay.
But if I teach you that, a week down the road,
you're gonna be doing that faster than your mom is.
[Julene] She will be.
It's not that difficult.
It's only difficult because you've not been shown.
That's the easy part for me.
It's the expectation piece
that I can't fix.
Right? It's, it's, only you two can fix that.
Tell your mom what you feel and be honest with her because we're gonna fix this.
Tell her what you just said. You fear you don't live up to her expectations.
No, she doesn't. Do you?
Um...
-[Robert] She fears you. -No, she doesn't. Do you?
-No, not-- -I love her.
Tell her what, no, um, tell your mom what you feel.
[Heather] Um...
-I fear I don't live up to your expectation. -No.
She is my creative side.
But this is what she feels, though.
-I'm not-- -Oh, oh, no, I'm sorry.
-[Heather sobs] -I never meant to make you feel that way.
That was not my intention.
I'm just kinda scared to take over the business.
'Cause like, especially, 'cause I feel like I'm not very book smart.
I don't know how you do it.
[Julene] I think, maybe a part of the problem is that, she's seen me
at the beginning, when I had no idea what I was doing
and how that was very stressful for me.
I'm not asking you on day zero
to be able to do everything.
But what I'm asking you to be open-minded enough
to listen and learn,
it's not that difficult.
But you have to get over yourself, in regards to...
There are no expectations of you
except you have to work hard.
-Yes. -All right.
I'm gonna check in with my design team
and walk through what I think I should do in this
based on my conversations with you guys.
-[Julene] All right. Thank you. -Okay. Thank you.
Being honest with my mom felt good and I think I didn't realize she didn't know.
And, sometimes, like, I think she knows,
but, like, not actually telling her.
And then, also the fact that Robert did bring some stress relief
when he told me that it takes time.
[Julene] I didn't realize that's how Heather felt.
It made me sad because...
[sighs]
When I was a youth,
I had to leave home.
And for years,
I was away from my family
and I never had that
one-on-one love from my parents.
Sorry.
But I don't want her that.
I've always thought that my children,
who are number one in my life.
And I think she felt like she had this huge weight on her shoulders.
And I guess we put it there.
-Jeez! Let's... we're a team. Oh, my God. [laughs] -Excuse me.
-Oh, right! -Oh, my God. I almost ran into that cactus there.
-Step on this side. -Look at this.
-[Robert] A little windstorm, huh? -[Taniya] Hello.
-[Taniya] Oh! -[Tom] A little?
So, welcome to Amigo Cafe.
I mean, it's not very big.
-[Taniya] Might be one of the smaller ones we've ever... -[Tom] It's really small.
-[Taniya] done. -[Robert] It's clean.
-[Taniya] Yeah. -What I don't like, tables.
Chairs, I kinda think they're very cool.
These banquet things, I hate them.
There's no space, obviously, to get in and out.
So, literally, this morning, there was four servers
trying to make coffee.
You know, very tight. But what I would love,
if it's at all possible...
[taps]
-Is to make this become... -[Taniya laughs]
-some kind of a counter that we can sit at. -Ah!
-[Robert] I like a coffee bar. -[Taniya] I love it.
Now, turquoise is the Navajo color.
-Okay. -Anything that you see outside, earth-wise,
is a great color.
-All right. -[Robert] All right. Any questions?
All right. Julene, Larry, let's get your staff in here, let's go.
All right. I want this emptied out into crates.
[Tom] Everybody, come in. Drop a box, grab a chair. Let's go.
[Robert] Billy, stand there. I'm gonna pass this over to you.
-Okay. -[Julene] Right now, they're taking everything out.
I mean, I'm very excited to see what can happen.
[Robert] Them boxes with stuff out, let's move them out.
[Heather] I'm excited to see the restaurant being emptied.
Usually, the design and stuff like this is usually me and it's stressful
and I'm like, yay, someone else is gonna do it. [laughs]
[Julene] Wowzers.
[Billy] All right. Everybody out. Everybody out.
[Robert] Take a look around you.
What're your thoughts right now?
I'm just wondering what, what's coming.
What can we do? What can we change?
Where do we move forward from here?
My husband and I worked on this together,
like, we painted the walls together, so...
it's exciting to see what a professional team can do.
You put all the work into it.
But you made no money, which is,
tantamount to being a charity.
Twenty years in the making, it took me literally about seven minutes to empty it.
What you should've done is made
at least a million dollars of net profit
-in this restaurant over 20 years. -Uh-huh.
Okay. Take one last look around.
-And uh, I will catch up with you in a bit, okay? -[Julene] Okay.
For right now, we have a, I mean, a tremendous
windstorm.
I can't do anything outside, I've gotta do all inside and just
the minute's that door's been open,
this place is covered in sand already.
That means this is never gonna be able to dry
with sand and grit so,
that's another challenge. But, hey. Here we go!
[Robert] Navajo reservation in Kayenta, Arizona,
at the Amigo Cafe,
where I'm trying to convince Heather
that she is capable of taking over her mother's restaurant.
Julene has been struggling to break even
and I'm gonna show them both how simple turning a profit can be.
We start with the recipe.
I am saying that this burger is costing me $2.25.
What am I selling it for?
I would say we need to up it first, a certain percentage that
what percentage, I don't know how to determine that, I don't know.
It's really simple one. if it cost you $2.25, what are you selling it for?
-$2.25 plus, hopefully. -Plus what?
Food, labor and overheads.
$2.25 times three.
-Oh, I see what you're saying. Okay. -One, two, three...
-Okay. -...gives me a selling price of what?
-$6.75. -$6.75.
$6.75 is the lowest selling price I can sell it for.
Why?
Heather.
Because you, you're ensured that you get
all that covered.
-Hallelujah! -The labor, food and over food.
[Heather] It was, like, eye-opening to see my mom struggle
and not know as much as I think she knows
and it made me realize, like, I can do this.
I'm gonna check in with my design team.
-I'll come back and give you homework in a second, okay? -Okay.
Hey, guys.
-Hey. -Hey, what's happening?
Well, I'm loving this.
Doesn't it feel like
-so much more open? Yeah. -Well, it looks open, first of all.
Pretty excited about this.
We're gonna take the existing banquets,
cut them down and put them up against the back wall to open up the space.
This wall that separates the kitchen from the main dining area,
we'll turn it into a countertop-height bar.
We'll have slatted wood up against the back wall
and over the top on the ceiling to create a canopy.
We're gonna do a giant, graffiti mural full of love.
We are gonna get rid of all the old tabletops,
reupholster and refinish these chairs
and last but not least,
throw over plastic ceiling fans with new ones, add some hanging plants
and this place is going to be everyone's best amigo.
Okay, I love it. I think we're going in the right direction.
I just really wanna see how that wall looks
when we got the banquet in and everything else.
Well, so, cutting down the banquets,
both Tom and I were looking at it and look at this.
We realized that this art was so cool and Heather's husband, Alan, painted them.
I think we should just cut it out
and frame them and put them up on the wall. It'll get rid of some of this brick look.
-It's a free logo for once. [laughs] -It's a free logo. [laughs]
-Crack on. -[laughs] Thanks, Robert.
-[Taniya] Cracking on. -[Tom] Crack on, yeah.
All right. So, I know today's been kinda long, but it's not finished yet.
I'm gonna give you both some homework.
First of all, for you, Heather.
-I want you to price out a cappuccino. -Okay.
Okay? I also want you to write down your biggest fears of taking over the restaurant.
I know that's a big deal for you.
-So, I really want you to spend some time on that. -Okay.
Julene, I would like you to write a letter to Heather
with your hopes and dreams for her for the future.
Then, I want you to write down how you propose
to empower Heather and boost her confidence.
Tomorrow is a very long day
'cause I've gotta make a menu with you.
-I want to highlight a traditional Navajo menu. -Okay.
-Right? 'Cause that's your heritage. -That is our heritage.
-And I think you should-- -She's the traditional and I'm the modern.
-Yeah, but I think that's really great because... -[laughs]
...it blends really well.
I think this is a million-dollar restaurant.
I do.
All right. Have a great day.
And I will see you, the rest of the day and I will see you tomorrow.
-Okay. Thank you. -Okay.
[Heather] Today was an emotional rollercoaster.
I was heartbroken to see my mom cry.
But it made me realize that we're getting somewhere
and writing down my fears would definitely help me overcome and be...
realize, pinpoint what exactly
I'm scared of.
[Robert] My team is working through the night
and when the sun rises on day two,
we're still battling the elements.
We can't even work outside. I can barely carry material in.
I don't know how we're gonna do it with this.
[Robert] We'll struggle on, but I'm anxious to see how Heather and Julene
got on with their homework.
-Good morning. -Good morning.
So, how did we sleep last night?
-We slept well. -I slept a little better.
A little better than what?
-Than yesterday. [laughs] -Okay.
So, let's talk about homework.
So, first thing I asked you to do was to cost out a cappuccino.
The cost of a cappuccino is 52 cents.
So, what do you sell that cappuccino for?
$3.70.
Okay.
-Was that difficult? Okay. -A little, at first. [laughs]
This is the same with everything you do in the kitchen.
This is so, so, so, so... and I can't say so enough,
important because if you know what it costs you
and you know what you're selling it for,
you know what you're making on it.
-Yeah. -Right?
[Robert] Brilliant point. Okay.
All right. So, I asked you also a list of fears you have in the restaurant.
I put
not being able to understand financial side of things, like taxes.
You don't have to worry about the sales tax.
That's what you have an accountant for.
-That's nice to know that. I think that's stressful. -Right?
Because it's the accountant's job, when you hand over that month of information,
they calculate all that.
The only three things you have to worry about
is food, labor, overheads.
Nothing else.
Okay.
All right. What else?
Not being respected or heard when I give direction
or confront employees about issues.
[Julene] And then, another thing I realized was that she is the youngest of my staff.
So, for her to be the big decision maker, can be really hard.
Look, when COVID happened, you took care of every one of those people,
which you didn't have to do.
So, they respect you.
But, now, they have to respect you in a different way.
And it's okay to make mistakes.
-Okay. -As long as you don't make them twice. Okay?
[exhales]
Okay, Julene, I asked you to set or write a letter.
[Julene] I did write a letter.
"Heather, we have known each other long
before I became your mother.
We chose to be together and share this journey here on Earth.
My hope for you is that you ta... [sniffs]
take on the role of ownership at Amigo Cafe.
I realize this is a big responsibility and requires a lot of hard work.
Just as we took baby steps when you were small,
we could start taking those steps forward until you run strong
to the finish line of ownership. [sniffs]
I believe in you.
[sniffs] That's my letter.
How does that make you feel?
I'm not so overwhelmed.
Now, you just have to believe in yourself
because if you believe in yourself, the rest is really easy.
The next thing I ask you, was what?
You asked me how I can empower Heather.
Definitely, first thing is giving her a title, making her the co-owner
and introducing her to the staff.
Would that empower you?
Or are you still scared?
You asked me how I can empower Heather.
Making her the co-owner and introducing her to the staff.
Would that empower you?
Or are you still scared...
-Um... No, I think it'll empower me. -...by that? Okay.
[Heather] She really does believe in me and I am so excited to take on,
like, new responsibilities. I think I do feel a lot more empowered.
[Julene] Uh, I like the idea of just,
you know, handing her the mantle, so to speak
and having her start running with it and I want...
Definitely will be there to support her.
All right. I'm gonna check with my design team.
You'll meet me in the kitchen shortly.
I'm gonna go through the new menu items with you.
But let your staff know about your transition from server to owner.
-Okay? I'll catch up with you shortly. -Yes.
-Thanks. -[laughs] Thank you.
[Julene] Hey, guys, um,
let's do a quick meeting, just wanted to talk to you guys about something
and I've been complaining about how much I drive and I'm getting
tired and my health has really affected me.
So, I wanna introduce Heather as our new co-owner of Amigo Cafe.
-[all clapping] -Let's go! Woo-hoo!
We got this, guys.
We're a hardworking team and I respect every one of you guys.
I'm here for you. For all of you.
Your family, you've done so much for me and for all of us here.
I appreciate you guys. You guys give me the confidence.
I'll back you up.
Are you guys ready to go cook and show, like,
our new customers what we got?
-I'm excited. -[all cheering]
I was very nervous
to have my mom introduce me as a co-owner.
It really showed who I was and what my role was here.
And I'm excited that I have the team,
who, not only, like, respect me but love me
and are excited to see me grow.
[woman] Congratulations!
Morning, guys.
-[Taniya] Hi. -[Tom] Hey. Morning, Robert.
Hey!
You wanted a space that had energy, that spoke to the nation,
community, love.
-[Taniya] Think we're hitting the nail on the head. -[Robert] Yeah.
The booths, wow.
I mean, hey, you cut them down.
And we saved the artwork from the back of them
-like I talked about. Look at the host stand. -Take a peak over there.
[Robert] Oh, yeah. I like that.
All right. I'm gonna do the menu redo with the family, show them new dishes.
-So, I'll catch you in a bit. -Okay. Right. Thanks, Robert.
So, I'm gonna show you three dishes that I truly believe will transform
-this restaurant into a destination restaurant. -Okay.
So, you say you made me the green chili enchilada.
-[Heather] Yes. -[Robert] Very boring.
So, we're gonna start with a Three Sisters Burrito.
-Ooh, Three Sisters Burrito. -Okay.
We start with corn, beans, peppers,
some roasted butternut squash and sweet potato.
Poblanos in there and these are all earthy vegetables, right?
Why do we call it Three Sister, do you know?
The Three Sister rock in Monument Valley.
-Right. -I'm excited.
[Robert] Beautiful flour tortilla.
Pepper Jack cheese.
This is the fun part.
Gonna start with some wild rice.
Mole sauce.
A little lime crema.
Little pickled onion.
Green onions.
Three Sisters Burrito.
Go for it.
Can't wait to eat it.
-Mmm. -Oh, my gosh. This is so good.
[Julene] I love the sauces and the lime, you know,
it just has a little bit of every taste.
[Robert] Cost me $2.47 to make.
We're selling it for $12.00,
giving me a 21% food cost.
-[Heather] Oh, my gosh! -[Julene] Wow!
It's not like anything around here.
Okay, so the next thing I wanna make you is,
again, going back to Navajo.
-Okay. -I'm gonna make a mutton tostado.
-Oh, I love mutton. -Mutton takes a long time to cook.
[Robert] This was braised for about seven hours.
-The longer it sits, the better it is. -Right.
[Robert] We got braised mutton.
-Little queso fresco. -Ooh!
Some tomatoes that I'm not warming up.
I want them cold.
Little chipotle aioli.
Gonna take a little bit of scallion again.
Some cilantro leaves.
And then, acid because it helps the mutton digest.
Okay, Mutton Tostado.
Break into it.
Oh, my goodness.
-Oh. Super tender. -Oh, my gosh.
[Julene] That meat is amazing.
I love the crunchiness of the tostado at the bottom.
[Robert] For the whole plate, $3.54, we sell it for $11.
-[Julene] Really? -[Robert] We put $7.46 in our pocket.
[Julene] Wow. I can't believe that.
[Heather] Oh, my gosh.
[Heather] That's a lot of food, too.
It is a big portion.
All right. The last one.
-You know, you say I described your Navajo taco as, "uh." -[Julene] "Uh."
-[laughs] I remember. -[Robert] And it could've been a really great dish.
It just wasn't given love.
There was no taste to it.
So, what we did, we took the regular flour
and I added blue cornmeal. So, look at the color of this.
Oh, it's pretty.
-Blue corn is a traditional Navajo food. -[Julene and Heather] It is.
[Robert] We have an opportunity to take something that is native
and make something really special with it.
So, look, I'm gonna take some shrimp
salt and pepper,
add pepper, you say you don't use pepper.
-Nobody uses spices enough. -[all chuckling]
[Robert] We take a little bit of butter
'cause that's gonna give me a lot of sweetness in the shrimp.
Nobody else has this, right? This is scallion parsley butter.
Pico de gallo.
My shrimp.
Some radish.
So, we have arugula with cilantro dressing.
It has that salt and pepper in it.
-Oh, salt and pepper! There's something new. Flavor. -[Heather and Julene laugh]
Oh, my gosh. It looks so good.
[Robert] All right. Your Navajo taco.
-Go for it. -Okay.
-That's so good. -[laughs]
-[Heather laughs] -[Robert] Look at your smile. My God.
-It's so good. -[Robert] That's Navajo food, right there.
-It's really good. -[Robert] Modern ways.
Food cost, $4.14.
We sell is for $14.
-$9.86 in your pocket every time you sell one of these. -Oh, my gosh.
[Robert] This is gonna make you stand out from every place
on the Navajo reservation.
-This is amazing. -All right. I'm gonna check in with my design team.
And I will catch up with you shortly.
Today's a great day.
Now, the rest is up to you.
-[Julene] Yep. -[Heather] Oh, this place is gonna be unique.
I'm excited for people to try it.
I'm so excited for you. I know this will put you right over the edge
and I think this is super cool.
[drilling]
So, here it is. It's five o'clock in the afternoon of opening day.
We still don't have a counter.
When the counter comes in, we have to poly it.
Well, because we can't poly outside because of the wind and the sand.
The kitchen has got about an inch-and-a-half of sand blowing in the door
which I cannot stop.
Is this impossible? Yes.
Literally, the word impossible.
Uh, we need a squeegee mopping on all this through here, right.
I have the staff trying the food,
so they can really sell it tonight.
That tastes really, really delicious.
[Robert] And even with all the wind,
we are finally putting the last minute touches on the restaurant.
Help him carry it out. Don't hit the walls, please.
All right. Everybody out. That's it. Enough.
We're finally ready to give this brand-new restaurant back to Julene, Larry
and Heather. I hope they love it. I do.
[Julene] I've seen a big change in Heather,
just in the last 24 hours.
She opened up to us and I saw Heather in a different light.
I understood her fears a little more and I thought, you know,
we can do this together.
[Heather] I was just at a standstill
and just kind of, showing up to work.
But now, I'm like, oh, this a whole new challenge and I just need to
take it step-by-step.
Like, literally just so excited.
It's that time.
All right, guys. Follow me for a second.
You're gonna close your eyes. I'm gonna walk you in.
-And, I'm gonna move you to a place. -[Larry] Okay.
Keep your eyes tightly closed. Mom, come one step back.
There you go.
Are you ready to see the new Amigo Cafe?
I'm excited.
-Yes, we are. -Yes.
Open your eyes.
Oh, my gosh.
Are you ready to see the new Amigo Cafe?
I'm excited.
-Yes, we are. -Yes.
Open your eyes.
-Oh, my gosh! -Oh!
Look at this.
Oh, it's so beautiful.
It is amazing.
Oh, God!
Oh, wow!
[Heather] Now, it feels like a real, like,
professional restaurant.
[Julene] Everything is so beautiful.
-You okay? -I'm fine. I'm just so grateful. So grateful.
[Robert] Come here. I wanna show you something.
Everything your husband painted on the back of your banquets,
which are still here.
You now have the cash registers and the host stand.
[Heather] Oh, my God. That is so cool.
[Robert] Brand-new tables.
You have a brand-new coffee bar.
[Heather] Oh, my gosh! This is so...
[sighs] Oh, my God!
[Robert] Come on in, guys.
-Hi! Oh! -Oh, so beautiful. Thank you so much.
-[Tom] I knew you would love it. -[Julene laughs]
-[Larry] Looks amazing. -I mean, this is a brand-new restaurant.
I can't figure how
open it is and how much,
much bigger it looks. It's the same size building, but it doesn't...
-It's so open. -It's bigger.
I was proud before, but now, I'm like...
like whole different level of proudness.
Good, 'cause you're a co-owner now.
[Heather and Julene laugh]
[Robert] There's a lot of people waiting outside.
You ready to let them in?
-[Heather] Yeah. -[Robert] Off you go.
-Hi, guys! -Hey, guys.
-Welcome to Amigo Cafe! -Welcome to Amigo Cafe.
Come on in and enjoy.
[Julene] So, what do you guys think?
[woman] It's amazing. It's what we call a Navajo Nizhoni, which is beautiful.
It's like, it feels like home.
Thank you. Thank you for your support. I really appreciate it.
[Heather] How're you guys doing today?
Uh, sorry, I'm a little emotional.
[Robert] All right. Quick as we can. We need food orders as quick as we can, guys.
[female chef] Where's my salt and pepper?
[Robert] This transformation isn't complete until I see Heather running the show...
Hi, guys. I'm sorry about the issue. Let me know if there's anything else
I can get for you guys. I will take care of you.
[Robert] ...with support from Julene...
I'm so proud of you. This is your element.
This is what I do.
-I love you. -I love you, too.
[Robert] ...and the customers connecting with the traditional
Navajo flavors.
[customer 1] This is wonderful. This is really good.
It's really nice that they incorporated more Navajo flavors.
[customer 2] I would've never had thought that
frybread and shrimp would've gone together.
But it's amazing.
[customer 3] Three Sisters is nothing like I've had before.
Something that I would come back for.
Heather is very enthused. I never thought I'd hear those words come out of her mouth.
"I'm gonna be here. This is my place." She's so proud.
This is so cool. It's so beautiful.
It's a place that I'm proud to take over.
Well, I gotta say, the restaurant looks amazing, the food looks amazing.
The guests seem to be having fun.
I'm gonna join my guys.
That's it. Great food. How we doing, guys?
-Very good. -Very good.
I was coughing up blood. It came up to Congestive Heart Failure. It was hard.
-Sit down and catch your breath, okay? -Okay.
He had a full lung removal.
And, it's just one thing after other. Ahhh!
He's stuck and I have to be stuck with him.
I wanna be strong for her, but I can't right now.
I can't take over the heath problem back,
but the way you live your life, you can change that.
Come on, come on. We gotta move.
[man] The only way to get out is to go through.
[Robert] It takes communication.
-[Robert] Ready to do this? -[woman] Yes.