Edgar’s Restaurant Update: Eatery Featured Again on ‘Restaurant Impossible’

Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible and Chef Robert Irvine and  a small socially distanced crew travel back to Edgar’s Restaurant in Akron, Ohio to help the restaurant reopen after the COVID-19 shutdown.

The restaurant was first featured for the second episode of season 16, which aired in January 2020. During that episode, Irvine found that the owner was less than honest to him and discovered that he would have more problems than usual to fix in the two days they were allotted to fix the restaurant.

The new episode comes as part of a new spin-off series from the usual Restaurant: Impossible titled Restaurant: Impossible: Back in Business. The spin-off replaces the original show for the time being since production was originally canceled in the early spring due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the new episodes, Irvine helps owners rebuild and restructure restaurants with new cleaning and sanitizing protocols in place.

“You know, we normally have a big crew production, anywhere from 50 to 100 people,” Irvine said in the premiere episode. “And yet, here we are with 12 people… They’re doing double duty to make this happen. But guess why we do it: We care about our Restaurant Impossible family.”

Read on to learn more about Edgar’s Restaurant on Restaurant Impossible. 

The Gillespie Family Kept the Restaurant Going During the COVID-19 Shutdown

A new episode of #RestaurantImpossible: Back in Business starts @ 9|8c tonight! But before then, catch up on some of @RobertIrvine‘s best-ever missions by watching past full episodes right here: https://t.co/RahtHR4WWL. pic.twitter.com/Np9iBCThwY

— Food Network (@FoodNetwork) August 27, 2020

Glenn Gillespie told the Beacon Journal that he and his wife Albertha as well as their children, Kamalenn and Marcus were basically the only workers left at the restaurant when they had to close for dine-in customers in March.

They said that this time on the show, Irvine helped them make the patio of the restaurant more appealing. The outdoor dining at the restaurant has become more popular during the pandemic, and the changes to the patio include new tables topped with red umbrellas as well as new seat pads.

The restaurant has also added an online ordering system amid the pandemic, and Irvine was happy to hear that.

Edgar’s Restaurant Has Mostly Positive Reviews Since the Update

Across review platforms Google, Yelp and Facebook, Edgar’s restaurant has positive reviews, and many of the recent reviews mention great service and the new patio area.

On Google, Edgar’s restaurant has a 4.2 out of 5-star rating based on 388 reviews. The most recent review at the time of writing was written in August 2020 and was a 5-star review, citing the shrimp and crab stuffed catfish as the reason for the rating.

“I had written a review a couple months ago as our meals weren’t very good,” another user wrote. “This time the meals were amazing! The staff and owners all came over to check on us and we felt very well cared for. It was such a beautiful night and to sit outside and relax while enjoying an amazing meal was perfect!”

On Yelp, the restaurant has a 5-star rating based on 81 reviews.

“Had seen a couple reviews that mentioned poor service at Edgars’s, but we did not experience that,” one reviewer wrote. “Had very good service and a wonderful meal as well. I particularly enjoyed chef Glenn’s gumbo, it is fantastic! I wish it was on the menu all the time rather than only an occasional special.”

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