The Capri - Kitchen Nightmares Update - Open or Closed?

Capri Kitchen Nightmares

In this Kitchen Nightmares episode, Gordon Ramsay visits Capri in Eagle Rock in Los Angeles, California.

The Capri is a restaurant run by identical twins Jim and Jeff Thiel.

They bought the restaurant as they were regular customers and liked the idea of free pizza.

Server Mia calls them overgrown boys and the staff say they are immature and cannot cook.

They entertain the guests but are so lazy that they do as little work as possible and they sleep in their car during service.

Gordon arrives and isn't impressed with the exterior of the restaurant and he thinks that the interior is too dark.

He is greeted by Jeff who tells him that the restaurant is closed during the day and only opens at 4 o’clock in the evening for their dinner service.

Gordon asks Jeff to call in Jim and on meeting Jim, he thinks they are messing with him.

He is confused until the twins come out together and Gordon sees how identical they really are.

Jim says he is in charge as he had worked in the restaurant longer than his brother Jeff.

Gordon then asks to order some food for lunch.

Jim says the Capri never open for lunch as he would rather be relax by watching TV or playing poker or sit in the sun.

He thinks in order to open for lunch they would need to hire more staff.

Gordon asks if they’ve tried serving lunch but Jim says they never have opened as they aren’t ready.

The twins also admit that they are only open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday.

Gordon sits down to order and is appalled by the dirty menu that is falling apart and hard to read.

He is greeted by server Colleen, who has worked in the restaurant for nine and a half years.

She says the restaurant wallpaper hasn’t been changed for the past 35 years.

The decor is exactly the same as when the previous owners owned the restaurant.

Gordon orders a meatball sandwich which Colleen states that they order in from another company.

Gordon also orders for Chicken Scarpello and the Capri’s Colossal Pizza.

While waiting to be served, Gordon inspects the dining room and is shocked at how dirty and run down it is with taped carpet and sauce-stained booths.

He calls Jim to ask for who was responsible for the state of the dining room.

Jim says he is responsible for cleaning the restaurant but admits he hates it and hasn’t cleaned the restaurant in a long time.

The meatballs are bought in and microwaved to reheat and the pizza has a lot of gunk on it and is falling apart.

The chicken Scarpello is dull and smells off and Jim is unable to tell him exactly how old the frozen chicken is.

Gordon notices bits of gum stuck underneath the table and Colleen tells him that underneath the tables have never been cleaned before.

He counts up to 20 pieces of gum that is stuck underneath every table in the dining room.

Gordon tells the twins to clean up the restaurant before the dinner service.

After the cleaning was done, guests begin to come in for dinner and Gordon arrives to watch the dinner service.

Gordon inspects the kitchen and finds it to be dirty with equipment that is covered in grime.

In the walk in, there are rotten vegetables, precooked dishes and a warmt sauce in the fridge that would have been dangerous to serve.

They throw away the rotten vegetables and the orders begin pouring in.

Jim and Jeff get back to cooking and begin to send food out of the kitchen but the diners are less than impressed.

Lots of dishes get returned to the kitchen and there is a lot more sobbing from Jeff.

Thanks to Gordon’s encouragement, Jeff jumps back into dinner service and tries to help Jim, get the kitchen back on track.

Unfortunately makes the matters worse as Gordon discovers that the chicken isn't being safely defrosted and he tells Jim to take it off the menu.

Instead he announces the lack of chicken directly to the customers in the dining room and many of the diners walk out.

Soon, Jim and Gordon get in an argument and pizza cook Darian reveals that they are childish and will cry whenever things don’t go their way.

The remaining customers complain as they had to wait hours before they were served and get frustrated and leave.

Gordon brands the service lazy and tells Jim and Jeff to clean their kitchen alone.

After the twins spend most of the night cleaning, Gordon arrives early and opens the restaurant for lunch and with help from Colleen and Darian.

They serve customers from a new lunch menu and they love the new food.

Jim and Jeff arrive to a full dining room and Gordon had introduces their new lunch menu and they sit down to sample it.

He tells the twins that they made $300 from the service and the twins realise it would boost revenue to open every day at lunch.

Gordon takes the twins to a boxing ring to allow them to get out their frustrations about the restaurant and to let go of the past.

They box each other, let out their annoyances and promise better communication moving forward.

Satisfied that the twins are ready to make some changes Gordon introduces a new menu.

Gordon teaches them to make homemade meatballs and Jim goes out to the street to shout about their meatballs.

Gordon and his team worked overnight to give the restaurant a long overdue revamp and it is one of the biggest makeovers in the show’s history.

The next morning, Gordon reveals the newly designed restaurant to the owners and staff.

He also reveals the new menu to the staff.

Colleen says the restaurant is the coolest place in Eagle Rock now.

Jim was shocked at the new look and Jeff called it a second chance at life.

On relaunch night, the restaurant is packed, Jim is in the kitchen expediting and the food quickly makes its way out the kitchen.

Jim gets nervous but manages to send out dishes from the pass.

Some dishes go out too quickly and are sent out cold.

An hour into service the kitchen starts to fall behind and customers are frustrated.

Gordon takes them outside for a pep talk, the kitchen turns it around and the customers love the new food when they receive it.

After the successful night’s service, Gordon speaks with the twins one more time and they tell him that they are grateful for the help.



What Happened Next at The Capri?

Gordon revisits in a Kitchen Nightmares revisited episode and they are open for lunch.

Jeff controls the front of house and Jim is in the kitchen.

Gordon sits down for lunch with the twins and feels under the tables for gum.

They report that business is up 20% and Gordon says his pizza is delicious.

Gordon has a surprise for them both, it is a certificate of appreciation for their meatballs from the local Chamber of Commerce.

Eight months after the show aired, the twins reported to the local press that business had increased by 20%.

They have kept Gordon's menu and are using their staff better.

Both the Yelp reviews are mostly positive after the show, the meatballs and pizza are mostly well received and customers love the twins.

Trip Advisor reviews are fewer in number but are also mostly positive.

The Capri closed in September 2019 due to health issues and declining sales.

The twins posted on Facebook "The end of an era Thank you all We will miss you!!!"

Capri was aired on May 06 2011, the episode was filmed in January 2011 and is Kitchen Nightmares season 4 episode 10.


Read About More Kitchen Nightmares

Previous episode - La Frite

Next episode - Zeke's


This post was last updated in March 2023.

28 comments:

  1. Of all the KN restaurants, I was able to eat at this restaurant. While the food was decent (pizza was good but not the best I've had) and the service was all right, they seem to be doing fine. As I read, the Kingston Cafe across town closed recently, which was surprising since it has been there even before Old Pasadena opened.

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  2. Holy macro. When I saw the beginning of the episode, it was the first time I'd expect the restaurant to be closed and went to clarify it here. And it stuns me to find out they're open - in a good way. Amazing.

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    1. I think "mackerel" might be the word you're looking for ;)

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  3. Out of all KN this was my favorite episode, I loved these guys, they where funny, you can tell they have a good heart and out of all the owners I wish them the most sucess.

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    1. I completly agree with you there I felt so sorry for the owners, specially when Jim was crying while cleaning the kitchen, this is one restaurant id love to visit from the UK

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    2. Yes. I also agree, I felt that they reminded me of very lovable shire folk and I could see they melted Nodrog's icy heart. Long live Jim and Jeff and God Bless.

      Hmmm. Quite endearing. A pleasant episode and I shall watch it again sometime.

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    3. I'm watching the episode as I write this (May, 20 2015) and since I'm planning a trip to So-Cal (Disneyland rocks!) I'm going to have to find out how far the restaurant is from Disney. After all, you can't go without seeing Tweedle-Dee & Tweedle-Dum. That was the first thing that popped into my head when I first saw this episode. And apparently they are actors. Where were they when Tim Burton remade Alice? Loved the movie and these two would have been better than CG characters. I am happy to know that they are open, they seem like decent guys unlike most of the arrogant toerags they get on the show. Loved the boxing match, too!

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  4. This was one of the most special episodes and it is really surprising they have managed to keep the restaurant open...

    I wish most success to them.

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  5. This was one of the best episodes I've see of Kitchen Nightmares! I was honestly thinking they would go back to their old ways (like most do in past episodes of KN) but I am shocked and words can't describe how glad and happy they really took Gordon's advice and are continuing their success!! Proud of these men and hope their success continues on for a very long time! One of the best turn arounds I've seen in Kitchen Nightmares!! Hope we will see them for a 3rd time in a future episode of Kitchen Nightmares!! :-)

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  6. I ate there with my family last weekend. The food is good and the twins are cool. And their happy Hour has an $8 pitcher of beer and one dollar meatball sliders!

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  7. Interesting (in a good way) owners, good episode. Although they seemed difficult at first, he was able to reach them and get them to see that they would only be helping themselves by taking his advice to heart, and they seemed like decent guys who really cared about each other and about their business.

    When Gordon was scraping dirt off the stained-glass pendants I wanted to reach into the screen and grab that one bluish-green one with the opalescent finish... it was gorgeous, dusty or not!

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    1. Yea me too, some of those fixtures were beautiful, but you just know they were unceremoniously tossed in the trash in favour of those ugly stainless steel mixing bowl things.

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  8. This was one of my all time favorite episodes and one of his most successful turnarounds too. Not only are they still open and doing well, the Yelp on this restaurant is quite impressive. Infact Jeff is pretty active in responding to the Yelpers (not only the positive ones but the negative ones as well, he takes the feedback like a champ). I am definitely planning on visiting this place next time I'm in the greater LA area.

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  9. Great episode and glad to see two brothers that cared for each other and wanted to turn their lives and business around completely. Cheers!

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  10. I love seeing people open their eyes and willing to change and run with the opportunity when they see it! And people who care!!!! This is a great show and I'm happy to see this one still open!!!

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    1. This is a rare episode that I'm rewatching. I usually don't bother seeing they are still open or closed, but I'm happy to see that they are able to keep open in a sustainable rhythm. I certainly wish them the best!

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  12. Having eaten there, I have to say their pizza is really good. Their style of pizza isn't for everyone, however. The crust is thinner than most American pizzas ala real Italian pizza and had a little more salt than normal, but I still liked it. I also had one of their amazing appetizers, I only wish I had the chance to try more.

    I managed to speak with them since it was during a slow lunch, and they said they're doing fine, but not great. They're being slightly pressured to open a second location while trying to do things to bring in business like a wine tasting/comedy night. They want to hold off on that though, because they're worried if they open a second location, they'll totally sink.

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  13. Best episode of the us version. These are guys you actually want to see succeed because they appeared grateful and took the advice to heart. This is the bright spot of the series.

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  14. This episode made me retch. The gum under the tables, the filthy restaurant, the nasty food and kitchen, and the sweaty twins who served garbage. Truly disgusting. And I do mean I actually gagged whr they were cleaning that gum -- I had to look away. I would never subject myself to that place -- I don't trust the owners not to serve rotten food in dirty conditions.

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  15. Just watched the revisit since watching the original, very happy to see them doing well i love these guys im from australia i'd go there just to see their cheery faces, i really hope they keep their standards and become the main popular place to eat. Well done!

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  16. OMG, if he cried ONE MORE TIME!!!! It's not BAD for anyone to cry, at all. But get Jeff together with the crying sister from Yanni's, they'll flood us out!

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  17. So surprised to see them open! good luck!

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  18. It's always nice when a restaurant on Kitchen Nightmares succeeds, but I'm especially happy that Capri is still open! The twins seem like fantastic guys, and I'm glad they took Gordon Ramsay's advice; a lot of people don't do that, which is part of the reason so many restaurants on this show fail. The twins just needed a boot in the rear to get them going. It also helps that they have very good staff; often times, I've seen bad staff that are just as bad, if not worse than the owner(s).

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  19. After seeing one of the twins tasting food from a pot with his bare fingers, I'd never eat there. The restaurant still looks nasty to me.

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  20. It's 2018 now and I just saw this episode for the first time, I'm on a KN binge. Love the screaming and dramatics with Ramsey and owners, but not with these guys. I think the twins got to him too. It's the least I've heard Gordon use his favorite F#*@ word. First show that has brought tears to my eyes. Hope they still open!!!

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  21. Really glad to see this one still open with mostly good reviews. You could tell Gordon genuinely wanted to sort the issues out for these two and who wouldn't..?

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  22. Sad this closed, I hadn't had the chance to eat there but it seemed amazing from all the reviews.

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