In this Restaurant Impossible episode, Robert Irvine visits Burnt Offerings in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Burnt Offerings is owned by Alexandra Emtsova.
She opened the restaurant just 15 months ago.
Alexandra is already in half a million dollars of debt.
The restaurant hasn’t made any money since they’ve opened.
Burnt Offerings is a kosher restaurant so they must follow very strict dietary guidelines.
Their cost of preparation is more expensive than that of a regular restaurant.
Alexandra was born and raised in Russia.
She was very ambitious and felt that the United States would be the perfect place to open a business.
Eventually, she got her master’s degree and became a successful business woman.
She found it difficult to find kosher restaurants in the area.
The Jewish community was growing rapidly, which gave her the idea to open up a kosher restaurant.
She signed the lease in January of 2019.
When they first opened, they got a lot of positive feedback.
However, she didn’t have the money to cover payroll.
The business has declined since opening.
They are losing between $15,000 to $20,000 every month.
Alexandra blew through her savings and maxed out all of her credit cards.
Robert arrives at the restaurant and isn’t impressed.
The tables are chipped and the bases of the tables are gross.
The restaurant is cluttered and there is a lot of junk.
Robert calls Alexandra to the front of the house.
Alexandra reveals that she has no experience in the restaurant industry.
She tells him that they lost $280,000 in their first year.
Alexandra has two members of staff who check everything that comes into the restaurant for bugs.
Robert tells her the kosher theme may not work out in this area.
She tells Robert that she will not give up serving kosher food.
Robert says he wants to see the service to discover the problems at the restaurant.
The restaurant can only seat at 25% capacity due to state restrictions.
During the service, the staff are just standing around.
The general manager isn’t doing anything.
The head chef is also standing around waiting for orders to come in.
The menu is overpriced, a salad is $27.
The kitchen staff spend so much time making sure there are no bugs on the produce.
Robert tries a few items from the menu.
The wings taste old and the brisket tastes like stale, old dog meat.
The rib eye chop is $123 and has no flavor.
Robert tells Alexandra that the food is abysmal for the prices she is charging.
He says this is why she is failing.
Alexandra says it hurts her pride and feelings to hear what Robert thinks of the food.
Robert meets with his design team, Luke and Tom to discuss the design concept.
The staff begins taking everything out of the restaurant.
Robert uncovers that food and labor costs are sky high.
Robert talks to Alexandra about the high costs.
In payroll costs, she spent $203,000.
Robert tells her she can’t have that many staff members.
Robert tells her she has some soul searching to do.
She spent $100,000 on food but only made $236,000.
Robert gives her homework for that evening.
She must come up with a marketing plan.
He says that they have to cater to more than just kosher diners.
She also has to find where she can cut $50,000 of costs.
Robert asks her why she’s so committed to this even though she is failing.
Robert says that at some point, you have a choice to make.
The next day, Robert sits down with Alexandra.
She decided not to let anyone go but will cut everyone’s hours.
Alexandra will also stop making everything from scratch to save on labor costs.
She has decided to use social media to help market the restaurant.
Robert asks her to make a family order of wings.
Robert tells Alexandra that the order of wings has an 80% food cost.
The broccoli costs $8 to make sure its kosher but a pound of broccoli only costs $1.
Alexandra says that this is eye opening for her.
She is on board with cutting the food costs.
Robert wants to help Alexandra become the leader she should be.
He asks her to tell the staff important information but she hesitates.
She tells them that if they aren’t ok with the changes, then they will have to leave.
Robert has brought Alexandra out of her comfort zone.
Robert shows Alexandra recipes he believes will sell well.
These recipes won’t emphasize that they are kosher.
They will be kosher but that won’t be the main thing about them.
These recipes are low cost but are still kosher.
Robert meets with social media influencers to help rebrand the restaurant.
They begin putting the finishing touches on the restaurant.
Robert shows Alexandra her new restaurant.
Alexandra says it is so much better than she expected.
She especially loves the new lighting.
Alexandra says it’s warm and inviting.
She invites the customers into her new restaurant.
On relaunch, the customers love the changes.
They love the new food and the new decor.
The restaurant has a completely new feel.
Robert is watching survelience footage to allow more customers inside due to the restrictions.
Alexandra is doing exactly what Robert asked for.
She says thank you to Robert before he leaves.
What Happened Next at Burnt Offerings?
Two months later, the restaurant has seen a 30% increase in sales.
Using social media, Alexandra has broadened her customer base beyond the Jewish community.
Food and labor costs have been lowered.
The chicken wings have been removed from the dinner menu.
Burnt Offerings is open.
Reviews after the show are very positive with customers praising the cosy atmosphere, great food and customer service.
Burnt Offerings was Restaurant Impossible season 18 episode 11 and aired on 13th May 2021.
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