“Restaurant Stakeout” Coming to Food Network
Television is a heartless bitch.
Late last year Food Network ran a pilot for a show called Mystery Diners which was produced by T Group Productions. On MD, struggling restauranteurs called in experts to set up hidden cameras to help them curb pilferage. The stings were conducted by the staff at BES (Business Evaluation Services) who are headquartered in Arroyo Grande, CA. BES provides full-service secret shopper evaluation designed for businesses by a network of professionals.
I loved the concept. Just knowing that you might be exposed as a thief on national television would surely put a dent in the rampant pilferage of today’s restaurant employees and their “Occupy Wall Street” sense of entitlement. I even chatted with some of the crew at T Group about whether the show would be picked up or not. They were hopeful.
Well, Food Network has green lighted the concept. . . only with a different production company, a different team setting up the stings, a different title, a different city and a different host.
RelativityREAL’s Restaurant Stakeout premieres March 14th on Food Network. It’s pretty much the same premise as Mystery Diners with a geographical shift from Disneyesque SoCal to the gritty streets of New York. That’s where we find Willie Degel owner of Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse (a NYC chain with a slightly above-average reputation – 3.5 stars from Yelp and Menu Pages, 77% “like it” from UbranSpoon) dishing out tough love Soprano’s-style. Degal is the self-proclaimed “toughest steakhouse boss” in New York who uses hidden cameras to help problematic eateries trim the fat. Check out this trailer he did for as-yet un-aired reality series for TruTV:
I know what you’re thinking, this guy’s a d-bag. Well, it’s that kind of confrontational, in-your-face approach that the d-bags who steal from their employers understand and it also brings in ratings.
So how does it stack up against Mystery Diners? We’ll just have to wait until March 14th to find out. However, this is the same production company behind The Great Food Truck Race, a show that has serious integrity issues. Perhaps that is why they chose the name RelativityREAL. For more information on Restaurant Stakeout read these articles, one from the New York Post and the other from Tulsa World. The series will air at 9 p.m. Wednesdays on the Food Network.
Milk Street Cafe Closes After Just 6 Months. Thanks, OWS.
I know there are good people who are members of the Occupy movement. I know that they have legitimate grievances, many of which I agree with. Unfortunately they are in an extreme minority. I’d say they make up no more than 1% of the Occupy crowd. The other 99% are a bunch of thugs and vagabonds.
In June of this summer Marc Epstein opened a small business called Milk Street Cafe, a 23,000 square-foot eatery located at 40 Wall Street. The cafe created 91 new jobs. Then the Occupy Wall Street riots started.
You remember OWS, right? They claimed to be crusading on behalf of equality, social justice and the rights of a fictitious 99%. Customers have been unable to get to the cafe because of the riots therefore this Thursday Epstein is closing the doors for good at Milk Street Cafe. There is only one group at fault for this. It isn’t the bankers, it isn’t the government and it damned sure it isn’t Epstein’s fault. Nope, the sole cause for this business failing was the Occupiers. Period. Their actions alone caused this. No amount of rationalization can change that.
Well, this gaggle of d-bags have closed down a promising small business. Epstein is not the CEO of a mega-billion dollar corporation like Darden Restaurants. Darden is the parent company of such affronts to the culinary world as Olive Garden and Red Lobster. Darden actually fits the popular idea of an evil corporation. No Epstein is a small businessman from Boston who had a simple dream of opening a cafe in the greatest city in the world. But now that dream has been squashed by a bunch of brats whining about free iPads.
I feel sorry for Epstein and his employees. They did nothing to deserve this and the Occupy people feel no remorse because the only thing that matters to them is taking from others. “Everyone has to understand the consequences of their actions,” Epstein said. “I have 90 plus people who put their faith in me. I feel horrible.”
It wasn’t your fault, Mr. Epstein. The blame rests solely with the childish antics of elitists who think the world owes them a living. Perhaps the city of New York shares in the blame for not quelling the riots months ago but it is hard to fault someone for wanting to avoid bloodshed.
I also feel sorry for the handful of good, well-meaning members of the Occupy movement who had their cause highjacked by a bunch of trust fund babies who are upset that they weren’t just handed a six-digit salary and three-story home in the burbs just for being born.
