Every restaurant owner wants to have their business featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and
Dives," don't they? Well, no. Keep watching to find out why you might want to steer clear
of Flavortown.
Many fans will attest to the fact that Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives can be really fun to watch.
Chef Guy Fieri visits different food establishments across the country with his team and tastes
the chefs' signature food. It's an extremely successful show, with 34 seasons and counting.
The show is such a huge hit that many fans have spent a lot of time working on different
websites that keep track of all the restaurants featured on the show, making it easy to schedule
a visit.
"Oh, that’s the bomb, dude. Seriously."
Filming the show is hard work. It takes at least two days to finish working on one episode
for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Even before filming begins, business owners have to be
willing to participate in meetings and engage in phone calls with the team behind the show.
But according to some restaurateurs who have been featured on the show, it can be a daunting
experience in unexpected ways.
According to Twin Cities Business magazine, some restaurant owners don't have a clue what
they're getting into when they agree to work on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
While some establishments only have to deal with a little bit of food wastage and inconvenience,
there are many eateries who end up suffering a lot more. This might be on account of the
fact that several places which have been featured on the show run every day of the week and
are open all day.
Agreeing to work on the Food Network hit means that owners aren't able to escape some costs.
The owner of the Northern Waters Smokehaus restaurant in Minnesota, Eric Goerdt said:
"I think [the show] cost us nearly $15,000 in wasted product and costs associated with
cleaning."
Another restaurant owner, Josh Thoma, who is the man behind Smack Shack in Minneapolis,
said that it cost him approximately $12,000 to be a part of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Another glaring issue? Many owners have to wait long periods of time to have their episode
air on TV. This means that there is a bit of uncertainty for restaurateurs, as they
hope for the best. The goal is for each episode to be successful and for more customers to
take an interest in the establishment. This may or may not happen, depending on the cost
each business pays out to the time their episode premiers.
While it may seem like a no-brainer that being featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives can
do wonders for an establishment and its profits, this isn't always the case. Some restaurants
have been forced to close shop on account of eventually suffering heavy losses, despite
being on the TV show. According to Flavortown USA, scores of eateries that once made an
appearance on the show have now closed down for good.
One of the restaurants that didn't make it was Fat One's in Orlando, Florida. A disappointed
visitor wrote on Trip Advisor that they specifically visited the restaurant because it was on Diners,
Drive-Ins and Dives. The scathing review made their displeasure clear. It read:
"Cheese sauce came out of a can and tasted like it and the other ingredients were at
the same level. It COULD have been a good meal […] but it wasn't even close."
According to Reddit, the essence of an eatery is sometimes lost when they're featured on
Diners, Drive-ins And Dives. A fan complained that the show was simply not authentic in
the way it portrayed restaurants and the food. They wrote:
"Since Guy Fieri always, always praises every single food he tastes, I honestly thought
that the restaurants he visited paid him to film and taste the food."
Another Reddit user said they knew it was stressful for an unnamed restaurant and its
staff members to be a part of the filming process. They wrote:
"One of my friends was working when they came and filmed. She said that they took a lot
of time to get just a few minutes of footage."
And according to certain restaurant owners, working with Guy Fieri was an unfortunate
experience, saying he was difficult to work with. They felt he simply acted nice in front
of the camera and didn't care otherwise.
"Just so you understand, to the rest of the world, three sandwiches is not normal. This
is crazy." "You have to dip it in the syrup."
"You dip this in the syrup?” “Correct."
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about Food Network
shows are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.