Da Mimmo Kitchen Nightmares Update: Family Too Deep in Debt
Da Mimmo, a family-owned Italian restaurant in Dumont, New Jersey, opened its doors six months ago. The owner, Melissa, a mom of five and ex-cop, started the place with high hopes. But things didn’t go as planned. The restaurant faced many problems from the start. Melissa’s sons, Vito and Vincent, didn’t help out much even though they had the means to do so.
To save money, they bought frozen ingredients instead of fresh ones, which made the food taste bland. Antonio, who had to be the pizza maker, manager, and shopper all at once, was always overworked. Melissa didn’t know much about running a restaurant, so that made things harder for her to manage. Customers had to wait a long time for their food, and the kitchen staff didn’t talk to each other well.
The biggest issue? After just six months, Da Mimmo was $500,000 in debt. It was clear that without some big changes, this family restaurant wouldn’t last much longer. Did Gordon manage to turn their fortunes around? Find out in our Da Mimmo Kitchen Nightmares Update!
Key Takeaways:
- Family struggles: Melissa, an ex-cop and mom of five, opened Da Mimmo but faced many problems. Including lack of help from her sons and poor food quality.
- Financial trouble: After just six months, the restaurant was $500,000 in debt.
- Gordon Ramsay’s visit: He found issues with food quality, slow service, and poor kitchen management.
- Kitchen problems: The restaurant used frozen ingredients instead of fresh ones, and there was poor communication between kitchen staff.
- Family dynamics: Melissa’s younger sons weren’t helping with the business despite having large social media followers.
- Improvement plan: Gordon taught Antonio better pizza-making skills and helped redesign the menu and restaurant decor.
- Social media boost: Vincent and Vito finally used their social media influence to promote the restaurant.
- Relaunch success: With fresh ingredients, better communication, and a new look, Da Mimmo saw positive customer feedback during its relaunch.
Table of Content
Ramsay’s Initial Assessment for Da Mimmo
Ramsay had to look at these issues himself. He went into the restaurant and was greeted by Melissa. The very first thing he saw was a giant graffiti painting on the wall. It didn’t belong in a fine dining establishment, but rather under a bridge. The restaurant was situated in a very lush neighborhood, but Ramsay noted only 12 customers were eating.
Gordon went straight to ordering the food from the menu. He started by ordering a minestrone, followed by a pizza. He also added calamari and meatballs. Gordon emphasized whether the meatballs were homemade, and Giuseppe affirmed. He recommended Gordon to try the bread bowl and meatballs inside it. As this was their signature dish.
Ramsay noted that the wait times for the food were EXTREMELY slow. He questioned Giuseppe, who told Gordon because of the mismatched communication between the two kitchens.
Finally, after an eternity of waiting, Gordon received his order. He rated the food as follows:
- Minestrone Soup: Gordon liked the soup, there wasn’t anything negative he could say about it. The ingredients were fresh and the soup was cooked properly.
- Pizza: Pizza’s toppings were falling off, and the cheese wasn’t fresh. The mozzarella tasted terrible, like it was synthetic.
- Calamari al Guazzetto: The calamari tasted like elastic bands. There was no flavor there whatsoever. Gordon questioned whether the calamari was fresh or not, but in fact, it was frozen.
- Meatballs in the Bread Bowl: Gordon was surprised to see a piece of bread in the shape of a bowl with meatballs inside it. The meatballs themselves were cold, and he was surprised they charged $22 for this.
Gordon asked everyone to leave the restaurant so he could talk to the staff. He turned to Francesca and asked if she liked the food she cooked. She told him she usually cooks with fresh ingredients, but they had to use frozen ones. Gordon agreed, saying the minestrone was the freshest thing he ate because she used fresh ingredients for it.
Then Gordon asked Melissa why the chefs weren’t getting fresh ingredients. She explained that the money was tight, and she’d been paying for everything herself for the last three weeks. She couldn’t get more money from the bank because her credit was maxed out. Gordon was shocked to learn that Antonio, who was only 22, had so many jobs. He managed the pizzas, ran the restaurant, and bought all the ingredients. That was a lot for one young person to handle.
Gordon and the Owners of Da Mimmo
Gordon asked to speak with Melissa and Antonio alone. He wanted to know how he could help them. As Melissa talked, it became clear she didn’t know much about running a restaurant. Because of this, Antonio was handling everything.
Gordon asked how they were reaching out to locals. Antonio said they relied on word of mouth. Gordon pointed out that Melissa’s younger sons had millions of social media followers. But Melissa said her sons only cared about themselves. They rarely shared anything about the restaurant, and when they did, it felt like they were just throwing her a bone. So, she’d stopped asking them to promote it. Gordon wanted to meet these brothers later.
He also wanted to see the problems up close. Gordon planned to be there during dinner service. This way, he could watch where things went wrong, why the food wasn’t good, and figure out how to help the family business.
Core Issues and Challenges at Da Mimmo
First, Gordon invited Vincent and Vito, Melissa’s younger sons, to the restaurant. Instead of helping their mom, they made things more chaotic and tried to order food. It was obvious they didn’t take the family business seriously. When asked about cappuccinos, Gordon told the barista not to serve them, reminding them they weren’t customers.
After a serious conversation with the brothers, Gordon dropped a bombshell. He told them the restaurant was $500,000 in debt. This news shocked Vincent and Vito, who had no idea things were so bad. It was clear that the family needed to work together if they wanted to save their business.
He didn’t want to leave any stones unturned and wanted to inspect the food quality. He found horror in each cupboard he opened. The ingredients were left open, uncovered, and without any labels. Francesca told Gordon that they clean up every day, but what Gordon found was a different story. He found slimy chicken and dead mussels stored away, which made him nearly puke.
Some ingredients were in the fridge for WEEKS at least. Gordon was shocked to find a new business being so dysfunctional at such an early time in its opening. It was clear that the staff either didn’t care about the food they were serving, or they were just lazy. I don’t know which is worse. Gordon shut down the restaurant and told Melissa if she cared, they wouldn’t have to deal with massacre of ingredients.
Gordon Ramsay’s Improvement Plan for Da Mimmo
Gordon brought Melissa and her sons together at the restaurant. He told Melissa to stop being so nice to Vincent and Vito. He said they should either help with the business or leave the restaurant. Melissa needed people who’d support her, not hold her back. Gordon saw promise in Antonio and had a plan. He’d picked out a new menu for the place and had a team of skilled cooks ready to teach Antonio how to make these dishes. This way, Antonio can learn and help turn things around for the family business.
After Melissa left, Gordon talked some sense into the boys. He told them to step up and take over, and not be a liability to their mum. Growing up, he saw his mom work 3 jobs just to support her family. That gave Gordon work ethic to be where he is today. Seeing their mom cry, and how financially they were in trouble, Vincent and Vito had a change of heart. Both wanted to use the power of social media and their combined 3.1 million followers to help the family out.
The first improvement was teaching Antonio how to make pizza the right way. Gordon took him to Razza, where he met Dan. His restaurant was known for its articulate and perfect pizzas. Over there, Antonio learned how to make pizza the right way. Back at Da Mimmo, Gordon’s team was busy preparing the restaurant for a makeover and a redesign of their menu.
The next day, they brought in Melissa and her family to witness the restaurant makeover. They were surprisingly shocked to see their new restaurant. Gordon ripped away the graffiti and replaced it with a fine-dining Italian cuisine atmosphere. The menu was replaced with one containing fresh ingredients.
Some of the dishes that were included in the new menu were:
- An antipasti
- Arancini
- Classic mozzarella pizza
- Chicken Caprese
He addressed Vincent and Vito and wanted to use their social media following to launch a promotional post for the restaurant. Everyone enjoyed the food and the family was starting to get back together as one.
The Relaunch of Da Mimmo
Vincent and Vito’s social media post did its job. People started flooding in, and Gordon managed to convince former customers to give Da Mimmo another try. People started ordering, and food started flying out of the kitchen because of the very few minutes of cooking time.
People started getting their entrée pretty quickly as well. Francesca and Antonio’s kitchen were communicating well with each other. But it wasn’t long before the miscommunications started. With Gordon’s help, Antonio stepped up and became the anchor between the two kitchens.
The feedback of the customers was overwhelmingly positive. Melissa finally started acting like an owner, and her sons started pulling their weight around the restaurant. Antonio started to gain more confidence in his abilities as a pizza maker as well as the manager of the restaurant.
Conclusion
Da Mimmo’s makeover taught some big lessons. Fresh food and good teamwork matter a lot in running a restaurant. The family learned they had to work together and use what they were good at, like the sons’ social media skills, to help out. They also found out it’s important to give clear jobs to everyone, especially young workers like Antonio. The experience showed why it’s crucial to keep an eye on money and talk openly about money troubles with family in the business.
Changing things wasn’t easy, but it worked out well. Gordon Ramsay’s tough approach made the family face their problems. With a new menu, better-looking restaurant, and new cooking skills, Da Mimmo got a second chance. The successful reopening proved that with the right changes and teamwork, even a struggling restaurant can get better. Happy customers at the end showed that all the hard work paid off.
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