Location: Oakhurst, New Jersey
Gordon is tasked with helping out steak and seafood restaurant Mike & Nellie's. Originally opened in 1996, the restaurant was the pride and joy of father and son duo Nellie and Mike for 15 years. When Nellie's death forced Mike to take the reins before he had a chance to grieve, the restaurant slid into rapid decline, leading his daughters to ask for Chef Ramsay's help.
Tropes
- Control Freak: Samantha's exact words to describe Mike, thanks to his difficulty letting other people take charge. To his credit, Mike also acknowledges that he has trouble with it.
- Creepy Cockroach: In the beginning of the episode, a customer asks a member of waitstaff to deal with "the bug" on the table. A close-up reveals that said bug is a cockroach.
- Deadpan Snarker: Lexi, on several occasions.Gordon: Did somebody die in here last night?
Lexi: It's possible. - Drowning His Sorrows: Mike typically works while intoxicated and drinks continuously throughout his shifts, which causes him to overlook orders and make mistakes when cooking. Much of his drinking is due to the pain of losing Nellie and the loss of interest in his job.
- Empty Shell: Mike reveals to Gordon that losing Nellie killed his passion for cooking and is why he drinks during shifts.
- Family Business: The restaurant was launched by Nellie and his son Mike. Mike's daughters, Samantha and Lexi, and Mike's cousin, Daniel, also work at the restaurant.
- Lethal Eatery: Mike & Nellie's is an interesting case. The kitchen itself isn't in great shape, with Gordon discovering expired food, raw and cooked meats stored together, and other health hazards. Unusually for this show, though, the dining room is actually worse: a half-broken light is hanging off the wall, bugs occupy the restaurant, there's a hole in the ceiling, and the carpet is so dirty that not only does it smell bad, it's growing mold.
- Loved by All: Nellie's friendly personality was reportedly a huge reason why people came to the restaurant, and everyone in the family has nothing but praise for him.
- Mess of Woe: A rather extreme variation. After Nellie died, Mike stopped taking care of the restaurant. By the time Gordon visits, the inside of the building itself has deteriorated.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: The restaurant employees only refer to Nellie as "Nelson" (his real name) twice in the entire episode.
- Parent-Child Team: Nellie and Mike are father and son, respectively, and split the duties of the restaurant – Nellie mostly handled the front-of-house operations, while Mike took over the kitchen and other back-end tasks. After Nellie's death, Mike had no time to grieve before taking on the front-end operations, which led to the deterioration in quality.
- Stopped Caring: Mike used to take pride in his work, but after Nellie's death, he resorted to dumping food onto plates, rushing out undercooked or low-quality meals, and stopped bothering with upkeep (including cleaning the kitchen). Gordon even says multiple times that Mike seems to have given up.
- Trash the Set: Downplayed. Before the crew begins renovating the restaurant, we're shown footage of Gordon ripping the original moldy carpeting up from the floor.
