Can Riobello Bedford's Restaurant Stand Out From The Crowd | Restaurant SOS | Absolute Reality
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- Опубліковано 6 бер 2021
- Alex Polizzi and Oliver Peyton are in Bedford to help Giovani and Amanda's Riobello Italian restaurant. Giovani always said he'd own a restaurant, and taking over Riobello seemed the perfect choice when you consider Bedford's strong community of over 10,000 Italians to target. But with 40 other Italian restaurants in town, the 70-cover eatery is struggling to stand out from the crowd.
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The two Owners developed so quickly and towards their transformation they also became so open and hospitable. I really liked them and wanted success for them both. Food looks great 👍
A lovely couple - shame this venture didnt last for them but i hope they are well and doing well with whatever they are doing now - i wish them loads and loads of luck
Ex Bedford girl here. What a lovely couple. So sorry to hear it closed.
One thing I always find astounding is when an owner of a failing restaurant says things like " oh I don't think we should change this as people seem to like it", well, what people exactly?
I was gobsmacked! He literally said he didn't want to change because "the menu was soo popular" 😂. Popular with who exactly?
I call it the "Kitchen Nightmares argument", cause you hear it all the time on that show.
It's a shame I didn't see this sooner. I have lived in Bedford for most of my life, was born here, and know the town centre very well. When I first watched this and they mentioned it was in Bedford at the beginning, I genuinely couldn't figure out where it was from the quick snapshots from the outside. When I Google earthed it, I realised where it was, and whilst watching this episode, I did also recognise a lot of the areas they did interviews in and when they went out and about and spoke to local people (the cafe mentioned in St Paul's Square is still there and looks the same!)
I think one thing this documentary didn't cover was the location of this place. Perhaps it's because it's something that cannot really be fixed unless urging them to move, but as you will see from the footage when Oliver is bringing the people over to the restaurant to test the service, they're coming from Bedford High Street, where you get a lot of footfall. The road this restaurant was on doesn't have anything on that side of the bridge that is a real crowd puller. I can't remember what was there at the time as this was a few years ago, but currently there's a pub (that's not very well known), a bathroom interiors store, and a couple of beauty places. Yes, Bedford has a lot of Italian restaurants, but many of them are in great locations and that's part of the reason they thrive. You would have to go a bit out of your way to get to this place (yes, it's only over a bridge, but many people want the closeness of other places in case you want to move on from the restaurant and do something else).
I hadn't ever heard of this restaurant when it was still about, as I would have wanted to go. It closed a few years ago now and a Greek restaurant moved in. The place always looked empty, and as I write this, it's currently being refurbed and is under new management (that's what the sign says on the window anyway). I do think the location is a huge problem for this place. You would have had much better footfall elsewhere in Bedford town, but then I suppose the rent is higher. I don't know if Alex and Oliver picked up on the location (they probably did), but most people in Bedford eat in the town centre, and I imagine there would be some agreement from the locals in Bedford that this just generally is not an ideal location. I imagine that this would have been a strong factor in why this place didn't survive, and like I said, the Greek restaurant that then took over isn't really doing much either! (You wouldn't think it from the outside anyway)
Wow- I thoroughly enjoyed reading your very vivid description of Bedford from when you were growing up there. After reading your post, I realise that there are a lot more variables to consider yet when our eyes are glued to the screen we do not stop the think of all all the environmental and contextual factors that could possibly interplay with a business such as this restaurant. I did not know that Bedford has a lot of Italian descends so I hope that this couple have simply moved to a better location. I wish them well. Their food looks yummy!
@@mangoyacho Thanks for your nice response, I'm glad my comment was insightful for you :) It's a shame, they seemed a nice couple who were willing to do the work. I just feel that any Italian eatery in Bedford is going to really struggle with the various independents and other chain restaurants in such close proximity (as well as the independents, we also have a Zizzi, Pizza Hut and a Pizza Express, although the Pizza Hut is at the other end of the river), all of which are also in good locations. Alex and Oliver couldn't have really done much by way of getting them to move as there's a lot of empty units on Bedford High Street (likely because the rent is so high!), but I think getting them onto that side of the bridge would have stood them a better chance. Somebody else mentioned it elsewhere in these comments, but there is also a lack of parking where they were, which then goes back to my point in my previous comment- there just isn't any crowd pulling stores/restaurants down that way that would make people go the extra distance for them. There just isn't really much reason to be walking past those stores.
And an update on what's in its place since I wrote my last comment- I believe it's still a Greek (but different brand and management) but again, always looks empty
Thank you for sharing this with us. Do you think they relocated or did they close it for good?
I see so many videos with the same theme - people buying restaurants that know NADA about running one. And you're right, location is key and it's obvious that the place changed hands many times before and after these people owned it. It just isn't in a good spot. Parking can also be an issue since people seem to be too lazy to walk anymore. Eating and then walking is a healthy choice so I'm a bit surprised that more people aren't doing this since so many people are now working out in gyms every day. Walking is great exercise and it's FREE FFS!!
I too know Bedford quite well and you’ve articulated almost word for word my thoughts about the location.
MISTAKE 101 - Amateur owners designs the menu no chef input. imposes menu on chef = disaster
I can’t believe she’s married to an Italian and cuts her spaghetti with a knife 😱 That’s basically an offense that would get you the death penalty in Italy!
I was reading the comments hoping someone else had noticed that. Unbelievable (and utterly shocking)!
I live opposite this restaurant. Since it closed it became a Greek, and has just reopened as an Italian. I think the location is a challenge due to lack of parking
Couldn't agree more! I wrote a similar comment a few months ago, although you put it far more concisely! I'm also living in Bedford
@@DE-pk9ur oh yes so you did! Last night I walked past and they had 2 tables which is the busiest I've seen it. Its usually empty
That must quite a nice spot to live - close to the main town but a bit quieter presumably on the other side of the river?
It'd be great if they could make use of that corner plot as a car park.
What is the restaurant called now?
15 minute cities solves that
Totally loved this couple and the important thing is they listened!
I'll never understand why people put those Blackpool type "open" signs with coloured lights. i always avoid those places
I’m so fed up with every Italian restaurant only serving pizza and pasta, there is so much more to Italian cooking. I love a good pizza, but it’s fast food not a night out.
Ask anyone what they will order when they go to an Italian and the vast majority will answer either Pizza or Pasta.
Alex Polizzi grows even more attractive with age.
Agreed. She is gorgeous physically but even better her personality is so caring and classy. She is gold for this kind of show
Shame about the brexitering
What does her appearance matter ? That's very shallow .
@@saraandhughtuckey1284 what? Nooo. Don't tell me that! She's a Brexiteer?
Yeah shes hot.
I had a lot fun watching this episode 😊
The wife is driving me mad cutting the pasta! 😅
❤fabulous ty
You see a lovely couple like this and you want them to succeed…We all get stuck on occasion and need a new set of eyes…I’m happy the6 succeeded
He has the most gorgeous smile.
Who he?
such a lovely couple hope it worked out for them
I understand cutting back the menu but the 4/4/4 idea is way too limited. If I walked in and saw such a limited menu I would be pretty disappointed and if I wasn't all that keen on it, I wouldn't ever return.
I know the restaurant business and I can say that most of the times, the major expense is not food or labor but rent. High prices and small portions is usually a mistake, especially for Italian restaurants. Also for smaller menus, people are likely not going to come back soon because once you have tried some of the limited selections there is no inducement to come back as there is nothing new that you want to try. Furthermore, aside from pizza, all other Italian dishes are easy to make at home.
Giovanni is Italian, cool, but being waited by a bad "Joanna Lumley" look alike is a complete put off if you're wanting an italian experience.
I mean the wife would look more in place as a support dancer for a Rod Stewart tribute act.
She cuts up her spaghetti with a knife like you would for a 2 year old !!!
Get rid of the fake Blonde (in the restaurant) and get an italian waiter/ress.
@@libelle8124What is team 33?.
@@team3383 I dunno , her cleavage was the best thing about the place! Worth going there just to letch 🤡
This Lady Must have been an A-TEAM Fan. She Uses "I LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER" I am Waiting for her to yell at one of the owners saying " I Pity Da Foo "
More Black Adder than A Team
It's sad but their body language says their marriage is not salvagible. As the programme goes on she looks happier but I think they may go back to the old ways and Amanda will get depressed again.
I wish restaurateurs could learn that the word doesn't have an 'n' in it!
of course they closed up, they cut spaghetti with fork and knife.
I would have gone for wooden chairs & it’s pretty unoriginal to have the red & white chequered tablecloth.
How can she be cutting pasta with a knife and fork? ? sacrilege !
12:46 ... "rent is 6,000 a month" ... 20 people in a day, - each buying a $20 pizza = $400 ... open 5 days a week = $2,000 ( per week income ) ... 3 1/2 weeks per month = $7,000 a month INCOME ... 7,000 a month Income ( MINUS $6,000 monthly rent ) ... $1,000 monthly income MINUS ( 1 employee weekly pay ... $10 / hr for 40 hours = $400 ) ... 3 weeks of employee wages = $1,200 ... $7,000 monthly income MINUS $6,000 rent MINUS $1,200 ( for 1 employee wages ) = LOSS of $200 per month BEFORE cost of food or electricity !
20 people per day seems like a low number for pizzas sold per day.
Googled it . Permanently closed 😕
Covid probably killed it like it has so many businesses 🙁
prob his missus who made him. it was either her or the business. she didnt want it in the first place
It does seem a bit strange to open an Italian restaurant in a smallish town that already has 47 of them…🤔
Amanda cutting the pasta .... isn't that grounds for Italian divorce? 😂
Have to agree with the portion size... I want good value for money, but want a starter main and dessert and a good few wines, so need to be generous, but leave you wanting more ( not hungry and there's a difference) especially if the food is nice.. want to leave bouncing and smiling not needing a nap..
Oh I hope this is still working out them.
I am confused as to Alex's brother in laws role here OR even what he adds .
Italian restaurants are ten a penny everywhere. There were already 40 in the town!
Really admire people who try to make a business putting their money and marriage on the line.
we all should think when we eat out and try to support these small businesses.
Am I the only one who thinks Amanda looks like Christine MacVie?
The dishes AREN'T popular if you're only getting 7 people in for lunch. You cannot count on a huge menu from the orders of only 7 people. He just doesn't want to reduce the menu, it has nothing to do with the customers. Even the people that Alex brought in said the menu was TOO BIG.
❤
I like this program 95% . Just wish they wouldn't do the fake going into local business to round up customers to come in for lunch like in this episode did the Hairdressers close their business to go for lunch?? We all know the ware asked in advance for god sake . Plus Oliver does nothing for the show.... he's a pain
7:09 ... Camera man gets bored & focuses on guy walking down the sidewalk
What would I have done in that situation? I would have offered the most awesome genuine Italian pizzas, a lasagne to die for and for dessert a divine Tiramisu and the most awesome Gelato. I know that even only gelato can work. There is an Italian ice cream parlour run by Italians and they only come over from Italy during the summer. People who found it will return and even if that means they have to travel for several hours.
If Alex comes, you know it's over 🤘😬💣🤣
Whatever happened to shop locally? This pizza place gets their ingredients from Naples, Italy.
What a surprise to see his wife using a knife and fork to eat pasta!! Knives should be available if asked for. She needs to learn to use a spoon!
Only children under 7 use a spoon to twirl their pasta in Italy. Adults use a fork, period.
Lack of car parking is one difficulty
That's city life unfortunately
13:21 ... offer what the people can afford to buy .. JUST because you don't have kids ( & have extra money because of it ) does NOT mean - everyone has (zero kids) & has EXTRA money ... if the average income is lower middle income bracket - & they have kids to put into uni - they are NOT going to buy a $20 pizza - when the same pizza ; 2 blocks away (on the high street) - that costs 1/2 that amount !
18:27 ... cutting noodles is a sin ... ask the chinese about "the longer the noodle you eat - the longer you will live"
They should be splitting the money these programs make with the businesses they use to make that money.
They revamp the restaurants which is expensive.
The places get a lot of free publicity on television. That’s worth a great deal of money. Even a local commercial is very expensive.
I hope their marriage survived if the business didn't...
Correction as keyboard is not responding well. " Joanna would be better suited in a pub and ale restaurant" as her image is too brash and revealing low cut tops are not a good image to serve serve customers. It right in te face. The image, not just the food must present well!
So Ramsey pays for a re-Paint .... but Alex ????
How are these wood fired ovens doing in this age of smoke free zones in cities
And they turned this place around without all the screaming and cursing that Ramsay does! 😊
But these people aren't rude, foul-mouthed, and screamingly obnoxious like Ramsay's American restaurant owners.
The British episodes of Kitchen Nightmares are much more interesting to watch
@@abigail1023 They ramp it for drama
@@mariawerner8447 I agree!
turned it around ? it closed !
Karen's hair though
10 thousand Italians before The exit and covid.
Feel sorry for the wife. He dragged her into this fiasco 😮
One would never find such a menu anywhere in Italy.
Amanda CUTTING her pasta!!!!
Bedford Italian cuisine has become very anglicised; too italian for Brits and too British for Italians.
No need for Oliver ???!!!
Why didn’t the owners think of all these improvements themselves?
And what about marriage counseling?
What is with the cleavage at 40:45?? Unprofessional. Touching customers? 42:40😮 uh-oh🤔
The owner is living in his own world and not willing to listen to the 2 experts who are trying to help. I saw that they sold it and also that the area is also a bigger issue.
I love Alex!! But I think the margherita pizza wasn't true Italian no basil you couldn't see the mozzarella!!
Lovely couple, I cannot remember your names, if you are reading this, here is my idea for being successful with a cafe or restaurant. Make it vegan ! Simple. I used to live in Glasgow and every single vegan café or gastro pub was Always Always packed. Students loved it, international minded people loved, artists loved it and dairy intolerant older ladies loved it. Simple. It's a booming business.
And people with IBS like me would simply avoid the place, because most of “vegan” dishes on offer in those places are packed to the rafters with soy, that not only irritates my bowels but leaves me in severe pain for 3-4 hours after eating. Vegetarian full of vegetable dishes yes, vegan - definitely no.
OH! GOD! OLIVER PATTON! What a Wxxker! As Alex keeps using him throughout the series. Second rate food critic that nobody knows. Did she give his diving career a helping hand. "OH! Yes Oli DHARLING i will make you famous again.
Good lord - do you know anything about the restaurant empire he has started and continues to run?
I don't like this couple they're not friendly or warm
She's adorable!!
Nice couple who listened but, te wife Joanna would look more in place in über food food restaurant. Her image far too brash plus she cut spaghetti with a knife! Sacrilege! The menu quite small but muc better. I don't like large manus. However they could ring a change by changing the menu ( still 4/4/4) 4 times a year. Hope they do well as lots of debts to clear on the way up.
There are 40 Italian restaurants in Bedford, so let's open another one.
She always finds the food good but when Ramsey goes anywhere ALL the food is bad and he has foul language.
Not in the British episodes of Kitchen Nightmares. I really enjoyed them. The US ones are unwatchable.
Alex sounds like she has deviated septum
What does Amanda know about food if she cuts her linguine with a knife and fork 😱
of every single issue in this episode, Amanda cutting her pasta is literally edging my teeth.
I noticed that too!!!
@@cjbesson I lived in Italy for many years and was going to say exactly the same thing!!
She can eat her food as she wants, not rudely shovelling and slurping it into her mouth as the customers seem to be doing. She's eating much more politely.
Often cheap Italian food is pizza and pasta. There is a lot more to good Italian foods 😊
A great commercial ; spoiled by some people intermittently rambling on about a restaurant !
ALEX IS BRILLANT AND SO HELPFUL AND WANTS EVERYONE TO SUCEED ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😢😢😢 7:36
The wife looks high maintenance.
She was perfectly delightful and if you think thats high maintenance, you must be from another planet
Just because she makes the effort to look nice doesn't make her high maintenance
I liked her - a nice lady - and rather glamerous - well done her for taking a bit of pride in her appearance
I like her .
I agree. She was very sneery and sour-faced.
10:32 ... no better than a gas station pizza - HORRIBLE Margahrita pizza ( using canned sauce & dried basil flakes ) ... a REAL margarherita pizza is THICK crust ; "san marzano" chunky tomato sauce , chunks of fresh mozzerella & whole basil leaves.
I’ve never had a thick crust anywhere in Italy and I’ve been all over.
Where’s your response tvsandyke
@@amyw6808 Sadly when I lived in Palermo, all their pizzas had about an inch of thick crust outside of the filling ☹ I couldn’t eat them. Very different from Rome.