Restaurant impossible

Chef Robert Irvine kicks off Season 3 of Restaurant: Impossible at Moss' Prime Rib and Spaghetti House, in Elyria, Ohio, in what may be the most intense show to date.

This two-year-old outwardly nice restaurant is confusing: it's clean, cute and cozy, yet it's on the brink of failure. Why? Well, it doesn't take long to get to the root of the problem.

Chef Robert Irvine has seen many dirty and neglected restaurants, but none has made him physically ill like Anna Maria's, in Dunmore, Pa. The Italian eatery's glory days, and last apparent cleaning, were 25 years ago.

When Chef Robert Irvine visits Del's, in Pittsburgh, Pa., it's clear that the biggest issue with this failing 62-year-old icon is not the food or decor but owner Marianne.

When Chef Robert Irvine first sees Woody's Tupelo Steakhouse in Tupelo, MS, it's clear why they are drowning in debt. The dining room is a dusty, dark cave, and the horrible tableside service is worse than the mediocre food.

This diner located in Amish country is suffering from an outdated decor and menu, as well as structural issues. But Chef Robert Irvine's biggest challenge to turn this business around will be in changing the family roles.

In only two days, and with only $10,000, Chef Robert needs to overhaul not only the uninspired, cluttered interior but also the lack of leadership and structure at the center of the restaurant's problems.

in San Antonio, TX, Chef Robert Irvine is tasked with turning around Mama Lee's Soul Food Restaurant, a four-year-old eatery that has never turned a profit and is only weeks away from closing.

Chef Robert Irvine's latest mission takes him to Benicia, California, and Pappas Restaurant, a family-owned Greek restaurant on the brink of extinction.

After a very successful first five years, a changing economy combined with the high cost of maintaining a historic building plus family health problems have hurt Ristorante Barolo.

Chef Robert heads to Burlington, N.C., in an attempt to save the University Grill. The establishment was opened by siblings Eleni, George and Manny to help provide for their parents during retirement, but it's now facing failure.

Robert visits Memphis to save a failing barbecue restaurant. After eking out a living at a small takeout operation for 16 years, Tarrance Pollard decided the only way to grow his business was to move up to an eat-in restaurant.

The First Lady asks Robert to create a dining room, renovate the kitchen and create a community garden to provide a healthy, vegetable-fueled meal for the kids of Horton's Kids to enjoy.