With tearful eyes, Simmer Down Cafe owner Chris Marino told chef Gordon Ramsay in his latest “Kitchen Nightmares” episode how his Georgetown restaurant had torn his marriage apart.
“It’s really hard to juggle a life at home and own a restaurant,” Marino said.
Georgetown’s Simmer Down Cafe appeared in Tuesday’s episode of Season 2 of chef Ramsay’s Fox TV series “Kitchen Nightmares.” In the reality show, the famous internationally known and Michelin-starred chef travels around the U.S. helping struggling restaurants revive their kitchens.
Marino opened Simmer Down Cafe in March 2017 with a menu of breakfast and home-cooked favorites, like liver and onions. But over the past eight years, the business started to crumble. Marino began spending 80 hours a week in the restaurant trying to keep up, and his family fell to the wayside. Three months before Ramsay made his stop at the restaurant, Marino’s wife Terry had decided to leave him as a result.
“I’m stumbling through the day,” Marino said.
In the March 18 episode, Ramsay was unimpressed by the greasy omelets, salty liver and onions and unseasoned salmon. He criticized the dusty dining room and chaotic communication between the front and back of the house.
“There are no systems, no standards and no respect,” Ramsay said. “It’s a performance run by a bunch of clowns.”
Ramsay and his team renovated the restaurant, refreshing the patio and updating the interior’s decor with a younger, more vibrant look. They also added a new POS system and created an open kitchen layout for better communication between the cooks and the wait staff. The British chef walked the staff through an updated training session, as well.
Simmer Down Cafe’s new streamlined menu features a chopped salad, pulled pork chili bowl, wings, chicken salad sandwich, Texan ribeye and fried eggs, as well as a double smash burger to attract a younger crowd.
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At the relaunch, Marino was able to step outside of the kitchen and greet his guests for the first time in ages. He also had a surprise visit from his wife Terry, and it just so happened to be their 27th wedding anniversary. The relaunch gave the couple a chance to reconnect and spend quality time together, since Marino can now lean on his staff and the system Ramsay set in place.
“When I first got here this restaurant was a run-down island of misfits,” Ramsay said. “Now, finally, with good communication, a system, a respect between front and back of house, Chris can refocus his life and the stress of this place can start to simmer down.”
Ramsay was spotted on a tour through Central Texas in October 2024. Simmer Down Cafe is one of three Texas restaurants that have been featured on this season of “Kitchen Nightmares,” behind Grumpy George Pub & Grub in Georgetown and Leo’s Italian Grill near Bastrop.
