Riverview
Episode 1 – Riverview (Helensville)
A scenic 40 minute drive north of Auckland perching over the Kaipara River in histotric Helensville is River View; a restaurant in dire need.
Young owner Andrew McPherson took over the restaurant four weeks ago, and having relocated back to New Zealand from The Sunshine Coast had great plans to run the restaurant with his partner...sadly she choose not to follow, and he has been left struggling ever since!
With already ailing confidence, he didn’t make things easy for himself taking over a restaurant in decline...and if things don’t pick up soon, the doors will close within months!
Restaurant Fixer John Palino is going to spend the next five days in Helensville attempting to resuscitate Andrew’s dying restaurant, but first he’s asked for ten minutes to look over the place alone, and he’s not impressed; the place looks like it’s stuck in the 80’s.
So the first step is to find out whether Andrew has the slightest idea where he’s going wrong, and it’s no surprise he’s confused! Running a Thai takeout menu on top of a kiwi fusion & mixed flavours menu, whatever that is! Who wouldn’t be confused?
Every failing restaurant thinks the food is good so for John it’s time to check out the menu, and he can’t quite believe the monstrosity of a meal that eventually arrives at his table. The bigger shock though, is that owner Andrew has never tasted this dish. After 17 years in the business he should know this is a massive slip-up.
But it gets worse, two weeks ago John came in under hidden camera, and the hideous food is just the start of Andrews’s problems; his lack in confidence makes him a bad choice for front of house, and the service was average at best.
So tonight John’s back for the evening sitting to see how the place operates with customers, but with only a table of six locals in; it should be a breeze. Libby the head waitress easily impresses, but quickly John realises that chef Shane is a weak link.
And the loyal customers agree that the place needs to change, and fortunately John has a massive game plan to do just that! So first up on day 2, the menu needs simplifying with a distinctive theme and direction, so John introduces a couple of new dishes to see how the locals respond to change. Next, Andrew’s the most experienced Chef in the house so it makes sense for him to get back in the kitchen and give current ‘top dog’ Shane, some much needed guidance.
And that night with the new lessons implemented, John’s thoughts about the new direction of the menu are confirmed, and he announces his plan for a steak house.
But although it’s still early days, the chaos in the kitchen was worrying and John can’t tell if Shane is pleased with his plan...steak is after all a far cry from quail and coriander infusions!
John’s next challenge is to transform the dining room & kitchen with a massive makeover in keeping with the new menu, and because the restaurant can’t operate while it’s happening...they’re shutting shop for two days.
While renovations continue; a new coffee machine and some much needed coffee lessons are the order of the day, because improved coffee will pay dividend with increased sales. And back in the kitchen the good guys from Burns and Ferrall are installing a vital piece of equipment for a steakhouse – a brand spanking new grill.
So Andrew’s next challenge from John is to change the local perception that he is a Thai takeaway, and the new spare ribs on the menu become his device for doing it. They go down a treat with the locals but we won’t know if it’s enough to get them on board until the big launch in a couple of days, and before then there’s a huge amount of work to be done.
The staff continues the hard renovation yards, but no matter how committed they staff are, Andrew’s not going to be able to pay them unless he can increase his turnover. So John has one more idea to bring in some more money, and suggests they open for brunch in the weekends. Brunch meals are cost effective, simple and quick to make and it’s hard to go wrong if you use good quality ingredients.
A new day and the rush is on for the final touches; every inch of the place must be spotlessly clean, and with less than an hour before the first guests arrive, the staff need to learn the new menu. John wants the team to be able to describe the dishes in detail to the customer.
Finally the big relaunch is here; Andrews marketing with the spare ribs obviously paid off and the customers pile through the door. The big test tonight will be whether Andrew and Shane can work together in the one kitchen and the pressures on.
John’s friend and critic Luke Dallow arrives to assess every aspect of the restaurant, but straight away there is a problem with information not feeding through to the kitchen, and gas in the bottles getting low. The team hang in there and sneak past the post with a glowing report from Luke, and the customers.
It’s over a month since we renovated the Riverview restaurant, and Johns back to find to out how Andrew’s getting on? The restaurant is almost full and it’s obvious the grill menu has gone down extremely well in Helensville but there is one hitch; unfortunately brunch on the weekends has been put on the backburner until summer.
For now though, Andrew’s had so much business that he’s gone from being open five days a week to seven, the business tripled within the first week, and last week he broke even for the first time ever!
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