(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 6 | View All Season 6 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: December 7, 2012
Barefoot Bob’s Beach Grill Address: 276 Nantasket Ave Hull, Massachusetts 02045
Episode Recap
Barefoot Bob’s was a Hull, Massachusetts restaurant featured on season 6 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Barefoot Bob’s Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on December 7, 2012, the actual filming and Gordon Ramsay visit took place in May 2012.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 6 Episode 5.
Barefoot Bob’s is a restaurant on the beachfront of Hull, Massachusetts.
It’s a little tourist town with the beach as its attraction.
Marc and Lisa Cara Donna are the owners – a husband and wife duo that generated a lot of interest after the episode aired.
The restaurant serves traditional seafood and American cuisine.
The couple decided to work together to make it run smoothly.
To help it run as it should, Marc Cara Donna is a cook and Lisa Cara Donna works the counter up in the front.
They say that they are having a hard time keeping customers in the cold weather seasons, but in the summertime, they have a full house with guests all season long.
They say they are failing as a couple because of the restaurant’s poor progress.
With both their finances and their marriage at stake, there’s a lot riding on the Barefoot Bobs Kitchen Nightmares episode.
Gordon Ramsay comes into town and it’s time to get down to business.
To start, he meets the owners and the servers.
Then, he sits down to taste the food at the Barefoot Bob’s Hull MA location.
Gordon Ramsay orders three things to start…
The New England Clam Chowder, the Lobster Roll, and Bob’s Buoy Platter.
To start with, he says the place is filthy.
Especially, the menus, which Gordon finds very gross.
He even has to ask his waitress to get him a clean menu.
But maybe the Barefoot Bobs food will be better?
Nope!
He said the food is disgusting and dull.
Later in the day, Gordon Ramsay comes back for supper time.
He finds a baffling occurrence of a psychic there who is asking patrons if she can read their future.
Gordon is daunted.
He licks her crystal ball and asks her the future.
This is perhaps one of the weirdest moments in Kitchen Nightmares, if I’m being honest.
Gordon is always complaining about cleanliness, but he licks a random psychic’s crystal ball?
That’s weird!
If you forget what I’m talking about, here’s video proof:
Let’s get back to the episode…
Gordon notices that the kitchen has food flying out of it, but at the same time it’s going back returned to the kitchen because of being cold, disgusting, and overcooked.
He asks to look at the food supply and storage and finds things out of date, old food, and the storage section a mess.
Gordon offers to make over the restaurant, update the systems, teach cooks new food to update the menu.
They accept and claim the are so excited when it’s complete.
Gordon re-opens the place for business.
They are doing better as a couple, the customers love the new food, and the décor is a hit.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Barefoot Bobs restaurant episode a long-term success? Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this Hull, MA restaurant is still open in 2024.
Barefoot Bob’s Beach Grill Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Barefoot Bob’s Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Hull MA.
They kept up with what they were taught for awhile after for a good season or so.
They stuck with the routine temporarily and were a hit with the customers.
Then slowly, but surely, they tapered back to their old ways, their old habits, the old menu dishes, and the old nasty décor within a six month time span.
They slowly disregarded the advice, time, and work of Gordon Ramsay and insisted their way was better than the superior chef who is world renowned.
Too bad the psychic couldn’t predict the outcome for the restaurant and Mark and Lisa.
Is Barefoot Bob’s still open after Kitchen Nightmares?
Barefoot Bob’s closed for good in December 2016, almost exactly four years after the Barefoot Bob’s episode aired on TV (though it was more like 4.5 years after the actual visit from Gordon Ramsay).
Why did Barefoot Bob’s close?
Well, a lot of the old customers who knew this restaurant and staff for a few years say that the bathrooms were always filthy, the food service horrible, and the food was never fresh but old tasting and frozen.
I’ll share some real examples of Barefoot Bobs reviews below.
Beyond the ever present issues with a slow low season in a beach town, Barefoot Bob’s seems to have failed because they ignored Gordon Ramsay’s changes and went back to their old menu and routines.
For a time, the old Barefoot Bob’s Hull MA location was occupied by a restaurant called HK Too (Hulls Kitchen).
However, that also had very poor reviews and closed after enjoying a 2.5 star Yelp rating.
As of 2023, the old Barefoot Bobs Hull Massachusetts location seems to be occupied by a new restaurant named Tipsy Tuna.
Here’s what the location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:
Barefoot Bobs reviews after Kitchen Nightmares
At the time that Barefoot Bob’s restaurant closed, the restaurant had just a two star rating on 130 reviews on the Barefoot Bobs Yelp page.
Obviously, that’s not very good.
Sadly, the reviews from after the Barefoot Bob’s Gordon Ramsay visit didn’t seem to be any better than those from before.
Here are a few example Barefoot Bobs reviews to give you an idea of how people felt about the restaurant.
1 star Yelp review from April 2014:
We visited BFB’s after seeing Kitchen Nightmares.
The first impression was bad.
It did not get better from there.
The bar and restaurant were very dirty.
My menu was actually sticky.
The tacky 1970’s Tiki Bar theme which Gordon tried to improve was back.
It was tempting to leave then, but manners kept us in our seats.
The food was poor, and I am being gentle.
This place needs to be cleaned, in a big way.
There are other places to spend your money.
We will never come back.
I would not give this place 1 star, but it is the lowest rating possible.
We felt like we needed to warn others.
DO NOT EAT HERE.
You were warned!!
2 star Yelp review from April 2014:
Came only because we wanted to make a decision for ourselves after seeing it on Kitchen Nightmares.
Disappointed to see that they didn’t keep up with the changes.
More disappointed with the food and very slow service.
Ordered clan chowder and 2 clam strips.
The clam strips had too much breading, so much so that there were clumps of clam strips more than actual just clam strips.
The fries that they came with were mediocre to begin with, but they covered most of the plate and were not that good.
The only thing decent about the plate was the coleslaw.
As for the clam chowder, it was passable, but I wouldn’t call it clam chowder… It had bacon and cheese in it…
Should’ve listened to Chef Ramsay.
I also took a screenshot of this lengthy 1 star review from July 2013:
Did the Barefoot Bob’s owners divorce?
As of 2023, Marc and Lisa, the Barefoot Bob’s owners, are still married and did not divorce.
So while the restaurant broke up, the couple’s marriage still seems to be going strong.
Congratulations to them!
You can verify that the Barefoot Bob’s owners are still married by looking at the personal Facebook pages of Marc Cara Donna and Lisa Cara Donna.
I’m not going to link their Facebook pages here to preserve their privacy, but they’re easy enough to find on Facebook if you’re really curious.
Also, all divorce records are public record in Massachusetts, so those records would show up if Marc and Lisa had divorced.
Final thoughts on Barefoot Bobs restaurant
That pretty much wraps up my Barefoot Bob’s Kitchen Nightmares update.
Barefoot Bob’s wasn’t able to achieve long-term success, unfortunately, but four years is still a solid run.
However, given that they didn’t seem to keep the changes from Gordon Ramsay, it’s no surprise that Barefoot Bob’s closed.
As of 2023, the old Barefoot Bobs Hull MA location is occupied by a new restaurant named Tipsy Tuna.
As far as I can tell, the Barefoot Bob’s owners are still married – I hope they’re doing great.
If you want to see some other Massachusetts Kitchen Nightmares episodes, you can also check out my updates for Davide in Boston, Olde Hitching Post in Hanson, and La Galleria 33 in Boston.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
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Last updated: 2023-04-16 09:43
I never had a bad meal or drink at Barefoot Bob’s. Staff was friendly with quick and attentive service, prices were reasonable and portions were good. They had great entertainment and a fun surfer atmosphere.
Gordon Ramsey told them to draw from the surrounding towns to gain new customers in the winter which would never happen. He’s not from here and he doesn’t know the area, people from Cohasset, Scituate and Hingham wouldn’t make the drive down. Barefoot Bob’s customers were the locals and the beachgoers.
They didn’t close because of not following the Kitchen Nightmares plan, they were open for 8 years before Kitchen Nightmares and 4 years after so they had to be doing something right!
I will definitely miss Barefoot Bob’s and I was sad to see it deserted today when I was at the beach
That is not true. You would if the place was good and the ones you have around are full of assholes. I drive from Alma to Vail,CO to ski and eat at Henry’s chinese joint, Henry is the best. After the Chef left they went back to their old ways, don’t you lazy around when the boss is not around. Happens to all businesses It was obvious they had a horrible staff, brother needed to be fired with the cook. They needed a new kitchen staff with culinary backgrounds, like Spago or a Steakhouse or Sushi backgrounds instead they kept their friends. Plenty of cooks without jobs who had paid loans for school and because of failing restaurants like this good cook stay without a job and an owner without a business and the biggest bill of their lives.
no way, do not agree
Bella , Bless your heart. But absolutely everything you stated is ridiculous and reeks. also your entitlement is showing Dear. Everything that I just read states that you believe the show one million percent ! That there is no extra dramatic nonsense for T.V. Also Gordon Ramsay’s there for how many days and you only see little nuggets of each day. You don’t think those are edited and refilmed for angles , lighting , and more dramatic flair ? P.S. All reality TV is Fake. Not real life.
You didn’t say a single thing of value or substance.
IF they were doing something right, then WHY are they out of business?…What a dimwit. Typical Massholer!
If a restaurant serves great food it doesn’t matter where they’re based people will come.
– People wouldn’t make the drive down to Barefoot Bob’s because the food is lousy and the premises are not kept to an ideal standard of cleanliness.
I never can comprehend ppl this man at one time had 16 starts and yr bussiness has 2stars on yelp the man comes in pours thousands of dollars into yr bussiness redoes all does his homework and puts a plan in place runs thru it wks you do for a few months rake in money they go bk to your way and wonder y u fail just plain strupid
They didn’t even know how far in debt they were. Just because they were open didn’t mean they were profitable. Many businesses stay open while they are drowning in debt. The facts are that they were a terrible business and didn’t know what they were doing. No budget, low quality employees (particularly the scummy sous chef and Lisa’s brother), and lazy.
She was definitely screwing around on him. That was obvious!
100%
Thank you for letting people know the truth. Where you got a few months to make your years worth of money . If you don’t pull your income in from spring to the end of summer to float you for the other six months it’s a bad year. A lot of people who don’t live in coastal towns don’t realize the bars do most of the money in the winter and the restaurants in the summer . because you’re taking care of the local community and that’s what they usually tend to go to the bar. Marc and Lisa did a fabulous job and they stayed open years after Gordon Ramsay and more importantly they kept their marriage intact
I personally thought they should have created a delivery service in the winter. In the summer too, if they could handle the business.
I want to barefoot Bob’s two years before Gordon Ramsay visited it, and it was absolutely terrible. Service was fine, but uncaring. It’s seem to be filled with old and rowdy drunks. I came back three months after the renovation and even though the service was still average, the food was much better. I wish the owners would of stuck with the changes instead of catering to the low brow crowd that ended up closing them down.
They treated the Chef like shit, even if Chef wouldve gave them $1 million dollars they would’ve failed. Bob’s barefoot din’t want to put the work. Front of the house destroy this place, so did his cooks, I can still remember that nasty NEW ENGLAND SOUP in NEW ENGLAND!!!. Owners depended on their staff they took as much as they could from owners, they moved on to other jobs with checks, and left loan to owners. I have friends who fly to restaurants in California like the French Laundry, just to eat so if you are good you are good, but Bobs had competitors they had to keep it up, if they wanted people to fly or drive to at their restaurant and eat here they had to keep up. It takes a lot of work to be a chef, is not one person you feeding but 100, 500 or 2700 a night. I done it and without a dishwasher lol never a day off always on your feet to the point that you fall down when you get up in the morning, (losing feeling of your legs) it takes hard work to have a restaurant that will make you rich money not little money but top money. Be good to locals, Ramsay was scary and he didn’t target locals, he lost his restaurant once, but it changed him, he is taking care of his image helping others etc, but behind that Ramsay knows what it takes to move people or a “brigade” Trust me I seem it, some cooks would serve good people shit with hairs and some armpits sweats. I don’t know why they are Chefs but it happens. I almost visited this place but I’m glad to know is closed and I can save my dollars and cook my own lobster roll. Alma, Colorado! <~~
would you expect anything different from these two massholes?..They didnt deserve to have Gordon there in the first place. So typical of those people there. I wouldnt live there if you gave me a house.
Don’t know the area. I do know that it’s insane to think that running a business without plan is a good idea.
I think they got divorced https://www.theknot.com/us/lisa-caradonna-and-shane-bays-jul-2018
The guestbook comments on their wedding page are priceless. https://www.theknot.com/us/lisa-caradonna-and-shane-bays-jul-2018/guest-book
Nothing there now except the main page.
Yeah yeah I know this is an old post but I’d love see those comments….🤣. Any chance remember any of them bc they apparently took them down?
I am also on this old post for some reason 🤣
C’mon guys, wayback machine!
You’re welcome:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210304030417/https://www.theknot.com/us/lisa-caradonna-and-shane-bays-jul-2018/guest-book
Chef Ernie
As a guy who’s banged lots of taken women, she’s already sleeping with a few on the side. He probably already knows because fat white guys that scored do-able chicks always do but put up with because they’re never getting anything better without a $$$ lottery win.
The restaurant entire staff should’ve been fired including front of house staff.
The 1st fire should’ve been that “chef” that guy is a imposter 100%, what chef would allow that walk-in??? If he’s the chef why couldn’t he manage food costs in dishes, how much ready made actually costs in waste?
The front of house waitress was a plain looking girl dressed to stock aisles at the Walmart on any given night & acted like she was working at a truck stop.
The owners seemed to be destined to fail having no restaurant running ability & a deeply fractured personal relationship, I’ll put money down as soon as the place tanked she flew away from the Fatman never to be seen again.
The person you’re refering to as “chef” was actually the sous-chef. Their restaurant’s actual chef they said was let go, and owner Mark took the place of head COOK, not chef. Having an untrained non-chef COOK running the kitchen doesn’t necessarily have to mean the death of the establishment, but it often is, especially when one is so stuck in old habits that they prefer to revert to old bad habits rather than stick with a winning plan offered by a proven world-class actual chef.
Yeah, she was an OBVIOUS WHORE!
What do you expect the waitress to wear, a go-go outfit?? What matters is the service (other than waiters / waitresses being clean). SMH.
Quite frankly, you don’t seem to be a very nice person.
He’s a chef, of course he’s an asshole. If Kitchen Nightmares taught us anything it’s that the majority of Chef’s are narcissistic asshats.
You have a point there Matt.
Is this Chef Ernie or Uncle Ernie?
LOL! Fiddling all about?
How do you manage to screw up a path to success? Chef Gordon Ramsay took his time and energy to fix their restaurant and they kick Chef Ramsay in the face by going back to their old ways and screwed it all up. Quite frankly they didn’t deserve all the great help they got from Chef Gordon and his team.
I remember dining at Barefoot Bob’s Nantasket Beach Hull Massachusetts.
Let me post back in summer 2003 I dined at this restaurant, really liked the outside voodoo(?)decor, recall ordering ‘large fried clams and lightly breaded sea scallops,believe it tasted unbelievable,got more meal than I bargained. (9/10 stars).
However what Mark and Lisa didn’t fathom was during the fall and winter Hull turns into a ghost town. I oughta know I ran ‘La Carnivalė around 1990.
So when I came back during the fall, noticed Barefoot Bob’s was infested with insects,house flies right in the dining area, screw this I’m getting the Hull out and never stepped in there again.
Too bad all the work they invested in went out with the rip currents.
The restaurant is open. Latest review on google is literally from 21h ago. So either someone bought it an reopened it or they closed it to make improvements and reopened it.
Oh and it has pretty good reviews – 4.2
I am John Wick
Wow, you must be a man of great concentration. Do you know Batman?
I loved going to Barefoot Bob’s. Lisa was always so attentive and took care of all my needs. Admittedly, I had to tip her quite a bit, but her service was worth it. Always left with a feeling of release and a smile on my face.
I see what you did here.
Are you a friend of Deshaun Watson?
Um . . . Release?? “I had to tip her quite a bit??” What exactly are you referring to?
He’s insinuating that Lisa was a prostitute. Now that’s not nice!
Patrons never tip owners. Owners get percentage points of all profits, ostensibly to reinvest in their business. It doesn’t matter what, which or even how many “hats” they wear, it is their business and not the responsibility of a patron or customer to augment their income or investment with cash gratuity to bring their food or bus their tables. Owners who are trained in culinary operations know and understand that and would not suggest or require a tip, to do so is to kill their business.
This couple just didn’t have a clue, admittedly they said it was a dream that quickly became a reality nightmare. Even Ramsay couldn’t save them from themselves.
Lisa was cheating on her husband the entire time.
Let’s not make accusations without proof, please! The Barefoot Bob’s owners are still married as of 2021, so they seem to be doing fine.
Lol David! Are you the one she was always on her phone with, while she was supposed to be working?
Sounds like every other restaurant in the US. Pile it high, forget the taste. Cheap taste. Cheap everything. Lisa was a real gem. No doubt she and the fake chef enjoyed a bit of extras.
According to their Facebook page HKToo is still open.
The official website and Yelp say it’s closed. I think they just haven’t updated the Facebook.
I said to myself right from the beginning that she was cheating on him. Before Ramsay even showed his face I pegged her as a user. Poor guy.
The obvious problem with this restaurant is that it is unsafe and unsanitary to cook barefoot. Customers realized this and refused to eat there. Had Gordon renamed it “Properly Shoed Robert’s” it may have succeeded.
Stop it, Stendhal, you’re making me pee! OMG LMAO
According to a reddit thread discussing the question of fidelity, their facebook pages are very much separated, though still indicate they are both married but don’t mention who…. but there are no likes on each other’s pages and he doesn’t appear on her friend list but she appears on his.
Also, previous posts that included the other person don’t have any @ or likes or comments from the other.
Lisa looked like a very cold blooded reptile. I would not want to spend any time with someone with that conniving look.
https://www.instagram.com/lmbcodybear/?hl=en Lisa’s account.
I couldn’t help but laugh when Lisa said she balances the checkbook for the restaurant. Please! The only book she checks is Facebook. Too lazy to do her share of the work. I feel sorry for her husband, then again he was stupid enough to marry someone like her. What is it with all these lazy bitches on this show?!