(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 2 | View All Season 2 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: November 6, 2008
Hannah and Mason's Address: 39 N Main St Cranbury, NJ 08512
Episode Recap
Hannah and Masons was a Cranbury, New Jersey restaurant featured on Season 2 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Hannah and Masons Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in November 2008, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place earlier in February 2008.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 2 Episode 7, though it was only the sixth restaurant featured because the first episode of the season was a revisit.
Located in Cranberry, NJ, Hannah and Mason’s is owned by two friends, Chris Posner and Brian Kelly (not the former Notre Dame football coach!).
Brian is seen as the lazy owner, and Chris is the one who cooks and manages the restaurant.
Brian would like the restaurant to be open for three nights a week because he doesn’t want to work at night.
Have you ever heard of that? A restaurant that’s only open three nights a week?
That sounds like a recipe for failure, so I guess it’s not surprising that Hannah and Mason’s ended up on Kitchen Nightmares.
As Gordon Ramsay approaches the restaurant, he notices the missing letter N in the sign for Hannah and Mason’s.
When he gets inside, Gordon is surprised by the youth of the manager.
He then orders the baked onion soup and the lamb lollipops. Gordon complains that the soup is too greasy.
Gordon’s lamb is undercooked, and the onion jam it is served with is too sweet. Gordon also ordered a quiche that was made poorly.
The owners claim the customers love the food, but that’s obviously not the full story given Hannah and Mason’s current situation.
Gordon is shocked that the restaurant is only open three nights a week. Of course he is – it’s a ridiculous plan!
Gordon decides to watch their Valentine’s Day dinner service. He sees old desserts out but learns they are for display only.
Although, a piece of week-old cheesecake managed to find a way onto a customer’s dish.
Gordon is in the kitchen when he notices that the kitchen staff isn’t washing the vegetables before use.
The fridge is disgusting, and there is food everywhere.
Raw chicken is mixed with other foods, which is a significant health risk. Gordon deems the restaurant a hazard and turns off dinner service.
The celebrity chef praises Chris for stepping up. Gordon admonishes Brian for not helping.
Gordon Ramsay orders the staff to clean the kitchen and heads out for the night.
The next day, Gordon strolls around the area. He discovers many farms that offer fresh ingredients.
When Gordon returns from the restaurant, he argues with Brian over his lack of enthusiasm.
Gordon Ramsay decides to teach Chris a new dish – pork medallions with caramelized Braeburn apples.
Brian threatens to leave because Gordon will not stop criticizing him. Umm – that’s kind of the whole point of the show! If your restaurant/ownership didn’t deserve any criticism, then the Hannah and Mason’s Kitchen Nightmares episode probably wouldn’t exist.
Let’s move onto the service…
The service is slow, and tickets quickly begin backing up.
Eventually, the pace picks up, and the customers leave satisfied.
Brian agrees with Gordon about using locally sourced ingredients.
The next day, the staff sees Gordon’s improvements to Hannah and Mason’s. He has replaced the defunct letter N in the signage.
The roles are now reversed, and Chris is nervous about all the changes. Brian is excited about the success of the previous night.
Gordon has farmers outside to promote the restaurant. Gordon has changed the theme from fine dining to casual dining.
Brian steps up once the relaunch starts, but Chris is still nervous.
Chris tries to make substitutions instead of preparing fresh food. Gordon is disappointed, but eventually, Chris gets back on track.
The outlook looks bright, but Gordon doubts that the restaurant will succeed.
So was Gordon right? Was the Kitchen Nightmares Hannah and Masons restaurant a long-term success or did it fail? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if this Cranbury, NJ restaurant is still open in 2023 and beyond.
Hannah and Mason's Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve gone over what happened on the Hannah and Mason’s Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about how the restaurant is doing since the cameras stopped filming.
Is Hannah and Mason’s from Kitchen Nightmares still open?
Hannah and Masons’ eventually closed in February 2010 because of a decrease in customers and a general decline in the economy that led to fewer people eating out.
Additionally, some loyal customers didn’t like Gordon’s new menu.
Hannah and Mason’s also changed some of Gordon’s remodel choices and went back to some of the initial aesthetic after they found that Gordon’s changes didn’t bring in as many customers as they expected.
Chris Posner, one of the co-owners of the restaurant, told the trade journal Nation’s Restaurant News that “With or without the show, I think we would have closed”, so it seems like Hannah & Mason’s was always destined to end up shuttered.
Gordon Ramsay echoed these thoughts in a statement to the New York Post, in which he said “Unfortunately, they were going to close anyway before I got there”.
As of 2021, the old Hannah and Masons Cranbury NJ location is no longer occupied by a restaurant.
Instead, it’s occupied by a lawyer, so no one will be eating a meal at this location anymore.
Why did Hannah and Mason’s close?
Hannah and Mason’s was already planning to close even before the visit from Gordon Ramsay.
They thought maybe Gordon’s changes could save the restaurant, but there was too much downward momentum to make it a success.
The Hannah and Mason’s owners blamed a general decrease in customers and the economic downturn.
Overall, Hannah and Masons restaurant really never had a chance to succeed.
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/hannah-and-masons-cranburyWhat did you think about the Hannah and Mason's episode of Kitchen Nightmares? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
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Last updated: 2022-09-06 07:08
They were not that passionate about restaurant at all!
Brian, an oversized, overgrown immature baby who never had any reason to grow up! A true millennial through and through: no drive, no passion, no responsibility, no concept of hard work, and everything is just a game !!! Probably raised by a single mom who always praised him for achieving nothing, always telling him he was special. Open only 3 nights a week, his attitude toward anything that goes wrong in the restaurant (including his own blunders) is “WHATEVER”…..
You just know Brian’s mama catered to him when he sat in his room playing video games all day a night. She fed him an endless supply of Hot Pockets, Lunchables and McDonald’s
You’re literally insane. Do you hear yourself?
No, I don’t think so .
At the beginning it’s Valentine’s day, later it seems to be apple season.
Tad Nathaniel, projecting a bit too hard there chief.
Which one is Hannah and which one is Mason?
As with all these restaurants they leave it too late to seek help they are almost passed the point of no return. Then they don’t continue with the changes to return to what they were doing before and failing. How then could you expect to succeed. Don’t ask for help if you are closed minded, you may not like what you’re going to hear but if you won’t accept advice on why you are failing and what you need to do to succeed it will always be a failure. Also helps if you have a chef that can actually produce good quality tasty fresh food.
The big lump, Brian looked like a giant mongoloid. I would never let him near sharp objects.