(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 7 | View All Season 7 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: April 18, 2014
Old Neighborhood Address: 7923 Allison Way Arvada, CO 80005
Episode Recap
The Old Neighborhood was an Arvada, Colorado restaurant featured on Season 7 of Kitchen Nightmares.
Though the Old Neighborhood Kitchen Nightmares episode aired in April 2014, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place much earlier in July 2013.
It was Kitchen Nightmares Season 7 Episode 3.
In this episode, Gordon Ramsay visits the Old Neighborhood restaurant in Arvada, Colorado.
The restaurant is owned by Randy and Alexa, a couple who met while they were working as servers.
They’ve owned it together for 25 years, so it really does put the “old” in Old Neighborhood.
The family-ran restaurant needed significant changes if it was going to keep its doors open.
The episode starts with Chef Ramsay looking at the restaurant’s odd mannequin named Fiona.
Why is there a mannequin named Fiona at a restaurant?
Well, these quirks are a big part of why the Old Neighborhood Kitchen Nightmares episode exists.
After looking at the décor of the restaurant, it’s clear that the restaurant is run by basically a hoarder.
Chef Ramsay starts discussing the business and the situation they are in with the owners.
They make their decisions about how often they must change their menu and the decor in the restaurant.
Chef Gordon later notices that the menu is not in any sort of order.
Furthermore, the chairs at the restaurant have wheels, which isn’t exactly a great dining experience.
Imagine getting ready to dig into your meal and then the chair slides back.
Not good!
But maybe the food tastes better than the restaurant looks, so it’s important for Gordon to order some dishes.
Among other dishes, Gordon Ramsay ordered New Orleans shrimp.
After seeing some cream on it, Mr. Ramsay complained about the shrimp being light in color, and he spits it out after tasting it.
It was clear that Ramsay was unimpressed, which is pretty much par for the course when it comes to the food on Kitchen Nightmares.
He took a walk around the restaurant and found out the wallpaper attached to walls of the restaurant sticks with to his hand when he touches it.
He then talks with Alexa, the restaurant owner who says that she would not taste the food before serving it to their customers.
Maybe Gordon should’ve used a different Alexa – “Alexa, show me good restaurants in Arvada, CO”. Lol.
After looking through all the garbage around the restaurant, he orders to get rid of the mannequin and other unsanitary stuff he finds at the restaurant.
He visits the restaurant the next morning and asks the restaurant owner to change Old Neighborhood’s interior design and furniture.
Gordon did this in rather dramatic fashion, as he actually brought a garbage truck to the restaurant and made the owner push the button to crush all of the hoarding junk.
Gordon didn’t just destroy, though – he also improved the restaurant with over $50,000 in new kitchen equipment including a range, ovens, pressure fryer, and more.
He called it one of the biggest renovations from the show.
These improvements were mostly sponsored by Firmatech – restaurant owners don’t need to pay for the renovations.
Beyond that, he also revamps the menu.
The restaurant was re-launched by the evening, and the episode ends after a successful new beginning to the Old Neighborhood.
So was the Kitchen Nightmares Old Neighborhood episode a success?
Keep reading my update to learn what happened to this Arvada, CO restaurant and if it’s still open in 2023 and beyond.
Old Neighborhood Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Old Neighborhood Kitchen Nightmares episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Gordon Ramsay and his crew left Colorado.
In the episode, it seems like things were starting off well since the Old Neighborhood owners had given up some of their hoarding tendencies, including getting rid of Fiona the mannequin.
Unfortunately, it would not be enough to save the restaurant long-term.
Is Old Neighborhood still open in 2023?
Despite Old Neighborhood’s solid and successful re-launch, it was closed on May 1st, 2016 and the building was put up for sale.
This means the Old Neighborhood restaurant survived for around two years after its Kitchen Nightmares episode aired on TV.
When The Old Neighborhood closed, it was announced officially on their Facebook page.
The post thanked everyone for their support for 36 years and asked to visit the restaurant for one last time.
As of 2023, the original Old Neighborhood Arvada, CO location is occupied by a new restaurant called The Butchery.
It offers “steaks, chops, and seafood” and seems to be doing ok with a 4 star rating on its Yelp page.
Here’s what the Old Neighborhood Arvada location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:
Why did the Old Neighborhood restaurant close?
In the case of Old Neighborhood, they cannot keep up with the negative press they had after the Old Neighborhood Kitchen Nightmares episode aired.
Despite receiving good reviews about their restaurant on Yelp after the re-launch, they still failed as a business.
When the show was filming, they filmed much of the unsanitary stuff about the restaurant.
The customers lost their faith, and the restaurant lost their hopes.
While there were still plenty of positive reviews after the visit from Gordon Ramsay, there were also lots of negative reviews about the food, service, and “a musty/mold smell”.
The old Neighborhood reviews after Kitchen Nightmares
At the time that the Old Neighborhood closed, it had an overall 3 star rating on 64 Yelp reviews.
That number includes reviews from both before and after the show.
In general, I would say that reviews were mostly good after the show, but there were still some negative ones mixed in.
Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after the Old Neighborhood Gordon Ramsay visit…
5 star Yelp review from April 2016:
My fiancé and I had dinner here a few weeks ago.
The waiter was one of the best I have ever seen.
He was attentive without being intrusive.
He gave us a wine recommendation that we really enjoyed.
My fish and chips were the best I’ve had anywhere.
The fish was perfectly cooked and crunchy and the tartar sauce was so good that I am still thinking about it.
I don’t know what is in it but it is fantastic.
My fiancé really enjoyed his broasted chicken, as well.
The only negative thing I can say about the Old Neighborhood Restaurant is that it was pricey.
5 star Yelp review from June 2014:
The owner greeted us with a smile and was really nice.
It’s a very nice and clean place.
We heard about them from Kitchen Nightmares and thought we would check them out.
We had the morning buffet and some of the food was great and other items were just ok.
I would come here again maybe for a lunch or dinner.
2 star Yelp review from March 2015:
I’ll only give this a 2 because the owner was very polite and on top of things.
We were the only people there, but after seeing Kitchen Nightmares we wanted to try.
The food was HORRIBLE. I mean. Horrible.
The fish and chips were cooked to a crisp.
My stroganoff had the weirdest taste that I can’t even describe, and my moms chicken and Mac and cheese was repulsive.
Clearly they didn’t take anything Ramsey said to heart.
I would not recommend for anyone to eat there.
Nasty.
Finally, here’s a screenshot of a very lengthy five star review from after Gordon’s visit, but before the episode aired on TV.
Final thoughts on The Old Neighborhood restaurant
While the Kitchen Nightmares Old Neighborhood restaurant episode seemed to start off well with Gordon Ramsay getting through to the owners about their hoarder tendencies, the changes would not be enough to save the business.
Sadly, it closed around two years after the episode aired on TV.
The old The Old Neighborhood Arvada CO location is now occupied by a new restaurant named The Butchery.
If you want to se some other Kitchen Nightmares Colorado episodes, you can check out my updates for Pantaleone’s in Denver and Mangia Mangia in Colorado Springs.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Old Neighborhood episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
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Last updated: 2023-05-24 06:26
I’ve just finished seeing the 2014 KN episode on this place, and was very disappointed that even after Chef Ramsay made such massive changes to that house of horrors that only the Munsters & Addamses would’ve found a 5-star experience it still crashed & burned only 2 years later. $65,000 just in kitchen equipment costs more than many houses in this immediate neighborhood! But given that many KNs closed even before their episodes aired, they set something of a longevity record that, as far as I’ve seen, was surpassed only by the 3 years Chiarella in Philadelphia stayed open. It’s really a shame that the open/closed record of Kitchen Nightmares is so dismal; I’m totally unable to understand it. But it be what it are, and for the ones that remain in business I certainly hope that they can continue thriving – and, if/when necessary, improving, the greater part for themselves but also to keep at bay the howling hounds in the yelposphere that take such delight in the misfortunes of others – even sometimes [from personal knowledge] drumming it up themselves w/lies & fakery.
I believe that people like this is a much more deep problem that starts at home. For the husband to keep all of this clutter and dirty shoes inside a main room restaurant in the bottom of a chair is a problem not only in a physiological sense but in their businesses and home, too me the wife is also demonstrating a physiological problem by the way she kept the kitchen and freezers. The closets and office was inexcusable by both of them.
The son was defeated and that is mental cruelty by the parents. Now allegedly the show, showcased the many problems by this family. We can only go by what we we were presented but they did not focus on their personal lives but you cannot fix in one week what ever damages this family has done to the loyal workers and their own lives.
It is sad to make a name for your self with the premise that you are, “helping a family” but in fact you are just making a profit and not really helping this family by honestly pin pointing the root of the problem and just showing us that by buying kitchen supplies and refacing the restaurant in hopes that is what we are showcased in one week everything was fixed.
It was not, “I believe” If you cannot be honest with yourself, you have lost the vision. I know Mr. Ramsey is not responsible for being a licensed professional but even you cannot be this much of a idiot to see that just helping them for one week and everything will be overcome but your numbers most be great included with your financial and your spotlight.
It’s a shame that you are a chef and you can live with these odds with the restaurants you have helped and the percentages of the restaurants that have failed. Let’s not forget all of this has happened allegedly as many professionals do say or write to cover their short comings. “Enough written”
I was FLOORED with the use of the meat thermoneters!!!! I bet they were NEVER cleaned properly.
I think that with the way the show ( Gordon) went so over the top about the unsanitary conditions, it never had a chance. Seeing things like that and the terrible unhygienic attitudes of the owners, you never trust that the food you’re eating is clean. I’m surprised Applebees or Chili’s didn’t buy that huge restaurant….
The mannequin’s name was Fiona, not Randy. Randy is the co-owner.
No one cares anymore Emily.
Dont be mean to Emily, you crum bum.
I agree with Emily if your gonna write an article about it get the mannequins name right ffs. I stand with Emily
I care
The show aires all these Nightmares because the industry is a nightmare. Most restaurants are filthy and your lucky yiu dont get sick. Now with Covid many of these places will close.
The show aires all these Nightmares because the industry is a nightmare. Most restaurants are filthy and your lucky you dont get sick. Now with Covid many of these places will close.
Im dying here 😭
Crappy place. Glad it as gone
Yes, the place was so disgusting, but I know some very famous eatery’s in my town that are far worse.
I just think they became complacent but they did see their errors, unfortunately I feel that their fan base felt betrayed and knowing that they were being fed rotting foods and unclean methods just killed their confidence in The Old Neighborhood. Colorado people can hold grudges like my mom. That was tough. Sorry they didn’t get a second chance.
Don’t be a simp.
Yeah, I wouldn’t have trusted those people to keep the restaurant clean. One week can’t change the last ten years. I hope they found something that would work better, like owning an antique store.
Emily, my name is Emily too. It’s cute that someone made their comment “hushemily” then hush etc etc ..BAHAHA I lived in Alma, CO for years now and Arvada is a very welcoming town. The entire restaurant industry has always been screwed. What I can tell you is that the place closed because of crappy people talking crap that probably can’t even successfully cook a hello fresh meal. Stop trolling and get real. These are real people and real lives. What the he*! Are you living for?? Jerks.
They had the most disgusting kitchen I’ve ever seen on Ramseys kitchen nightmares which is saying something. Lazy!
What a bunch of mindless morons here on these forums
It is for the best, the owners were far too complacent with hygiene standards. Hopefully they now work away from food.
Hopefully , they work away from humans, like on Mars
I’m not mad they are closed. Personally I’m unimpressed by typical eateries because most are nasty. Chef Ramsey is doing a good work exposing these idiots.
If these Kitchen Night mare restaurants were in the UK , these owners would be struggling to get another licence to open another restaurant.
These restaurant owners apply for the show , to have their restaurants relaunched and publicised by Gordon Ramsay and just go back to their old habits of failure.
The address is now occupied by a restaurant called The Butchery.
Here’s their website:
https://www.thebutcheryarvada.com/
You have to ask yourself, where is the county food inspector? I’ve always thought restaurants are inspected on a regular basis.
The restaurant failed because the mannequin, named EMILY as Emily noted, was its good luck charm and once it was gone the place was doomed unless Gordon renamed it EMILY and convinced the owners to offer half price meals to persons named Emily (and mannequins). It would have helped to host movie nights to show the movie Mannequin and invite Emily Blunt, Emily Deschanel, and Emily Ratajkowski.
Oops, EMILY is the right name of the poster about the mannequin, but the mannequin’s name is Fiona. So Fionas and mannequins get to eat for free.
Also, you can never go back to your Old Neighborhood. So the name of the restaurant was a mistake too.
I’ve never found a restaurant to be so dirty and disgusting. So yeah, I would never go there again either after seeing that, sorry but nope. I feel sorry for the gentlemen because they didn’t seem like bad people, but it’s just too disgusting for me to want to eat there.
The Husband had no concept of customer service or basic hygiene. The wife was a horrible cook and could care less about the food, her customers, or any health standards. They need to be closed down.
Love how people are saying that Chef Ramsay was “too melodramatic” about the kitchen.
1. Gordon calls it Cardinal Rules of the Kitchen not because he came up with it, but because just like in the Medical field there are things called best practice. You can actually kill someone with food borne bacteria, and mold; cross contamination increases the likeliness of that bacteria germinating and spreading like wildfire through your walk in, kitchen, and prepping stations.
2. The meat thermometers being stuck into a hole in the wall IS atrocious! Insects, and vermin crawl through holes like that, and the diseases they transfer through their fluids, and by crawling over things can easily be transferred to something you are about to shove deep into a slice of meat and serve to a paying customer.
3. Keeping raw shellfish with dairy products or byproducts is an infraction that should have shut the Old Neighborhood Restaurant down as soon as the first health inspector walked through! Seafood contains viruses and toxins that can only be rendered food-safe when cooked at the proper temperature. To have a baked good that is going to be served cold contaminated by it’s proximity to raw shellfish is too great a risk for Norovirus, Mercury poisoning, and a host of other nasty food borne bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
That is three strikes and I’m glad they are out of the game! They knew what they were doing was wrong and could have easily seriously harmed someone or worse. You can redecorate a dining area, clean a kitchen, and rejuvenate a menu…what you can’t do is fix stupid.
Grubby Randy and his wife said they were owning it for 33 years, 25 years, and 24 years. I just saw it, and I have to wonder if they are just pathological liars or both suffering from the beginning of dementia?
I feel sorry for their son, who seems like a good person trapped in a crappy family. You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.