County Fare Restaurant Impossible Update – Still Open in 2024?

Is County Fare still open today?

Current Status: >> CLOSED <<
(keep reading to learn what happened)

Season: 2 | View All Season 2 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: July 27, 2011
County Fare Address: 11 Hope Rd Ste 115 Stafford, VA 22554
County Fare Restaurant Impossible Update


Episode Recap

County Fare was a Stafford, Virginia restaurant featured on Season 2 of Restaurant Impossible.

Though the County Fare Restaurant Impossible episode aired in July 2011, the actual filming and visit from Robert Irvine took place before that.

It was Restaurant Impossible Season 2 Episode 4.

County Fare is in Stafford, VA.

If you’re not familiar with Virginia geography, Stafford is in Northern Virginia, not too far away from the Washington DC suburbs.

Eric and Lizann Green are the County Fare owners.

Eric is a former Marine, which fits with the NoVa vibes as there are a lot of former military there.

Even though the Greens have owned County Fare for over five years, they have never paid themselves.

Eric’s dream was to open a restaurant, and Liz supported him.

He loves talking to the customers and receiving feedback, but the restaurant just isn’t working, which is why the County Fare Restaurant Impossible episode exists in the first place.

Eric cooks in the kitchen, but he has never been appropriately trained.

The couple lives off Lizann’s salary as a nurse and Eric’s Marine pension.

Their home has been refinanced to help support County Fare as well, so they have a lot riding on the success of the restaurant.

The power company wants to shut off the electricity, and Eric has lost all of his credit and must pay in cash. 

Robert Irvine enters County Fare through the back door and is repulsed by a terrible stench.

The kitchen is full of health code violations as there are flies flying around and meat stored improperly.

Eric meets Robert, who gives the latter a tour.

The restaurant does not impress Robert as he finds the colors boring. 

The food Robert Irvine orders tastes awful because Eric cannot smell or taste it due to an injury from the Marines.

I feel bad for Eric’s injury but that’s tough for a chef to handle as being able to taste and smell are pretty important for cooking things, unless you’re Beethoven or something.

Robert calls a staff meeting and asks the owners to rearrange the kitchen.

As the kitchen is changed, the staff are also cleaning it.

Krista from the design crew meets with Robert. The two decide on an American theme for County Fare. 

Cynthia is the chef, and Robert Irvine meets with her to discuss the menu.

The cooks and Cynthia are trained on American-themed dishes, and Robert gives them recipes to take home to study.

Robert finds Cynthia complaining to Eric about the changes being made, and Robert tells Eric he needs to encourage and support her. 

The next day, Robert Irvine is impressed with Krista and her team’s progress.

The cooks practice the recipes from the day before and make a few mistakes.

Cynthia wins a taste test, and Robert helps to motivate her.

To promote the restaurant on relaunch, Robert suggests a pie-eating contest.

The customer will have five minutes to finish their pie, and if they win, their picture will go on the wall, and the pie will be complimentary. 

The design team works up until the relaunch, and everyone is impressed with the changes.

The customers are also pleased with the changes made.

Cynthia gets overwhelmed, but she recovers after Robert gives her a motivational speech. 

So was the County Fare Restaurant Impossible episode a success? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if this Stafford, Virginia restaurant is still open in 2024 and beyond.


County Fare Update - What Happened Next?

Now that we’ve recapped the County Fare Restaurant Impossible episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Robert Irvine and his crew left Stafford, VA.

At first, the restaurant seemed to have a big bump from Robert’s visit, as it had one of its best sales months ever.

However, that boost was followed by a big dip in business, with predictable results…

Is County Fare still open after Restaurant Impossible?

County Fare closed in late 2011, just a few months after the County Fare Restaurant Impossible episode aired on TV.

Unfortunately, it seems like there wasn’t really any chance for the changes from Robert Irvine to have an effect.

At the time of its closure, recent reviews seem quite mixed as it was averaging around 3 stars on most reviews.

Not horrible…but also not great, which goes a long way towards explaining why County Fare closed.

As of 2022, the old County Fare Stafford VA location is occupied by a cafe named the Mason Dixon Cafe.

Reviews for the Mason Dixon Cafe seem pretty good as it has a 4 star rating on its Yelp page.

Before Mason Dixon Cafe opened, the old County Fare Stafford VA location had operated as County Cafe for a time.

County Cafe had a new owner, but it reused some of the County Fare design and menu. However, it didn’t work out as the County Cafe closed shortly after.

It was also occupied by a restaurant named Smoke Pit Cafe for a time.

However, it seems like Mason Dixon Cafe has been sticking around.

If you want to see an update for the next episode from Restaurant Impossible Season 2, check out our Snooty Fox update in Indianapolis.


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/county-fare-restaurant-stafford




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Last updated: 2022-07-23 05:21

1 thought on “County Fare Restaurant Impossible Update – Still Open in 2024?”

All comments are the sole opinion of the commenter and are not endorsed by RealityTVUpdates.

  1. I’m sorry he lost his restaurant but I don’t understand why a person with basically NO sense of taste or smell, who was never even trained to work in a restaurant in the first place, imagined he could do a decent job of running one. It’s like having a blind bus driver who never learned to drive; it’s just a series of disasters waiting to happen. On top of that, somehow he never noticed how DANGEROUSLY filthy his kitchen was, and that couldn’t be blamed on his lack of taste or smell. I hope he chose another field, one in which he has a chance of success.

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