Mama Lee Restaurant Impossible Update – Still Open in 2024?

Episode Recap

Mama Lee’s Soul Food Restaurant was a San Antonio, Texas restaurant featured on Season 3 of Restaurant Impossible.

Though the Mama Lee Restaurant Impossible episode aired in May 2012, the actual filming and visit from Robert Irvine took place before that.

It was Season 3 Episode 8.

Mama Lee’s Soul Food Restaurant in San Antonio, TX, is owned by Ken Lee.

Ken is a retired Air Force sergeant who opened the restaurant less than five years before the visit from Robert Irvine.

While in the Air Force, Ken cooked and thought that training would benefit him in the restaurant business.

Owning a restaurant is not as easy as Ken expected, and now he is struggling to turn a profit. Ken is also behind on payments for his bills due to the failing restaurant. 

This is the main reason why the Mama Lee Restaurant Impossible episode even happened in the first place.

Robert, Ken’s nephew, was hired as the cook for Mama Lee’s but had no training in the kitchen.

The appliances in the kitchen are falling apart, so Robert Irvine knows this project will be a big one.

Because of the size of the undertaking, Robert recruits HGTV’s cousins, John and Anthony.

When Robert Irvine arrives, he notices the ample dining space that Ken is not utilizing.

He then meets the owner, and Ken tells Robert the restaurant is named after his mother.

She is an inspiration to Ken as she worked multiple jobs to support her children. 

After leaving the military, Ken wanted to achieve his dream of owning a restaurant.

Locals are invited to Mama Lee’s so Robert can watch how the staff performs during a service.

The customers do not like the restaurant’s atmosphere, comparing it to a High School dance.

The waffle a customer order is bland, and the gumbo Robert eats is over-seasoned. 

Robert enters the kitchen to tell the cooks about the terrible food and sees how filthy the kitchen is.

The kitchen hasn’t been cleaned properly in years. There are rodent droppings scattered around the kitchen and under appliances.

The TV cousins from HGTV decide to take care of the kitchen. 

The cousins have twenty-four hours to fix the kitchen, including plumbing and electricity.

Taniya is the designer, and she meets with Robert at Mama Lee’s Soul Food Restaurant.

She is given a budget of $2,000.00, so she can only redesign the dining room, and Taniya will have to make the most of the little money she is given. 

Taniya and Robert begin to take apart the bar, and Robert comes across a cockroach nest when he creates a hole in the wall.

The next day Robert meets with the design team. He is happy with the progress they have made.

John and Anthony worked hard in the kitchen, and it looks excellent. 

The kitchen lacks the proper utensils and tools needed to run, so Robert brings them to Ace Mart, a local supply store.

The owner of Ace Mart offers to take care of the bill for Mama Lee’s, which is super generous.

A temporary kitchen is set up outside, and Robert shows the cook a stuffed chicken dish. 

Ken sees the renovated kitchen and is impressed with how it looks.

The dining room redesign took longer than expected, and the relaunch began two hours later than it was supposed to.

Soon the renovations are revealed, and Ken loves the new bar.

Alma Lee, the eponymous Mama Lee, comes into the restaurant and is impressed. 

The customers arrive and think the restaurant looks brand new. The soul food is a hit.

So was the Mama Lee Restaurant Impossible episode a success? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and how the restaurant is doing in 2024 and beyond.