(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 2 | View All Season 2 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: August 31, 2011
Scrimmages Address: 4723 Concord Pike Wilmington, DE 19803
Episode Recap
Scrimmages was a Wilmington, Delaware restaurant featured on Season 2 of Restaurant Impossible.
Though the Scrimmages Restaurant Impossible episode aired in August 2011, the actual filming and visit from Robert Irvine took place before that.
It was Restaurant Impossible Season 2 Episode 7.
In this episode, Robert Irvine visits Scrimmages, a restaurant located in Wilmington, Delaware.
The restaurant is owned by a group of owners – Leon, Mike, Brian, and Jerry.
They opened the restaurant five years before the Robert’s visit and the Scrimmages Restaurant Impossible episode.
All four of the owners mortgaged their houses to open Scrimmages, so they’ve gone all-in on the restaurant idea.
For the first years Scrimmages was open, they made good money, so it seemed like a good decision.
But lately, sales have declined, which is why they needed to ask Robert Irvine for help.
The owners’ relationship is now tension-filled due to not being profitable.
To make matters worse, the owners’ homes are in danger of being lost if something doesn’t change.
Robert Irvine arrives and meets the owners.
Mike, Brian, and Jerry blame Leon for Scrimmages problems.
Because of this, Leon does not get along well with the three other owners.
To find out the issues at Scrimmages restaurant, Robert stays to observe a service.
The service is slow because the owners are rarely present.
In the kitchen, the cooks are only making one meal at a time, even though it would be faster to cook multiple at once.
Outside the kitchen, Robert Irvine talks to the customers who are unhappy with the temperature of the food and the wait.
Robert looks at the restaurant’s finances and tells the owners they are losing almost $700 every lunch service, which is just an insane amount of money.
The food also tastes poor and is under-seasoned.
Leon thinks the food tastes good, and Robert believes he is in denial.
Feedback is given to the owners by Robert Irvine. He tells them they need to communicate and be a team.
They also need to increase service speed and change their menu.
The restaurant also needs a theme and remodeling.
The owners agree to act as a team, and Robert moves forward with the changes.
Chef Jimmy, Leon, and Robert work on a new and improved menu.
He teaches Leon and Jimmy to make simple dishes like dessert nachos and double stuffed potatoes.
A design team is called in and makes changes to Scrimmages. The theme is now a sports bar.
The carpet is removed, and a wooden floor is installed.
A wall was designed out of used baseball bats.
When the owners see the design team’s changes, they are shocked yet pleased.
When it’s time for the Scrimmages restaurant relaunch, the customers are happy with the new theme and menu.
The kitchen gets food out at a good pace.
Robert Irvine talks with the guests, who tell him they will return to Scrimmages.
So was the Scrimmages Restaurant Impossible episode a long-term success? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if the restaurant is still open in 2024 and beyond.
Scrimmages Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Scrimmages Restaurant Impossible episode, let’s talk about what happened to the restaurant after Robert Irvine and his crew left Wilmington, DE.
After Robert’s visit, reviews on Yelp were poor. It appears that the owners reverted to their old menu and style.
Given that, it’s probably no surprise to you what happened next…
Is Scrimmages still open after Restaurant Impossible?
Scrimmages closed for good in November 2013, which means it only survived for around two years after the Restaurant Impossible Scrimmages episode aired on TV.
At the time of its closure, Scrimmages had just a 2.5 star rating on its Yelp page, which is pretty bad.
Here’s a sampling of a couple of reviews that were written after the visit from Robert Irvine…
1 star review from June 2013:
I frequently stay at the Doubletree next door when I go down to Wilmington for work. I saw this place on a Restaurant Impossible repeat and the thought what the heck, let me give it a shot. BIG MISTAKE as this was singlehandedly the worst meal I’ve ever had at a restaurant.
I ordered the steak quesadilla. It took about 1/2 hour despite the fact the bar was empty. Quesadilla was cold and the steak was chewy. Flour tortilla was hard, like a cracker and broke in pieces. The worst part of the meal was the rice – it was hard like little pebbles.
On the positive side, the beer was cheap and the bartender friendly. May stop again there for a beer, but not the food.
1 star review from April 2013:
We first went to Scrimmages a couple of years ago, not long after the Restaurant Impossible makeover. My son goes to duPont, and we stay next door at Doubletree four times a year.
The food isn’t bad, and they have some nice spicy items like the Armadillo Eggs, as well as a kid friendly menu.
For a while, the dining room was pulling in quite a few customers, but I could hear neighboring tables start to complain about the service.
The staff started to dwindle, and our “regular” servers who remembered us were no longer there.
Our last two visits were dismal. We were practically the only diners, and the owners did not seem to care about the restaurant side at all. In fact, they forget to unlock the doors.
The bar side was full and we no longer received any personal notice or acknowledgement. Our server was a sullen young man, and his demeanor did NOT enhance our dining experience.
I really wanted this place to be “our” place when we stayed in Wilmington, but it is not worth it. My guess, based on the empty dining room, is that other diners have decided the same thing.
Given those reviews, it seems like Scrimmages had a slow side down after the Restaurant Impossible episode before its eventual closure.
For a time, the old Scrimmages Wilmington Delaware location was occupied by a restaurant named Catch 202.
However, Catch 202 was listed for sale in 2016 and is now permanently closed.
As far as I can tell, the location is now occupied by a restaurant named Home Base Delaware.
If you want to see another Delaware Restaurant Impossible episode, you can check out my update for Rascal’s BBQ and Crab House in New Castle.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/scrimmages-restaurant-and-sports-bar-wilmingtonWhat did you think about the episode? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
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Last updated: 2022-10-16 08:22
The four owners didn’t open Scrimmages 5 years before the RI episode, they bought it. It was a well-known establishment long before that. I worked there from 2004-2012, and we did just fine before the show came and ruined the menu. Our regulars stopped coming. It was disappointing when I have to quit after so many years of success.
“We did just fine before the show came and ruined the menu.” So in your land, ‘doing just fine’ means losing thousands every single month?