Robert Irvine steps back in time at a struggling retro joint in Escondido, Calif., called Rosie's Cafe; the owner of the ugly, disorganized restaurant is a young woman who has the passion but lacks experience.

When Robert arrives at Incredible Cafe in San Diego, he finds a restaurant that is anything but incredible; the kitchen is an abomination and the woman who runs it is in crippling debt; Robert helps to reignite her passion.

Robert arrives in Safford, Ariz., to help turn things around at the Copper Steer Steakhouse; the restaurant was the dream of Parrish and Maureen, but it turned into a nightmare as they started losing money with no clue how to turn things around.