'Restaurant Impossible' featuring Theresa's in Bradenton airs Thursday
BRADENTON -- After bulldog chef and TV show host Robert Irvine unexpectedly visited Theresa's in Bradenton, owner Jodi Boucher has enjoyed seeing new faces in her remodeled restaurant over the past three months.
Business at Theresa's, 608 Tamiami Trail, has increased since the Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible" visit, Boucher said. It also has also elevated her staff's attitudes.
The best part of being on the show for Boucher was that she got to keep her menu, she said.
"We're the first restaurant in history that has been allowed to keep the menu," Boucher said. "They said everything was good and when they first came they said all you need is a remodel."
The floors, walls and table tops were among the changes made to the interior of the breakfast-and-lunch restaurant. The place now has a modern look Boucher feels good about.
"I always felt like the ugly stepsister from downtown; I didn't feel connected and now I feel OK," Boucher said.
Irvine and his crew did something at Theresa's they haven't done in any other "Restaurant Impossible" season.
"Jodi had no idea we were coming," Marc Summers, the show's executive producer, told the Herald in July. "This woman had not a clue we were coming. We only come to places where we feel the people are deserving of a makeover."
And though Irvine comes off as tough and mean, Boucher "held her own." Behind the scenes, he has a softer side, she said.
"He was crazy but he knows exactly what he's doing and how he wants it and what he's going to say," she said. "I'm Irish and Italian so I kept up with him.
"There's a heart in there somewhere."
When children were in the restaurant during the 12th-season "Restaurant Impossible" visit, Boucher said Irvine gravitated to them.
Since the show, Boucher has been overwhelmed by the community support coming from all directions. At 9 p.m. Thursday, Theresa's is hosting a sold-out watch party with TVs provided by Bright House Networks.
"I'm just an average Joe who has worked every day and I feel so lucky and honored because you never think this is going to happen to you," she said.
In November, Theresa's will open for dinner Friday and Saturday nights with live entertainment.
Theresa's will celebrate its 10th anniversary in January.
Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095 or follow her on Twitter@jayohday.
This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "'Restaurant Impossible' featuring Theresa's in Bradenton airs Thursday ."