Chef Robert Irvine has seen a lot of desperate restaurants, but Zoog's Caveman Cookin' in Port Hadlock, Wash., may just be the worst. At just two years old, it's repulsively dirty and the owner has lost his passion, leaving his inexperienced daughter to run the place. And if this wasn't enough of a challenge for Robert to overcome, the government shows up, threatening to close the doors of the restaurant.

Chef Robert Irvine arrives at the Dog & Pony Ale House in Renton, Wash., where he meets the owner, Kristen. Despite Kristen's whit and smarts, she's being overwhelmed by a vocal group of customers who cause her to buy equipment and change the menu on a whim, trust issues with her staff and hundreds of thousands in debt owed to the IRS. Robert will have to give Kristen the tools she needs to toughen up and turn this confused bar into a place worthy of all its patrons, before the Dog & Pony is shut down and Kristen loses everything.

Brothers Jon and Bobby opened Bene Pizza and Pasta, a restaurant/arcade in Omaha 13 years ago. Business was booming until Bobby got sick and business dropped, requiring their mom's financial help to keep the doors open. Chef Robert Irvine has his hands full trying to mend the years' worth of hurt feelings between the brothers, get mom to loosen her reins and figure out what to do with the noisy arcade.

Mike and Erika opened Mystic Treats in Ashland, Ore., three years ago, hoping to attract customers with their vegetarian and offbeat pizzas. Three years and multiple failed concepts later, they've called in Chef Robert Irvine for help. Robert will have to start from scratch, educating the owners, choosing an identity, focusing the menu and creating a design vision — all in just two days.

Through the financial help of their mother and stepfather, brothers Gabe and Javier have owned the Knife and Fork Gastropub in San Antonio for two years. Although it appears wildly successful, the restaurant is being run into the ground, so the parents have called in Chef Robert Irvine to intervene. He'll have to find out where the money is going, get this restaurant clean and get the brothers to find their drive.

A few years ago, Keith and Stephanie's restaurant, Mama E's Wings & Waffles restaurant in Oklahoma City, was thriving and was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. But a failed attempt at opening a second location put a strain on their finances — and their marriage. Chef Robert Irvine must get this volatile couple communicating again if he's going to be able to save their restaurant.

Restaurant: Impossible goes hog wild in Albuquerque, N.M., at the Shade Tree Customs and Cafe where Chef Robert Irvine meets a handful of characters who opened a full service restaurant above their motorcycle repair shop. Robert must unravel the mystery of why this restaurant is failing and tackle the blah menu, while the design team is challenged with elevating the Shade Tree's decor without losing its motorcycle soul.