In The Drink is still open. The Wayne, New Jersey restaurant survived its Kitchen Nightmares appearance and continues to operate at the Preakness Valley Golf Course. Post-makeover reviews are mostly positive — though a few service complaints still pop up here and there.
You watched Gordon Ramsay walk into a restaurant with no sign outside, stare at a dining room that looked like a school canteen had given up on itself, and somehow still manage to turn things around in four days. Now you want to know — did it stick?
In The Drink Bar and Restaurant in Wayne, New Jersey was featured in Kitchen Nightmares Season 8, Episode 3, which aired on 9 October 2023. The episode brought plenty of drama — a $250,000 debt the wife didn't know about, an exhausted chef working seven days a week, and an owner who seemed completely unbothered by the chaos around him. Classic Kitchen Nightmares material, really.
So what happened next? Let's walk through the full story — from what was broken to what got fixed, and where things stand today.
Where Is In The Drink Located?
In The Drink Bar and Restaurant sits inside the Preakness Valley Golf Course in Wayne, New Jersey. The golf course itself sees around 80,000 golfers per year, which — on paper — sounds like a golden opportunity for a restaurant. Hungry golfers. Thirsty golfers. Golfers who've just had the worst round of their lives and desperately need a drink.
Yet somehow, the restaurant was losing money. That takes a special kind of management, and the episode made sure you saw exactly how it happened.
📺 Episode: Kitchen Nightmares Season 8, Episode 3
📅 Filming: May 30 – June 3, 2023
📡 Aired: October 9, 2023 on Fox
Source: Reality TV Updates
What Was Wrong with In The Drink Before Gordon Ramsay Arrived?
Where do you even start? Gordon couldn't find the place because there was no sign outside. He described it as looking closed before he even walked through the door. That is not a great first impression for a restaurant that depends on walk-in trade.
Inside, the dining room looked dark, gloomy, and completely out of step with the gorgeous golf course setting outside. The kind of place where the decor says "we gave up in 2009" while the scenery outside says "you could charge twice as much and people would still come."
The Financial Situation
Owners Jorge (also referred to as George across different sources) and Solange had taken over the restaurant in 2017. By the time Gordon arrived, the restaurant was nearly $250,000 in debt. Solange didn't know the full extent of the financial hole they were in. When Gordon revealed the number to her during filming, she was visibly shocked and angry.
Source: Reality TV Revisited
The Kitchen and Staff
Chef Carlos was running the kitchen without proper training. He had been working seven days a week — no days off, no real support. A loyal server named Nadia was essentially running the front of house because the owner wasn't around enough to do it himself.
Gordon found dry ribs, salad drowning in dressing, dry chicken, and a hair in the nachos. He shut down the kitchen. The owners tried to argue the service was going well. It was not going well.
What Did Gordon Ramsay Change at In The Drink?
Gordon spent four days at the restaurant — from May 30 to June 3, 2023. The restaurant posted on Facebook that it would be "closed for renovations" during that period. When it reopened on June 4, a lot had changed.
The Makeover
The dining room got a full visual overhaul. Gone was the school-cafeteria aesthetic. The space was redesigned to actually reflect the beautiful golf course setting it was meant to complement — more cohesive, warmer, and welcoming. First impressions count, and the previous look was actively driving customers away.
The Menu
The menu was simplified and refreshed. Gordon's standard approach — cut the bloat, focus on quality, use fresh ingredients that can be cooked quickly — was applied here. The updated menu included items that were straightforward but properly done, from burgers and quesadillas to Cuban paninis and salads.
The Operations
Gordon pushed Jorge to step back from the kitchen — something he was clearly not good at — and let Carlos run the cooking. Carlos was promised proper training and some much-needed time off. The golf cart drinks service was properly activated as a reliable daily revenue stream to help repay the debt.
Sources: What to Watch, Kitchen Nightmares Updates
Is In The Drink Still Open After Kitchen Nightmares?
Yes — In The Drink is still open. As of 2025 and into 2026, the restaurant continues to operate at Preakness Valley Golf Course in Wayne, NJ. It appears in the confirmed open list for Kitchen Nightmares Season 8, alongside other survivors like Bel Aire Diner and The Juicy Box.
The two-month follow-up segment in the episode showed a busy dining room and the new drinks cart running daily. Both golfers and regulars were positive about the food and the new look.
The restaurant is active on Facebook — posting about events, live bands, and specials. This kind of consistent social presence is usually a good indicator that a business is genuinely still trading and not just coasting on residual publicity.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment / Kitchen Nightmares Still Open List 2025
What Are the Reviews Like After the Makeover?
Post-makeover reviews for In The Drink are mostly positive, with customers regularly praising the food quality and the setting. A few examples from verified review platforms give a reasonable picture of where things stand:
- Multiple reviewers have highlighted the setting — being right on the golf course is a genuine draw.
- Food quality has consistently improved in reviews since the Kitchen Nightmares visit.
- Live entertainment events have become a regular part of the offering, bringing in weekend crowds.
- Service complaints still appear occasionally — one area Gordon flagged that clearly needs ongoing attention.
- Google ratings have trended upward compared to the mixed reviews before filming.
One reviewer noted: "Beautiful place by the golf course. Great drinks, good food." Another mentioned attending a live band night and having a solid overall experience. That's the kind of review profile you want — not perfect, but genuinely improving.
Source: Kitchen Nightmares Updates
How Does In The Drink Compare to Other Kitchen Nightmares Restaurants?
Here's some important context: the majority of restaurants that appear on Kitchen Nightmares do not survive long-term. According to tracked data across all seasons, 64 of 93 restaurants have closed after appearing on the show. That's a closure rate of roughly 69%.
Season 8 has been noticeably more successful. Of the six restaurants featured, four are confirmed still open — including In The Drink. The reasons for this likely vary by restaurant, but the fact that Season 8 restaurants tended to have existing loyal customer bases and fixable operational issues (rather than purely financial crises) probably helped.
Source: Kitchen Nightmares Updates — Full Statistics
What About the Owner — Did Jorge Change?
This is the question every Kitchen Nightmares viewer asks. Gordon can fix the menu and repaint the walls, but he can't follow the owner home. Whether real, lasting change happens is always down to the people involved.
On screen, Jorge was visibly resistant. He rolled his eyes, questioned Gordon's approach, and appeared more relaxed about the situation than someone staring down $250,000 in debt probably should be. Gordon famously called him "deluded" — which, by Kitchen Nightmares standards, is practically a term of endearment.
What the follow-up segment did show, however, was Jorge stepping back from the kitchen — which was the key change Gordon pushed for. When the right people are doing the right jobs, things tend to run better. And the evidence from reviews and ongoing operations suggests that, at least operationally, something shifted.
Whether the personal dynamic between Jorge and Solange improved post-filming is not something the episode went into detail on. What matters commercially is that the restaurant is still trading.
Why Kitchen Nightmares Season 8 Matters
Kitchen Nightmares originally ran from 2007 to 2014 on Fox before being cancelled. It came back in 2023 for Season 8 — and this time, it aired on Mondays at 8 PM ET with new episodes also available on Hulu the following day.
The revival drew attention partly because of how badly the original seasons ended for most restaurants. Early seasons had a near-total closure rate. Season 8 has been a different story, with most featured restaurants still operating years after filming.
Source: Wikipedia — Kitchen Nightmares
That said, not everyone was blown away by the new episodes. Some viewers on platforms like IMDB felt the Season 8 restaurants lacked the raw desperation of the original run — owners seemed less genuinely panicked and more aware they were on television. Whether that changes the entertainment value is debatable. What's less debatable is that In The Drink is still serving burgers on a golf course in New Jersey, which is more than can be said for many of its predecessors.
Summary: What Happened to In The Drink?
- In The Drink Bar and Restaurant is located at Preakness Valley Golf Course, Wayne, NJ.
- Owners Jorge and Solange were around $250,000 in debt before filming.
- Gordon filmed there between May 30 and June 3, 2023; the episode aired October 9, 2023.
- Gordon overhauled the dining room, simplified the menu, and pushed the golf cart drinks service as daily revenue.
- The two-month follow-up showed a busy restaurant with positive customer reactions.
- In The Drink is confirmed still open as of 2025, with generally improved reviews.
- It is one of four Season 8 restaurants still operating — a strong result by the show's historical standards.
In The Drink survived Kitchen Nightmares and remains open today. It's not a fairytale transformation, but it's a real one — a restaurant that was haemorrhaging money and goodwill is now trading steadily, using its golf course location properly, and keeping customers coming back. For a show where most restaurants don't make it, that's a genuine win.
In The Drink is still open. The Wayne, New Jersey restaurant survived its Kitchen Nightmares appearance and continues to operate at the Preakness Valley Golf Course. Post-makeover reviews are mostly positive — though a few service complaints still pop up here and there.
You watched Gordon Ramsay walk into a restaurant with no sign outside, stare at a dining room that looked like a school canteen had given up on itself, and somehow still manage to turn things around in four days. Now you want to know — did it stick?
In The Drink Bar and Restaurant in Wayne, New Jersey was featured in Kitchen Nightmares Season 8, Episode 3, which aired on 9 October 2023. The episode brought plenty of drama — a $250,000 debt the wife didn't know about, an exhausted chef working seven days a week, and an owner who seemed completely unbothered by the chaos around him. Classic Kitchen Nightmares material, really.
So what happened next? Let's walk through the full story — from what was broken to what got fixed, and where things stand today.
Where Is In The Drink Located?
In The Drink Bar and Restaurant sits inside the Preakness Valley Golf Course in Wayne, New Jersey. The golf course itself sees around 80,000 golfers per year, which — on paper — sounds like a golden opportunity for a restaurant. Hungry golfers. Thirsty golfers. Golfers who've just had the worst round of their lives and desperately need a drink.
Yet somehow, the restaurant was losing money. That takes a special kind of management, and the episode made sure you saw exactly how it happened.
📺 Episode: Kitchen Nightmares Season 8, Episode 3
📅 Filming: May 30 – June 3, 2023
📡 Aired: October 9, 2023 on Fox
Source: Reality TV Updates
What Was Wrong with In The Drink Before Gordon Ramsay Arrived?
Where do you even start? Gordon couldn't find the place because there was no sign outside. He described it as looking closed before he even walked through the door. That is not a great first impression for a restaurant that depends on walk-in trade.
Inside, the dining room looked dark, gloomy, and completely out of step with the gorgeous golf course setting outside. The kind of place where the decor says "we gave up in 2009" while the scenery outside says "you could charge twice as much and people would still come."
The Financial Situation
Owners Jorge (also referred to as George across different sources) and Solange had taken over the restaurant in 2017. By the time Gordon arrived, the restaurant was nearly $250,000 in debt. Solange didn't know the full extent of the financial hole they were in. When Gordon revealed the number to her during filming, she was visibly shocked and angry.
Source: Reality TV Revisited
The Kitchen and Staff
Chef Carlos was running the kitchen without proper training. He had been working seven days a week — no days off, no real support. A loyal server named Nadia was essentially running the front of house because the owner wasn't around enough to do it himself.
Gordon found dry ribs, salad drowning in dressing, dry chicken, and a hair in the nachos. He shut down the kitchen. The owners tried to argue the service was going well. It was not going well.
What Did Gordon Ramsay Change at In The Drink?
Gordon spent four days at the restaurant — from May 30 to June 3, 2023. The restaurant posted on Facebook that it would be "closed for renovations" during that period. When it reopened on June 4, a lot had changed.
The Makeover
The dining room got a full visual overhaul. Gone was the school-cafeteria aesthetic. The space was redesigned to actually reflect the beautiful golf course setting it was meant to complement — more cohesive, warmer, and welcoming. First impressions count, and the previous look was actively driving customers away.
The Menu
The menu was simplified and refreshed. Gordon's standard approach — cut the bloat, focus on quality, use fresh ingredients that can be cooked quickly — was applied here. The updated menu included items that were straightforward but properly done, from burgers and quesadillas to Cuban paninis and salads.
The Operations
Gordon pushed Jorge to step back from the kitchen — something he was clearly not good at — and let Carlos run the cooking. Carlos was promised proper training and some much-needed time off. The golf cart drinks service was properly activated as a reliable daily revenue stream to help repay the debt.
Sources: What to Watch, Kitchen Nightmares Updates
Is In The Drink Still Open After Kitchen Nightmares?
Yes — In The Drink is still open. As of 2025 and into 2026, the restaurant continues to operate at Preakness Valley Golf Course in Wayne, NJ. It appears in the confirmed open list for Kitchen Nightmares Season 8, alongside other survivors like Bel Aire Diner and The Juicy Box.
The two-month follow-up segment in the episode showed a busy dining room and the new drinks cart running daily. Both golfers and regulars were positive about the food and the new look.
The restaurant is active on Facebook — posting about events, live bands, and specials. This kind of consistent social presence is usually a good indicator that a business is genuinely still trading and not just coasting on residual publicity.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment / Kitchen Nightmares Still Open List 2025
What Are the Reviews Like After the Makeover?
Post-makeover reviews for In The Drink are mostly positive, with customers regularly praising the food quality and the setting. A few examples from verified review platforms give a reasonable picture of where things stand:
- Multiple reviewers have highlighted the setting — being right on the golf course is a genuine draw.
- Food quality has consistently improved in reviews since the Kitchen Nightmares visit.
- Live entertainment events have become a regular part of the offering, bringing in weekend crowds.
- Service complaints still appear occasionally — one area Gordon flagged that clearly needs ongoing attention.
- Google ratings have trended upward compared to the mixed reviews before filming.
One reviewer noted: "Beautiful place by the golf course. Great drinks, good food." Another mentioned attending a live band night and having a solid overall experience. That's the kind of review profile you want — not perfect, but genuinely improving.
Source: Kitchen Nightmares Updates
How Does In The Drink Compare to Other Kitchen Nightmares Restaurants?
Here's some important context: the majority of restaurants that appear on Kitchen Nightmares do not survive long-term. According to tracked data across all seasons, 64 of 93 restaurants have closed after appearing on the show. That's a closure rate of roughly 69%.
Season 8 has been noticeably more successful. Of the six restaurants featured, four are confirmed still open — including In The Drink. The reasons for this likely vary by restaurant, but the fact that Season 8 restaurants tended to have existing loyal customer bases and fixable operational issues (rather than purely financial crises) probably helped.
Source: Kitchen Nightmares Updates — Full Statistics
What About the Owner — Did Jorge Change?
This is the question every Kitchen Nightmares viewer asks. Gordon can fix the menu and repaint the walls, but he can't follow the owner home. Whether real, lasting change happens is always down to the people involved.
On screen, Jorge was visibly resistant. He rolled his eyes, questioned Gordon's approach, and appeared more relaxed about the situation than someone staring down $250,000 in debt probably should be. Gordon famously called him "deluded" — which, by Kitchen Nightmares standards, is practically a term of endearment.
What the follow-up segment did show, however, was Jorge stepping back from the kitchen — which was the key change Gordon pushed for. When the right people are doing the right jobs, things tend to run better. And the evidence from reviews and ongoing operations suggests that, at least operationally, something shifted.
Whether the personal dynamic between Jorge and Solange improved post-filming is not something the episode went into detail on. What matters commercially is that the restaurant is still trading.
Why Kitchen Nightmares Season 8 Matters
Kitchen Nightmares originally ran from 2007 to 2014 on Fox before being cancelled. It came back in 2023 for Season 8 — and this time, it aired on Mondays at 8 PM ET with new episodes also available on Hulu the following day.
The revival drew attention partly because of how badly the original seasons ended for most restaurants. Early seasons had a near-total closure rate. Season 8 has been a different story, with most featured restaurants still operating years after filming.
Source: Wikipedia — Kitchen Nightmares
That said, not everyone was blown away by the new episodes. Some viewers on platforms like IMDB felt the Season 8 restaurants lacked the raw desperation of the original run — owners seemed less genuinely panicked and more aware they were on television. Whether that changes the entertainment value is debatable. What's less debatable is that In The Drink is still serving burgers on a golf course in New Jersey, which is more than can be said for many of its predecessors.
Summary: What Happened to In The Drink?
- In The Drink Bar and Restaurant is located at Preakness Valley Golf Course, Wayne, NJ.
- Owners Jorge and Solange were around $250,000 in debt before filming.
- Gordon filmed there between May 30 and June 3, 2023; the episode aired October 9, 2023.
- Gordon overhauled the dining room, simplified the menu, and pushed the golf cart drinks service as daily revenue.
- The two-month follow-up showed a busy restaurant with positive customer reactions.
- In The Drink is confirmed still open as of 2025, with generally improved reviews.
- It is one of four Season 8 restaurants still operating — a strong result by the show's historical standards.
In The Drink survived Kitchen Nightmares and remains open today. It's not a fairytale transformation, but it's a real one — a restaurant that was haemorrhaging money and goodwill is now trading steadily, using its golf course location properly, and keeping customers coming back. For a show where most restaurants don't make it, that's a genuine win.
