Restaurant owners find common ground

No matter what criticisms chef Robert Irvine made of the food at Kalispell’s Rising Sun Bistro during Wednesday night’s episode of “Restaurant: Impossible,” owner Peggy Kirby stands by her kitchen skills.

But Kirby and the restaurant’s two other owners agree that the Food Network’s reality show’s unflinching portrayal of their interpersonal conflicts was spot on.

“That was truly where the intervention was needed,” Kirby said of the focus on the trio’s communication problems. “It was very serious. It had gotten to a point where it was really difficult to do what we needed to, to not be able to communicate in a constructive fashion.”

The Rising Sun episode of the popular program, which features two-day makeovers of the food, property and staff of troubled restaurants under the leadership of chef Irvine, leaned heavily on the personal-conflict angle.

Kirby, Sally Racine Truscheit and Truscheit’s daughter Jennifer Griffiths, first opened the French-themed Rising Sun Bistro in Whitefish in 2005, moving it to Kalispell in 2011. The trio, who are an equal partnership, took on a great deal of debt in purchasing the building for $350,000, and their financial issues had been worsened by their inability to work together.

The intense emotions and the tears seen on the episode were not contrived or exaggerated, Griffiths said.  

“Did they instigate things? Sometimes, yes, but as far as our accusations and the reality of the risk and the debt we took on, and the communication, or lack thereof, that was very real,” Griffiths said. “What was on the show — that was standard.

“My mom would get mad and walk off, Peggy would walk off, and then I’d say ‘OK,’ and wonder how I would deal with it.”

Revealing such strong emotions on camera was surprisingly easy, Truscheit said.

“I forgot about it [the camera,]” she said. “For me, what we were going through was so emotional and so heartbreaking, that I really, really wanted their help. That was in the forefront, not that it was TV.”

Another thing that gave them the confidence to be candid was the feeling that, despite his sometimes harsh words, Irvine really wanted the three owners to succeed.

“I learned a lot from him,” Truscheit said. “I think I was open for it, and I respected him. He wasn’t scary at all, I really felt that he cared. I can’t explain it, but he was like a miracle worker for me.”

Griffiths said that the Food Network has continued to support the restaurant. She contacts the “Restaurant Impossible” crew or even Irvine frequently for advice.

“They really do care and they want you to make it,” she said.

The Rising Sun food hasn’t been altered dramatically, but some of Irvine’s suggestions have been taken to heart, especially streamlining the menu so food can be served in a more timely manner.

Kirby said she feels like his food criticisms were just “part of his script.”

“I didn’t take that personally or seriously,” she said. “I know what our customers say. The least thing I was worried about was our food.”

The owners are happy with the facility makeover, in which the brick walls were whitewashed and bright red chairs brought in, with the color scheme taking on the cheerful blues and yellows of a French bistro.

The owners are working as hard as ever to keep the restaurant going. Customer numbers spiked after the show and have leveled off some, Truscheit said. According to the Food Network website update on the restaurant, sales have increased by 27 percent.

 Kirby and Truscheit, both in their 60s, are still in the kitchen six days a week, though Irvine had recommended they train more cooks so they can take time off regularly.

What the “Restaurant: Impossible” treatment has changed most is how the three owners relate to each other.

“The show didn’t make our financial problems go away or the load lighter or the risk lighter,” Griffiths said. “It’s still a really hard business. But the show made us feel like we’re not alone, we’re in this together, and when something hits us, we can say to each other, ‘we support you.’

“A customer came up to me and said, ‘This place is a different place than I walked into before the makeover.’ The toxicity was leaking down to our employees. Our employees were a family and when we weren’t getting along, they were having a hard time working for us. It was a big family being hurt.”

The Rising Sun Bistro episode of “Restaurant: Impossible” airs again on Dec. 26 at 9 p.m., Dec. 27 at midnight and Dec. 29 at noon. Read the “Restaurant Revisited” blog entry on the Rising Sun at  www.foodnetwork.com/restaurant-impossible.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.