UPDATE 2: The episode will premiere on Food Network on Wednesday May 28th at 9 pm and midnight Central!
UPDATE: The restaurant makeover is complete! But Food Network will not allow any pictures from the makeover until the episode airs. I do have tweets from Robert Irvine saying OMG gonna be good! I also have a tweet from Taniya Nayak with a picture inside the restaurant while the makeover was happening. We won’t get to see the inside until the episode airs, or you visit the restaurant in Hammondville.
Day one at Big Jim's Bama Q in Hammondville AL. OMG gonna be good 👍👀👀😭
— Robert Irvine (@RobertIrvine) March 6, 2014
Good morning world , hope your all having a great and productive day . Day two of my mission in AL at the Big Jim's Bama Q ..keep smiling👏😃😃
— Robert Irvine (@RobertIrvine) March 7, 2014
Mad props to our camera peeps! Man it's heavy!! #restaurantimpossible pic.twitter.com/XTyAAxxoKt
— Taniya Nayak HGTV (@TaniyaNayak) March 7, 2014
The Food Network show Restaurant: Impossible is coming to NE Alabama this week! The restaurant going to be featured is Big Jim’s Bama Q in Hammondville, Alabama. Hammondville is in DeKalb County NE of Fort Payne along US 11 and Interstate 59. And since a TV show is going to film, the owners of the restaurant can not talk about the details of the restaurant makeover. Even though the owners can not talk about what is going to happen, everyone else is talking about it!
The restaurant is the only place to get a meal in the very small town. For travelers along I-59 or US 11, the nearest places from this restaurant to get a bite to eat is in Fort Payne or Trenton Georgia. The restaurant was originally the town’s old fire hall, and the building was renovated in 2006-2007. The restaurant was voted as the number 3 BBQ restaurant in the state of Alabama and 48th in all cuisines in Alabama. Here is a picture of the outside and the inside of the business, before the renovations take place. Pictures from http://myhomealabamaroadtrip.blogspot.com/
Restaurant: Impossible is seeking volunteers to help in the renovation of the restaurant. Volunteers will be painting, crafting, remodeling, cleaning, decorating, etc. The team is always looking for skilled contractors to help out as well! As part of this volunteer experience you may be on camera. Please wear comfortable clothing with no logos (including sneakers and boots). The volunteer times are on Thursday March 6th from 1-8 pm and 8 pm to 2 am. You can also volunteer on Friday March 7th from 10 am to 6 pm. If you want to volunteer, email Tim (twentz @ shootersinc . com) by Tuesday, March 4 with preferred shift(s), full name, email, and cell number using subject line: FN HAMMONDVILLE VOLUNTEERS.
The Fish Market Restaurant in Gadsden is going to provide meals and cater to the volunteers and crew while the renovations are taking place. Fish Market is bringing up a mobile kitchen and will serve some great southern food! The grand reopening will be on Friday night! I hope Big Jim’s Bama Q will succeed after the renovations takes place. Restaurants featured in the past on Restaurant: Impossible have had some success and some failures. On the website Food Network Gossip, they have a list of every restaurant featured on the show. Around half have either been closed or sold. And the other half are still open, with various reviews. Check out the list at: http://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/p/restaurant-impossible-updates.html#.UxULLfldXHg
Another thing, I hope the producers of the show will actually talk about a major event that just happened in that area that could have an impact on the future of the restaurant. Over the weekend, the Mentone Springs Hotel, there since the 1880’s, burned to the ground. Mentone is only five minutes from the restaurant along AL-117, and without the potential hotel guests for restaurant guests, this could pose a problem for Big Jim’s Bama Q. I hope Food Network or sister network HGTV will talk about this fire and maybe help the owners.
At least something good is coming to NE Alabama. Fort Payne has seen numerous job losses, Alexander City has lost over 10,000 jobs, Sylacauga/Talladega is the 5th poorest region in America, Gadsden is the fourth poorest city and the 87th most dangerous city in America, and the Anniston/Oxford area is the second worst performing small metro area in America. East and NE Alabama could use any good publicly right now, and maybe Restaurant: Impossible will start a turn around trend for the region!
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