Against all odds, Lisa and Mark, the former owners of Kitchen Nightmares’ Barefoot Bob’s, seemed to have saved their marriage despite the restaurant’s closure.
If there is one message that Kitchen Nightmares has always driven home, it is that owning and operating a small, family-run business is certainly never as easy as it seems.
In fact, it often ends up driving a wedge between family members instead of bringing them closer together.
Unfortunately, by the time that the famous chef, Gordon Ramsay, arrived in the slow, beachfront town of Hull, Massachusetts to help the owners of the struggling Barefoot Bob’s restaurant, their marriage was already falling apart.
Besides for the obvious issues plaguing their restaurant, Mark and Lisa Cara Donna (Barefoot Bob’s owners) were struggling to get on the same page.
And while Mark confided in Ramsay that he was drowning in all the work at the restaurant, Lisa felt like she was doing everything she could to help.
What happened after Gordon Ramsay’s visit to Barefoot Bob’s
Though before things in the Cara Donnas’ marriage could get too bleak, Ramsay worked his Kitchen Nightmares magic.
And by the end of the episode, this couple had reconnected and received a made-over restaurant, complete with a brand new Ramsay-approved menu.
However, despite all of Ramsay’s efforts, the eatery closed down just a few years after this episode first aired, just like so many of the Kitchen Nightmares restaurants eventually do.
But despite Mark’s fears that his marriage would end if the restaurant closed down, which he expressed to the celebrity chef at the time, both Mark and Lisa’s Facebook profiles confirm that they are indeed still married to day.
So at least this former Kitchen Nightmares couple had some sort of happy ending after the show.
The Barefoot Bob’s Kitchen Nightmares timeline
Although the Kitchen Nightmares makeovers may seem like they happen in a matter of days when you are watching from home, these episodes often take multiple months of planning, renovations, filming and behind-the-scenes editing.
All in all, Barefoot Bob’s Kitchen Nightmares journey spanned just over four years until the restaurant closed its doors permanently in 2016, as follows:
| Date | Event |
| May 2012 | Ramsay and the Kitchen Nightmares crew arrive to start their filming and renovations at Barefoot Bob’s |
| December 7, 2012 | The “Barefoot Bob’s” episode premieres |
| December 2016 | Barefoot Bob’s closes its doors, and the phone lines are disconnected |
Why Barefoot Bob’s Kitchen Nightmares intervention failed
Mark and Lisa never put out any kind of formal announcement detailing why their restaurant closed its doors at the end of 2016, but the restaurant’s final few reviews do reveal a concerning pattern.
At the time of its closure, Barefoot Bob’s had only been able to reach a rather disappointing 2.2 out of 5-star rating on Yelp.
And while people on Groupon (on which the restaurant received a much better 4.3 out of 5-srat rating) seemed more thrilled with the service and the food at Barefoot Bob’s, the Yelp reviews really do not place it in the best light.
One review from September 2016 (just before the restaurant closed) reads: “The food quality is okay at best and the dining room is usually dirty. It’s unfortunate because the location (just off the beach) is great.”
The restaurant that has taken Barefoot Bob’s place
Unfortunately, Barefoot Bob’s did not stand the test of time, even with the last-ditch effort to bring Ramsay’s changes on-board. But the restaurant’s prime location was quickly snatched up by another owner.
As of 2023, the restaurant that is currently operating out of Barefoot Bob’s former location is called Tipsy Tuna.
This restaurant has seemingly built up a favorable reputation with the Hull locals and tourists and currently has a 3.8 out of 5-star rating on Yelp.
The Tipsy Tuna Facebook page also reveals that they get around the issue of the decline in business during the off season (which was one of Mark and Lisa’s biggest issues) by closing in the cold months when tourists are not as likely to travel to this small seaside town.
What Mark and Lisa are doing now
Although Mark and Lisa both have public social media pages, they are not very active on these pages. Hence, we do not have much information as to what they have been up to since Barefoot Bob’s closed down.
What we do know, courtesy of Lisa’s Facebook page, is that this couple seemingly relocated to Quincy in Massachusetts sometime after the restaurant closed.
But, other than that, the only thing which is really clear is that they both seem to value the time that they spend with family, especially at hockey games.
