Kitchen Nightmares (US) · S2 E12
Cafe 36
La Grange, IL
This one did not make it. The business closed in 2009. The site is now home to Empanadus (since 2023).
The short answer
Bistro closed in April 2009, a few months after its Jan 15 2009 episode; owners cited a faltering economy. New restaurant Empanadus took the space in 2023 with positive early reviews.
What happened on the show
Terry and Carol Gilmer had dreamed of owning Cafe 36 since they dated in high school and ate there, so they sold their house, one of their cars, and cashed out their retirement to buy the La Grange bistro for around 1.1 million dollars. What that bought them was chef Pinto Das, trained in Italy yet responsible for one of the worst risottos Ramsay had ever tasted, made from rice the pack showed was eight days old. Ramsay waited over forty minutes for food that finally arrived wheeled to him on a trolley: mushy salty risotto, an odd sweet duck salad of orange and strawberries, and store-bought salmon crepes he dubbed the crap of the day. The walk-in held food half frozen and floating in water, which Pinto defended as fresh frozen. Ramsay's point to the couple was simple: people who had sacrificed this much deserved better than a kitchen serving week-old rice.
After the cameras left
Cafe 36 closed in April 2009, only a few months after its January episode, with the owners pointing to a faltering economy. The high-school sweethearts who had gambled everything on the La Grange bistro lost the bet. The 22 Calendar Avenue space eventually found new life in 2023 as Empanadus, which opened to positive early reviews, so the corner Terry and Carol loved is a restaurant again, just no longer theirs.
Location
22 Calendar Ave, La Grange, IL 60525
More from Gordon Ramsay
These are Amazon search links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Related reading about Kitchen Nightmares (US)
More on Kitchen Nightmares (US)
Sources
Confidence: high. Last checked 2026-07-19.