What ‘Restaurant Impossible’ Left Out

Steven Hurley’s first reaction to the newly made-over dining room of his family’s business was not made for TV. 

The Upper Moreland father of six who ordinarily never swears, said he was so surprised by the complete turnaround of the 60-seat eating area at Hurley’s American Grille, that, as the “Restaurant Impossible” cameras rolled, Hurley let a bad word slip–and it had to be bleeped out.

That wasn’t the only thing cut from the episode, which aired recently on the Horsham restaurant formerly known as Edibles Restaurant & Pub.

During a scene that was shot for several hours in the bar in which the Hurley family talked about the business’ finances and the money it had been losing, celebrity chef Robert Irvine “got emotional,” Hurley said.

“His eyes teared up,” Hurley said. “He had them shut down the cameras.”

In instructing cameramen to do so, Hurley recalled that Irvine said, ‘ “Right now, this isn’t about the show. This is about this family.’ ”

Hurley’s cousin, John “Johnny” Hurley Jr., 36, son of restaurant owner John Hurley Sr., said the show was too “serious.”

“I thought there could’ve been a lot more humor,” he said, adding that there is a difference between “What you see on TV and what happens on the taping.”

In the episode, the family’s dirty laundry was aired and Irvine blamed John Hurley Sr. for doing a poor job of running the business.

Steven Hurley said the show has not caused a rift among family members, mainly because, “there’s no secrets between any of us.”

“We’re all extremely close,” he said.

The Hurley family applied a year ago for consideration on “Restaurant Impossible.”

Steven Hurley and his wife, Megan, followed up with the show’s producers in February or March hoping that the popular Food Network show could reinvigorate the outdated interior and help the struggling business succeed.

The family interviewed by phone and then skyped with producers. They were told that it could take a few weeks before a decision was made.

“She called me back the next day,” he said. “It was honestly pretty quick.”

As was the three-day transformation from Edibles to Hurley’s American Grille.

The end result of the roughly 90 hours of taping–and renovation work–was a new sign outside dubbing the family-owned business Hurley’s American Grille and a bleep-worthy interior that transformed the former “vanilla” dining room into a more eye-catching space accented with royal blue throughout the lobby and dining room, wood paneling on the walls, the addition of booths and a flashy backdrop.