What Happened To Blackberry's After Kitchen Nightmares

The premiere episode of Season 5 of "Kitchen Nightmares," one of the most popular cooking shows of all time, followed the story of Blackberry's — a soul food restaurant with colorful purple and yellow decor that was struggling to get customers through its doors. As is custom for the show, Gordon Ramsay visited the place to see what's going wrong and to hopefully sort out the issues. What followed was a tale of a stubborn owner, her exasperated staff, and an offended celebrity chef. Then, two years after the episode aired, Blackberry's permanently closed its doors.

Blackberry's episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" first aired on September 23, 2011. It introduced viewers to Shelly Withers, the owner and executive chef of the restaurant, who liked doing things her way. The staff claimed she often prevented them from doing their job effectively, as there were literally too many cooks in the kitchen. Ramsay's well-trained eye spotted that the kitchen lacked organization, the menu (ironically) lacked the soul, and most notably, the restaurant lacked customers.

The most shocking moment of the episode happened when Ramsay discovered a dead mouse right at the entrance of the restaurant. Withers and her partner, the general manager of Blackberry's, accused Ramsay of planting the mouse for TV, which didn't bode well with him. The hot-tempered chef took this accusation as a serious insult and threatened to completely walk out on the restaurant until a last-minute apology changed his mind.

Once Gordon Ramsay took the reins, the Blackberry's kitchen was updated, and a new leadership system was put into place. The changes seemed to work well, but Shelly Withers wasn't too keen on them and quickly reverted back to her headstrong ways, stepping on the toes of her colleagues. Things reached a boiling point when Ramsay confronted her — she walked out of the kitchen, refusing to speak to him again. As the episode concluded, Ramsay remarked that Withers was the one thing about the restaurant he couldn't change.

Blackberry's remained operational for two more years after the episode aired, but any changes implemented on the show were short-lived. A visitor who ate there just under three months later tore into the restaurant's poor food on Yelp. "The oxtail was tough, the potato salad was generic, and the cornbread stuffing lacked flavor, texture, and came in an odd ice cream scoop shape," they wrote, indicating that it was far from one of the best places to get soul food in the U.S. A diner who visited Blackberry's in January 2013 called the place "a horror show" in their review, stating the staff was even heard yelling. "From there the food itself made things worse! Salt and grease was the overwhelming taste of everything."

The survival rate of "Kitchen Nightmares" restaurants is pretty low (around 30% as of this writing), and unfortunately, Blackberry's is yet another name in the long line of places that ultimately shut down. The business announced the closing of its sole physical location in March 2013. Initially, there were plans to relocate, but that never happened.

The closure announcement also said that Blackberry's would continue to offer private catering for events, which the restaurant seemed to be able to do for several years afterward. In 2019, a post on the company's Facebook page celebrated 25 years in the catering industry, confidently stating, "We look forward too serving you for 25 more." In 2024, Blackberry's also offered catering for Easter dinner, although the menu was pick-up only and consisted just of sides.

As for Withers herself, she stayed in the hospitality business. Her LinkedIn page shows that she began working at Aramark in 2013 and is apparently still working there as of 2026. Aramark is a large and well-known food vendor that provides various food services, including catering. The company also once came under fire for its Black History lunch menu.