TV Restaurants

What Happened to Old World Italian Restaurant? (Murrells Inlet, SC)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Old World Italian Restaurant has closed — confirmed via wmbfnews.com, September 2013.

Primary source
wmbfnews.com ·
Secondary source
wmbfnews.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: WMBF News reported in September 2013 that Old World Italian was closing roughly five months after its Restaurant: Impossible episode aired, and a later WMBF News article reported the space was being converted into a retail store.

  • Season / episode Season 6, Episode 2
  • Original air date
  • Address 3850 US Hwy 17, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

Chef Robert Irvine traveled to Murrells Inlet, South Carolina for "Father Knows Worst," which aired April 21, 2013 on Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network), to help George and Teresa Hayek save their 16-year-old family restaurant, Old World Italian. The episode centered on a family struggling to hand day-to-day control to their culinary-trained son, George Jr., against a backdrop of the senior Hayeks' health problems and mounting financial pressure that the show said neither parent wanted to fully confront, even as the debt continued to grow.

Irvine's team refreshed the dining room's decor and lighting, reworked the menu to modernize a selection of traditional Italian dishes the kitchen had let grow stale, and pushed the family toward a clearer division of responsibilities, with George Jr. taking on a larger role running the kitchen day to day while his parents stepped back from tasks they had struggled to keep up with.

The two-day turnaround closed with a relaunch dinner that brought the Hayek family, staff and local guests together around the updated dining room and modernized menu. According to WMBF News, the owners reported sales up about 35 percent in the months after the episode aired, with nightly covers rising from around 30 before the show to between 80 and 100 afterward, a swing the family credited directly to the renovation and the exposure from the broadcast.

That momentum did not last. WMBF News reported that Old World Italian closed in September 2013, roughly five months after the broadcast, with the Hayeks attributing the closure to a steep drop in customers over the summer and financial strain that made continuing unsustainable. A later WMBF News article reported that the former restaurant space at 3850 US Highway 17 in Murrells Inlet was subsequently converted into a retail store. No reopening of the restaurant at this or another address has been identified in the sources reviewed for this entry.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 6, Episode 2
Original air date
Episode title
Father Knows Worst
What was featured
16-year family Italian restaurant modernized amid succession and health struggles
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Old World Italian Restaurant

Frequently asked questions

Is Old World Italian Restaurant still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Old World Italian Restaurant has closed — confirmed via wmbfnews.com, September 2013.

What happened to Old World Italian Restaurant after Restaurant: Impossible?

Chef Robert Irvine traveled to Murrells Inlet, South Carolina for "Father Knows Worst," which aired April 21, 2013 on Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network), to help George and Teresa Hayek save their 16-year-old family restaurant, Old World Italian. As of September 2026, Old World Italian Restaurant has closed — confirmed via wmbfnews.com, September 2013.

Is Old World Italian Restaurant permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Old World Italian Restaurant has closed — confirmed via wmbfnews.com, September 2013. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Old World Italian Restaurant located?

3850 US Hwy 17, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant: Impossible featured Old World Italian Restaurant?

Season 6, Episode 2 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired April 21, 2013. The episode is titled “Father Knows Worst”.

Did the makeover last at Old World Italian Restaurant?

The episode first aired April 21, 2013. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 13 years later —: As of September 2026, Old World Italian Restaurant has closed — confirmed via wmbfnews.com, September 2013.

What do reviews say since Restaurant: Impossible?

No reopening of the restaurant at this or another address has been identified in the sources reviewed for this entry. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is Old World Italian Restaurant still using the Restaurant: Impossible menu or branding?

Irvine's team refreshed the dining room's decor and lighting, reworked the menu to modernize a selection of traditional Italian dishes the kitchen had let grow stale, and pushed the family toward a clearer division of responsibilities, with George Jr. taking on a larger role running the kitchen day to day while his parents stepped back from tasks they had struggled to keep up with. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
3850 US Hwy 17, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • wmbfnews.com — https://www.wmbfnews.com/story/23302465/old-world-italian-closing-doors-even-after-help-from-restaurant-impossible/
  • wmbfnews.com — https://www.wmbfnews.com/story/28242240/former-murrells-inlet-restaurant-to-be-converted-into-retail-store/
  • wmbfnews.com — https://www.wmbfnews.com/story/22039009/murrells-inlet-restaurant-featured-on-food-network-show/

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