TV Restaurants

What Happened to Tootie's Texas BBQ? (Cathedral City, CA)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Tootie's Texas BBQ has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, May 2015.

Primary source
foodnetworkgossip.com ·
Secondary source
Yelp ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The program-tracking blog Food Network Gossip reported the closure of Tootie's Texas BBQ at 68703 Perez Rd in a May 2015 post, following owner Eileen Smith's 2014 passing as reported by local outlet KESQ; a Yelp listing for the address is marked CLOSED as of a March 2026 site check, consistent with no reopening since.

  • Season / episode Season 8, Episode 2
  • Original air date
  • Address 68703 Perez Rd, Cathedral City, CA 92234

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) chef Robert Irvine visited Tootie's Texas BBQ in Cathedral City, California, for the Season 8 episode "A Lot to Lose," which aired March 12, 2014. The Perez Road barbecue restaurant, in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, was dealing with declining sales and kitchen inconsistency that the show tied to menu complexity and pricing issues, along with the strain the owner was under while also managing serious personal health difficulties, as later covered by local news. Irvine's crew renovated the space over the standard two-day production window, refreshing the dining room and signage, and reworked the barbecue menu to a shorter, more consistent lineup intended to reduce ticket times and food costs for the small kitchen crew; the visit focused on tightening the menu and refreshing the physical space rather than a wholesale concept change.

According to local outlet KESQ, owner Eileen Smith passed away in May 2014, a few months after the episode aired. Food Network Gossip, a program-tracking blog, reported the restaurant's closure in a 2015 post, describing Tootie's as having wound down in early 2015 following the loss of its owner. A Yelp listing for Tootie's Texas Barbeque at 68703 Perez Rd is marked closed as of a March 2026 site check, consistent with that earlier reporting, and no sources were found indicating the restaurant reopened under the same or a different name at the address since. Given the personal circumstances involved, this record limits detail to the fact and approximate timing of the closure and the owner's passing as reported by KESQ, rather than any additional personal specifics. Local coverage reviewed for this record did not describe the restaurant changing hands or reopening under new ownership at the Perez Road address after the 2015 closure, and no evidence was found of a Tootie's location continuing to operate elsewhere in the Coachella Valley.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 8, Episode 2
Original air date
Episode title
A Lot to Lose
What was featured
Menu overhaul, pricing, and dining-room renovation
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Tootie's Texas BBQ

Frequently asked questions

Is Tootie's Texas BBQ still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Tootie's Texas BBQ has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, May 2015.

What happened to Tootie's Texas BBQ after Restaurant: Impossible?

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network) chef Robert Irvine visited Tootie's Texas BBQ in Cathedral City, California, for the Season 8 episode "A Lot to Lose," which aired March 12, 2014. As of September 2026, Tootie's Texas BBQ has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, May 2015.

Is Tootie's Texas BBQ permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Tootie's Texas BBQ has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, May 2015. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Tootie's Texas BBQ located?

68703 Perez Rd, Cathedral City, CA 92234. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant: Impossible featured Tootie's Texas BBQ?

Season 8, Episode 2 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired March 12, 2014. The episode is titled “A Lot to Lose”.

Did the makeover last at Tootie's Texas BBQ?

The episode first aired March 12, 2014. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 12 years later —: As of September 2026, Tootie's Texas BBQ has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, May 2015.

What do reviews say since Restaurant: Impossible?

Local coverage reviewed for this record did not describe the restaurant changing hands or reopening under new ownership at the Perez Road address after the 2015 closure, and no evidence was found of a Tootie's location continuing to operate elsewhere in the Coachella Valley. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is Tootie's Texas BBQ still using the Restaurant: Impossible menu or branding?

The Perez Road barbecue restaurant, in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, was dealing with declining sales and kitchen inconsistency that the show tied to menu complexity and pricing issues, along with the strain the owner was under while also managing serious personal health difficulties, as later covered by local news. 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
68703 Perez Rd, Cathedral City, CA 92234
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

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Sources

  • foodnetworkgossip.com — https://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/2015/05/tooties-texas-bbq-closed.html
  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/tooties-texas-barbeque-cathedral-city
  • KESQ
  • Food Network Gossip
  • Yelp

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