Food Network Chef Robert Irvine Confronts Roaches at Tampa Bay Restaurant

The roaches are gone from Smitty's Restaurant in Clearwater, thanks to a thorough fumigation and celebrity chef Robert Irvine's tough love.

As fans of the Food Network's reality restaurant show know, Smitty's was featured last Sunday on TV's "Restaurant Impossible."

Titled "Creepy in Clearwater," the episode featured a daunting task even for Irvine: how to get rid of an infestation of roaches.

According to FoodNetwork.com, "Overrun with these crawly creatures, husband-and-wife owners Gus and Evi Gialelis’ business faced certain closure if Robert Irvine and his Restaurant: Impossible team couldn’t locate the source of the swarm."

The Tampa Bay Times reviewed the episode. Critic Eric Deggans  noted that it is the stomach-turning scenes of roaches that transfix viewers. (The show will rerun. See time below.)

Irvine shuts down the place and gives the owners a stern lecture: Get rid of the roaches or the restaurant.

According to the Food Network, Irvine declared: “I have never come across a restaurant this bad in my whole career,” Robert told Gus and Evi, who felt personally defeated in the wake of their struggling business.

Of course, this is reality TV, so the exterminater is able to oust the nasty bugs and a cleaning crew makes the tired old restaurant looking spanking new.

Deggans noted what a lot of people may have been thinking: "I kept wondering how Smitty’s got so dirty to begin with, and whether Chef Robert helped them figure out how to keep it clean."

It's not surprising that Irvine shows interest in Clearwater. According to the Tampa Bay Times food critic Laura Reiley, Irvine and his professional wrestler wife, Gail Kim, just bought a home in Westchase.

According to the FoodNetwork.com, Smitty’s has seen an increase in business since the show taped, and Evi says she’s noticing many first-time customers at the restaurant.

In case you missed it, the Smitty's episode will repeat at 7 p.m. on May 08, 2013.

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• PHOTOS: Local Restaurant Gets Makeover From Restaurant Impossible

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