The Profit Review

In the latest season, Marcus Lemonis heads to Dante's Italian Restaurant in Rockaway, NJ. The owner, Dante, who is 26 at the time of filming, is struggling to make the business successful.

Cue Lemonis to the rescue with an offer Dante can't refuse?

Not quite. The restaurant is facing a hurdle that even Marcus can't jump over, no financial record keeping at all. Even more complicated is that Dante's ownership in the business stems from compensation he received from his mother perishing in the World Trade Center on 9/11. Marcus jumping in to take 50% probably wouldn't be a good look. But the food is amazing and Dante is eager to learn, so Marcus does something in this episode he never does, he takes Dante under his wing without doing any equity investing at all.

Along the way, Dante's father creates tension and challenges to making what is basically a family business, a compelling episode where you're not sure if they're going to succeed or fail.

In the end, Dante seems to get it and with the help of a loan with no maturity date from Marcus, makes a lot of improvements to the business. In an interview with NorthJersey.com, Dante said, “We’re not breaking any records now, but business has been better.” That was after the changes were made but before the episode aired.

Reviewers on TripAdvisor and Yelp have since left mostly very positive reviews. Towards the end of the show, Marcus brings Dante's father Jimmy to Liberty Park in Jersey City to try and refocus his mind on what the business is about. While they're talking, they spotted a huge rainbow over New York's new World Trade Center.

I hope Dante's succeeds!