This Lake Charles Restaurant Was Featured On 'Undercover Boss'

Ryan's Buffet Restaurant in Lake Charles closed a few years ago as most of the locals around SWLA already know. The VitaNova (formerly Ovation Brands/Buffet Inc.) outlet was successfully in business for at least a decade in Lake Charles. Somewhere down the line, the American comfort food restaurant started to experience operation problems.

In an attempt to understand why his buffet-style restaurant business was failing, company CEO Anthony Wedo went on the hit CBS TV series "Undercover Boss" in 2013. The Fortune 500 food Exc. was six months in his position as Buffet Inc. CEO when he filmed the in Lake Charles.

In the episode that aired on October 18, 2013, Wedo used the alias, Mike Davis. While undercover, the new CEO talked and worked with four of his employees a dishwasher, server, grill cook, and cashier to get the scoop on what they thought about his company, the restaurant operations, and their jobs.

Wedo said, according to the Lake Charles American Press, that he wanted to get "an inside look at what needs to be fixed within the company in order to give it a financial one-eighty." Ryan's Restaurant manager, Ernest Williams, was also featured on the show. He trained "Mike" and showed him a few of his managerial duties. Williams said that the good thing about "Undercover Boss" was a CEO can learn the truth about what is going on. Below is a look at how it all turned out.

Though Anthony Wedo got a good look at some of the problems his restaurant chain was facing, sadly his plan to save the company fell through. Eight years after that episode aired, all Ryan's Buffet locations closed permanently on January 15, 2021, and were auctioned off by Auction Nation. The old Ryan's location is now home to Pedro's Taco and Tequilla Bar.