When America's Next Great Restaurant premieres this Sunday at 7 p.m. on NBC, you'll see a familiar face among the 21 contestants. Sandy Digiovanni, the former owner of Stack's Drive-In, is hoping to win the reality restaurant competition that has a franchise deal as the grand prize.
NBC Action News recently interviewed Digiovanni at Out of Bounds (3601 Broadway), where she described her idea as a "fast-food concept with a healthy twist."
The premise of the reality show is that it's looking for the next great quick-service concept. A more appropriate title for the show could be "America's Next Big Fast-Casual Chain." The judges, who will apparently be investing their own money in the show's winner, are chefs Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone and Lorena Garcia, as well as Chipotle founder Steve Ells.
As opposed to other cooking shows, the contestants aren't necessarily chefs but those who wish to become restaurateurs. The initial pool of 21 candidates will be knocked down to 10, who will then be mentored and challenged by the panel of judges. The winner of the finale will then launch his or her brand with locations in Minneapolis, New York City and Hollywood.
"Living the dream, living the dream," says Digiovanni in the above trailer. Let's hope her dream lasts long enough to see her restaurant idea come to Kansas City.
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