TV Restaurants

What Happened to Marie's at Ummat Cafe? (Atlanta, GA)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Marie's at Ummat Cafe has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, 2018.

Primary source
foodnetworkgossip.com ·
Secondary source
foodnetworkgossip.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: An undated addendum to the original 2014 recap states only that the cafe is now closed; Food Network Gossip's cumulative tracker lists the closure year as 2018, while other secondary trackers place it anywhere from 2017 to 2019, so the precise date is unconfirmed. (unverified exact closure date)

  • Season / episode Season 9, Episode 2
  • Original air date
  • Address 566 Fayetteville Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30316

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

On Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network), Robert Irvine visited Atlanta, Georgia for the second episode of season nine, "Culture Clash," which aired July 30, 2014, to help Marie's at Ummat Cafe. Owner Jaliwa Owuo, who had run a catering business called Buy the Dish before opening the cafe in January 2013, served a halal menu in the East Lake neighborhood, near the city's oldest mosque. The cafe's halal menu combined Southern comfort-food staples with dishes suited to the dietary needs of nearby mosque congregants, a combination Irvine's renovation sought to present more clearly to potential customers unfamiliar with halal dining options. The episode explored the owner's belief that the cafe's location and halal focus led some potential customers to assume, incorrectly, that the restaurant served Muslim patrons exclusively. A conflict between members of Irvine's design team during the renovation nearly derailed the makeover before it was finished. After the show aired, the restaurant added a sign referencing its Restaurant Impossible appearance and hosted a sold-out viewing party for the episode. Reviews immediately following the broadcast were limited in number and mixed in tone: some diners praised specific dishes such as shrimp and grits, while at least one review described a visit weeks after the makeover as slow and disappointing despite a nearly empty dining room. A brief, undated update appended to Food Network Gossip's original 2014 recap stated only that the cafe was now closed, without specifying when. Secondary trackers that later revisited the Restaurant Impossible catalog disagree on the exact year Marie's at Ummat Cafe stopped operating, with estimates ranging from 2017 to 2019; Food Network Gossip's own cumulative status table lists 2018. The cafe operated at 566 Fayetteville Road SE in Atlanta's East Lake area, and no source reviewed identifies a successor business operating under the same name at that address.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 9, Episode 2
Original air date
Episode title
Culture Clash
What was featured
Dining-room and signage renovation at a halal soul-food cafe
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Marie's at Ummat Cafe

Frequently asked questions

Is Marie's at Ummat Cafe still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Marie's at Ummat Cafe has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, 2018.

What happened to Marie's at Ummat Cafe after Restaurant: Impossible?

On Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network), Robert Irvine visited Atlanta, Georgia for the second episode of season nine, "Culture Clash," which aired July 30, 2014, to help Marie's at Ummat Cafe. As of September 2026, Marie's at Ummat Cafe has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, 2018.

Is Marie's at Ummat Cafe permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Marie's at Ummat Cafe has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, 2018. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Marie's at Ummat Cafe located?

566 Fayetteville Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30316. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant: Impossible featured Marie's at Ummat Cafe?

Season 9, Episode 2 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired July 30, 2014. The episode is titled “Culture Clash”.

Did the makeover last at Marie's at Ummat Cafe?

The episode first aired July 30, 2014. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 12 years later —: As of September 2026, Marie's at Ummat Cafe has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, 2018.

What do reviews say since Restaurant: Impossible?

Reviews immediately following the broadcast were limited in number and mixed in tone: some diners praised specific dishes such as shrimp and grits, while at least one review described a visit weeks after the makeover as slow and disappointing despite a nearly empty dining room. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Is Marie's at Ummat Cafe still using the Restaurant: Impossible menu or branding?

Owner Jaliwa Owuo, who had run a catering business called Buy the Dish before opening the cafe in January 2013, served a halal menu in the East Lake neighborhood, near the city's oldest mosque. 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
566 Fayetteville Rd SE, Atlanta, GA 30316
Venue type
cafe
Official website
None found

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