TV Restaurants

What Happened to Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant? (Smyrna, DE)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, September 2014.

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

Last verified

What the source shows: Food Network Gossip reported Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant closed on September 7, 2014, linking the closure to the owner's declining health, with the restaurant's contents later sold; a Yellow Pages listing for the address shows the business as closed.

  • Season / episode Season 6, Episode 5
  • Original air date
  • Address 110 S Dupont Blvd, Smyrna, DE 19977

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What happened after Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)?

In "Muskrat Mayhem," which aired May 19, 2013 on Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network), Chef Robert Irvine visited Smyrna, Delaware to help three generations of one family — owner Patty Gallegos, her daughter Sheila, and grandchildren Jessica and Joshua — save the Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant. The episode found a frozen-food-heavy menu, dated decor, strained relationships among the family members running the business together, and a heavy reliance on muskrat, a regional dish also known locally as marsh rabbit, to keep longtime customers coming through the door.

Irvine's team retrained the kitchen to work from fresh ingredients rather than the frozen product it had been relying on, refreshed the dining room's decor and lighting, and worked with the family to clarify who was responsible for what and to improve how staff treated one another and customers during service, while keeping the restaurant's signature muskrat dish on a revised, shorter menu built around it.

The two-day turnaround closed with a relaunch dinner for the Gallegos family, staff and regular customers, centered on the updated menu and dining room, with the family expressing hope that clearer roles and a tighter kitchen would ease the tension the show had captured among them.

According to Food Network Gossip, Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant closed on September 7, 2014, about 16 months after the broadcast; the outlet linked the closure to the owner's declining health and reported that the restaurant's remaining contents were later sold off. A Yellow Pages listing for the address, 110 S Dupont Blvd in Smyrna, marks the business as closed. A Facebook page titled "Wagon Wheel Restaurant & Bar" for a Smyrna, Delaware business was found during research, but its content could not be independently confirmed as describing this same address or as reflecting current 2026 operations, so it is noted here only as an unconfirmed lead requiring further verification and was not used as a status source.

Featured on Restaurant: Impossible

Season / episode
Season 6, Episode 5
Original air date
Episode title
Muskrat Mayhem
What was featured
three-generation family diner's muskrat specialty kept amid full menu overhaul
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant

Frequently asked questions

Is Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, September 2014.

What happened to Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant after Restaurant: Impossible?

In "Muskrat Mayhem," which aired May 19, 2013 on Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network), Chef Robert Irvine visited Smyrna, Delaware to help three generations of one family — owner Patty Gallegos, her daughter Sheila, and grandchildren Jessica and Joshua — save the Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant. As of September 2026, Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, September 2014.

Is Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, September 2014. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant located?

110 S Dupont Blvd, Smyrna, DE 19977. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant: Impossible featured Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant?

Season 6, Episode 5 of Restaurant: Impossible, first aired May 19, 2013. The episode is titled “Muskrat Mayhem”.

Did the makeover last at Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant?

The episode first aired May 19, 2013. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 13 years later —: As of September 2026, Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant has closed — confirmed via foodnetworkgossip.com, September 2014.

Is Wagon Wheel Family Restaurant still using the Restaurant: Impossible menu or branding?

The episode found a frozen-food-heavy menu, dated decor, strained relationships among the family members running the business together, and a heavy reliance on muskrat, a regional dish also known locally as marsh rabbit, to keep longtime customers coming through the door. 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
110 S Dupont Blvd, Smyrna, DE 19977
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • foodnetworkgossip.com — https://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/2014/08/wagon-wheel-from-restaurant-impossible.html
  • yellowpages.com — https://www.yellowpages.com/smyrna-de/mip/wagon-wheel-family-restaurant-8325385
  • Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/wagonwheelsmyrna/

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