Chef Robert Irvine arrives at the Dog & Pony Ale House in Renton, Wash., where he meets the owner, Kristen. Despite Kristen's whit and smarts, she's being overwhelmed by a vocal group of customers who cause her to buy equipment and change the menu on a whim, trust issues with her staff and hundreds of thousands in debt owed to the IRS. Robert will have to give Kristen the tools she needs to toughen up and turn this confused bar into a place worthy of all its patrons, before the Dog & Pony is shut down and Kristen loses everything.