Community Corner

Mamaroneck Restaurant Featured on Food Network's 'Restaurant Stakeout'

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Though the "Real Housewives of Westchester" has yet to materialize, that didn't stop a local business from participating in a different kind of reality show.

Restaurant Stakeoutβ€”a Food Network show hosted by Uncle Jack's Steakhouse founder Willie Degel that helps troubled restaurants identify the problems plaguing their establishmentsβ€”featured Mamaroneck's Roasted Peppers in an episode called "This Place is a Ghost Town!"

According to the Food Network website, owner Juan Lepe has struggled with the restaurant losing money since it opened in 2009; recently, his 11-year-old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor, making profitability a more urgent goal than ever.

Lepeβ€”who grew up in Jalisco, Mexico and came to the U.S. when he was 16β€”worked at several Westchester establishments before working his way up to cook at the now-defunct Rockwell's in Mamaroneck. He launched Roasted Peppers in 2009 withΒ Darrell Belcher and Ruben Ochoa, Jr.Β 

The episode ThisΒ Place is a Ghost Town can be viewed on the Food Network on June 8 and 16 at 3 p.m.

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