lemonis: todd and a couple other guys. amber: well, we'll have to do another "inside look" on the second episode. i like the tv of it. lemonis: "i'm not doing this for tv!" ♪ er. come on. amber: [ laughs ] i can't. lemonis: is it getting hot in here? amber: no. lemonis: come on. amber: let's do another intro. lemonis: ♪ it's getting... what? come on. amber: hot in here. no one's gonna know what you're talking about. lemonis: they will. watch, watch. it's getting hot in here, so don't write a check. amber: tonight on -- lemonis: tonight on one of the most controversial episodes -- right? controversial? amber: right. lemonis: i don't even have to say the name, do i? amber: swanson's -- lemonis: swanson's fish market. mm-hmm. in the last five years, i've visited over 70 businesses. it's delicious. [ laughter ] and i've traveled the country, trying to fix the people... christina: i don't want to be that person that cries on tape. lemonis: ...fix the process... i don't think you guys have any idea what's in your inventory. holy [bleep]

...and create a few products. welcome to your new store. nicolas: oh, my god. channa: i owe my life to this company. lemonis: that is the reason that i'm here. i spend hundreds of days a year working on these companies. why didn't you do it? tony: i thought that we did. lemonis: holy [bleep] but we can't always fit everything i'm thinking into the show. tonight, we're gonna give you an inside look at a very controversial episode from season 2 -- swanson's fish market. gary: we called that guy up and told him we'll pay him tomorrow! lemonis: but you didn't tell me that he was foreclosing! the foreclosure action started before i even got here! do you not have anxiety from this episode? amber: no. i don't. lemonis: over the next hour, i'm gonna take you behind the scenes to share with you what i was actually thinking during filming... it's a really nice building. gary: well, it didn't look quite like this, 'cause it burned down. lemonis: and how much was the total loss? gary: over $1 million. lemonis: how much did the insurance pay? gary: $1.2 million. lemonis: don't you think that's weird?

he got more from the insurance company than his loss. amber: right. lemonis: in that moment, i put that nugget in the back of my brain. where'd the money go? ...share some secrets... $1 million. gary: give it to larissa. amber: we should probably explain that she got mad at the end of this 'cause the deal didn't happen. lemonis: she put this facebook post out there that the show was bullsh[bleep] amber: well, no one paid attention. lemonis: i cared, because it challenged the integrity of what we do. ...and give you an honest assessment of my decisions. so, when things get tough, you make sacrifices. you're asking these guys at the front to take money out of their pocket and buy the shrimp and buy the fish, and you got a $500, $600 car payment. you cannot be driving a luxury car. i know that i wasn't an owner in swanson's fish market, but i felt a responsibility to actually fix their path. amber: yeah. lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis, and this is "an inside look." ♪ man: reading all around. man #2: audio scape. lemonis: tonight, we're gonna give you an inside look at a very controversial episode from season 2 -- swanson's fish market.

you remember that one? amber: oh, i remember. lemonis: and do you remember all the things that happened after the episode aired? amber: yep. lemonis: we're gonna talk about all of that -- the text messages, the facebook post. all the stuff they tried to say didn't really happen, we're gonna address it. amber: yeah. lemonis: i always thought that something smelled fishy in their business. amber: no. ♪ ♪ lemonis: swanson's location seems great. it's on one of the busiest streets in fairfield, it's in a beautiful building, and there's two other businesses next door. nice jacket, dude. spencer: morning. lemonis: how are you? i'm marcus. spencer: spencer. lemonis: hey, nice to meet you. spencer: you, too. lemonis: i'm marcus. paul: how you doin', marcus? i'm paul. lemonis: nice to meet you. paul: good to meet you. lemonis: wow. a lot of good stuff. spencer: yeah, we're working on it. lemonis: is gary, the owner, around? spencer: yes. i'll go get him. he's in the office. lemonis: okay.

the place is definitely underutilized. i look to the left, and there's this big counter with nothing on it, nothing merchandised on it. it definitely has room for improvement. paul: i mean, this is a great place. i love the job and everything. it's just, sometimes it gets a little bit stressful when you don't know what's going on. lemonis: what kinds of things are you -- paul: like money, really, to be honest with you. sometimes, we're asked if we mind waiting for our checks a week or two. we've had problems paying for product, so we've all pooled our money together on several occasions. lemonis: people that work here? paul: yeah. amber: pause. oh, my gosh. when have you ever heard that happening in a business? lemonis: never. amber: that employees have pooled their money together to afford product for the business? lemonis: while it was stunning to me that it happened, it was impressive that it did happen. think about how much people had to like working there to be willing to do that. amber: right. yeah. lemonis: how are you? gary: good. lemonis: i'm marcus. gary: i'm gary. lemonis: gary, nice to meet you. gary: you, too. lemonis: this is an unbelievable location. how long have you been here? gary: 41 years. lemonis: wow. and who started the business?

gary: it was my dad. lemonis: and do you guys rent this property? gary: no, we own this property. lemonis: how much did you buy this property for? gary: way back when, it was $450,000, and i bought it from my dad for $600,000. lemonis: it's a really nice building. gary: well, it didn't look quite like this, 'cause it burned down. lemonis: remind me a little bit. when did this fire happen? gary: 4th of july, 2009. it was 100% loss. lemonis: and how much was the total loss? gary: over $1 million. lemonis: how much did the insurance pay? gary: about $1.2 million. lemonis: so the loss was $1 million, but they paid $1.2 million? gary: yeah. lemonis: okay. don't you think that's weird? he received more than his loss. in that moment, i put that nugget in the back of my brain. he's called me here. he's low on inventory. his employees are putting money into the business, and he had an insurance loss of which he actually received more than his loss. amber: right. lemonis: so already, i'm like, all right. amber: so why are your employees putting money in the business? lemonis: and why are you missing inventory? where'd the money go? amber: right. lemonis: right. okay.

and do you have a mortgage on the property? gary: i do. lemonis: and how much is that payment a month? gary: about $3,800. lemonis: so, those people next door are your tenants? gary: yes. lemonis: and how much do they pay? gary: $3,000 a month. lemonis: each one? gary: each one. lemonis: so you have $6,000 coming just from them? gary: yes. lemonis: so more than covers your mortgage. gary: more than covers. lemonis: two facts so far -- he got more from the insurance company than his loss. amber: right. lemonis: fact 1. and he has positive cash flow on the building -- fact 2. amber: right. lemonis: and oh, by the way, what he's collecting in rent from the other two people happens to be more than his mortgage payment, which means you have no rent and you have extra cash. amber: so where's the money going? lemonis: follow the money. next. amber: right. lemonis: and what's the most profitable part of the business? gary: prep foods. lemonis: prepared foods? so how much fresh fish do you sell each week? gary: about $18,000. lemonis: $18,000. gary: yeah. lemonis: and what are the margins on that fish? gary: about 30%. lemonis: and then, how much in soups and prepared foods do you sell a week? gary: it's equal -- about $18,000. lemonis: and what are the margins on that? gary: that's about 60%.

lemonis: double the margins? gary: yeah. lemonis: and what does it take to run this place a month? what does it cost between mortgage payment, utilities, payroll -- everything? gary: i would guess $18,000. lemonis: so, gary's explained that he does $150,000 a month in business. i asked him what his margins are, and he told me 30% on fresh fish and 60% on prepared foods. half and half is the business mix. if i take 45%, which is the average of the two, across $150,000 in revenue, that's $68,000 in gross profit per month. he then tell me that his expenses are $18,000 a month. that would leave him with $50,000 net profit at the end of the month. there's almost $70,000 in gross profit, and the expenses are only $18,000 a month. gary: no, that was -- you know what? that's way off. just a lot of expense that's not associated with running the business. lemonis: so what's that? like, give me an example. gary: those are loans, the mortgages. we borrowed money from people for construction, and i have vendors that i couldn't keep up with.

lemonis: and is all that debt still outstanding? gary: yeah. lemonis: when i'm talking to gary about his numbers, what i'm kind of scratching my head on is, he's making money. i believe him on his margins, 'cause i did some research. and so the numbers aren't adding up to me. amber: even now, sitting here today looking at this, it's confusing. it doesn't -- i just don't -- like, i don't -- lemonis: it's not confusing. it's not transparent. amber: no, it's not transparent. you don't know where the money went. ♪ lemonis: is it always this busy? gary: yeah. yeah. well, this time of day, yeah. larissa: dad, can i get you to sign some of these checks for the vendors? gary: oh, okay. lemonis: how are you? i'm marcus. larissa: hi. nice to meet you. larissa. lemonis: nice to meet you. larissa: i'm gary's daughter. lemonis: and you're the one that reached out to me. larissa: yes. i was shocked. i didn't think he would call. lemonis: what prompted you to come here? larissa: well, all the stress. my mom was doing the books, and she was so overwhelmed that -- she didn't have any help and neither did he, and -- lemonis: you had another job?

larissa: yeah. i was working retail. lemonis: was it a good job? larissa: yeah. i was getting paid well. lemonis: so you didn't really know what you were doing? larissa: not really, no. lemonis: and do you live close to here? larissa: no, i live an hour away. lemonis: you drive an hour each way? larissa: yeah. an hour each way every day. lemonis: why do you do it? larissa: my family keeps me going, and it's hard watching people you care about struggle. lemonis: how is it working with your dad? larissa: it's nice. gary: yeah, we get along fine. her and her mom... larissa: yeah, no. gary: ...not so much. larissa: yeah. we'll argue -- who we should pay first. this vendor, you know. gary: yeah, my wife will come in and yell at me, and bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, and i just leave. lemonis: yeah. ♪ hi, i'm marcus. are you sue? sue: marcus! [ laughs ] lemonis: nice to meet you. sue: oh! i love it that you're here! amber: she drove me nuts. lemonis: she wasn't a truth-teller. amber: unh-unh. she was very scattered, and she'd be, like, having sushi and drinking alcohol at, like, the middle of the day. [ both laugh ] yeah. she's a hot mess, too. lemonis: well, maybe if you had to deal with me, you'd have to have a drink.

amber: i do deal with you, and i don't drink. sue: you don't know what we've been going through, marcus. lemonis: well, tell me about it. sue: gary can drive you nuts, the way he does his books. you know, when there's not enough money here, he'll pull it out of the realty. and then, you know, that's the tenant's checks that are coming -- you know? there are times that i'm like this. lemonis: and so are you out of the financials now? sue: i want to be. lemonis: but i thought your daughter did the books. sue: yeah. she just started. she could see it, you know, that i just don't have it in me anymore. right now, we could only pay like one or two people a week, and that's it. lemonis: how's payroll getting made? sue: gary was able to put a few thousand dollars aside, and he made payroll last week. lemonis: it's that tight? sue: marcus, i'm behind two months on my mortgage, i -- lemonis: at home, you mean? sue: yeah. i get my verizon shut down every month. lemonis: the reality of it is, is the situation's bad. sue: oh, yeah. lemonis: right? sue: mm-hmm. ♪

lemonis: the conflict, for me, is finding the balance between what i was feeling uncomfortable about and what i was -- balancing that against how i was feeling bad. amber: right. lemonis: in that moment, i'm like -- somebody's crying. you're trying to, like, "all right. don't worry about it. we'll figure it out." but 13 seconds before that, i was like, "there's something weird here going on." amber: right. gary: we have a beautiful office. lemonis: and so, this is all new? you built this building from scratch? gary: yeah. lemonis: after meeting with sue downstairs, i'm a little confused about the numbers. and now that she's passed them off to larissa, i want to get them all together so i could clearly understand what the numbers really are and what the company really needs. gary: i have a picture over here of what the old building looked like. lemonis: that one's like one you want to just take out of your memory. how did the fire start? do you know? gary: they don't know. lemonis: what do you think? larissa: well, we had a fire in our warehouse.

lemonis: so, wait a minute, there was two fires? larissa: yes. gary: it was hard to believe that it happened twice. lemonis: and how much did that fire cost you, to rebuild? gary: i didn't track it, but i want to say 30 grand. lemonis: how much did the insurance give you? gary: i think it was about $220,000. lemonis: and how much did it cost to rebuild here? gary: probably about $1 million. lemonis: and how much money did the insurance give you? gary: $1.2 million. lemonis: with the warehouse, gary told me that he received $220,000 from the insurance company, but it only cost him $30,000 to rebuild. with the main fish market, the swanson's location, he received $1.2 million from the insurance company, but it only cost him $1 million to rebuild. that means that he got an excess of $390,000 from the insurance company. i'm a little confused why they're in such trouble. larissa, was it a total mess when you got here? larissa: oh, god. it was such a mess. that's why i needed somebody's help with it. no one helped me. sue: i talked to you on the phone. larissa: no, you didn't.

lemonis: sue, i'm kind of getting the feeling that you really kind of left larissa with the bag in trying to figure all of this out. i mean, she's a young girl. sue: yeah. no, no. not that bad as you might say. larissa: yeah, i was pretty much here alone every day, trying to teach myself. lemonis: gary, do you feel like sue left larissa holding the bag? gary: yeah. yeah, she has. lemonis: i mean, you want the business to survive, somebody's got to teach her how to do it, instead of dumping it on somebody else. that, to me, is like, holy crap. larissa: i'm sorry. lemonis: what are you stressed about? larissa: just everything -- all the bills, and everything that's just been piling up. it's just so much. i've been trying my hardest to help, and i just don't know how much more i could do, you know? sue: well, exactly. why do you think i'm at home? i'm dealing with the phone calls at home. trying to persua-- gary: mm, no you're not. sue: yes, i am. persuade them, you know, to work with us. that's what i'm doing. lemonis: what i'm frustrated about in watching this episode now

is, like, i knew what i was gathering, and i knew what was adding up in my brain, and for some reason, i didn't just, like -- amber: well, you hadn't seen stuff yet, in all fairness, marcus. you hadn't seen the finances. i mean, things were weird, but you hadn't seen stuff yet. lemonis: okay. so, i tell you what i'd like to start with is understanding this whole universe of debt. and so do you have that on a spreadsheet? so taxes, irs -- $33,000. sue: yes. lemonis: kaz mortgage -- $345,000 on the building. gary: correct. lemonis: i'm a little confused how a business that got a fresh start after receiving insurance money can be in such debt. gary, sue told me that your mortgage is really past-due, as well. is that right? gary: at home, yeah. lemonis: is your mortgage paid here? gary: yes. we're in good shape. ♪ lemonis: what kind of car do you drive? sue: the bmw. lemonis: where do you get the money to pay it? sue: well, i -- lemonis: out of the company? sue: they -- yeah. lemonis: you owe your credit card providers. you owe your vendors. you have a mortgage that's past-due.

you can't pay your employees on time. the employees are having to pay for fish themselves. driving a bmw may not be a deal-breaker as it relates to their finances, but it's a deal-breaker as it relates to sending a message and leading by example. it just isn't right. do you have a profit and loss statement for the business? larissa: yeah. right here. lemonis: so, $1.8 million in total business. and the business, on paper, made $148,000. gary: on paper. lemonis: and so what it doesn't account for is any money that left the business to pay debt. from what i can see, swanson's has a lot of business, and they actually make a decent profit. but between paying their mounting credit card debt and sticking their hand in the till, that paper profit is really a cash loss of hundreds of thousands. ♪ $1 million. gary: give it to larissa. larissa: aww! amber: at the end of this, she said that your check was fake. lemonis: yeah. after the episode aired, she put this facebook post out there

that the show was bull[bleep]

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"something definitely doesn't feel right here." you don't remember that? amber: i vaguely remember. lemonis: and you were like, "you know what? you're rushing to judgement too quick, and i don't like that side of you." amber: well, you do rush quickly a lot of times to judgment. lemonis: mm-hmm. amber: you're not always right. lemonis: mm...mm... amber: you can admit that, right? you're not always right. lemonis: i'm not always right... but, comma... amber: you were right here. lemonis: yep. amber: yeah. that's true. you were right here. yes, you were. ♪ lemonis: this is a 40-year-old family business. it's a long time. it's a lot of history. it's a lot of fish. it's a lot of customers. it's a lot of memories. gary: yeah. yeah. lemonis: and those are to be taken very seriously. the struggle that i have is, the numbers are fuzzy to me. and with the numbers being as fuzzy as they are, no investor, particularly me, is gonna invest in a business that isn't cleaned up, because we haven't demonstrated as a collective group

that we can manage money very well. it's just -- it's too dangerous. it's russian roulette. gary: well, then we're wasting our time. then there's nothing we can do. lemonis: or i'm willing to put $1 million up to buy the building, which allows all of your debt to get paid off, own 100% of the business, and put working capital in the business. gary: but then, we no longer have this future investment. sue: that's our security. gary: can't do it. lemonis: and if you had the ability to buy it back at a future date? gary: well, you have my attention with that. lemonis: okay. at some point in the future, if you were able to save money from your profitable business, or you decided to sell your business, you can then come back to me and buy the building back. i don't know how that doesn't seem reasonable. gary: well, now that you're saying that there's an opportunity to buy it back, i would be interested in that. lemonis: so is that a deal? ♪ gary: yeah. lemonis: okay.

gary: thanks. now, when do we do all this? lemonis: well... gary: oh, boy. ♪ lemonis: $1 million. gary: give it to larissa. larissa: aww! amber: we should probably explain that she got mad at the end of this 'cause the deal didn't happen, and she said that your check was fake. lemonis: yeah. it's like -- amber: like, the check's not fake. lemonis: that is my real checkbook. amber: right. lemonis: anybody that's ever done any transaction of any kind in the universe, particularly real estate, knows that you don't just hand somebody a check, and they hand you the title of the building. you got to do lien searches. you got to go to the title company. there's a process for all of it. amber: right. sure. lemonis: did they think i was just gonna, like, "oh, yeah, go cash the $1 million. and oh, by the way, i hope your property's clear. i hope your taxes are paid. and, no problem. i'm sure that you'll pay the mortgage off." it's like, that's not how a closing works. and so, after the episode aired,

she put this facebook post out there that the show was bull[bleep] amber: well, no one paid attention. no one cared. lemonis: well, i cared, because it challenged the integrity of what we do. amber: i understand that, but i -- lemonis: and i take it personally. amber: i didn't take it personally because i know that we didn't do that. like -- lemonis: right. ♪ nelson: i'm wondering if you can give us a couple more weeks while we get the money together. gary: okay. well, yeah. it's -- all right, what we'll do is, i'll talk to you guys in the next day or so. nelson: all right. thank you, gary. gary: all right, bye. lemonis: what's that about? gary: black rock café, they're falling behind on the payments. lemonis: the people next door? gary: yeah. lemonis: how much is that? gary: around $15 grand. lemonis: boy, that's a lot of money. gary: yeah. lemonis: where's all the paperwork? gary: i have it. lemonis: and who's joseph? gary: he's the money guy. he told me they're not making it. lemonis: they're not gonna make it? gary: no. it doesn't look good. he has the money. i think he's made a decision to not put anything more into the place.

lemonis: and so he's personally guaranteed this? gary: yeah. lemonis: the owner of black rock café has a $75,000 personal guarantee on this equipment and the lease. what that means is that we can go collect on his personal assets. i don't want to do that. what i actually want to do is come up with a solution that works for black rock and works for swanson's. why don't we maybe see if we can get together with them, okay? gary: okay. lemonis: where is sue, by the way? larissa: she's on her way. gary: yeah, she's always late. lemonis: i'm annoyed that sue's late. she's not committed to the business. she's committed to herself. sue: [ sighs ] gary: aha! finally. sue: morning, marcus! how are you? lemonis: good afternoon. gary: good afternoon. sue: [ laughs ] amber: everyone is always so annoyed by sue. lemonis: you told me you were all in this business. did something change? sue: no. lemonis: i got here early, thinking you were gonna be here, and so i'm just -- if you're not gonna be engaged, i just need to get that around my head. sue: no. let's move forward. lemonis: i feel like these guys are doing all of this by themselves. am i missing som--

or am i just wrong about how i'm seeing it? are you able to get rid of your car to lower that payment? can you change to a different car? sue: [ chuckling ] here we go again. lemonis: how much is the monthly payment? gary: is it $500? lemonis: it's $500? sue: yes. lemonis: i feel like you're offended by me asking the question, and so i'm kind of annoyed that you're offended. if you don't want the $1 million, just tell me, and you guys can figure it out. it does send a bad message when your employees downstairs are taking money out of their pocket to buy the fish, and you're driving a bmw. am i thinking about it the wrong way? gary: yeah. no, you're right. lemonis: do you agree with that? larissa: i agree with you. 100%. lemonis: so, you don't agree with that, sue? sue: that...? lemonis: it sends a bad message? sue: but that started happening after i was driving it. lemonis: i'm not sure i understand your point. solve the [bleep]ing problem. larissa: it is upsetting that you have kind of abandoned the whole thing and put this all on me and don't feel bad about it. sue: larissa, when you're in here,

are people calling? it's very stressful. larissa: i'm here all day every day! i'm dealing with everyone coming in and out of that door all day every day. sue: yeah. and it's very stressful, yes. larissa: people looking for checks. they didn't get paid last week. sue: right. and then we bounced two checks this week. larissa: i know about all of that. i'm here 5, 6 days out of the week. sue: okay, because i was -- larissa: this is my routine every day coming here. sue: obviously, i'm -- larissa: i drive an hour every day to get here from branford. i don't know why i made everyone's problems my problems, but -- sorry. i'm getting emotional. lemonis: pause. larissa's not wrong. amber: no. lemonis: sue is sitting there lecturing her, and larissa's like, "i'm the one taking the calls from the vendors. i'm the one taking the call from the irs. i'm the one dealing with all this stuff." and she's like, "yeah, i get it." larissa: i don't really have anything else to talk about now. this is just a lot, guys. i just want to be done.

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lemonis: black rock's situation looks really bad, and they've pretty much given up on honoring their financial obligations. secondly, gary really needs to expand his business in the prepared-foods market. so i'm looking to come up with a solution that not only gets gary his restaurant back, but lets black rock off the hook. nelson: gary, how's it going? gary: good. how you doing? lemonis: how you doing, sir? i'm marcus. joe: marcus. joe. nice to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you, joe. right now, the business is struggling. you're a few months in, and you're already $15,000 behind. and so we're giving you a lifeline. we're suggesting that, for a very nominal amount, your personal guarantee is gone. all the liability would go away. yes, you would take your losses on everything you've put in thus far, but it at least stops the bleeding. nelson: so, what is that nominal amount that you're talking about? lemonis: $10,000. that would be, probably, it. this is a no-brainer. anytime somebody allows you to get off the hook for 10 grand on a $75,000 obligation,

it seems like there's not much to think about. this restaurant would become part of gary's business. you would become, kind of, the chef for the swanson's team. we'd be making prepared foods here, and everybody keeps their job. this gives the opportunity for the employees of black rock to keep working, and for gary to sell more fish. seems like a win-win, to me, for everybody. joe: we had a little bit of hiccups with opening this up. that kind of put us behind the eight ball. so i'm okay with walking away. nelson: we are gonna go ahead and do the deal. lemonis: i see this as a really good opportunity. gary: yeah. this could be a great success. lemonis: it's going to be a great success. gary: yes. lemonis: thanks, guys. amber: i actually think it's interesting, because what you ended up doing is, like, essentially, a win-win for everybody. lemonis: so, i thought, "okay, the 10 grand that he's gonna have to buy out of the lease will put some money in gary's business." right? it wasn't gonna come to me. and i thought i was really just brokering. "you're in a bad situation. you're out. you need to grow your business. you're in." amber: right.

right. lemonis: and, by the way, $10,000 was a deal. amber: of course it was a deal. lemonis: marcus today -- that [bleep] would have been $30,000. amber: right. ♪ lemonis: you had put together a spreadsheet of everything we owe. is this it? larissa: yes. lemonis: so, here's what i want to do, gary. i want to start calling some of these vendors right now. what i want you to remember is, you're getting a set amount of money from me. gary: yeah. lemonis: this scene right here, right here, i took a lot of heat for on social media. amber: why? lemonis: because people didn't like the fact that i was encouraging a business to negotiate its payables with other people. people were like, "it's rude that you're asking other businesses --" i'm like, "okay, wait a minute. this business, swanson's fish market, is on death's doorstep." so if the business goes out, how much do the vendors get? amber: nothing. lemonis: right. and so what i was trying to do is say, "you got to close the gap, and everybody's got to participate in this process."

amber: right. lemonis: and so, i'm looking for you to negotiate as best you can -- larissa: with everyone. lemonis: ...with every single person. larissa: okay. lemonis: let's start with val's. i want you to call them and offer them $35,000. larissa: okay. lemonis: we owe a lot of money to our vendors -- almost $200,000. one of those vendors, val's, that supplies our fish, we owe $53,000 to. we need to negotiate these down, and quite frankly, i'm assuming that most of these vendors will be happy to hear from us, 'cause getting something is better than nothing. larissa: hi. this is larissa from swanson's fish market. i just wanted to see what our outstanding balance was with you. man: it's $53,000. larissa: okay. how would you like to meet me at $35,000? man: that'd be a bit much after all this time. i couldn't go below $40,000. larissa: all we have is $35,000. i mean, we're just -- we're trying to, you know, get our pennies together and just pay off as much as we can, but that's all we could really do. lemonis: [ whispering ] today. larissa: i would write a check for you today.

man: certified check? larissa: certified check. man: all right. $35,000. larissa: okay, thank you. thank you so much. lemonis: how much did you just get off? larissa: i think $20,000? lemonis: $20,000? you're $20,000 closer to buying the building back. larissa: mm-hmm. lemonis: you did a great job, by the way. kick-ass. larissa: thank you. lemonis: so keep going. ♪ sue: all right. come on. how is it that you can have a boat and get away with it, and he's up my ass about the bmw? you know how i feel. it's a good car, and how i feel safe driving it. so now i'm wondering if -- what do you think about getting rid of the boat, where i don't have to get rid of my car? what does it actually cost you to put that boat in the marina? without repairs, $5,000 a year. gary: you want the car 'cause you want the car. sue: i don't want to find out that i'm gonna have to drive around in a smart car while you have the friggin' boat.

it's been nothing but an expense, and i've been after you to sell it. gary: it's the only hobby i really have. sue: it's ridiculous. gary: to you, it is. you know what? to you, it is. sue: the amount of money -- $2,000 minimum. gary: i work for it. sue: it's a waste of money, that boat. you've had it. i've asked you year after year to -- gary: so is the bmw. sue: [bleep] the bmw, okay? gary: you know what? blah, blah, blah. sue: [bleep] sick of it. ♪ lemonis: hey, guys. what are we talking about? gary: well, she wants to keep her bmw, so i should sell my boat. lemonis: i didn't know you had a boat. gary: yeah. lemonis: so you didn't want me to see it? ♪ be committed to your family. sue: i am. lemonis: no, you're not. you're showing up late. sue: i had a contractor at the house... lemonis: but it's always something, sue. sue: ...and the painter showed up. amber: stop. she just said that she's doing work on her house. lemonis: yeah. amber: on the house where she's not paying mortgage? lemonis: i mean...

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gary: yeah. lemonis: so you didn't want me to see it. ♪ gary: yeah. it wouldn't send a good message. lemonis: to who? gary: to anyone and everyone. you -- lemonis: everyone and everybody else knows you have a boat.

so that feels a little funky to me that you didn't feel like you could just be honest with me about it. gary: the boat got swamped in a hurricane, and it got bought out by the insurance. i got a $70,000 check -- probably double the value of the boat. lemonis: pause. in a matter of a week, we found out about three distinct assets of his that disappeared, burned down, or got blown away in a hurricane. in every sense, he got a big check for them, and for more than the value. and he's got a boat again. play. sue: at least i use the car for business reasons, okay? so -- lemonis: you deliver fish with it? sue: i've -- yeah. i've picked up shrimp and whatever. gary: no. you don't -- you don't really do that. sue: okay. lemonis: the reality of it is, is that i'm writing a check so that you guys can get stuff refinanced. your employees are taking money out of their pocket. you could see, to the outsider, how a boat and a bmw looks a little -- the bmw and the boat have to go. sue: yeah. lemonis: so i think that's the point.

♪ so, as i watch that, i'm like, the only way people are actually gonna get themselves moving in the right direction is to make them do stuff. and i know that i wasn't an owner in swanson's fish market, and i was never gonna be. i was just buying the building. but i felt a responsibility to actually fix their path. amber: yeah. right. ♪ lemonis: one of the ways i can make swanson's more profitable is by taking their existing space and getting more out of it. i'm taking the old equipment out that was broken, and i'm bringing in new refrigeration. that's fine. i went out and spent $17,000 to buy new equipment that allows for a great presentation of prepared food. in the past, swanson's was nothing more than a fresh fish market. now, you can buy prepared foods. you can buy produce. lots of different options. all of that's gonna double the business here. ♪ oh -- [ scoffs ] amber: i love when she's always rolling in in her bmw.

lemonis: i've spent over five days at swanson's spread out over four weeks, and i'm finally back to see what sort of progress they've made. the first thing i see when i get there is sue rolling up in her bmw. and what's worse -- it's 12:00. that's not my definition of commitment, and that's not gonna fly. hey, sue. i guess the first thing for me, really, is, when you say, "i'm gonna help you. i'm gonna be your backbone," you have to actually be that backbone. it doesn't look good that you show up late. it doesn't look good that you're driving the bmw. can you see my point at all? sue: oh, marcus. i don't feel like doing this. okay, marcus? lemonis: what do you mean, "okay"? you're asking these guys at the front to show up and take money out of their pocket and buy the shrimp and buy the fish, and you got a $500, $600 car payment. and so when things get tough, you make sacrifices. you don't put yourself in front of the employees. sue: yeah, no. i've already explained it to you. i don't feel like going over it again. lemonis: you cannot be driving a luxury car.

♪ hey, sue? sue: i am not gonna get into any more discussions about the bmw. i'm done. i am [bleep] done. lemonis: i mean, i just don't understand why you think it's okay. sue: one more time, and i swear to you, i am gonna punch somebody in the face... larissa: mom! sue: ...if they mention the [bleep] bmw again. no, seriously! lemonis: seriously what? sue: i am sick of it -- of constantly being reminded or reprimanded about this. lemonis: if you're not gonna give me the courtesy of discussing this, then we have no deal, because i didn't put my money down into a business so that you could do what you want. your daughter's driving a car that's older than you, and she's doing all the work. be committed to your family. sue: i am. lemonis: no, you're not. you're showing up late. sue: i had a contractor at the house... lemonis: but it's always something, sue. sue: ...and the painter showed up. amber: stop. she just said she had a contractor at the house. didn't she? lemonis: yeah. amber: which means that she's doing work on her house. lemonis: yeah. amber: on the house where she's not paying mortgage? lemonis: i mean... maybe the painter'll give you $1 million.

look, if you have nothing to say, then i should just go. i'm sure you have some plan, 'cause you don't seem to be concerned about paying me back. ♪ do you not have anxiety from this episode? amber: no. i don't. lemonis: you never told me about this. gary: bull[bleep] i didn't! lemonis: what stuns me when i watch this is, larissa and sue -- they piped up saying, "we didn't see that," when i said the notices are being sent there. you didn't tell me that he was foreclosing! the foreclosure action started before i even got here! and what did he do? amber: piped down. lemonis: right. amber: yeah.

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now. lemonis: you don't have to move your knee away now that you noticed it. 'cause your knee just went like this. you felt it, and then you were like, "oh, that feels uncomfortable to me." amber: no, it doesn't. lemonis: really? amber: you're the one that gets uncomfortable touching. lemonis: no, actually, i don't. amber: yes, you do. lemonis: no. amber: yes, you do. you're like, like, when you hug me, you're like -- lemonis: okay. amber: you're, like, afraid of my boobs or something. oh, my god! [ laughs ] lemonis: look, if you have nothing to say, then i should just go. i'm sure you have some plan, 'cause you don't seem to be concerned about paying me back. ♪ larissa: i know you're upset, but look at this opportunity.

why are you getting so angry? he's doing us a huge favor. you just, like, screamed at him. you should be grateful. don't you understand that? you just got to suck it up. like, he might back out on us, and i wouldn't be surprised. ♪ lemonis: see, larissa knew. amber: yeah. ♪ lemonis: gary and sue called me here to help them fix their business. they told me they were in dire straits. but i'm learning that they're living a lifestyle that people that are in dire straits don't live. so i'm going to town hall to find out if there's anything else i don't know. pause. i could not, to this day, believe that the town gave us permission to go into their town hall and look at their records. amber: well, they're public records. lemonis: i understand that, but they would be like, "have your camera crew wait outside while you access our public records." they were like, "sure, no problem."

amber: i know. that was great. well, you certainly found out everything you needed to know here. lemonis: which, by the way, larissa, today likes to -- still, to this day -- contest that the data that we found was wrong, but people can go on and see it themselves. amber: right. elizabeth: good morning. can i help you? lemonis: like to look up some public records. elizabeth: well, sure. come on over. lemonis: okay. the clerk gave me access to the computer, which allowed me to see all the records on gary's realty since 1990. i can't believe what i'm learning. the swansons are actually in foreclosure right now. while i'm spending all this time and money getting prepared to buy the building... this started back in 2012. ...the bank is getting prepared to take the building back. the representations that gary and sue gave me regarding their building -- they're not accurate. ♪ this foreclosure action gives me reason to not want to do the deal. now i feel like i need to confront gary. i'm tired of his misrepresentations, and quite frankly, i'm tired of his lies. ♪

over the time that we've been together, i've had to go fishing for information. i've had to learn things on my own. things have come to light. oh, nice louis vuitton bag. you hid the boat from me. gary: i didn't hide the boat from you. lemonis: you told me that downstairs! you told me you didn't want me to know! gary: i didn't want anyone to know. lemonis: you got paid $75,000 from the insurance company. you told me the money went into the business. gary: yes, it did. lemonis: okay. and so i'm watching all these trails of money come from the insurance company and go into your business. and i can see the business is thriving downstairs. where is the money from all those people that are buying? gary: i think we explained that. lemonis: explain it again! gary: yeah, some of the cash goes for -- lemonis: personal bills. gary: yeah, we got to pay -- lemonis: just like the insurance claims. gary: yeah. lemonis: then when i go to buy a piece of property, i decided to run a title search. gary: right. lemonis: fist thing that comes up is a lien. the second thing i have is a foreclosure action.

gary: from kasowitz mortgage. lemonis: you never told me about this. gary: bull[bleep] i didn't! lemonis: bull[bleep] when?! gary: you sat here at this desk, and we called that guy up and told him we'll pay him tomorrow! lemonis: but you didn't tell me that he was foreclosing! the foreclosure action started before i even got here! which means the documents were sent here, notifying you that the foreclosure process was starting! sue: we didn't see that. larissa: we didn't see that. we literally just got it a month ago. sue: where are they? amber: do you think larissa and sue were lying? like, do you think they knew about all this stuff? lemonis: i do not think that larissa ever lied about anything. and i do not think that sue ever lied about anything. i think she didn't really know what all the facts were, and she was living in some other reality that maybe she just didn't understand, which is why the car was not that weird for her. what stuns me when i watch this is, you hear larissa and sue saying, "we didn't see that,"

when i said the notices are being sent there. i believe them. gary changed. he went from mad to, like, "bull[bleep] you knew about it." i knew that they owed money, but i didn't know the foreclosure process had started. and then when i said, "the notices were sent here," they piped up, and what did he do? amber: piped down. yeah. lemonis: right. if your business is in trouble and you need my help, log on to...

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save up to $400 a year when you switch. plus, save even more with $100 off galaxy a50. click, call or visit a store today. the documents show it! you guys have lied to me! gary: bull[bleep] we did! sue: marcus. marcus, can i -- gary: bull[bleep] lemonis: gary, how come i didn't know about this? gary: how come we didn't know about it? lemonis: how am i supposed to know? sue: marcus, marcus. gary: we were behind a payment.

lemonis: the guy can't foreclose if you're behind a payment. gary: and he hadn't foreclosed. lemonis: yes, he has! this is entered in the court! i got this from the city hall! gary: yeah, and you stood here and said we were gonna pay him off. lemonis: that's because i ran a title search, and i found [bleep] that you didn't tell me about! gary: then why didn't you do the [bleep] search first?! why didn't you do the [bleep] search before you -- lemonis: because i took you at your word! gary: bull[bleep] bull[bleep] lemonis: i don't negotiate with people, then run background checks on them! gary: bull[bleep] lemonis: bull[bleep] my ass. gary: yeah, get the [bleep] out. lemonis: the deal's off. sue: marcus -- gary: get the [bleep] out. sue: marcus. lemonis: you know, i do business on handshakes, and i try to help people, and i do it to make money. there are a lot of struggling businesses out there -- not because they're taking money out of the till, not because they're spending it on lavish things that they shouldn't have, but because they genuinely are struggling. not all of them get my money and not all of them get my time, but this one didn't deserve, either. they just flat-out lied. is your mortgage paid here? gary: yes.

we're in good shape. lemonis: for that reason, i'm out. ♪ amber: how do you feel, watching that now? ♪ lemonis: sorry for them. i feel sorry for them. because even as i sit here today, i don't understand the genesis of how it all happened. and in reflection, while buying the building seemed like the safest thing, it could have actually not been safe, because if they didn't pay rent and they went past-due, what was i gonna do, kick them out of their own business? amber: right. lemonis: and the other people weren't paying rent. and so in hindsight, i feel bad for them. and i felt bad for larissa because i felt like, in watching this again, she really did not know all of these things. amber: well, she was clearly embarrassed, right? 'cause she went on social media, opened up a facebook page, and started talking publicly about her experience on the show. lemonis: she said you were a liar, i was a liar.

amber: all the producers are -- she just said that -- you know. lemonis: yeah. amber: if you ran into, like, the swansons on the streets of new york, what would you say to them? lemonis: who would i be seeing? amber: let's say you saw larissa. lemonis: i'm sorry that it worked out the way it did, and in reflection, i realize that you never once lied or misrepresented anything, and i'm sorry that it happened the way it did. amber: what if you saw gary? lemonis: i wouldn't even say hi to him. amber: what if you saw sue? lemonis: sue would probably act like, "yay! marcus!" 'cause i heard from her after. she would send me texts like, "how you doin'? how's everything? merry christmas." they closed the business in december of '17. and then they sold the building for $1,250,000 in 2018. even if their mortgage was 5-something, they cleared a lot of cash. that's good. and if they sold the business for something, that's good. i wish them the best of luck.

happy friday, everybody. we are live at the nasdaq market site in times square and it's time for "options action." your traders tonight are carter worth. tony zheng on set. mike khouw live from cnbc one market in san francisco. and we've got a big show on deck here is what's coming up ♪ >> carter rides the train. you can too. carter rides the train you can too. yes, mr. worth sets up a play to get aboard union pacific then -- >> bought intel at six. >> if you thou