." ♪ in 1996, with the help of his best friend, robyn coval, howard nourieli opened bowery kitchen suppliesa store serving professional chefs and home cooks alike. howard: robyn, why are these here? lemonis: the two soon married and started a family, and bowery's reputation grew, its vast selection making it one of new york's premiere kitchen-supply stores. man: aah! lemonis: but then the marriage fell apart. now howard and robyn can't stop fighting over inventory, over management issues, over everything. robyn: what is this? lemonis: the store is losing money, and they're out of cash. howard: robyn, god damn it! robyn: [ sighs ] lemonis: located in manhattan's popular chelsea market, bowery draws tons of foot traffic. and it's focus on both commercial and retail customers makes it a very unique concept. if i can whip the store and its owners into shape, i think bowery can go nationwide. ♪ if you are into knives, this place has every knife you can think of. but as i walk through the store, the merchandising is really unclear to me. there's [bleep] everywhere. it's kind of tight in here, huh

bowery kitchen supply store may just open up across the country. should we take a group photo? robyn: yeah! howard: yeah, let's do it on three. ♪ that's pretty good. ...a tortilla makerfit"... has overcome incredible odds... george: i mean, if this guy was a boxer, he'd be world champ. lemonis: ...only to risk it all with his reckless behavior. was there a fire here? adelo: it's not so illegal. lemonis: he cuts corners without regard for the consequences. you can't buy this machine? adelo: here, they're not so much allowed. lemonis: he sweeps serious problems under the rug. i didn't know to ask, "oh, by the way, are you getting evicted?" and now his beloved business is on the brink of failure. the place is bleeding. he owes people money. it's just not gonna work. if i can't get him to change his habits, this american dream could become a nightmare. adelo: everyone told me i was never gonna be somebody. i'm not gonna give up. i don't want to give up. lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis. and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we're not gonna wake up every morning w