Ty Pennington, Amanda Freitag Set for New Food Network Series AMERICAN DINER REVIVAL

Ty Pennington and Amanda Freitag are on a mission to help classic American diners across the country in American Diner Revival, premiering Friday, May 22nd at 10:30pm ET/PT on Food Network. Over six episodes Amanda and Ty travel the country empowering local towns to lend a hand in saving their struggling diners, utilizing a combination of Ty's design and carpentry skills and Amanda's culinary expertise. With the help of the residents, this duo have only a few days to transform a cherished establishment in desperate need of a physical and menu makeover, and will use a good old-fashioned barn raising to ambush unsuspecting and deserving owners with the surprise of a lifetime.

"Viewers will be amazed at the life-altering revivals Ty and Amanda can do in just a few days with the help of local communities," said Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President Programming, Food Network. "In making over these cherished diners, they are not just saving much loved institutions, they are changing lives."

George's Place in Carmel, New York, has been an iconic institution since the '70s, known for classic American food, cheap prices and charitable owners who constantly give away free food for those in need. But since George died a few years ago and left the place to his son Gus and wife Karen, the diner has struggled.The restaurant is losing money and the food reviews are getting more negative by the day. The décor needs a makeover, and the low food prices need an upgrade but first the menu needs food options that can deliver. Ty and Amanda need to figure out how to update the menu and overhaul the décor, otherwise, George's legacy will be gone forever. And in Norman, Oklahoma, Amanda and Ty visit The Diner, which has been run by the same family for 15 years and heavily involved in the community, sponsoring local high school debate and softball teams, and helping the local homeless shelter. But when owner Mark passed away, leaving the restaurant to wife Claire and daughter Bonnie, The Diner started falling on hard times. Now Ty and Amanda need to fix the rapidly-deteriorating building and keep up with the increased competition from chain restaurants popping up in the area. Together they will use their experience to change the lives of local diners across the country, including Highland Park, Michigan; Monroe, Michigan; Nyack, New York; and Farmville, Virginia.

Go behind the scenes of AMERICAN DINER REVIVAL at FoodNetwork.com/DinerRevival. Join the conversation on Twitter using #DinerRevival. AMERICAN DINER REVIVAL is produced by Bray Entertainment.

Food Network (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and up to 35 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown tenfold and is now the second largest monthly magazine on the newsstand, with over 11.6 million readers. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24-hour networks in the United Kingdom, Asia, and the Europe, Middle East and AFRICA (EMEA) region. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com) and GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY (www.gactv.com), is the manager and general partner.

Amanda Freitag graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and has been a highly successful chef in New York City for more than 20 years, working in popular restaurants such as Cesca, Gusto and The Harrison. She appears on Food Network as a CHOPPED judge, and has also battled Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America, competed in Next Iron Chef: Redemption, and also appears on the Cooking Channel series Unique Eats. Amanda most recently opened the new EMPIRE Diner in New York City.

Ty Pennington is a critically acclaimed designer, TV host and author, first winning national attention as the quirky and creative carpenter on the groundbreaking home improvement series Trading Spaces and later as host of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Pennington has been recognized as a leader in the field of volunteerism for his work on Extreme Makeoverand Ty's Great British Adventure. In addition to his extensive television work, Ty is a go-to for his design expertise and style, launching the Ty Pennington Impressions fabric line, The Ty Pennington Collection floor line, and Pennington's outdoor and holiday décor line, Ty Pennington Style.

Photo courtesy of Food Network

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