Bar Rescue - General Discussion

[psychoticstate]

I much prefer the older format of this show, where the stress test took place 15 min or so in rather than 30-40 min of dealing with the dysfunctions of the personal relationships.  Now we barely see any of the improvements; they seem to be shoved into the last 5 minutes of the show.

 

Quickly losing interest in this.

[NikSac]

Is this the one coming up later this week?  I think it might be the one a chef local to me is on as the expert in the kitchen. I hope so, I've been looking forward to seeing it.

 

ETA: just found his Facebook update and the local chef's episode isn't on til 11/15, so still have to wait a bit I guess.

Edited November 3, 2015 by NikSac

[Eliza422]

This one showed on 11/1...

[psychoticstate]

If there was any doubt before, this episode shows how highly scripted this has become.  I doubt the owner is going to be so mistrustful of her entire staff and then do an about face in 5 minutes.

 

The only reason I continue to watch this is to see Phil Wills.

[NikSac]

Didn't see a post on this episode yet so thought I'd put one out there.

 

The featured chef is semi-local to me. In fact I went to the CA State Fair specifically to see one of his demos since he was the official chef  (and unfortunately I picked the only demo he missed over the whole run of the fair, sigh). But I'm determined to make it to his food truck soon.  I thought the new food looked very tasty, and I was impressed with the chef-in-training - though Roach is probably not the best nickname for a chef.

 

As for the bar itself, I probably wouldn't even walk into a place called "The Hooch" but I might try it out under the new name. I don't mind a dive bar, but that was extreme.  Once I heard the owners/staff/bartenders screaming at each other I'd immediately walk out. I was disappointed to see the owner went back to that mentality.

 

I was happy to see my semi-local chef do such a good job. Hubby even enjoyed the pictures of the hot rods throughout the episode.  I'm probably biased but I thought it was one of the better Bar Rescues recently.

 

[Eliza422]

The end card was a bummer...the manager is back to her old ways!

[NikSac]

So true Eliza. I have been in some pretty divey places before but the thing that'll cause me to leave immediately is rudeness from the staff or owners - whether it's to me, other customers, or each other. I'd be out of that place in 5 minutes.  I really thought the owner had changed, but apparently not.  Barrescueupdates (http://www.barrescueupdates.com/2015/11/bar-rescue-proving-ground-bar-grill-the-hooch.html#more) says that apparently the after hours strip shows have stopped anyway, but sounds like they still have all kinds of issues.

[DoctorK]

The only thing that surprised me about this episode was the end card telling us that woman owner had gone back to her old ways almost immediately; not surprised it happened, surprised the show so openly admitted the failure of the rescue. Too many of the shows show completely unbelievable 180 degree turn arounds, with end cards with statements like "4 months later, sales are up 30%" - which means nothing, if the place still losing money hand over fist. Also, Eliza - wasn't it the owner who reverted, and the manager was the one employee that the end card said had left? I may have confused several of the completely unlikeable people.

[Eliza422]

The only thing that surprised me about this episode was the end card telling us that woman owner had gone back to her old ways almost immediately; not surprised it happened, surprised the show so openly admitted the failure of the rescue. Too many of the shows show completely unbelievable 180 degree turn arounds, with end cards with statements like "4 months later, sales are up 30%" - which means nothing, if the place still losing money hand over fist. Also, Eliza - wasn't it the owner who reverted, and the manager was the one employee that the end card said had left? I may have confused several of the completely unlikeable people.

I assumed they were referring to foul mouth bitch as the one who reverted....but I have no brain space wasted on knowing any of these peoples' names!!

[hkit]

At a college alumni bar, Taffer is forced to deal with a hot-headed sports bar owner whose fiery temper keeps his staff on edge and his million dollar debt on ice.

[hkit]

Wow, I've been waiting for this episode to air since it was filmed over labor day. Wondered how much "reality" made it into this show. The answer: not much. 

 

Here's what I can tell you about this bar.

 

I am not a regular. I have gone a few times before and a couple of times after the show. The bar filled a niche in town: a sports bar that was not solely focused on Michigan or Detroit sports. This is not really a student bar - none of the bars around it are. So I don't put a lot of stock in the recon grad students talking about how they've never been there during their time in AA. 

 

There was a rumor around town before this was filmed that Bar Rescue was soliciting bars to specifically create a U of M theme. Unsure if this is true or not, but I never saw it empty. I never recall it looking as dumpy as it did for the "before" of this show. 

 

I never have had any interactions with any of the staff shown on the episode. I've been told that the owner is actually a real sweetheart, but I've also heard he's a bit rough around the edges, so who really knows? Given how much the truth was stretched in this episode, I'm not prepared to believe this guy actually was aggressive to his customers like seen on the show.

 

The Arena was a good place to go, because there is a community in Ann Arbor that has no affiliation with U of M. I moved here in my late 30s, and have struggled to find a place where I can watch Chicago based sports. Everything in Ann Arbor from my dry cleaner to my muffler repair guy has a storefront that looks like a Wolverine threw up on it. Sadly we can now add The Arena to the list. Luckily, they didn't keep most of the changes, and it is back to being a fairly neutral bar. So maybe I can watch the Blackhawks here.

 

I only ate there for the first time last week. I doubt they kept any of the food changes. The menus were old, and nothing really innovative jumped out. I don't recall seeing that meatball dish on the menu. I had a grilled chicken salad. My husband had chicken fingers and fries. It was typical for what you'd expect from those 2 dishes when you ordered at a bar. It was fine, and our lunch and couple of rounds of beer came out to $35 or so. 

 

I have not tried any signature cocktails. I think Jon was way off the mark with a cocktail program for this bar. This is a beer town. Michigan is a mecca for craft brews, and Ann Arbor really has embraced that. I know that Taffer always focuses on cocktails because of the sponsorship and the margins, but they aren't always one size fits all. When I think "sports bar", I think "beer". If I think "craft cocktails", there are a few other options in downtown Ann Arbor that I would go to before I ever considered a "sports bar". 

[psychoticstate]

The one who left was a server - - the one the foul mouthed owner made a comment to about liking being hit or spanked or something like that.

 

No way could five minutes with Taffer cause this foul mouthed beast to change her ways.  I hope she goes under in a flamingly magnificent way (but doesn't take anyone with her.) 

[Eliza422]

Hkit, that is very interesting. I watch enough "makeover" shows to know that there is very little "reality" involved!

Would you go back? That's always what John wants to know!

[Julia]

I'm going to say the husband willingly takes the tax loss in return for his gross wife being somewhere that he is not during his waking hours. Because even given the amount of effort they put in to creating little parables on this show, I've never seen anything to make me believe that the producers have the kind of imagination to come up with [that evocative phrase with 'guzzling' in it].

[hkit]

Yes, I would go back, but not because of anything that Bar Rescue did. There is always a place for a sports bar showing a variety of sports/teams while serving affordable drinks in a great location. That's one reason I call shenanigans on the bar needing to actually be rescued :)

[Ubiquitous]

The description reminds me of one ep of Tabatha's Salon Takeover.

[psychoticstate]

The description reminds me of one ep of Tabatha's Salon Takeover.

 

I miss Tabatha taking over.

[Eliza422]

I miss Tabatha taking over.

I miss her too!

[psychoticstate]

In a Bar Rescue first, Jon Taffer helps a failing Detroit strip club in the hopes of stimulating profits before the entire business goes bottoms up.

 

 

 

Was I the only idiot that watched this epi? 

 

As I've said before, I really, REALLY dislike the new format of the show.  I much preferred spending 10, maybe 15 minutes on what a disaster the location is and more time on how it was being fixed.  Now we're subjected to 30-40 minutes of fuck ups. 

 

This place was actually called Chicks on Dix.  Supposedly because the strip club is located on Dix Street.  Uh huh, okay.

 

Beyond that, those "dancers" were the sorriest bunch I have ever seen.  They looked like addicts, every one.  Hardly a place where they are going to earn $400-500 per night, so says Renae Larson (or whatever the consultant's name is.)  And I would certainly hope they have more than 3 dancers.  If not, that could explain why they are failing. 

 

The update at the end only served to infuriate me.  Sure, go ahead and hire back the guy who secured the "talent" - - those robotic, drugged out and drunk "dancers."  (And who also stormed off on his Huffy bike early in the epi, when anyone dared criticize him, and knocked over a stack of bar glasses on his way out.)  If that's not enough, hire back "Sweetie", the "dancer" who cried on the pole, who was so drunk she could barely walk and whose eyes were frighteningly red rimmed (and likely not from crying.)  Did the GM learn nothing??  Or was the whole thing complete b.s.?

[announcergirl]

I was looking for this post!! My thoughts exactly. Those were some busted as strippers. That place was gross. I wouldn't eat there for nothing.

She CRIED on the pole. Yeah your life has sunk this low that you are on the pole drunk and in this dump.

What about the one that was soooo freaking lazy with her dancing that even expending energy to get off the floor WHILE ON THE STAGE was too much fucking effort. Lawd the only cute one was the chipper bartender. Can they put on makeup?!!!!

I would lose it if the GM hired back the talent guy and Sweetie!! If you can't make money at a tidday bar, you don't need none.

Ohh and having the banging guest strippers visit is false advertising!

[Julia]

I gave up after ten minutes. It's creepy enough watching Taffer commodify women when he's using them them as lures to bring in the male customers he wants. I don't even want to know what he thinks he's selling when he's explicitly trying to sell sex.

[Madding crowd]

Why in the world would Taffer even want to be involved in a sleazy disgusting place like Chix on Dix. I'm a woman and have never been in a strip club, but if all the women look like that, I can't see many guys wanting to visit. The women were untoned and flabby and drunk and I don't think having light up poles is going to make a difference.

 

Another reason why I was surprised Taffer went to the bar: a lot of people go to bars, so even bars in odd areas could attract new business. The guys who frequent strip clubs are a whole different ilk, and I can't imagine there is a huge market for them, if you have a few decent ones, the bachelor party guys will find it.  Like always, I wonder how these people pay their bills, there were three manager types and numerous bartenders and dancers and no business. 

[Gregg247]

That was one sad strip club.  That one dancer who was crying while "dancing" (!) looked like a zombie when she was drunk; the other 2 dancers weren't much better. 

 

I blame Jon Taffer's "expert" LisaMarie for the failed stress test, though.  The only thing working at that bar was serving the drinks; the bartenders were energetic and pouring drinks fast, efficiently, and correctly.  Of course, the first thing Lisa Marie did was completely change the way the bar was run (no more auto-pour) just prior to the stress test in order to make them look bad. 

 

Another problem wit the stress test: making the manager run the kitchen, the girls, AND the bar, when he normally only worked the floor (the "agent" was gone, and I don't think they served much food prior to the stress test).

 

This bar was run badly, but not as badly as the show made it look, I think.

 

Who wants to go to a strip club that has 3 girls?  Surely, the rest of their "crew" were around, but not used for actual filming purposes.

 

At the end, did the manager actually say that business was DOWN, despite the fact that they were using Taffer's recipe for success?!?!

[nobodyyoucare]

Ah the whole point is to stress them. Guess what a packed place the GM who was the cook would be unable to serve food or the area unless he took certain corrective measures. Guess what he knew the place was going to be packed yet didn't fix the printer, temp hire a waitress, or temp hire a cook. 

 

The auto pour slowed down things to a crawl, it also removed interaction. Busy bar that would cause most to leave after one drink.

 

Also a lot of low income area strip clubs the dancers look like that. Only in upper income or tourist area strip clubs do the dancers look a lot better because they can recruit college coeds that need money for school. Remember Sapphire in Las Vegas did 30 million in sales each year.

 

 

 

Hardly a place where they are going to earn $400-500 per night, so says Renae Larson

They don't earn that from the pole but from the lap and or table dances. A lap or table dance minus tip for the dancer can run anywhere from 50-150 or more per 15 minute dance. That is at a 29,000 area income strip club. Higher income can be a lot more especially when drinks are added or special addons. Tips and the dancer cut from the lap and or table dances can equal 300-500 a night on average. Some dancers if they make a guy be very happy down there due to the activity (no blue balls if a dancer knows what to do) can earn a very large tip.

Edited January 5, 2016 by nobodyyoucare

[DixonVixen2359]

Glad I wasn't the only one who was repulsed by the strippers. The bikini Athena was wearing looked at least 2 sizes to small for her.

Bartender Michelle was cute and perky,I liked her. She bears a resemblance to Chelsea Houska from Teen Mom 2.

[nobodyyoucare]

Glad I wasn't the only one who was repulsed by the strippers. The bikini Athena was wearing looked at least 2 sizes to small for her.

Bartender Michelle was cute and perky,I liked her. She bears a resemblance to Chelsea Houska from Teen Mom 2.

Meshelle was her name. If you were repulsed by those strippers you haven't seen a certain daily show clip about a strip club that also doubles as a junkyard. Or is it a junkyard that doubles as a strip club? http://www.cc.com/video-clips/xmiyax/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-trash-cans That is a video on the offical comedy central website btw. 

Edited January 9, 2016 by nobodyyoucare

[Jamoche]

The bar spy ordered a medium-rare steak at a place like that? She's a bar spy! She knows going in the place can't be trusted, even by dive bar standards!

[Jamoche]

I saw this as a rerun yesterday and epis like this piss me off.

 

If you have NO intention of following Taffer's suggestions and changes, don't sign up for the freaking show.  It's that simple.   This woman obviously thinks she knows what's best, despite her bar being an epic failure.  She's also obviously BSC. 

Seriously. When the crayons came out I came here to see if my first impressions were right - I don't care if she sinks or swims. If the son wants a bar, he should start up his own that's not $500K in debt.

[Jamoche]

OK, just how popular is an Old Fashioned? The bar spies always order it, they're always shocked when nobody knows how to make it, even in dive bars where 90% of the customers want beer.

[Julia]

Probably about as popular as a negroni or a brandy alexander. Which is to say only really popular in bespoke cocktail bars, but the audience has probably heard of them.

[Jamoche]

I asked my brother, who's gone from bartending to restaurant managing in places more upscale than Bar Rescue usually hits: "not really, in 10 years I think I made 5 of them."

[nobodyyoucare]

Old Fashioned is popular again because of the show Mad Men. Its also considered one of the six classic cocktails that people who go to bartender school are trained to make. 

 

http://iba-world.com/iba-cocktails/

 

So its basic 101 for bartenders. They are testing the bartender knowledge. 

[stillhere1900]

This is on right now. This is my first time ever watching this show. Is it fake ?

[Ubiquitous]

Jon revisits the Dirty Rooster and moderates a dispute between two rival bar owners in Houston.

 

Wow... this show has jumped the shark with the studio audience and antics for this follow-up show!

Did I notice them trying to tiptoe around Taffer's failed name changes being illegal? Maybe that's not the right word, but a business has to jump thru a lot of hoops to change its name.

[DoctorK]

 

this show has jumped the shark with the studio audience and antics

Totally agree. This DJ/DanceClub stage setting is annoying and has no connection to what is going on. Plus rerunning the two guys with their scripted 'roid-rage was just as stupid as it was the first time around. Yeah, that oh so grudging fist bump convinced me that once again Taffer's psychological counseling has healed a relationship, and I was holding my breath in suspense as the repeat of the bartender faceoff (which - OMG! - came out a tie). The only thing missing was Taffer playing with fake blue prints.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

The .34 wings made me laugh. 

 

That bald buy tossing out the "isms" was giving me the creeps. 

[Ubiquitous]

Totally agree. This DJ/DanceClub stage setting is annoying and has no connection to what is going on. Plus rerunning the two guys with their scripted 'roid-rage was just as stupid as it was the first time around. Yeah, that oh so grudging fist bump convinced me that once again Taffer's psychological counseling has healed a relationship, and I was holding my breath in suspense as the repeat of the bartender faceoff (which - OMG! - came out a tie). The only thing missing was Taffer playing with fake blue prints.

Thank gawd he no longer he installs butt banjos in the bars.

[Ubiquitous]

I read that the bar changed back to the old name, surprise surprise. I wonder how they got around the signed agreement or if it had any teeth to start with.

This owner obviously was not going to transition to a run of the mill bar, it was inevitable that she would go back to her performances. It's like the pirate bar, just not going to happen.

They featured this bar in a recent "back to the bar" special last night. Yes, she broke the what I suspect was a non-binding contract by exploiting a loophole and Taffer was reacting like "Oh, you scamp!", which seemed weird and insincere. To be honest, I preferred the original name but liked them cleaning it up and updating the décor. Too bad they're still serving frozen pizza instead of authentic Chicago deep dish.

[Pixel]

I used to go to this bar in the late 80's/early 90's. I feel like I remember it originally being in a location more appropriate for a weird, off the wall place.  I do remember that at one time, it was actually really popular.  

[Ubiquitous]

What's the deal with these ridiculous follow-up shows set in a night club with a shirtless DJ and a drunk audience?

[DoctorK]

Ubiquitous I totally agree and posted this a while back. What is up with this dance club DJ show? The original is crappy enough without this. What's next, disco balls?

[Art Vandelay]

I am sick of these stupid "Back to the bar" episodes. I tune in to see a regular show and am disappointed when this ridiculous thing comes on. Stick to what you're good at, Bar Rescue.

[Julia]

I just feel like Taffer's forgotten rule one of bars, which is, JMO, that drunken people are generally only interesting and attractive to other drunken people. As soon as someone onscreen says Wooo! with intent, I'm outta there. 

[Bunnyhop]

Could someone please tell the scrawny, pasty DJ to please put on a shirt and if you put one on, please button it?

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 9:33 PM, DoctorK said:

Ubiquitous I totally agree and posted this a while back. What is up with this dance club DJ show? The original is crappy enough without this. What's next, disco balls?

I am pretty sure I saw a disco ball hanging in the middle of that room/club/set.

[Primetimer]

'Looks...not very inviting.'

View the full article

[Pixel]

I just saw the OFace episode for the first time. What a trainwreck those people are.  I wouldn't have bothered with them at all, but I know he had to stay at least long enough to make an entire episode. Don't they do the background checks before they decide to do the show? Did they purposely decide to ignore these hoping they'd get the mess they did? Because I have to admit, it's been one of my favorite episodes.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Two possible reasons for Chuck's return:

1) He's "mobbed up" (this IS Detroit) and the owner literally cannot fire him without getting his legs broken.

2) He's supplying the drugs for the dancers.

Two possible reasons for Sweet's return:

1) She's blowing the manager.

2) She's blowing the owner.

[DoctorK]

Perhaps all of the above?

[Tabbygirl521]

My hub and I were in lovely Everett, WA recently and a bit out of sorts but peckish and in need of alcohol after attending a funeral. We needed sustenance of all kinds. We thought we would pop into Forbidden to check out a genuine rescued bar. The menu on the window sounded tasty - and in we went. UGH. The place is kind of dark and creepy, which I don't necessarily mind in a bar. But it SMELLED. You would like to get a whiff of good food after being lured in by an intriguing menu. But this was more like, what died and got ground into the carpet? We are not the most exacting of patrons, but we turned around and walked out.

i have to admit I didn't see the relevant episode, but was there talk of replacing carpet and making the place smell less like a morgue?

Edited June 9, 2016 by Tabbygirl521