Bar Rescue - General Discussion

[NewDigs]

On June 8, 2016 at 11:09 PM, Tabbygirl521 said:

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?

I don't remember about carpet replacement but more than a couple of  Yelpers agree with you.

[TDT]

On 5/10/2016 at 1:37 PM, Bunnyhop said:

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

Took me a while,but now i know where i've seen that DJ before.. thats the guy who kept saying "ALL IN!" from that episode about the(now closed?)Cashmere bar in North Carolina

[TDT]

According to this update both the"Power Strip" and another bar in the area have closed

http://www.barrescueupdates.com/2016/06/power-strip-and-proving-ground-bar-rescue-closed.html

[hatchetgirl]

Watching the episode with Black Light District in long beach ca, and they went to my old stomping grounds Alex's Bar. Great bar. I dj'd there fora few years andi really wish Alex had walked out and smacked that guy in the face.

[TDT]

On 7/26/2016 at 11:59 AM, hatchetgirl said:

Watching the episode with Black Light District in long beach ca, and they went to my old stomping grounds Alex's Bar. Great bar. I dj'd there fora few years andi really wish Alex had walked out and smacked that guy in the face.

So that makes like the second time that Taffer has walked out on a rescue..dunno why he even wasted his time

[hatchetgirl]

I think the guest bartender walked but they didn't show it. After he made a simple cocktail, the douche owner was really offensive about it and the guest just looked speechless.  We didn't see him again.  

 

The PP was correct.  This guy isn't punk, he's a white brah from North Long Beach. I bet he's got a stupid gigantic truck and has no friends of color darker than Gabe. 

[Charlesman]

I just saw today that former Rescuee "Los Angeles Brewing Company" was named one of LA's Top 20 restaurants... for not paying employees. They owe their staff almost a quarter of a million dollars.

[Evolution101]

Finally, a new season!

 

Jon and Lisamarie Joyce go to Champagne's Cafe in Las Vegas which has been around for 50 years.  It was a popular hangout for The Rat Pack and several mobsters back in the day.

[PepperMonkey]

This show. I can't believe I still catch myself watching if flipping through channels and nothing else is on.

Jon surrounds himself with fans, er, I mean, experts, and hopefully doesn't ruin the bar with stupid gimmicks and ridiculous name changes.

Loved it when the owner said, "and people said he was going to ruin the bar." LOL!

[bad things are bad]

The owner of The Arena in Ann Arbor MI is in jail now for tax evasion...bar is now closed.

http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/07/future_of_the_arena_uncertain.html

[psychoticstate]

Quote

 

A bar with a roller rink in a California desert town is on it's last legs, until Taffer arrives to access the situation.

 

Any idea what the median income is in Hemet?  I really wish Taffer had let us know.

A bar owner that was actually a nice guy you could root for.  I'm not sure what to make of it.

And why was the one chick who didn't want to make food fired but the chick who was constantly cussing at the owner and everyone else not?

[Evolution101]

I believe they mentioned the median income to be about $27,000, which is about $5,000 above the poverty level.

[DoctorK]

They hit the "just above the poverty level" theme a bunch of times. I wonder how the locals feel about the show showing them as on the edge of poverty? Plus the discussion of menu items that locals could afford sounded pretty condescending to me.

[Primetimer]

Running a (fictional) bar is not just a business -- it’s a science.

View the full article

[Latverian Diplomat]

Good stuff.

But no advice for Ten Forward? Or does Synthehol not qualify for liquor week? :-)

[HaymakerHattie]

Ten Forward doesn't need rescuing!

Now, Quark's, on the other hand, WAS in an early draft...

[jtallman]

And now I'm sad because I fully believed Jon Taffer wrote this (at least until I got halfway through the second one).

[Gregg247]

Until the end of the article, I thought Jon Taffer was surprisingly up-to-date on his TV viewing for a guy who works the late shift in bars all the time!

[Empress1]

On August 15, 2016 at 7:33 PM, psychoticstate said:

And why was the one chick who didn't want to make food fired but the chick who was constantly cussing at the owner and everyone else not?

She said "fuck you" to the owner several times. I'd have fired her on the spot. Cursing is one thing; cursing at (not around, but directly at) your boss is another. I'm guessing she got to stay because she was more positive about the business as a whole.

The one who was fired left in a Mercedes, so someone in that "barely above poverty" town had a little money.

[DoctorK]

After watching Brad's scenery chewing tantrums, I wonder if he has a background in professional wrestling.

[psychoticstate]

On 8/16/2016 at 9:32 AM, Evolution101 said:

I believe they mentioned the median income to be about $27,000, which is about $5,000 above the poverty level.

They did - - repeatedly.  I was being sarcastic which doesn't always translate via type.

I've been through Hemet.  Seemed on okay desert town.  Can't imagine surviving in California on $27k a year.

[hatchetgirl]

Really?  12 beers a slave? Insensitive anyone? 

[Granny58]

former drug addict is far too sensitive and weepy.  I can see why she tried to self medicate.  Belinda (?) was only trying to be supportive.  Sheesh.

[yaytv]

I would watch a Bar Rescue/It's Always Sunny crossover so bad!

[Charlesman]

I just couldn't take this guy. And had no like for his staff. Started fast-forward'ing maybe 20 minutes into it just to see the redecorated bar, which didn't strike me as that great or interesting, then checked to see if there was anything interesting in the 'six weeks later' update. Meh.

[psychoticstate]

Per Bar Rescue's update page, Celebrities was updated into The Victory in April 2016 and it closed in June 2016.  Reviews after the rescue were terrible.

Also, there were apparently TWO Celebrities bar/restaurants owned by the same guy.  One in Yucaipa that was rescued and one in San Bernardino that is still open. 

Interestingly, the woman that called out the owner during the episode asked Bar Rescue not to bother with Celebrities/The Victory and claims that the owner was never a military vet as he claims. 

What a mess.

[Charlesman]

1 hour ago, psychoticstate said:

Interestingly, the woman that called out the owner during the episode asked Bar Rescue not to bother with Celebrities/The Victory and claims that the owner was never a military vet as he claims. 

What a mess.

 

IIRC, I think it was mentioned in the episode that they were not US military vets, but rather contractors for a defense/security company. Like Halliburton or Blackwater or something. Not sure if that's what is being referred to. So I don't think the brothers were being portrayed as actual vets.

[psychoticstate]

@Charlesman, the Bar Rescue update page I found the info on says that the woman stated that the owner was representing himself as a former Navy Seal.  No idea if it's true or not.

[DoctorK]

Quote

but rather contractors for a defense/security company.

Not trying to support this ridiculous dishonest show but I was part of a four man team proposed by my company to go to Basra and FOBs (didn't get the contract, one of the biggest disappointments in my professional life) and as a contratcor you do run a significant risk of having your head sawed off with a dull knife on youtube.

[Charlesman]

19 hours ago, DoctorK said:

Not trying to support this ridiculous dishonest show but I was part of a four man team proposed by my company to go to Basra and FOBs (didn't get the contract, one of the biggest disappointments in my professional life) and as a contratcor you do run a significant risk of having your head sawed off with a dull knife on youtube.

 

Totally agreed. I was just pointing out that he was not portrayed as a military vet by Bar Rescue, although it appears he may have been claiming elsewhere to have served as part of the US military. I didn't know if the comment referred to confused to two, but it appears that that's not the case.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Would anyone else have preferred it if they'd ditched the bar rescue and just had Frank Cullotta talk about the old Vegas mob for an hour?

[Evolution101]

Quote

Nasty nachos & goldfish races are on the menu at this sports pub. But in a Bar Rescue first, a staffing crisis hits before the stress test, leaving the owners without any employees. Can Taffer right the ship before it drowns?

 

Goldfish racing?  Is there really nothing better to do in Everett, Washington?

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

On Tuesday, August 16, 2016 at 9:55 AM, DoctorK said:

They hit the "just above the poverty level" theme a bunch of times. I wonder how the locals feel about the show showing them as on the edge of poverty? Plus the discussion of menu items that locals could afford sounded pretty condescending to me.

They're just being realistic. This is a bar that will have to appeal to locals, most of whom don't have a lot of money. If someone has $25-30 to spend on a night out, $5 drinks will look a whole lot more attractive than $20 drinks. 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Did a little bit of researching, and even for Bar Rescue, this one tops the bullshit meter:

• The weekly fetish event had been going on for months and even had its own website.
• His destruction of that cross was real, though. Apparently, it cost $1500 in parts and labor to replace.
• The bar has already been sold and is now operating under another name.

[psychoticstate]

The remake looked nice.

I hate the way this show has been reformatted to have bad behavior/confrontations/ineptitude for 45 minutes and then the remodel and reopening in the last 5-10.  It sucks.

[Maccagirl]

What a hot mess that place was!  My DVR cut off before they do the follow-up info on how the bar is dong post-makeover.  Can anyone share this info for me?  I am really curious about this one! I hope for the Father's sake, that they are successful so he can be repaid!

Thanks in advance for any info.

[Biggie B]

As with pretty much all of the post-makeover blurbs, the owner said sales are up (I can't remember the exact percentage). It would, of course, be interesting to know how they're doing months later, not just 6 weeks.

[Maccagirl]

1 hour ago, Biggie B said:

As with pretty much all of the post-makeover blurbs, the owner said sales are up (I can't remember the exact percentage). It would, of course, be interesting to know how they're doing months later, not just 6 weeks.

Thanks so much.  I agree, about having visits months later.  That's the only reason why I tune in to watch the circus when he has those follow-up reunion-based shows. 

[Evolution101]

Quote

New bar owners accuse their manager (and the bar's former owner) of sabotaging their business to try to steal it back. With no clear proof, Jon uses a stress test to determine who's right and who's wrong.

According to Bar Rescue Updates, Nita and Ryan (the current owners) say that Jeff (the former owner) wasn't trying to sabotage them, and he was quickly hired back.  They also say that BR producers removed the bottles necessary to make the drinks, causing that one bartender to walk out.  They weren't happy with the rescue and changed the name back.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Evolution101

[hkit]

On 8/12/2016 at 2:41 PM, bad things are bad said:

The owner of The Arena in Ann Arbor MI is in jail now for tax evasion...bar is now closed.

http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/07/future_of_the_arena_uncertain.html

It's reopening now as The Curtain Call, while undergoing massive renovations. 

http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/10/show_not_over_for_ann_arbors_a.html#incart_gallery

[Gregg247]

I hated Nita, the owner in this episode.  She had years of experience managing bars for a corporation, yet she had no idea how to manage her own.  None of that made any sense.  She was terrible at everything, incompetent, mean, and angry, but then she'd start crying and acting like a victim when John was around.  Then, she had the gaul to complain about all the free stuff she got from the bar rescue.  I hate that I was rooting against her, but I was.

The bar was making $1.2 million+ a year when Jeff owned it, but then lost $500k immediately after Nita bought it?  Maybe she should have realized that her "improvements" were such improvements after all.

I think what was going on behind-the-scenes during the filming of this episode may have been more entertaining than the actual episode.

[Charlesman]

Was it ever explained why they had the tour bus there to begin with? Seems like an odd thing to buy and then never use for your failing business.

Also seems like running a shuttlebus from a college to a bar could be a liability minefield.

[HunterHunted]

On Monday, October 24, 2016 at 1:54 PM, Charlesman said:

Was it ever explained why they had the tour bus there to begin with? Seems like an odd thing to buy and then never use for your failing business.

Also seems like running a shuttlebus from a college to a bar could be a liability minefield.

I thought the shuttle bus seemed like an idea that could only end in disaster. Bar owners/innkeepers have some liability of they over serve and the person goes on to get in an accident, but to put a bunch of drunk possibly belligerent people together on a bus seems like they could be engaging in other crimes. Or opening yourself to other liability for failure to supervise your passengers.

[Charlesman]

That bartender was awesome. What a find. The whole team was great, never seen the standing-around, "We've got everything covered and we're just chilling" during the initial stress test. Great crew.

 

My favorite moment, however, was at the beginning when Taffer's "recon spy" girl was sitting in the booth getting all those free drinks, and Spike had to blur out her nipple because her boob almost fell completely out of that "dress" she was wearing. High comedy.

[holly4755]

at the beach there is a bus to take people home when they get drunk, within reason.  They have to be on the island. The next day, you can take the bus and leave you car at home or you can pick up the car you left the night before.  I have never heard of them having a problem. But it is a small island, the ride is short. 

[Nanu160]

Why does Taffer always bring in that Douchy "All-In" DJ Blue Steel guy?

[Ubiquitous]

I saw this ep for the first time this afternoon. I could have sworn Tapper had something against striper bars...

So, it wasn't just me who found the strippers kinda gross?

The place still looked like a dump after the renovations, but I did like the new name better than "Chicks and Dicks" (or whatever it was).

[MrSmith]

I love this show, but damn am I ready for Taffer to abandon some of these morons to their fates.

[Raja]

I wonder how he would react to trying to run a resistance cell out of The Yonk on Colony?

[psychoticstate]

On 2/21/2017 at 7:54 AM, MrSmith said:

I love this show, but damn am I ready for Taffer to abandon some of these morons to their fates.

Me too.

And the mother wasn't so much "generous" as she was a completed and unadulterated enabler.