Bar Rescue - General Discussion

[Whodunnit]

Man, I took one 1 hour food safety class seventeen years ago when I was working at a fast-food joint and I  still remember most of the rules including the importance of using gloves during preparation. How are these chefs even getting hired?

[zillabreeze]

I've dipped into little dive & corner bars all over the US.  Never seen anything remotely like Taffer finds. 

I suspect a whole lot of playing the fool is to get the makeovers.  Even without the new paint and furniture, some of the kitchen scrubbing and steam cleaning alone must be worth thousands.

[Claire85]

He named it Madame Dalia’s. With a big red D. 😂

[Madding crowd]

Taffeta seemed like he was going to have a stroke in the Country Bar episode. I get it that these people were annoying but a modicum of acting professional would be good too. I don’t relate well to people screaming so I couldn’t work with someone like him. 

Edited March 13, 2019 by Madding crowd

[Stellamayfair]

On 11/4/2014 at 11:19 PM, NikSac said:

Totally agreed!  I've burned the hell out of myself with a jalapeno (yes I was dumb enough to touch it and then my face).  I can't imagine touching a ghost pepper. I'm scared of them and I've never even seen one in person.

LOL at seeing a GHOST pepper in person.

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 5:27 PM, DoctorK said:

What drives me nuts when I watch is when he whips out "blueprints" that are actually blue. I have been my company's site manager on a few construction sites (Navy and Army construction and post hurricane rebuilding) and all of the drawings are CAD, maintained by the General Contractor (or their Architect) who also has large format printers and suppies prints as need to subs. Maybe I am wrong, but aren't blueprints called that from an old and long obsolete chemical process for making large copies which only produced blue background/white lines?

Oh my gosh, I had totally forgotten that from my intro to shop class in the late 1970's! I assume they use plotter printers now but no longer use that color combination.

On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 1:37 PM, psychoticstate said:

Is anyone commenting on this show anymore?  Is anyone still watching?

I haven't watched this show in years. Are they still making new eps?

On a related note, I came back to this forum b/c I saw an commercial for a new show in which Jon Taffer repairs relationships. Whut?

[Taeolas]

Yeah they have been airing a few new eps recently; but seemingly in line with his "Relationship Rescue", it feels the Bar Rescue has been focused as much on 'repairing' the owner or manager's relations as an underlying cause of the failing bar; and less focus on improving the bars themselves. 

I suspect Relationship Rescue is going to last less time than Restaurant Rescue did. Or I can hope as muhc. 

[chenoa333]

On 5/12/2019 at 9:47 AM, Ubiquitous said:

On a related note, I came back to this forum b/c I saw an commercial for a new show in which Jon Taffer repairs relationships. Whut?

I watch Bar Rescue specifically for the incredible cocktails yhe mixologists make!

But the new show featuring Taffer saving marriages? WTF? Is he going to recommend that all wives get breat implants (like Taffer's wife?) Maybe she had them before he met her but nevertheless, what the hell are his qualifications for saving marriages? And who would hire him?

It reminds me of the chef Robert Irvine who got into daytime talk tv...Jerry Springer style. His show flopped so now he's back with his crappy Food Network (?) show " Restaurant Impossible". Not watching any of his crap 

[Ubiquitous]

19 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

It reminds me of the chef Robert Irvine who got into daytime talk tv...Jerry Springer style. His show flopped so now he's back with his crappy Food Network (?) show " Restaurant Impossible". Not watching any of his crap 

TBH, I am surprised Robert Irvine is still on Food Network after it was discovered he's a fraud.

[chenoa333]

1 hour ago, Ubiquitous said:

TBH, I am surprised Robert Irvine is still on Food Network after it was discovered he's a fraud.

WHAT?! I haven't heard about this. Give me the scoop! I don't like him..never have so I don't watch his crappy shows and therefore I don't know the "word on the street" about him being a fraud!

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 1:51 PM, chenoa333 said:

WHAT?! I haven't heard about this. Give me the scoop! I don't like him..never have so I don't watch his crappy shows and therefore I don't know the "word on the street" about him being a fraud!

This was about ten years ago, maybe, so I'm fuzzy on the details,  but it was discovered his claims, like making Queen Elizabeth's birthday cake, was a lie. Food Network, or wherever he was, immediately replaced all his shows with reruns of something else and he was suspended.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/arts/04arts-CHEFCOOKSUPH_BRF.html

Edited May 31, 2019 by Ubiquitous
Added link.

[chenoa333]

2 hours ago, Ubiquitous said:

This was about ten years ago, maybe, so I'm fuzzy on the details,  but it was discovered his claims, like making Queen Elizabeth's birthday cake, was a lie. Food Network, or wherever he was, immediately replaced all his shows with reruns of something else and he was suspended.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/arts/04arts-CHEFCOOKSUPH_BRF.html

Wow! He's a real nut job with all those tall tales about his previous work history. You'd think Food Network producers would check their "chefs" credibility before giving them a show.

[bad things are bad]

Quote

You'd think Food Network producers would check their "chefs" credibility 

Heh. You'd think they'd learn after one episode of this type of tomfoolery http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/08/lenny-mcnab-controversy.html

[MelissaMinion]

On 5/26/2019 at 4:03 PM, chenoa333 said:

I watch Bar Rescue specifically for the incredible cocktails yhe mixologists make!

But the new show featuring Taffer saving marriages? WTF? Is he going to recommend that all wives get breat implants (like Taffer's wife?) Maybe she had them before he met her but nevertheless, what the hell are his qualifications for saving marriages? And who would hire him?

It reminds me of the chef Robert Irvine who got into daytime talk tv...Jerry Springer style. His show flopped so now he's back with his crappy Food Network (?) show " Restaurant Impossible". Not watching any of his crap 

I watched about 15 minutes of the first show, and then fled. First, the people were so unlikeable....and second, "John Taffer Yells At Married People" is not my idea of a good tv experience. 

[chenoa333]

46 minutes ago, MelissaMinion said:

I watched about 15 minutes of the first show, and then fled. First, the people were so unlikeable....and second, "John Taffer Yells At Married People" is not my idea of a good tv experience. 

Thanks for the warning!  😁 Taffer still doesn't know he can get his point across without destroying everyone's hearing! 

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎5‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 1:30 PM, bad things are bad said:

Heh. You'd think they'd learn after one episode of this type of tomfoolery http://www.grubstreet.com/2014/08/lenny-mcnab-controversy.html

You're talking about the Food network, where SLoP got her show!

23 hours ago, MelissaMinion said:

I watched about 15 minutes of the first show, and then fled. First, the people were so unlikeable....and second, "John Taffer Yells At Married People" is not my idea of a good tv experience. 

Thanks for watching Taffer's new show so we don't have to.

[chenoa333]

On 6/4/2019 at 10:16 AM, Ubiquitous said:

You're talking about the Food network, where SLoP got her show!

I watch Food Network but who is SLoP? 

[Ubiquitous]

12 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I watch Food Network but who is SLoP? 

Sandra Lee, ol' Pudding-cups. Named for her low-hanging boobs and propensity to use pudding cups in her recipes on Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, an alleged cooking show. You can see clips on YouTube for the hilarity. She once made clam chowder by adding canned clams to a can of Campbell's potato soup, for example.

[chenoa333]

1 hour ago, Ubiquitous said:

Sandra Lee, ol' Pudding-cups. Named for her low-hanging boobs and propensity to use pudding cups in her recipes on Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, an alleged cooking show. You can see clips on YouTube for the hilarity. She once made clam chowder by adding canned clams to a can of Campbell's potato soup, for example.

That's comedy at its best! I must check her out on YouTube! the canned clams and canned potato soup sounds disgusting but I must see!

And this is the woman who married a wealthy politician (forgot who) and she's on Food Network cooking crap? 

Chefs who cook with cannabis are going to be the new genre of fine dining and cooking. 

[bad things are bad]

Quote

 I must check her out on YouTube! the canned clams and canned potato soup sounds disgusting but I must see!

Oh, it's disgusting you want? Google "sandra lee kwanzaa cake". Not while you're eating

[chenoa333]

4 hours ago, bad things are bad said:

Oh, it's disgusting you want? Google "sandra lee kwanzaa cake". Not while you're eating

😁😁😁HaHaHaa!LOL!😁😁 Holy f'n balls that was disgusting AND funny! Is she a pot smoker? I don't think I could eat that even if I was stoned! 

I still watch Bar Rescue. Mostly because I'm interested in the intricate drink concoctions the mixologists create. And also for the cheap, sleazy folks who work in some of these bars. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by chenoa333

[sd dude]

I saw the O-Face Bar episode for the first time yesterday.  What a shit show that group was.  I understand that this is a reality TV production with extensive, intentional editing, so real life may bear only partial resemblance to what was portrayed on screen.  However, one thing that annoys me about the production is the emphasis placed on this intensive background check that revealed all sorts of red flags, including a professionally filmed close up of the owner slapping his bartender and then threatening to have him thrown through a window?!?!  Do the producers actually think any viewer will believe this is found footage, as opposed to footage that the Bar Rescue crew filmed at some point during production?  In other words, information that Taffer had available all along.

Of course, if the bar is still open today, then perhaps they weren't that in need of rescue.  I don't understand how these various owners last as long as they do carrying as much debt as they are and adding to it as rapidly as they do with ongoing monthly losses.  Where does all that cash keep coming from?

[KHenry14]

5 hours ago, sd dude said:

I saw the O-Face Bar episode for the first time yesterday.  What a shit show that group was.  I understand that this is a reality TV production with extensive, intentional editing, so real life may bear only partial resemblance to what was portrayed on screen.  However, one thing that annoys me about the production is the emphasis placed on this intensive background check that revealed all sorts of red flags, including a professionally filmed close up of the owner slapping his bartender and then threatening to have him thrown through a window?!?!  Do the producers actually think any viewer will believe this is found footage, as opposed to footage that the Bar Rescue crew filmed at some point during production?  In other words, information that Taffer had available all along.

Of course, if the bar is still open today, then perhaps they weren't that in need of rescue.  I don't understand how these various owners last as long as they do carrying as much debt as they are and adding to it as rapidly as they do with ongoing monthly losses.  Where does all that cash keep coming from?

O-Face Bar was the most dysfunctional bar ever in the history of the show. The owner got arrested for sexual assault and did 3 months in jail and is considered a sexual predator and has to register as that for the rest of his life

And no, they are no longer open

[sd dude]

23 hours ago, KHenry14 said:

O-Face Bar was the most dysfunctional bar ever in the history of the show.

Actually, just saw the Taffer walkout for the Chicago Dugout bar last night.  Don't know if the owner was as bad as the O-Face owners, but I could barely imagine anyone being more apathetic about getting tens of thousands of dollars (if not six figures) of free renovations and upgrades.  What I don't understand is if the owner was so disinterested in saving the business why allow BR to come in in the first place?  How about just selling the bar/releasing the space to someone who actually wants to run it?  Especially after the BR episode, there must be more than a few lifelong Cubs fans/beer fans who would love to have that location, along with all the brand new equipment/décor/signage/etc.

Maybe what BR illustrates more than anything else is that alcoholism and the bar business go together.  Because ultimately, that was the Dugout owner's real problem.  Whether operating a bar predisposes one to developing Alcohol Use Disorder or persons with AUD are more likely to end up in the bar biz is a chicken and egg question I won't take on, but I do think the show does not acknowledge how serious an illness it is.  Not every episode is dealing with an owner who is a drunk.  Sometimes they are just people lacking the cojones to manage employees properly and without the business knowledge/skills to be successful.  These folks can build some confidence, learn to be better managers, and learn the ins and outs of the business and I suspect those cases will make for the more successful rescues. 

However, when the owner in an episode is a drunk, which is commonplace, Taffer's formula seems to imply that a tough love intervention is really all that is needed to set them straight and get them to swear off.  Of course, many alcoholics can stay sober for the few days that it takes to complete the filming for most episodes, but the implication that their problem has been solved does not pay respect to how chronic and devastating this addiction is.  I think Taffer does a disservice by not documenting a referral to AA or some other therapeutic approach to sobriety, and emphasizing that this is a very serious problem that will require some long-term intervention.  I realize he is already marriage counselor extraordinaire (sarcasm) but if he did a little more to promote AUD awareness and referral it might make for a valuable public service.

Now, back to snarking on these fools. . .if I could just see the return episode to that bikini bar in Orange, CA (Second Base?), I think I will have caught up on all the walkout episodes.  I saw the first visit to that bar but have only seen the return in some clips.  I try to catch up on all the episodes I missed (which is most of them, as I only discovered the series a few months ago), but with almost 200 episodes available to broadcast, I find Paramount continually repeating the same 20-30 eps in their Sunday marathons (e.g I don't need to see Chix on Dix, lobster games, El Moronte, to name a few, every single weekend), while inserting different reruns into that rotation is the exception rather than the norm.  That seems very strange to me, unless they have determined those few dozen to be the most popular episodes and that most of the other ones suck. . .

[Mu Shu]

On 7/29/2019 at 12:56 PM, bad things are bad said:

Oh, it's disgusting you want? Google "sandra lee kwanzaa cake". Not while you're eating

What the hell was that? A premade cake, some canned frosting with shit dumped into it, ugly ass candles, apple pie filling and...Acorns? Plus it was ugly and looked like a poop cake. 

[chenoa333]

On 8/13/2019 at 4:19 PM, sd dude said:

What I don't understand is if the owner was so disinterested in saving the business why allow BR to come in in the first place? 

Bar Rescue did an episode featuring a dive bar near my hometown. The owner had BR come in and do their usual fabulous renovations and shortly thereafter, the owner sold the bar. I believe that was the owner's sole reason for being on bar Rescue .....to get the bar upgraded for free and therefore get a much bigger selling price. The bar is still there but I haven't been back since the renovations or new ownership. 

[chenoa333]

I realize nobody comes to this thread very often so I'm probably talking to myself (which is normal for me) however I was curious about something. I'm fascinated by the many speciality drinks John's bar experts come up with but all of those drinks appear to be made with LOTS of sugar products. 

You get an ounce and a half of alcohol and the rest of the drink is products with tons of sugar. I don't know about anyone else, but sweet sugary drinks make me sick. And they get me way more inebriated than non-sugared drinks. Just MOO.

I like this show and I do think that Taffer has a kind heart and enjoys helping people who are worth helping

 

[Ubiquitous]

10 minutes ago, chenoa333 said:

I realize nobody comes to this thread very often so I'm probably talking to myself (which is normal for me) however I was curious about something. I'm fascinated by the many speciality drinks John's bar experts come up with but all of those drinks appear to be made with LOTS of sugar products. 

You get an ounce and a half of alcohol and the rest of the drink is products with tons of sugar. I don't know about anyone else, but sweet sugary drinks make me sick. And they get me way more inebriated than non-sugared drinks. Just MOO.

I think Taffer once explained that people buy more drinks if they are sweet, or maybe you can get away with skimping on the booze.

On a related note, the stay home and social isolation going on suddenly reminded me Taffer's stupid idea he kept bragging about that involved making narrow bottlenecks and forcing people to get super close. What was it called? I want to say "buttplug", but I'm pretty sure that's something else.  😀

[tljgator]

1 hour ago, chenoa333 said:

You get an ounce and a half of alcohol and the rest of the drink is products with tons of sugar.

I actually think this has to do with food -- super sweet drink, people buy super salty bar food, etc. It all works to increase money made. I think it's very telling that in the new season he seems to be pushing "Taffer Drink Mixes" in at least one place -- just dump in stuff from one bottle and add some booze...done. Guess we should get used to that like "Taffer Virtual Training," or whatever it is, that they all pretend to be so excited to get, lol.

1 hour ago, Ubiquitous said:

What was it called? I want to say "buttplug", but I'm pretty sure that's something else.

That is a VERY different thing. Hee. "Butt funnel" -- funnel people through the space, two at a time (except for the episode with the "Mega Butt Funnel" that was somehow different? I don't remember the details, lol), their eyes meet, etc. etc.

[Taeolas]

In this day of Physical Distancing, "Butt funnels" seem like a laughable concept. But for bars that want to encourage people to meet up and hang out, I can see how they can work. 

I've still got it on my PVR and been watching new eps. But one thing I don't like is how they've shifted the focus so much. Used to be they would be doing the renovation, including going over what they are changing and why they are changing, at the 30-35 minute mark. 

In the new eps, that usually doesn't happen until the 40-45 minute mark, with another 5 minutes or so for the reaction and relaunch. 

Most of the time seems to be focused on the interpersonal DRAMA, especially in the first half hour, which is the one part I'm least interested in. (I don't drink so the description of the new drinks also doesn't interest me much, but I'd much rather see more of that than more people shouting at eachother) 

[chenoa333]

10 hours ago, Taeolas said:

"Butt funnels" seem like a laughable concept

Yes. And I'd love to see Kim K or Nikki Minaj get thru a Taffer "butt funnel". 

The medics would have to show up with "the jaws of life"!

[NowVoyager]

S7/Ep09 (2020) features NFL player Marshawn Lynch's family run restaurant, Rob Ben's, named in tribute to his friend that passed away. He seems like a great guy, his Aunties running the restaurant are hard working & the other family members quickly got their shit together. I'm rooting for them! Mostly they benefitted from the financial advice. Once they saw how much money they were losing from over-pouring & foods costs (~13 large prawns on 1 entree! Good gracious!) they were all ready to do better. A very deserving remodel. I was also touched by the tribute to Rob Ben: shown in silhouette cheering on his friend. 

[Burning Rubber]

I am in the middle of watching the Piratz Tavern episode... the owner that lives with her parents, along with her husband and daughter is completely bonkers. How is she 900K in debt? Who is loaning her the money?

I burst out laughing when she got all dewy eyed talking about "sexy dangerous pirates."

Her staff is just as delusional as she is, that business is a cult.

[chenoa333]

On 11/26/2020 at 8:49 AM, Burning Rubber said:

I am in the middle of watching the Piratz Tavern episode... the owner that lives with her parents, along with her husband and daughter is completely bonkers. How is she 900K in debt? Who is loaning her the money?

I burst out laughing when she got all dewy eyed talking about "sexy dangerous pirates."

Her staff is just as delusional as she is, that business is a cult.

This was the owner who Taffer told her "do you want to be a pirate or do you want to send your kids to college?

IIRC this bar owner changed the name of the bar back to what it was originally named and continued with the pirate theme. You can go on the Bar Rescue site and look up where these rescued bars are today....sold to another person, closed for good etc. It appears to me that many of these bar owners call the show just to get a free renovation and then they sell the bar for much more than what they would've gotten if sold as the dump that it is before Taffer renovated the place.

 

[Burning Rubber]

Funny how the most humble and cooperative owners were PhD biological scientists. 

[Burning Rubber]

I am watching googly eyed, drunken, tit exhibitionist Dalia DeMoore of Country Nights.

What an ugly, depressing bar. If she didn't serve free drinks, no one would go. Who would eat there? I don't need to check... I  am sure they closed. You can't have alcoholics running a bar LOL.

The bartender negotiating her night's wages... and the owner entertaining it.

The BBQ place next door looked amazing.

[Burning Rubber]

Packy's Irish Pub. Guppy the bartender was gulping down so many shots and hardly looked drunk beyond mooning the clients. And he promised to stop just like that? The guy needs medically supervised detox  I am skeptical of the claim that he simply stopped 

[chenoa333]

On 12/1/2020 at 10:43 PM, Burning Rubber said:

I am watching googly eyed, drunken, tit exhibitionist Dalia DeMoore of Country Nights.

What an ugly, depressing bar. If she didn't serve free drinks, no one would go. Who would eat there? I don't need to check... I  am sure they closed. You can't have alcoholics running a bar LOL.

The bartender negotiating her night's wages... and the owner entertaining it.

The BBQ place next door looked amazing.

I was curious about the status of this bar after Bar Rescue. Apparently it's still open. 

[Burning Rubber]

Drunken Desi Romano and his daughter Lindsey... I  wanted to grab the drinks out of his hands, and slap the smirk off her face. But they did redeem themselves so I wish them luck!

[chenoa333]

I still watch this show. The more I watch, the more  it becomes obvious that most (not all) bar failures AFTER Bar Rescue are the result of the egos and family b.s. that these owners can't see. They never will. 

And many of Taffer's rescues are just bar owners wanting their bar to be upgraded/remodeled for free and then the owner sells it right after Bar Rescue. 

[AnnieBananie]

Straight from here, the next season will be based in Las Vegas.

[hatchetgirl]

7 hours ago, AnnieBananie said:

Straight from here, the next season will be based in Las Vegas.

Meh, if he doesn't discuss butt funnels, it's not worth the watch. 😉

[proserpina65]

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 11:49 AM, Burning Rubber said:

I am in the middle of watching the Piratz Tavern episode... the owner that lives with her parents, along with her husband and daughter is completely bonkers. How is she 900K in debt? Who is loaning her the money?

I burst out laughing when she got all dewy eyed talking about "sexy dangerous pirates."

Her staff is just as delusional as she is, that business is a cult.

That particular episode is one of the more deceptive ones.  The owners and staff were told to play up the crazy.  And all Taffer's talk about the office buildings in the area?  The places he pointed to are a parking garage and the back of the mall.  Now, the whole pirate theme was a bit much, but the corporate theme he installed was not suitable for that part of Silver Spring either.

[chenoa333]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

That particular episode is one of the more deceptive ones.  The owners and staff were told to play up the crazy.  And all Taffer's talk about the office buildings in the area?  The places he pointed to are a parking garage and the back of the mall.  Now, the whole pirate theme was a bit much, but the corporate theme he installed was not suitable for that part of Silver Spring either.

I'm asking this with respect and curiosity...how did you get this info? I will occasionally look up info on these bars to see if they folded. I've never been able to dig up THAT dirt on Taffer's rescues.

[The Crazed Spruce]

On 4/7/2021 at 7:11 PM, AnnieBananie said:

Straight from here, the next season will be based in Las Vegas.

Huh. And I thought that The Paramount Network was moving away from reality shows.

[proserpina65]

On ‎04‎/‎09‎/‎2021 at 7:45 PM, chenoa333 said:

I'm asking this with respect and curiosity...how did you get this info? I will occasionally look up info on these bars to see if they folded. I've never been able to dig up THAT dirt on Taffer's rescues.

It was from an article in the Silver Spring press, I believe.  I'll see if I can find it.

[Burning Rubber]

I feel guilty for not liking the COVID rescues, the story arc is too normal.

[tljgator]

1 hour ago, Burning Rubber said:

I feel guilty for not liking the COVID rescues, the story arc is too normal.

Thank you -- someone had to say it, lol. I appreciate that he's probably just trying to funnel some much needed resources into a very hard hit industry, but, man...it's BORING.

[Claire85]

I’m enjoying the “dirty truth” episodes. The pop-ups are so snarky. 

[AnnieBananie]

Taffer is opening one of Taffer's Taverns here in DC. My friend and I are looking forward to hate-visiting it. It just looks so... basic.