Bar Rescue

Overview

The series stars Jon Taffer, owner and chairman of bar/nightclub consulting firm Taffer Dynamics, Inc. Taffer is a bar and nightclub owner who has started, flipped, or owned numerous establishments in a career that spans over three decades. Bar owners submit an application via the Spike TV website to have their failing establishment "rescued" by Taffer and his team of experts.

A typical episode begins with Taffer's team performing reconnaissance and surveillance on a struggling bar to determine its operational and service weaknesses. For the recon, one or more team members and/or local residents enter the bar, order food and drinks to gauge their quality, and form an opinion of the atmosphere and service. The surveillance involves hidden cameras, pre-installed with the owner's consent, through which Taffer and his team watch the kitchen and customer service areas. He then introduces himself to the owner(s) and staff to discuss his findings, and to describe the changes he believes should be made (management, customer service, cleanliness, etc.) in order to make the bar profitable. He also examines the bar's financial records to find possible cost savings. During these meetings, Taffer exhibits a brusque, no-nonsense, and confrontational attitude intended to goad the owner(s) and staff into making drastic changes to the way the bar is run – including the firing of inept and/or dishonest employees when necessary.

Taffer's team members train the staff on methods of improving food/drink preparation, customer service, and efficiency, frequently concentrating on a more limited selection of recipes than the bar typically offers. After the initial training, Taffer puts the bar through a "stress test" (similar to a soft opening), inviting in a large crowd of patrons in order to determine how well the staff can use their newly learned skills to deal with the pressure of a busy night. He uses market research, technological tools, and partner companies to scientifically measure the bar's performance. After discussing the stress test's results with owners and staff, Taffer meets with his experts to begin devising a new concept for the bar.

The experts put the staff through a second, more extensive phase of training, overhauling the menu to fit the new concept. Once this phase is complete, Taffer closes the bar for a few days so that construction crews can redesign the interior. Deep-cleaning and structural work are performed when necessary. After the overhauled bar (often re-branded with a completely new name or a variation of the old one) is unveiled, Taffer takes the owners and staff on a tour to point out its new features. During the grand re-opening, he observes the overall improvement as a large crowd again packs the bar.

An epilogue segment describes the changes in the bar's success or failure since the re-opening, through a combination of text and interviews with the owners and staff. Bars are not required to keep the changes that Taffer implements, and some have reverted to their original names, concepts, and/or menus since being featured on the show. Out of the 118 bars featured up to Season 4, 40 have closed down, and three of the 78 bars still open have changed ownership.

Production

The series is from The Biggest Loser producers J.D. Roth and Todd A. Nelson for 3 Ball Productions/Eyeworks US. Spike announced picking up 10 episodes of Bar Rescue in January 2011. The show began shooting in April 2011. It was renewed on September 14, 2011 for a second season in the summer of 2012, from which the first episode of that season aired on July 29. Taffer has confirmed that Season 3 of the show began filming in late October 2012, with 20 episodes being prepared to premiere on February 10, 2013. On May 9, 2013, Spike TV renewed Bar Rescue for a fourth season of 20 more episodes.

On March 21, 2014, Spike TV ordered 20 more episodes of Bar Rescue. On June 27, Taffer announced on his Facebook page that he will be begin shooting 30 episodes for Season 4 after a week-long trip to Paris. The first half premiered on October 5, 2014 while the second half premiered on February 8, 2015.

On May 30, 2015, Taffer announced on his Facebook page that he finished shooting Season 4. It was announced that the remaining episodes for Season 4 would air beginning Sunday, June 21, Taffer originally confirmed season 5 of at least 20 episodes on his Facebook page. but on July 27, 2016, Spike greenlit the fifth season that will now consist a total of 30 episodes.

Experts

Chefs

Mixologists

Other special experts

Failed rescues

Although most of the bars featured on the show go on to survive and succeed, some bars do not see the same results off-camera. The changes the show made to Downey's Irish Pub, featured in the July 24, 2011, episode "Downey's and Out", were not enough to prevent a planned sheriff's sale on August 2, 2011, due to $2.4 million owed to the city of Philadelphia and Wells Fargo bank, including $125,881 in business-privilege, wage, liquor and other taxes. Breakwall (from the season one episode, "Beach Bummer") closed in January 2012. Season one's Swanky Bubbles, after reverting to its original title, has also closed its doors. The show's first rescued bar of season two, Piratz Tavern, reverted to its original pirate theme and would later close in April 2015 (see below). The Chicken Bone, Canyon Inn, Angry Ham's Garage, Weber's Place, The Brixton, ZanZbar Stand Up Scottsdale!, and KC's reverted to their original names. The Chicken Bone brought back its previously popular menu, while Angry Ham's replaced unpopular items with previously popular items from its original menu. Season two's J.A. Murphys was sold by the owners shortly after the makeover, becoming a Mexican restaurant. Stand Up Scottsdale reverted to its original name due to problems with becoming a franchise of The Laugh Factory.

Rocket 6 in Austin, Texas, reverted to its old name, The Brixton, 6 weeks after its relaunch. The owner continued his use of social media to insult critics who were documented in the show, although the bar was not closed.

The Rocky Point Cantina in Tempe, Arizona, closed after a repaint of the bar triggered a code inspection, which uncovered years of modifications to the building that had been completed without building permits. The bar owner opted to close the bar rather than bring his building up to code.

Piratz Tavern

Piratz Tavern in Silver Spring, Maryland, quickly undid all of Taffer's drastic changes shortly after their episode was filmed. The unsuccessful pirate-themed bar was rebranded Corporate Bar and Grill by Taffer, but the change was short-lived, as the bar was again going with the pirate theme by the time the episode aired. The owner even released a YouTube video called Piratz Revenge, showing the new "Corporate" sign created by Taffer's team being shot at in effigy and burned. The video was heavily disliked by YouTube viewers, and currently has a positive rating of only 4%. "If you had a pirate concept that had failed for five years and had a new concept, would you go back to the concept that failed for five years or try something new? It defies logic that someone would go back to a (failed) concept just because they don't like the new name," said Taffer of their decision. The owners blamed the "negative publicity" on the show. Piratz was revisited as part of the April 5, 2015 episode, where Taffer graded the bar an "epic fail"; the owner wanted to seek a second rescue. Within a week of the episode's airing, however, Piratz decided to close its doors for good. In another episode, the owners made amends with Taffer and announced that they plan to open a new bar, Bar Refuge, within the next year.

LABrewCo failure

Taffer's most expensive rescue also resulted in his biggest failure. His visit to The Los Angeles Brewing Company during Season 4 saw him put $1 million into updating the bar, which included the use of a self-service beer tap and an in-house brewing system, which was intended to allow the bar (which became known as LABrewCo) to start serving its own beer. Four months after the rescue, the brewing system was discovered to have never been used, the self-serve tap was disconnected, and the owner had reverted changes to the bar taps and the menu. Not only that, but it was also revealed that LABrewCo's liquor license had been suspended and the business was put up for sale.

Walkouts

Taffer has walked out of a bar without rescuing it three times.

O'Face Bar walkout

Taffer walked out of the O'Face Bar in Council Bluffs, Iowa, due to the family drama and complete lack of professionalism.

Second Base walkout

The second walkout was a planned re-rescue of Second Base (formerly Extremes Sports Bar) in Orange, California. The owner showed a complete lack of respect for Taffer's previous or current efforts and refused to put any money into the business.

Black Light District walkout

The third walkout occurred at Black Light District in Long Beach, California. The owner refused to accept any changes in either the venue, drink menu, or music choice (he would only play punk rock). He also displayed an immense ego, going so far as to insult Taffer, Taffer's mixologist (for daring to prepare fruit-based drinks that had sold well at other music-themed bars), and Vandals bassist Joe Escalante for pointing out that as much as Escalante himself loved punk rock, punk was a specialized genre unlikely to keep a bar in business by itself. The owner's response to Escalante was not to find fault with Escalante's knowledge or logic, but rather to mock Escalante's "grandpa sweater," implying the 35-year veteran of the punk scene was too old to "get" punk, which led to the insulted bassist's rapid departure from the episode.

Lawsuit

Jon and Nicole Taffer, along with the show's production company Bongo LLC, have been sued by Dr. Paul T. Wilkes from Bar 702 (formerly Sand Dollar). In episode "Don't Mess with Taffer's Wife", Paul is shown to hit on Nicole and Jon yells at him in retaliation. However, he claims that in reality that the producers ordered him to be sleazy and make offensive comments on women and texted him to "Hit on Mrs. Taffer hardcore!!" After he did so, instead of "setting him straight", the doctor claims that Taffer allegedly called the control room to tell them to have a drink near the spot where he intended to confront Dr. Wilkes, so he could throw it in his face and said to a colleague "Now I'm going to show you why my show is Number One." Dr. Wilkes then claimed that Jon Taffer came in to confront him and showed him footage of his audition tapes where he insulted the way Jon dressed. Jon then grabbed the drink in his hand, threw it in his face, and smashed the cup in his face. Jon then spit in his face and tore off his shirt so violently that buttons ripped off his shirt. Jon then picked up the second drink that was planted and threw it in Dr. Wilkes' face. After that, Jon swung at Dr. Wilkes' head with his electronic tablet and turned around to get his coat. Dr. Wilkes thought Taffer was going for a weapon, so he tried to restrain him and was punched in his left jaw by him. Jon Taffer began hyperventilating and collapsed on the floor with the entire attack caught on camera. As a result of this attack, Dr. Wilkes claims he suffers from emotional distress and symptoms such as migraines, nausea, vomiting, night terrors, crying spells, severe depression, and anxiety attacks. There is currently no update on the lawsuit. As of October 21, 2016, the matter has been continued and a future hearing has been scheduled for February 24, 2017.

Nashville rescue/Wayne Mills murder

During the taping for season three, Taffer visited BoondoxXx BBQ & Juke Joint in Nashville, Tennessee and work with owner Chris Ferrell, who was noted for having a hot temper. The rescued bar was renamed Pit & Barrel and the episode featuring the bar was to air on November 24, 2013, but on the night before the episode was supposed to air, Ferrell was arrested by Nashville police for shooting and killing country singer Wayne Mills during an argument inside Pit & Barrel. Spike immediately pulled the episode from it originally scheduled premiere slot. It did not, however, remove the episode completely and the regularly scheduled encore presentation of the episode, which aired in the early morning hours of November 25, accidentally served as the premiere. The network drew criticism for the error in light of the circumstances.

Ferrell eventually stood trial for the murder of Mills and asserted he acted in self-defense, claiming that Mills had violated the bar's nonsmoking rule and had threatened to kill him with a broken beer bottle. The jury, however, convicted Ferrell of second-degree murder in March 2015 after a long-delayed trial and he was given a 20-year sentence without the possibility of parole. The verdict and sentence are being appealed.

International Broadcast

In the UK, the show airs on 5*, starting from January 8, 2014. It has since moved to the British Spike Channel since Viacom acquired Channel 5 UK. In Sweden Bar Rescue is showen daily on TV12 and TV4 Fakta XL.