| 1 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bar_rescue_1591.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:300:''"I don't embrace excuses. I embrace solutions."'']] |
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| 4 | ->''"Running a bar is not just a business. It's a science, from the height of the stools to where your eyes fall first on a menu. No one knows more about bar science than Jon Taffer. Over the last 36 years, Jon has transformed hundreds of failing bars worldwide. Using his proven methods and no-nonsense approach, Jon will turn these money pits... into moneymakers."'' |
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| 10 | ''Bar Rescue'' is a reality show that first aired on [[Creator/SpikeTV Spike]][[note]]which would later be known as the Creator/ParamountNetwork[[/note]] on July 17, 2011. |
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| 12 | The show revolves around Jon Taffer, an expert hospitality industry consultant and one of six members of the Nightclub Hall of Fame, going around to failing bars the country over, figuring out what is wrong with them and how to fix them. The show quickly became one of Spike's flagship shows, due in no small part to the "bar science" used through Taffer's planning. |
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| 14 | A spin-off series ''(Bar Rescue: The Dirty Truth)'' premiered on September 20, 2020, featuring additional "truth bomb" captioning not unlike what would appear on ''Series/PopUpVideo.'' |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | !!"Pull back the doors, bust open the tropes, and make a call for help to 'Bar Rescue'": |
| 17 | * AchievementsInIgnorance: A bartender at "Pineapple Hill Grill" managed to make a coffee-based drink taste like water. |
| 18 | * ActuallyPrettyFunny: Sometimes even Jon laughs at the antics going on at the bar such as a chef not flipping a burger for 15 minutes ("Dimples), a singer wearing a Viking hat and a G-string ("Tonic Lounge"), and a customer moon the entire bar ("Tailgate Sports Bar"). |
| 19 | * AdjectiveAnimalAlehouse: Blue Frog 22, The Dirty Rooster, The Gallopin' Goose, The Drunken Donkey, and Armadillo Grill. |
| 20 | * TheAlcoholic: Unfortunately, quite a few owners have resorted to sampling their own goods, something that Taffer has very little patience for. Tim in "The Olive Pit" is a specific example, but others include: |
| 21 | ** Both owners in "Chilleen's" are so intoxicated in their initial meeting with Taffer that one of them, Donna, admits the next day she has no recollection of the meeting. Taffer threatens to walk out if either owner has another drink the entire time he's there, brings a breathalyzer in to test the owners' blood alcohol content every day during his stay, and even sets them up with an addiction counselor. |
| 22 | ** R.G.'s Lounge has a customer so over-served and so drunk that, by the time Taffer shows up, she gets arrested for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct after leaving the bar. |
| 23 | ** Karen from O'Face Bar rings a bell by her seat at the bar whenever she wants a shot, which is ''a lot''. Her husband and manager aren't much better. |
| 24 | ** The moustachioed drunk from [=ZanZBar=], whose inebriated rambling was both awkward and hilarious to watch. |
| 25 | ** The owner of The Dugout, who's been at odds with Taffer at every turn, shows up late, drunk, and uninvited for the unveiling of the remodeled bar (The Press Box). This is the last straw for Taffer, who refuses to hold a grand re-opening and advises all the bartenders to quit. |
| 26 | * AlcoholInducedIdiocy: For lack of a better term, you ''really do not'' want to make a DrinkingGame out of this one. |
| 27 | ** The worst had to be James from Cashmere. When drunk he would hit on customers, walk in the girl's bathroom, rip his shirt off, and make a spectacle of himself. Sadly he wasn't any more responsible when sober. |
| 28 | * AllForNothing: |
| 29 | ** For all the work Taffer puts into the bars, some of the owners have reverted back to their old ways after he leaves. Some of this is minor. Other cases are major (see Piratz Tavern/Corporate Bar & Grill). Quite a few have closed permanently or been sold, in some cases even before their episodes aired. |
| 30 | ** He's walked out entirely in four cases to date (O'Face, Second Base re-rescue, Black Light District, Hideaway Bar & Grill), after seeing that the bars and their owners were just too screwed up to benefit from any help he could offer. |
| 31 | ** Second Base (formerly Extremes) failed again after Taffer rescued the bar in Season 2. He tried to do a second rescue in Season 4, but gave up after the owner refused to put any of his own money into the re-design. |
| 32 | * AlphaBitch: Chandra from The Hooch constantly calls her female employees names that would make a porn star blush and excuses it by saying it would "callous" them against the advances of the male patrons. |
| 33 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1_zYjtk9wg And Hurricane Jon erupts.]] |
| 34 | * ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Unintentionally invoked by Taffer at the Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar: |
| 35 | --> '''Taffer:''' I can't believe what I just saw: a greasy, disgusting kitchen, terrible drinks, [[FelonyMisdemeanor and a hair in the food.]] |
| 36 | * AscendedExtra: Ashley Clark, who was first seen as a bartender in Fort One, a bar that Jon was sent to save. After being impressed by Ashley's drive, passion, and skill behind the bar (she was able to serve an entire room full of people ''by herself'' during the Stress Test), Jon put Ashley through school and recruited her as one of his mixology experts. |
| 37 | * AsideGlance: Jon pulls off an epic one in "Fish Out of Blue Water" when owner Chung relays the message that manager Charlie won't speak to him for fear of being yelled at. |
| 38 | * AuthorityInNameOnly: A recurring theme in failing bars (like The Original Hideaway and Fairways) is that the owner appoints a manager but overrides every decision they make. Jon Taffer even coins this term a "stupid-visor". |
| 39 | * BarBrawl: One "Back to the Bar" special was dedicated to this trope (which included an example of a brawl ''behind'' the counter!). |
| 40 | * BarSlide: Featured in the original title card (shown above), with a mug of beer being slid straight toward the camera and smashing into it. |
| 41 | * BatmanGambit: After Taffer analyzes the ownership, his plan for the initial recon relies on the management and staff doing what he expects them to do because they are failing. An example of this is calling a server at Pat's Cocktails and telling her to pour free drinks because the owner won't stop her from doing so. The owner finds out only when Taffer reveals his plan and the owner [[NeverMyFault screams at Taffer for setting him up]]. |
| 42 | * BerserkButton: |
| 43 | ** Taffer has ''many'', which include: |
| 44 | *** Blatant overpouring. |
| 45 | *** Drunk owners. He really tears into the owner of Extremes when he sees him drinking with the guests, to the point he almost walks off production. |
| 46 | *** Don't ever insult the people Taffer brings along to fix the bar up. The owner of [=ZanZBar=] [[ItsPersonal called Chef Brian Duffy who was helping to remodel the kitchen a "fat boy"]] and [[RageBreakingPoint Taffer blew up on him like a hydrogen bomb.]][[note]]This moment was ranked #1 on Taffer's top 10 list of the angriest moments he had during the first 3 seasons of the show.[[/note]] |
| 47 | *** Accusing him or the show of executive interference on-air. |
| 48 | *** Do not fail to show up for training, or waste the time of Taffer or his experts. If you do, you will be deemed the weakest link at the bar, and start having them push for you to be fired, or hammering on you to drive you to quit. |
| 49 | *** Punching bag machines due to them being a huge legal liability. Taffer lost a lawsuit involving them so if he sees one, he will demand that the owner get rid of it. |
| 50 | *** Wearing sunglasses as he feels it makes you offputting to the guests. That being said, if there's a good reason (one owner had to wear sunglasses because he suffered vision damage while serving in the military) he'll cut them some slack. |
| 51 | *** Cross-contaminating a kitchen with raw meat. If the cameras catch a cook doing it he will quickly confront them. |
| 52 | *** Any gross health code violation is this as well. "You're gonna get people sick!" is practically a catch phrase as well. |
| 53 | *** Recent episodes have Taffer driven to insanity when male bar owners/managers [[ManlyTears cry over their failures]]. Taffer has gone as far as to mock the manager's sobbing in "Fish Out of Blue Water", and he outright calls the owner of RJ'S Replay a "mama's boy". |
| 54 | *** Posing a risk to someone's health by getting them sick via contaminated food and drinks. As he says: |
| 55 | ---->"Look, I know bar ownership can be a dirty business, but when owners slack on sanitation they risk getting people sick, and ''nothing'' makes me angrier than when a lazy operator puts customers in danger." |
| 56 | ** For the bar owners, a major berserk button seems to be the idea of changing the bar's name for any reason. Most will change it right back immediately after Taffer leaves. For example: |
| 57 | *** The owner of Canyon Inn in Loma Linda, California, couldn't stand the idea of changing the name of his bar, even though Taffer and at least one customer told him that "Inn" is an archaic term for a tavern and that the modern use of the word causes people to think it's a hotel. They have actually received calls from people asking what their nightly rates were. Taffer changes it to "Canyon Saloon" but the owner changed it back to "Canyon Inn" after a month. The fact that the "Inn" hasn't been able to keep up the volume of business that it had on re-opening night suggests that perhaps some of Taffer's other changes haven't been kept, either. |
| 58 | *** Tim from The Brixton was so adamantly against changing the bar's name that when Taffer instructed him to paint over the sign on the side of the building, he painted a big middle finger over the O. He changed the name back almost immediately after the cameras stopped, but he still embraced Taffer's lessons. |
| 59 | *** In the most notorious example, the staff of Piratz Tavern not only changed the name back but went back to the original décor ''before the episode even aired''. They even went to the trouble of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPkbJohdyo burning Taffer's décor.]] |
| 60 | *** Taffer was so adamant about the owner not reverting the name to "Underground Wonder Bar" that he forced her to sign a contract preventing her from doing so. Which she broke. |
| 61 | *** NEVER try to call his credibility into question. He will disabuse you of that presumption like the idiot you are. |
| 62 | * BigScrewedUpFamily: They pop up from from time to time, but the family from O'Face in "Punch-Drunk and Trailer-Trashed" takes this up to eleven with all of their constant drinking and arguing, and [[NeverMyFault laying the blame for everything that they do on certain employees]]. |
| 63 | * BittersweetEnding: |
| 64 | ** Can happen occasionally. On the more general point, the bar's relaunch is a success, but the owners have had to fire, and likely lose, a long time friend either because of that person's incompetence at running the bar, or they had been taking advantage of them. |
| 65 | ** Some the bars have had this situation thanks in part to the remodels. Watch, as the last 10 minutes of the show goes on to show case the cool changes to the bar's décor and features. Then go online, and find a local news website of that bar note they had to get rid of some of those changes, thanks to [[ObstructiveBureaucrat building codes and laws]] say they can't have that feature in a bar, or that the permits to own it are not worth the money. |
| 66 | ** This has, over the years, become the apparent case of Piratz Tavern. It was doing better for a while, taking advantage of being a unique niche bar, earning about average or above average reviews. But neither Taffer nor the Piratz crew had anything nice to say of each other; Taffer thinks they're a sinking ship and they think he's an arrogant blowhard. As of April 2015, it seems they are indeed closed for good; however, the owners are still in the bar business (their new bar is called "Bar Refuge"), and it would seem they've buried the hatchet with Taffer, as he calls on them for recon in a later episode. They also return on an episode of his ''Back to the Bar'' series and admit to him that he was actually correct on several fronts about them and that they have more fully embraced his lesson with their new bar. |
| 67 | ** KC's Neighborhood Bar/Johnson County Line ends on this note. The relaunch into a somewhat more upscale smokers' club with a buffet looks good; but Liz, the head bartender, manager, and minority owner at the time, is forced to leave because the ownership buyout deal she signed with Bill (the majority owner) is not beneficial to her at all despite how much she cared for the place. (See "What the Hell, Barstaff" below for more info.) Things work out for Liz, though, as the end of the show update reveal that she was able to get a good job at another nearby bar. Also, there's a very brief shot of her attending the Johnson County Line's relaunch. Plus, her brother who was bitter he wasn't next in line to take over the bar gets his wish. |
| 68 | * BlatantLies: |
| 69 | ** Staff are willing to come up with various excuses for how dirty the bar, kitchen, or storage is. Likewise, expect the next minute or two to be a rather angry host storming about with footage showing why these things are dirty and that the excuses are completely false. |
| 70 | ** The winner of that particular one has got to be Steve, owner of Headhunters, whose excuse for why he's running a bar that has mold, grime, and roaches all over the place, even inside the drink bottles crosses over into {{Cloudcuckoolander}} territory boils down to this. |
| 71 | ** A good number of minutes of the O'Face episode is this regarding the origins of its name. The episode starts with one of the owners saying that it's a reference to his nickname. It becomes very apparent that the name is actually a reference to having an orgasm, given the various sexual references all over the bar, and their signature cocktail is called "the O-gasm". About halfway through the episode, Taffer ask the staff directly what the name means, and Dave, the bartender, comes up with a blatant lie before he forced to acknowledge what it actually means. This only contributes to the building rage that leads to Taffer leaving the bar. |
| 72 | ** The "[[InformedAttribute chef]]" of Fairways Golf and Grill claimed that he was the graduate of a culinary academy and cleaned regularly. Not only did he not know how to cook anything, even a simple hamburger, but the kitchen and walk-in refrigerator were so filthy that ''fungal blooms'' were growing inside the fridge. He maintained his lies even after he was fired for his astounding incompetence. |
| 73 | ** Los Angeles Brewing Company's sign advertises 100 beers on tap, but due to financial difficulties they actually have less than 20. |
| 74 | ** During the Hideaway Bar & Grill episode (season 8), the employees comment in private interviews that the owner drinks heavily enough to hurt the bar's business. None of them repeat those claims during Taffer's visit, either out of a sense of solidarity or because the owner has bullied/bribed them into silence, and they still say nothing even after Taffer plays back the interview footage for all to see. He finally gets fed up with being called a liar and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere pulls the crew out without doing the rescue]]. |
| 75 | ** Eddie from The Dugout shows up to what was supposed to be his grand reopening as Press Box late after having some drinks. Jon immediately accosts him over it, and he actually has the temerity to say he hasn't been drinking, despite his employees corroborating that he's acting like a drunk and reeks of beer. |
| 76 | ** Sean from the Sandbar (season 7) swore up and down that he still owned 10% of the establishment after defaulting twice on his loans from investors. This creates friction with his business partner Mike, who is the sole owner of the place and is fed up with Sean declaring his ownership all the time despite having nothing to show for it. When Sean reveals he signed the contract giving him the remaining 10% equity but never handed it in to anyone, Jon sets the record straight once and for all that an unofficial document isn't valid, and that Sean "doesn't own shit", as he delightfully put it. |
| 77 | * BothSidesHaveAPoint: Co-owner of Barlow's, Susan and John, both have valid grievances towards one another. John points out Susan is mismanaging her business in both financial and management aspects. Susan points out that John was so bad at managing the kitchen, he had no value as a kitchen manager. Taffer finds both partners at fault at fixes it by putting John as the financial partner and getting Susan to finally take running her bar seriously. |
| 78 | * BrooklynRage: Taffer himself could be a trope exemplar. In addition, several of the bars he has rescued in the NY area have had some of the biggest blowouts between the owners. Examples include The Undisputed (Yonkers) and Jack's Ale House (Queens). |
| 79 | * BrotherSisterTeam: Jonathan and Gabriela, of Shibo, in the wake of the Hurricane Maria devastation; Sam Jordan's children Ruth and Allen also count. |
| 80 | * BrutalHonesty: Jon will not sugarcoat any of his findings or observations. Because of his thirty-plus years in the business, Jon gets straight to the point and point out any failures the owner has, whether they like it or not. He even lampshades it in the series premiere: |
| 81 | --> '''Jon''': I'm very honest, Renee. And there's going to be difficult moments between us. But at the end, you're going to be really pleased. |
| 82 | * CallBack: |
| 83 | ** On a couple of occasions, Taffer has done his recon by sending in owners/managers of bars that were rescued in earlier episodes. |
| 84 | ** In the episode with Scoreboard's bar, "All-In" from the Cashmere episode makes a triumphant return complete with the whip crack sound effect. |
| 85 | ** During the KC's Neighborhood Bar episode, Taffer discovers a raccoon infestation and notices their droppings all over the place. He is reminded of the horse that defecated on the floor of Kid Chilleen's Badass BBQ. |
| 86 | ** In the Characters Quarters episode, one of the employees' costumes reminded Taffer of his previous episode at Piratz Tavern. |
| 87 | ** In the Murphy's Law episode, the bar's name reminds Taffer of J.A. Murphy's. |
| 88 | ** In the [=YNot=] Sports Pub and Grub episode, the [=YNot=] in the name reminds Taffer of Y-Not III. |
| 89 | * CallToAdventure: After being impressed by her drive during the Fort One rescue, Jon hires bartender Ashley Clark to his team. |
| 90 | * CasanovaWannabe: Paul, co-owner of the Sand Dollar. At the beginning, his outstandingly crude attempt to hit on Nicole (Taffer's wife) while she's doing recon almost causes Taffer to cancel the bar rescue project completely. However, after Taffer calls Paul out on his bad behavior, Paul does a HeelFaceTurn and behaves in a much more professional manner for the rest of the episode. |
| 91 | ** The manager of Swanky Bubbles also hits on patrons frequently, to their visible discomfort. |
| 92 | * CatchPhrase: |
| 93 | ** Taffer has some that he uses OnceAnEpisode and others that he uses based on how owners and the like interact with him: |
| 94 | *** "My name is Jon Taffer. For the next five days, you work for me." |
| 95 | *** "Shut it down!"[[note]] At the end of a failed stress test; could also happen if the initial scene at the bar is too out-of-control for Taffer to work with.[[/note]] |
| 96 | *** "You blew it!"[[note]] This is usually directed at owners and/or managers either during the initial visits or during the stress test.[[/note]] |
| 97 | *** "But ya ''didn't'', did ya?!"[[note]]Repeated by Taffer to owners who know to follow multiple procedures and disregard them anyway.[[/note]] |
| 98 | *** "My work here is done."[[note]]At the end of most episodes, when it appears that the rescue will be successful.[[/note]] |
| 99 | ** Some owners and/or bar staff are known for them as well: |
| 100 | *** The manager James at Cashmere has a grating habit of tagging his sentences with "All in!" The editors mock this by zooming in on him with a whip-crack noise every time he says it. |
| 101 | *** The owner of Gipsy kept shouting "Play some Janet Jackson!" at his bartender, enough times for it to become the episode's title. |
| 102 | *** The owner of Molly Malone's/Way Point Saloon had a tendency to describe just about everything involving the bar as "shenanigans". |
| 103 | * CliffHanger: The Chilleen's episode has a noteworthy one. The female owner, along with her husband, had a [[TheAlcoholic serious drinking problem]]. Taffer told them to not touch another drop of alcohol or he was going to walk out and abort the rescue. During the stress test, she was confronted by a group of customers who tried to get her to join them in downing shots, and the episode went to commercial on a shot of her standing irresolute. From what viewers had already seen, there was real tension as to what she would do after the break. When the episode resumed, the owner summoned up the willpower to decline the offer and walk away. |
| 104 | * CommonalityConnection: The owner of Plush had his roots in Calabria, or "the toe of the boot" that was Italy. Jon brought along chef Nick Liberato and mixologist Mia Mastroianni precisely because of their respective family trees. It was an effective icebreaker. |
| 105 | * CreepyDoll: Royal Oaks is ''littered'' with them, and Taffer uses this term verbatim when he calls the owners out on having them around. The rest of the bar's décor is equally as uncomfortable and offensive. |
| 106 | * {{Crossover}}: Rick and Corey Harrison, from the History Channel series ''Series/PawnStars'', appear on a 2021 episode to do recon on a Vegas bar. |
| 107 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: |
| 108 | ** A recurring theme is people with no experience in the restaurant or hospitality industry buying bars with their life savings, apparently thinking that they're money-generating machines all by themselves. |
| 109 | ** Bartenders who overpour, thinking they're buttering up customers with more alcohol bang for the buck. Taffer will quickly and vehemently point out all the issues with this: |
| 110 | *** Because of the price of the liquors themselves, a bar must be able to make X amount of drinks per bottle to flip it into a profit. Speeding through a bottle through overpouring can cost a bar at a nightly pace that can amount to tens and even ''hundreds of thousands'' of dollars over the course of a year. |
| 111 | *** Going over the instructed amount of alcohol in a given drink overwhelms the accompanying ingredients, which renders them moot and makes the drink an unappealing flavorless, too-strong beverage. |
| 112 | *** And the reason that angers Jon the most: overpouring a customer's drink can quickly restrict or sabotage their ability to drink responsibly at their desired pace, a very dangerous practice that also renders the bar liable for any damages caused. |
| 113 | ** Many bar owners try to entice customers by having the cheapest drinks in the area, which only results in thrifty clients trying to spend as little as possible, which minimizes profits. |
| 114 | * DirtyCoward: After hitting one of his workers, Matt from O-Face decides to sic Syck on him bribing him 10 dollars an hour to throw the guy through the window, because he doesn't want to do it himself since he owns the bar. [[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules Syck rightfully refuses.]] |
| 115 | * DirtyOldMan: Sal, the owner of Dimples drives away female customers by being uncomfortably intimate with them and using innuendo-laced dialogue and gimmicks. Despite being told multiple times that it's bad for business, [[TooDumbToLive he continues to do it long after the events of the episode, becoming a contributor to the bar eventually going under and putting him in a financial doghouse]]. Jon even points out in an episode of "Back to the Bar" that if Sal had just [[IgnoredExpert listened to him]], his situation would not be as bad as it is. |
| 116 | * DisproportionateRetribution: Jon is known for harshly penalizing failure, but there are some moments where fans have stated he or the bosses went over the edge: |
| 117 | ** ''Kerry's Sports Pub'': Melody and Jana's terminations for overpouring were seen as unfair due to them being poorly trained, especially since Justin and Lacey were unintentionally costing the bar profits by using the register as a tip jar and not only got exonerated, but postured about how "disgusted" they were about the overpours. |
| 118 | ** ''The Abbey'': Peter the waiter gets fired on the spot for allegedly sneaking food and not punching out, even though he said his shift was over. Many fans thought this specific termination was excessive because waitstaff notoriously have to work on empty stomachs due to the hectic nature of food service. |
| 119 | ** ''Fairways Golf & Grill'': Kevin the frycook's termination was justified in every way, seeing as he not only didn't keep the kitchen clean, but he kept overcooking burgers and slowing down the service, but some fans took issue with Jon continuing to berate him to the rest of the staff, finding it to be a case of unnecessary victory laps. |
| 120 | ** ''Lona's Wardlaw Station'': Some fans saw Bill's firing as unjust. While Jon had proof of stealing, he broadly accused Bill of being the thief, with no proof it was him or exclusively him. He did prove himself to be unfit for management; firing someone for accidentally dropping a glass into an ice bin felt rather unfair, and a demotion for his prior incompetence would've been sufficient. He doesn't even consult Lona on this manner and when she questions his decision, he browbeats her into submission. |
| 121 | ** ''O'Banion's Irish Pub'': The ''part-time'' bartender gets fired for telling them she's too tired to work since she only got two hours of sleep. Taffer even has the audacity to berate her for not being as committed as the full-time owners who have their houses on the line. |
| 122 | * DitzyGenius: Jon suspects the two owners of Paladino's, John and Jonathan, who by day are scientists, of being this, particularly during the stress test when they can't figure out if they got an order of pizza right. |
| 123 | -->"John and Jonathan are book brilliant, but they're common sense ignorant. They can't get a slice of pizza to a table without a ten-minute discussion." |
| 124 | * DontTryThisAtHome: In the episode "Characters Assassination", an atomizer is featured as one of the new tools that will be used for the relaunch of Moon Runners Saloon (formerly known as Characters). A note appears saying that only professional bartenders should use it and people shouldn't try it at home. |
| 125 | * DownerEnding: Several of the bars have closed down since the episode featuring them aired: |
| 126 | ** A glance at Yelp indicates that a number of owners apparently just use the show for a free remodel before going right back to burying them. |
| 127 | ** Gipsy's owner, Paul, walked out during the relaunch as SBLV. Just as the staff were enjoying the new work environment, he came back two days later and closed it for good. Indeed, Paul had such a poor attitude about it that he literally interrupted Taffer's reveal countdown to fire his bartender Brandon, right before he could even ''see'' the renovations. |
| 128 | ** '''The O'Face Bar'''. Not only did the episode ''start'' with the manager physically assaulting one of the servers in the parking lot, but at the end, Taffer gave up entirely on the bar and walked away after they proceeded to ignore every single thing he said (starting by firing ''the server who was attacked'' instead of her attacker). The last straw for Taffer was when he did a complete background check on the bar (something he doesn't normally do) and found out that not only were there multiple police reports about the bar, but there was video footage of one of the bar co-owners hitting the bartender during an argument and ''even tried to bribe the bouncer to throw the bartender through a glass window!'' Even worse, that bouncer was the OnlySaneEmployee (aside from the aforementioned fired assault victim), and was actually working hard to try to help Taffer and convince the management he was trying to help. Naturally, he was fired not long after filming. Ironically, throughout the episode, the rest of the staff claimed ''he'' was the weak link and wasn't doing his job - [[{{Hypocrite}} while they were all ditching the training to drink in the staff room]]. |
| 129 | ** After Taffer's successful rescue of Second Base (formerly Extremes), the bar went under again. Taffer returned for what was supposed to be his first re-rescue, but when the owner refused to put in his share of the money for the remodel, Taffer was unable to rescue it again, marking his second walk-out. According to the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, the bar is still open but still losing money and the staff are seeking jobs elsewhere. |
| 130 | * DramaticShattering: They may smash bottles, glasses, and plates if they have enough dissatisfaction with the quality of what someone is serving - or ''how'' it's being served.[[note]]Such as when Shawn Ford confronted one bartender for serving a 9% IPA in a 12 oz. mason jar when it should have been a (9 oz.) snifter. The concern was likely a matter of alcohol content, as 9% of 12 ounces runs little over a whole ounce - a good-sized shot - of pure alcohol.[[/note]] |
| 131 | * DressedToPlunder: The owners and staff of Piratz Tavern, which had a pirate theme gimmick. |
| 132 | * DreadfulMusician: Lonie of the Underground Wonder Bar is the tip of this iceberg. |
| 133 | * DrillSergeantNasty: Taffer is a bar professional flavor of this. He won't hesitate to call out the people he's working with on their bullshit and is fully willing to embarrass them in public by making a scene -- whatever it takes to get them to shape up and start the process of fixing their bar. |
| 134 | * DudeNotFunny: |
| 135 | ** If an owner or staff member is caught laughing or smiling at him during a rant, Taffer will read them the riot act. |
| 136 | ** Taffer's initial reaction to the horse entering the bar in "Chilleen's" was concern for the animal (given how easily it could have injured itself amongst the chairs and tables), and disgust over the RoadApples it left behind. |
| 137 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: |
| 138 | ** During the first and second seasons, there were "coming up" and "later" segments before each commercial break, and there wasn't any sneak preview to what the bar being rescued looked at the start of an episode, the former was dropped starting with Season 3, and sneak previews of what the bar being rescued looked were added at the beginning of episodes that same season. |
| 139 | ** Seasons 1-4 had P.J. King narrate about about Jon Taffer's expertise in the nightlife industry, the first 2 seasons had the narration a bit longer, the narration was shortened in Seasons 3 and 4, before the narration was dropped completely in Season 5. |
| 140 | * EnragedByIdiocy: |
| 141 | -->'''Jon Taffer to Headhunters owner Steve''': When I talk to idiots, I get loud! |
| 142 | * EntitledBastard: Several owners or workers have such delusions of grandiosity it's a miracle Jon got through them. |
| 143 | ** The son and minority owner in Villagio Cinema was caught ''embezzling money'' from his father's business on frivolous expenses and still insisted he had value in the business even when Jon showed him the evidence to his and his father's face. |
| 144 | ** The owner of Caribe slacked off at the business that his wife gave up a career in medicine for, and flat out told him she was going to divorce him to his face and even gave him the papers. He still believes the next day after he sobers up that she wouldn't think of leaving him and Jon is of no service to him. |
| 145 | ** The owner of Galloping Goose cheated on his wife, had a baby while his wife was already pregnant and his wife actually wanted to give him a chance, and he had the gall to put in no effort and be mad at Jon for telling him the truth. |
| 146 | * EpicFail: |
| 147 | ** Jon's ExactWords in the "Back to the Bar" segment highlighting the Piratz Tavern (which had ''zero customers'' and a grand total of ''one'' seafood item on the menu!). |
| 148 | ** The Alibi has possibly the most disastrous Stress Test in the show's history: The bar was ''40 drinks'' behind and this was before the owner accidentally broke 30 of their 60 mixing glasses when he bumped into a wall when going to the kitchen to wash them. About a third of the steaks were made wrong and the chef comped them on every one. Jon is actually uncharacteristically sympathetic not yelling at the owner for breaking the glasses and is more concerned for his and the customer's safety and telling the chef what he could've done if that happens (give them a free drink not a free meal). |
| 149 | * ExtremeDoormat: |
| 150 | ** Most commonly, this is an issue when the owners or managers are employing their friends or family members. Understandably, people have a hard time separating their private relationships with their professional ones. |
| 151 | ** The worst case of this by far had to be the owners of Rhythm N' Brews. Their bar was overrun by a biker gang to the point where bikers were going behind the bar to make themselves drinks and having free run of the kitchen. Eventually, one of the owners managed to work up the nerve to kick out several bikers who showed up during the stress test. He had originally failed in his goal to keep them from getting inside in the first place, but it was a definite step up from before. |
| 152 | ** A close second would be Russell City. The owner never put his foot down and clearly had a problem asserting himself. The result was his friend Church allowing himself behind the bar when his bartenders told him he couldn't be there. His bartender L Boogie starting a fistfight with Church for being back there, which extended to every male worker in the bar (to be fair, that was partially Church's fault for assaulting the guys trying to break it up). Two of his bartenders, Nykita and Pineapple, act like middle schoolers taking pictures behind the bar, arguing in front of customers, and storming out when he starts to take some control. |
| 153 | ** The owner of TJ Quills hired his friends, which as mentioned can make for a difficult work environment. Unfortunately, these guys crossed lines beyond what most people would put the friendship aside over. The bouncer didn't check [=IDs=] and got caught twice letting underage patrons in, the bartender would drink 1 shot per customer, and the worst was an employee named Spellman who would hit on female patrons and scare them off. It's no surprise these three got fired during the course of the stress test. Even Jon Taffer said the owner was a NiceGuy, he just had no spine. Luckily, the outstanding new concept and decor, as well as the owner's new management style, have served the bar well and kept the place open to this day. |
| 154 | * EveryoneHasStandards: Taffer invites Tracy and Juciano from Piratz Tavern, who were known among other things for overpouring drinks, for his recon in "Getting Freaki at the Tiki". Even they were put off by the alcohol content of Freaky Tiki's drinks. |
| 155 | * FacePalm: A common response by Taffer (and sometimes a member of his training team); it's how he conveys that someone has ''royally'' screwed up. |
| 156 | * FailedASpotCheck: When Jon sent his recon team to Turtle Bay, his recon team couldn't find it and ended up walking right by. |
| 157 | * FailedAttemptAtDrama: When Jon is about to do his trademark shutdown walk in to "The Hammer", the door is stuck, taking at least five tries to actually open. |
| 158 | * {{Flashback}}: |
| 159 | ** Taffer had one in "Characters Assassination", flashing back to the Piratz Tavern. |
| 160 | ** Expect any episode that involves animals causing havoc to flash back to the horse in the bar scene from Kid Chilleen's Badass BBQ. |
| 161 | ** Laguna Lounge had a good theming idea that was poorly executed, reminding Taffer of his rescue of The Underworld. |
| 162 | ** And Piratz Tavern gets brought up again, when he remodels Toucan's Oceanside Bar and Grille into Bonny & Read's, a bar with some sailing and pirate themed décor named after the famed female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. |
| 163 | * FanDisservice: After a whole night of cleaning Joe's Thirsty Lizard, the head cook "Dirty Red" decides to take a bath...'''in the middle of the kitchen'''. We are then treated to the chubby and covered in grease Dirty Red showering butt-naked with only his genitalia censored. |
| 164 | ->'''Dirty Red''': [[LampshadeHanging All you peeping toms, I'm sure y'all had fun]]. |
| 165 | * FlippingTheBird: |
| 166 | ** Jon has Tim from The Brixton paint over his mural in preparation for the bar's makeover. In response, Tim paints a giant middle finger on the wall. |
| 167 | ** In response to Jon chewing him out during the initial recon, the owner of "The Dugout" does this to him as he leaves. |
| 168 | * FloorboardFailure: When the staff at J.A. Murphy's were informed of '''dry rot''' directly underneath their grounds, this became their biggest fear. Training had to take place off-site while engineers spent several days working on repairs. |
| 169 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: Especially in the later seasons, the post-title voiceover will likely tell you what the remodeled bar's new theme/target market will be. |
| 170 | * FromBadToWorse: J.A. Murphy's had a lot of problems and was probably one of the worst bars up to that point. Jon seemed to be making progress until it turned out one of the support beams cracked and was rotting, making the building unable to be used until they fixed it. Luckily everything was repaired, but had Jon not found this, several people could've died at any moment. Even Jon dropped his anger and seemed genuinely scared. |
| 171 | * FunWithAcronyms: Taffer seems to like to come up with a lot of different acronyms: |
| 172 | ** D.I.N.K.: Dual Income, No Kids. |
| 173 | ** P.O.D.: Point of Difference. |
| 174 | * GargleBlaster: |
| 175 | ** The "[[Film/{{Inception}} Inception Shot]]" at J.A. Murphy's is, as Taffer's daughter describes, "[[SerialEscalation a shot inside of a shot inside of a pint glass all in a pitcher]]" that is free if finished in 10 seconds or less. The poor guy who drinks the whole thing only manages to finish it in 16 seconds and is [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome immediately hammered afterwards]]. |
| 176 | ** The Pro Punch from Pro's Sports Bar. A big glass with one shot of pretty much everything behind the bar (the bartender mentions tequila, rum, gin, and vodka, and doesn't stop there,) totaling about 8 ounces of liquor. One sip, the guy doing recon immediately choked, and compared it to lighter fluid. |
| 177 | ** Overpouring liquor is a recurring problem in bars, to the point where it overwhelms the flavor of other mixers. |
| 178 | * GenreSavvy: When Jon's wife Nicole went in for recon at Piratz Tavern, she reported being well-received and properly serviced in a surprisingly cordial atmosphere. A rare case of GenreBlindness on ''his'' part, as she claimed the staff figured her out. (She was his only recon for early episodes, which he eventually realized would affect intel for ''later'' rescues.) He remedied that on the spot by sending in his backup recon team. |
| 179 | ** He was not, however, genre blind in sending two actors from ''Series/{{Tut}}'' to do recon at The Palace in Upland, California; having been on location themselves extensively, Alexander Siddig and Iddo Goldberg had firsthand knowledge of the Moroccan cultural experience. |
| 180 | |
| 181 | * GettingHighOnTheirOwnSupply: Another major recurring problem is drunk owners and staff drinking the bar's liquor, often giving free drinks away, contributing to a bar's losses. It also clouds their judgment, keeping them from dealing with the bar's other problems. |
| 182 | %%* GilliganCut: |
| 183 | %%* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Not so glorious for the ''four'' Irish immigrant Browne sisters (The Holding Company to the Patriot House). |
| 184 | * GranolaGirl: Lonie of Underground Wonder Bar. Her vegan influence on the menu wouldn't be bad, if her reasons for not putting traditional bar foods such as chicken wings on the menu weren't so hypocritical. [[note]]She claimed it was because she couldn't get organic products, yet when expert Chef Pink makes a naan flat bread with sausages on top, Lonie complains about how she doesn't like the type of bread, not the fact that the sausages have preservatives in them. Chef Pink then points out that the food store-bought boxed ready-to-bake pizzas in the bar's fridge are far more processed than her dish.[[/note]] Her bar's outside appearance, which she painted herself, looked more childish and didn't fit with the upscale Chicago Neighborhood. And her musical abilities (she was a jazz musician playing in Chicago bars), well... let's just say that some of that ability didn't exactly age well. Finally, she puts out crayons, and paper table covers out for customers to doodle on. When Taffer tries speaking with her, she spends the entire first meeting drawing hearts and CrossPoppingVeins on it rather than paying attention to what he's trying to say. |
| 185 | * GrossUpCloseUp: Whenever there's a bar with issues of infestation, a kitchen being called a fire hazard, there's going to be at least one instance of something like this. |
| 186 | * GunsAkimbo: When he gets a look at the inside of the Solids & Stripes bar, Ami assumes this stance and shouts, "Badass Billiards!!" |
| 187 | * HairTriggerTemper: It takes so little to get either Taffer or any of the bar owners amped up, doesn't it? |
| 188 | * HomemadeInventions: The core appeal of MT Bottles: Tracy's resourcefulness with very limited resources where the bar was located. While his wife was less impressed, Taffer built upon it for the relaunch as Bottles & Cans. |
| 189 | * {{Hypocrite}}: |
| 190 | ** Steve from Headhunters. Pretty much everything he says is BlatantLies; but in one notable incident, he claimed that if his staff wanted to be given an hourly wage, he was behind it. However, immediately after they start to fill out the paperwork, he starts making comments about how they will have less hours and pay if they do this. Also, he still doesn't pay them. |
| 191 | ** The owner of the Canyon Inn kept stating how he will listen and use what Taffer tells him. However, every single time Taffer tries to point something out or change something, he argues over it with Taffer. |
| 192 | ** Everyone at O'Face, aside from one server, claimed that the bouncer was lazy, didn't do his job, and was the weak link at the bar; all the while, they ditched Taffer's training to drink in the staff room. It is also quite clear the main reason they think this way is because the bouncer was on Taffer's side, and they let him go almost as soon as Taffer left. |
| 193 | ** Also applies in a more broad sense, as every bar has to ask Taffer for help for him to come, then several owners refused to admit that they were doing anything wrong. |
| 194 | ** Jon Taffer is this in "Demolition Man" when he repeatedly derides an owner for not filling out the proper permits to do a renovation even after he admits to it and just wants to get out of the litigation limbo he's in. He comes off as a little unreasonable to do this as his renovations undergo frequent litigation (such as the beer key incident at Piratz Tavern or getting them a liquor license from the wrong city in MT Bottles) due to him not doing the research himself. |
| 195 | ** Ivan from "Laguna Lounge" micromanages an employee for a quarter ounce overpour. Only seconds later, he starts giving shots away to numerous patrons. |
| 196 | * HopeSpot: In "Life's a Beach", the one thing that goes right for Sean is that he learns how to make a popular drink with ease, only to forget come the stress test. And he wouldn't have even made it to the stress test, never mind through it if Jon hadn't convinced Mike give him a chance to see how he performs (since Sean kept spending Mike's money with no apparent plan to repay him). |
| 197 | * HypocriteHasAPoint: Jon Taffer himself becomes this in "All Blaze, No Glory". He complains that the bar owner was spreading germs by sharing bottles with the guests after he drank from them. He was 100% right, but that night he used notorious anti-vaxxer Jenny [=McCarthy=] as his recon. |
| 198 | * IHeardThat: After pleading with Jon to not drop the rescue of Country Nights and he returns to his car, Dalia goes right back to talking crap about him and defending her boob-flashing, even ready for more of it. Jon, having not left yet and still listening in, is right back inside the bar to give her another helping. |
| 199 | * ImNotAfraidOfYou: In response to Taffer [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calling out the O'Face staff in general]], and calling out the owner, Matt, for hitting an employee, Matt defiantly answers him back: "I ain't scared of you, Jon." |
| 200 | * IdiotBall: |
| 201 | ** A rare RealLife example. In his desperation for cash, the owner of Artful Dodger was convinced by his promoter to start up an 18-and-older night. Not only did it fail to draw in more revenue, but it actually scared away older customers who didn't want to deal with underage drinkers and their shenanigans. |
| 202 | ** When Taffer decides to run the stress test as an 18-and-over night, just to see how the staff handles it, the whole thing goes to hell fairly quickly. On top of the normal problems previous bars have experienced during stress tests, the underage customers cause a lot of problems, one of them going so far as to [[NotSoGreatEscape chase the cameraman out of the bar]] for daring to record her FreakOut. |
| 203 | * ImplausibleDeniability: The wife at O'Face insisted they're not the type of people to be a threat to others right after Taffer showed them a video of the owner bribing a bouncer to throw another employee through a glass window. |
| 204 | %%Steve from Headhunters, despite being shown evidence right to his face, still states it's not true. |
| 205 | * IncompetenceInc: It's amazing some of these places were able to stay open long enough for Jon to visit. |
| 206 | ** It can't be counted how many bars have openly drunk employees taking shots with customers and even getting into fights. |
| 207 | ** One owner brings a ''horse'' which takes a dump in the middle of the bar - and it just stays there. |
| 208 | ** An owner of a place on Bourbon Street in New Orleans manages the epic feat of losing money during ''Mardi Gras''. |
| 209 | * InNameOnly: A common theme on the show (like Longshots Sports Bar & Grill) don't have a TV for showing sports games and Taffer even points out many owners think the term "Sports Bar" means it'll succeed |
| 210 | * InnocentlyInsensitive: In "Whipped Into Shape" a bartender named Megan had a DarkAndTroubledPast involving arrests and nearly dying. She has a breakdown at one point and a fellow bartender tells her YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre pointing out she came so far from where she used to be and people used to tell her she would never get out of that lifestyle and this is her chance to prove them wrong. Megan, unfortunately, takes this as her past being thrown back in her face which is safe to say not how the bartender intended it to sound. |
| 211 | * InsultToRocks: Taffer claims that he would call James from Cashmere a douchebag, but he would be insulting douchebags. |
| 212 | * ItsAllAboutMe: |
| 213 | ** A common failing among owners, managers and employees alike. They get so wrapped up in their personal affairs, or what ''they'' want out of the bar, that they forget they need to actually run a business. |
| 214 | ** The absolute worst of the bunch, however, has to be Steve from Headhunters. He was so oblivious to his own personal failings, and so utterly [[LackOfEmpathy lacking in empathy]] towards his customers and employees, that he didn't realize why it was bad that he wasn't paying his employees. He also denied that he had a cockroach problem right until he was served a glass with a dead roach floating in it. It was so bad, in fact, that Taffer offered to help the employees to get jobs at other bars, thus deliberately sabotaging Steve (i.e., the guy he's supposed to be helping). He would later do this again with the staff of Second Base when he aborts his re-rescue. |
| 215 | ** A close second (and third) are the two owners of O'Face Bar, who couldn't stop fighting with each other and their employees long enough to do their training. On top of that, they got drunk during business hours, encouraged their employees to drink while on the job, and refused to tell a customer what was in their "O-gasm" shots. Their most short-sighted moment, however, was when their manager physically assaulted their server: after breaking up the fight Taffer gave them an ultimatum that either the manager went, or he did - and they instead decided to fire ''the server'' out of favoritism for the manager. |
| 216 | ** The owner of the Black Light District was so adamant about keeping the punk rock theme of his bar he fought with Taffer and his staff at every turn and claimed outright he would throw Jon's changes out after he left. They didn't even get to start the renovations before Jon called the entire thing off and left. |
| 217 | * ItsPersonal: |
| 218 | ** Taffer's first marriage ended in divorce when it crumbled under the stress of going into business together. As such, he is especially invested in any business with married owners suffering the same issues. He drops the trope name point-blank for The Brixton's owners Sarah and Tim, whose marriage was at the end of its rope. |
| 219 | ** Taffer's daughter was served nachos with cross-contamination in J.A. Murphy's and his wife was flirted with by the owner of Sand Dollar. In both cases, Taffer threatened to walk out on the rescue. |
| 220 | ** Taffer nearly got into a fight with Ami, owner of [=ZanZBar=], when he called expert chef Brian Duffy "fat boy". |
| 221 | ** The most extreme case of this came in The Undisputed Bar where Taffer discovered the owner was substituting premium liquor with cheap replacements. When the customers (many of them thugs invited by the owner) found out about this, the situation escalated into a full-scale brawl which got the police involved. Taffer actually called in a staff meeting to determine if the rescue was really worth it. Later that day, Taffer ripped the owner a new one for allowing his crew to be assaulted. |
| 222 | ** Another case happened with Rhythm N' Brews where one of the bikers who had taken over the joint ''lit firecrackers and threw them across the bar''. Not only did they explode where several bartenders happened to be standing, he did this right across the seat where an expert's wife was sitting for recon. After rushing inside, Taffer and the expert tore into the owners for allowing it to happen. |
| 223 | ** The ExactWords involved in the intro and promos for the eighth season-opener (which dealt with the 2020 pandemic). |
| 224 | * ItWillNeverCatchOn: This is Taffer's reasoning as to why he changed the brand for many of the bars that he has rescued. The most notable example is Piratz Tavern becoming Corporate Bar & Grill. Specifically, he stated that the pirate theme would've worked fine if they were in St. Petersburg, Florida due to the abundance of theme parks in the area, but since Silver Spring, Maryland has a large business district, he didn't really see it as being a good fit. Guess who disagreed? |
| 225 | * {{Jerkass}}: |
| 226 | ** The owner of Headhunters, in Austin, Texas, seemed to go out of his way to be a total bastard, being dismissive of the ''huge'' cockroach problem Taffer found in the bar and then finding every excuse he could think of to claim why he had to keep employees' pay rock bottom when Taffer forced him to hire his employees properly. |
| 227 | ** Dave from the Black Light District thought that being "punk" meant insulting everyone who disagreed with him about anything, including Taffer, Taffer's mixologist, and longtime Vandals bassist Joe Escalante (for pointing out that punk music is not for everyone and would not keep a bar in business by itself). |
| 228 | ** Almost ''everyone'' at O'Face in Council Bluffs, Iowa, aside from Cerissa and Syck. |
| 229 | %% * JerkassRealization: Where to begin? |
| 230 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Taffer has a really bad temper with the owners and employees who don't usually care for their business, but he actually cares for the people who genuinely want to rescue their bars and the customers who are at risk for harmful practices. He's also quite concerned for the welfare of a bar's staff, considering he's technically there to help the owner, not them. |
| 231 | * {{Kayfabe}}: |
| 232 | ** The show has received some accusations of being heavily fictionalized if not sometimes outright made up of whole cloth. In the case of Piratz Tavern, for example, [[http://k23detectives.com/2012/09/23/piratz-tavern-bar-resue/ this article]], written several months after the episode was filmed, goes to some length to detail the contradictions between what the show held out to be the case and what the writer actually found when he visited the bar. Among other things, the empty outdoor patio, which Taffer pointed out as a prime example of the bar's problems, was empty because the episode was shot in February.[[note]]Taffer's wife can clearly be seen, early in the episode, wearing a heavy winter coat as she enters Piratz.[[/note]] |
| 233 | ** Several bars' staffs have claimed online, typically on Facebook, that they were asked by the show's production company to do certain antics for the show to increase the drama of the episode. Additionally, according to [[http://www.barrescueupdates.com/ this website]], some might not have been struggling as much as implied, with owners having several other businesses, including other bars, and just using the show for the free remodeling, training, and consulting expertise, as well as free publicity. |
| 234 | ** This is O'Face's staff's response to the video that caused Taffer to walk out. They claim that it was from their audition tape, and that they did it to add more drama at the producers' requests, and it was therefore "faked". No one has really bought their explanation, however, Taffer least of all. |
| 235 | * KarmaHoudiniWarranty: After the episode featuring O'Face aired, the bar was denied a renewal of its liquor license due to its very negative portrayal. The owners won it back on appeal, but Yelp users reported that the place closed down in March 2017. Matt, one of its co-owners, later got in trouble with the law when he was arrested for sexual assault and later failed to register as a sex offender. |
| 236 | * LargeHam: Taffer, especially when he gets mad. More recent seasons has him chewing the scenery more and more, such as constantly shouting on the Recon Night "I gotta get in there!" when he sees something that really bothers him, or tossing glasses, beer bottles, and food on the floor. |
| 237 | * LaserGuidedKarma: |
| 238 | ** Headhunters / Metal and Lace closed down in the Spring of 2014 after its owner apparently reverted back to the same poor management style that nearly caused him to close in the first place. |
| 239 | ** Piratz Tavern had quickly abandoned Corporate Bar and Grill and reverted back to its original namesake and theme shortly after Taffer left. To add insult to injury the crew made a video of them burning the new décor that he gave them and openly insulting him and toasting their future success. Ultimately it spent a while doing moderately well (perhaps due to the episode's notoriety and its position as a niche theme bar) but closed its doors in May 2015, for good. |
| 240 | * LastNoteNightmare: Done subtly at the end of the Jazz Katz/Back Beat Piano Bar episode. After the rescue, the closing scene is Taffer overlooking the pianist playing to a packed bar. As the scene fades out, the very last chord of the song is edited to sound dissonant before a negative WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue appears. |
| 241 | * LethalChef: More than a few "chefs" that have appeared on the show seem to lack the most basic skills when it comes to cooking, often resulting in someone getting sick. A few examples stand out, though: |
| 242 | ** The chef from Turtle Bay in New Orleans didn't know to bring the gumbo up to temperature, which the gumbo expert [[VomitDiscretionShot regretted dearly.]] |
| 243 | ** The alleged chef from Fairways Golf and Grill, who didn't even know how to cook a hamburger, and kept what was likely the most unsanitary kitchen to have ever appeared on the show. You know things are bad when mixology expert Phil Wills gets sick '''off the beer.''' |
| 244 | ** The chef from Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill, who’s guilty of serving long expired ribs and other meats with '''extreme''' levels of mold on them with customers none the wiser and cross-contaminating his entire kitchen by not bothering to wear gloves or wash his hands after handling raw product. Taffer and his experts point out that the former alone is enough to get someone seriously sick if not ''killed'' and proceed to give said chef a '''''huge''''' verbal beatdown for his negligence. Unsurprisingly, he gets fired almost immediately after being deemed too big of a liability to keep around. |
| 245 | * LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand: Happens upon TheReveal of the redo of Underground Wonder Bar, when they zoom in on owner Lonie. While the rest of the staff is celebrating, she is ''not'' happy. |
| 246 | * LostMyAppetite: More than a few kitchens have prepared food that the spies refused to eat, based purely on the sight or smell of it, or after being alerted to unsanitary kitchen conditions by Taffer. On a few other occasions, they [[VomitDiscretionShot weren't so lucky.]] |
| 247 | * LuxuriousLiquor: The bars will often have new drink recipes created for them that use top-shelf liquor. |
| 248 | * MakeAnExampleOfThem: Taffer often does this when he first arrives by firing the worst employee in the bar or forcing the owner to do so when the owner has been letting them walk over him. Taffer even has a name for this: a "landmark fire." |
| 249 | * ManChild: |
| 250 | ** In the episode based on The Blue Frog 22 (renamed to The Local during the episode, now open as Blue Frog's Local 22), the décor of the bar was compared quite seriously to that of a carnival, with board games all over the place and bright red colors. Not exactly inviting décor. |
| 251 | *** It should be noted, that the original décor in question was not so much the owner's choice, but rather more of a case of being an ExtremeDoormat - in this case, to his own [[MyBelovedSmother mother]] who also worked there. That became the first priority of that rescue. |
| 252 | ** Steve from Headhunters seems to think everything Taffer says is a joke and nothing is his problem. |
| 253 | ** Taffer flat-out calls Tim from the Brixton a child. |
| 254 | ** James from Cashmere is referred to as a child in the body of a 40-year-old for his various antics. |
| 255 | ** Taffer seems to think that ''everyone'' involved in running Piratz Tavern is this (it didn't help that the owner and her husband were deep in debt and living with her parents at the time). |
| 256 | ** Paul, owner of Gipsy and its short lived relaunch SBLV, spent the episode screaming at customers and staff over petty things like what music was being played, and also threatening to fire his staff for wisely refusing to serve him another drink because of how drunk he was. Sober, he was not much better, resisting the changes to the point of walking out before the relaunch. He then shut the place down for good when he returned. |
| 257 | ** Lonie, owner of Underground Wonder Bar (renamed, albeit only shortly, to Clear Bar), is a rare GenderFlip version of this. Absolutely awful non-existent management skills, and acting like a spoiled brat despite being clearly well past 50 or 60. Her first meeting with Taffer, she spends the entire meeting doodling on the paper table cover with crayons (that she puts out for customers to do the same, one of whom used them to good effect in the stress test), hearts and "Anger Lines". She brushes off Taffer and the chef expert there to help her every chance she gets, insulting or questioning a decision all the time. Then despite signing an agreement that she would not change the name back to Underground Wonder Bar for at least one year, just days after Taffer left she took down the Clear name and reverted to the old name. |
| 258 | ** Jacob, landlord of Martini Brothers (renamed to The Federal), takes customers to an adjacent "art gallery" for finger painting sessions. He also uses lemons as brushes/rollers, while the bar itself ironically doesn't have any. |
| 259 | ** Taffer calls the owner of RJ'S Replay a "mama's boy" for his excessive crying and for letting his parents sink their life savings into his failing bar. Taffer all but demands for him to call them up and discuss the financials the morning after the stress test. |
| 260 | * ManipulativeBastard: Terry from Second Base encapsulates this. After Jon had already rescued his bar when it was Extremes, he's called back because the place has taken a downturn, and Terry is quick to point fingers at his partner Gary, who he claimed undid all of the changes Jon instated. In spite of Gary's testimony that he's buried up to his neck in other obligations and the bar staff backing him up, Jon isn't buying any of it and thinks they're all just making excuses. Later, Terry's web of lies is broken and we learn that the bar is failing because he refuses to fund it, leaving Gary to take on the whole workload. Jon rescinds the renovation offer when Terry won't commit to funding the bar. Jon, to his credit, later admits that he was wrong to blame it all on Gary and that there's still hope for him. |
| 261 | * ManipulativeEditing: |
| 262 | ** Several bar owners have taken offense to how the show presents them. This is reality television, so it comes with the template. |
| 263 | ** Done more intentionally and to highlight owners' or employees ridiculous, false, or outlandish claims of being successful despite the business failing. Interview claims [[GilliganCut will often be intercut with contradicting video]], such as a chef claiming his cooking is sanitary, immediately followed by a video of obvious health code violations and cross-contamination. |
| 264 | ** Another favorite, done nearly OnceAnEpisode, is an owner in denial, claiming they have loyal regulars or that their regulars enjoy whatever "quirk" Taffer focuses in on, followed by a cut to a shot of a completely empty bar. It's been revealed, however, that many of these "empty bar" shots are completely staged, when the bar isn't actually open. |
| 265 | ** The "WhereAreTheyNow" Epilogue to each episode, only account for typically about 6 weeks after Taffer leaves the bar, and is almost often almost unfailingly positive for the bar, often in sales. This is still all within the period of the buzz of a place being on TV and getting a remodeling and menu update. After four years and 80 episodes, there have been several "Revisit" episodes that only touched on a few of the bars. While the show has a fast production time from episode filming to airing on TV, there's often still a 3- to 6-month gap, meaning it's not that unusual to find reviews of bars that are supposedly doing great, which are actually hated by customers or have [[ResetButton gone back to their old ways,]] mentioning that they're empty again. |
| 266 | ** In the original airing of "Thugs with Mugs", Jon shouts to the crowded bar that the owners poured cheap booze into premium bottles. This caused a fight to break out. In subsequent airings, Jon's shout to the crowd is edited out, but the fight remained. |
| 267 | * ManlyTears: Deconstructed on two Season 6 episodes, where Taffer is shown to have little patience for male owners or managers who cry over their failures. Charlie of Blue Water nearly quits when Taffer makes fun of his crying, and the owner of RJ'S Replay was driven further to tears over being called "mama's boy". |
| 268 | * MeanBoss: |
| 269 | ** Not quite as common as on ''Kitchen Nightmares'', but still pops up from time to time. One especially horrific example is Steve from Headhunters, who blamed the absolute filth on his bar on his workers, saying it was dirty because the workers weren't doing their job or that the customers didn't like it clean, and trying to convince his workers that they didn't need to be paid. |
| 270 | ** Ami from [=ZanZBar=] approached just about every problem he ran into by screaming at the top of his lungs and throwing temper tantrums. When he was informed that he was giving away thousands of dollars in drinks, he immediately rounded up his employees and said that they all "betrayed" him, screaming that they were incompetent and stealing from him. The problem is that ''he'' was the one who ordered the employees to give away those drinks, something they didn't want to do and something that Taffer almost immediately calls him out on. |
| 271 | ** The owners at O'Face, in season three, were so incredibly hopeless that Taffer actually ''did'' give up and walk out on the rescue, saying he didn't want his name associated with them. Between the various police reports, the drinking by staff members, and the video evidence Taffer acquired of one of the co-owners physically injuring the bartender (he even tried to bribe his bouncer to ''throw the bartender through a glass window''), there was no chance in hell of their getting any help from Taffer. According to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Rescue the show's page]] on Website/TheOtherWiki, this is the only bar Taffer has refused to rescue in over thirty years of rescuing bars, or at least it was at the time.[[note]]The owners of O'Face were ranked #1 on Taffer's top 10 list of the worst owners he encountered during the first 3 seasons of the show.[[/note]] How bad were they? When Taffer arrived, the manager was fighting with a server. He ordered the owners to fire the manager. Instead, they ''[[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming fired the server]]'' for "stirring up trouble", and after he walked out, fired their bouncer, the one person who was on Taffer's side. The manager who instigated the assault on the server in the beginning was also re-hired. |
| 272 | * MinorWithFakeID: Inverted in one rescue. To prove 18+ events aren't worth the problems they cause from underage drinking, Taffer has a 23-year-old woman borrow her underage friend's driver's license to get an X drawn on her hand so the bartenders know she's underage. The X washes off almost immediately, allowing her to buy alcohol. |
| 273 | ** When a bar has a reputation for underage drinking, Taffer will send people in with fake [=IDs=] to test the doorman during the stress test. Unfortunately, he is often disappointed with the results. |
| 274 | * MyGreatestSecondChance: Much like ''Kitchen Nightmares'' and other rescue shows, this is the whole premise of the genre, failing, or struggling bar owners, and their employees looking for a second shot at success: |
| 275 | ** Amongst the Bar Rescue "Alumni", one of the greatest successes, often cited by Taffer, is Spirits on Bourbon, in New Orleans, Louisiana. After being remade into its own individual identity, and getting its own easily identifiable drink and souvenir glass (The Resurrection), the bar has become a wild success, and reports now over $1 million in sales a year. |
| 276 | ** Zigzagged with Extremes/Second Base Bar and Grill. They are the first bar to be subject of the rescue ''twice''. The first time around, the bar was rescued as normal, and originally, everything was going well. However, soon after, the owner fell back into how he handled Extremes, not investing any money into the location. Then on top of that, a fatal shooting occurred in November 2013 at the location, further harming its reputation. The owner calls Taffer back again for a second rescue. However, when it's clear that the majority of the problems once again stem from the owner, and that because everyone's hands are tied, they've lost the spirit to put out effort, not to mention the owner treating Taffer's experts poorly, ''and'' refusing to put effort himself into fixing his bar up, Taffer decides he's not going to fix it again, and walks out. |
| 277 | * {{Nepotism}}: While this has been an issue for more than one bar, one owner in particular went to great pains to ''avert'' this trope. The widow of the original Club Platinum owner (he died in 1997) clearly saw bringing her hospitality-trained daughter into the mix this way. By the end of the episode, the daughter was poised to take the torch as the new hostess. |
| 278 | * NeverMyFault: A recurring problem with owners, [[BerserkButton who don't like being called out on their behavior]]: |
| 279 | ** Tim, owner of the Brixton, refused to believe that his obnoxious behavior was scaring away customers, or that he needed to change his business practices. |
| 280 | ** Ami, owner of [=ZanZBar=], spends most of the time blaming his employees for everything that goes wrong, even as he [[ControlFreak tried to do everything himself.]] This is rooted in his fears of employee betrayal, after [[FreudianExcuse his previous staff took advantage of him]] when he was recovering from a car accident. |
| 281 | ** Steve, the owner of Headhunters, was so self-absorbed that he didn't even realize what was wrong with not paying his employees, and anytime he was forced to explain his failures, he blamed it on his employees. |
| 282 | ** The entire staff of O'Face Bar qualifies, with the exceptions of [[OnlySaneEmployee Syck the bouncer and Cerissa the server]], for being oblivious to the negative consequences of constantly drinking, abusing customers, abusing employees, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking having a stupid name for their bar]]. Then they have the nerve to say that Taffer "f**ked them in the ass" after he refuses to save their bar and walks out on them. When Matt, the owner, is called out by Taffer for hitting an employee, Matt impertinently tells him, [[ImNotAfraidOfYou "I ain't scared of you, Jon."]] |
| 283 | ** In Undisputed, Jon gets furious with the fact his camera crew got hurt after a riot unfolded when he revealed the bar was selling generic brands in premium bottles. While the bar did have it coming for what they did, you'd think a bar consultant with 30 years in the business would know better than to tell a drunken aggressive crowd they're being ripped off while his camera crew is still there. |
| 284 | * NiceGuy: Phil Wills and Mia Mastrioni, the only time either one has gotten mad was when a bar owner insulted basically every female bartender in America. |
| 285 | * NoOSHACompliance: Aside from sanitation issues, several bars have had problems with the structural integrity of their buildings. In these cases, Taffer often has to recruit contractors and structural engineers to fix the defects before he can even start redesigning the bar. |
| 286 | ** This is the biggest problem with "Grinders", whose owner decided to make structural changes to the bar without drawing up plans or checking to make sure anything was up to code. He broke so many rules he was within a hair's breath of being shut down by the city. |
| 287 | ** Or Health or Labor departments either considering the number of biohazards and lawsuit factories some of these businesses turn out to be. |
| 288 | * OhCrap: In later seasons, this has become the standard reaction when the bar staff, particularly the owners, see Taffer walking in for the first time. |
| 289 | * OnceAnEpisode: Like its inspiration, ''Kitchen Nightmares'', ''Bar Rescue'' tends to follow a particular set pattern: |
| 290 | ** The episode begins with the owner(s) and/or employees talking about the bar and the problems it's having. Much of the time, they also mention that [[GloryDays things used to be better]] before some particular event or change at the bar. |
| 291 | ** Afterwards, it cuts to Taffer sitting outside in his car, looking at surveillance footage with his spies or his experts, as they point out all the things that are going wrong (and occasionally, the rare thing that's being done right). |
| 292 | ** Once Taffer has seen enough to make an assessment (or someone's life is in danger), he gets out of the car and goes into the bar to start tearing the owner(s) and employees a new one, often with said owner(s) and/or employees getting argumentative with him. |
| 293 | ** It cuts to the next day, where Taffer and his experts try to figure out where the problems start and do a rudimentary assessment of people's knowledge and skills. They also do a bit of training to prepare them for... |
| 294 | ** The Stress Test. The bar is packed with lots of customers to see who holds up, and who breaks down. If someone is going to get fired or quit, it'll usually be during the Stress Test (or shortly thereafter). |
| 295 | ** Everyone who makes it through the Stress Test gets training, while Taffer meets with the owner(s) to discuss the new design for the bar, including the new concept and how best to monetize the space they have. |
| 296 | ** Taffer lines everyone up with their backs to the bar, several hours before opening. He reminds them how far they've come, and has them turn around to see the new bar. Cue cries of excitement and joy at the fancy new bar. |
| 297 | ** Finally, they show opening night, usually with [[HappilyEverAfter everything going smoothly and the future looking bright.]] |
| 298 | * OnlySaneEmployee: |
| 299 | ** Even in the bars where Taffer can barely stand the majority of the staff, there are usually one or two employees whom he regards as being worthwhile. In a few instances, these employees are also the resident {{Butt Monkey}}s simply ''because'' everyone else is so dysfunctional that they take it out on them. Case in point: Bryan (a.k.a. "Syck"), the bouncer at O'Face (who keeps trying to talk the owners into listening to what Taffer has to tell them, and ends up getting fired after the episode airs), and Cerissa, the server (who gets unjustly fired after she's physically assaulted by her own manager and returns to her job only to see the manager, whom Taffer forced the owners to fire, return to the bar after he had walked out), in "Punch-Drunk and Trailer-Trashed." |
| 300 | ** In the case of Pat's Cocktails, it was the two female bartenders who called Taffer in to help their bar, out of desperation over the combination of absentee owner and feckless manager, which was dragging the establishment down. Taffer had one of the bartenders deliberately serve nearly ''eighty'' free drinks over the course of a hour during recon to hammer home the point that the manager just didn't care what was going on. |
| 301 | * PapaWolf: |
| 302 | ** While Taffer has gotten really upset quite often on the show, the angriest he ever got in the first two seasons was during the episode based around "J.A. Murphy's", when the chef, on hidden camera, picked up raw chicken with her bare hands, then started preparing nachos. The customer those nachos were for? [[ItsPersonal Taffer's daughter]]. Needless to say, righteous fury soon entered the bar in the form of Hurricane Taffer. |
| 303 | ** It also extends to shoddy treatment of any woman he sends in to do recon. The May 2014 episode filmed at Mary's Outpost ("Scary Mary's") is a good example. The two ladies sent in to do recon as new employees are seen being informed by the male owner that if he tells them to take their tops off, they ''will'' do it. Taffer interrupts the recon to get them out of the situation and tell the owner how disgusting he is. |
| 304 | * {{Pilot}}: One was taped in 2010, but didn't air until June 2014, the month after season 3 ended, as "The Lost Episode". |
| 305 | * PointyHairedBoss: Many of the managers looking over the bars are relatives or friends of the owners and have absolutely no experience in managing a bar. More often than not they are one of the main reasons that the bar is failing. |
| 306 | * ProductPlacement: |
| 307 | ** Nearly once every 10 minutes. The mixed drinks ''always'' have some major brand's drink in them, if not featuring at least part of the brand's name in the drink's name itself. For example, if the drink is made using a Captain Morgan's product, it'll often feature "Captain" in the drink's name. Granted, part of this is justified as ThemeNaming, and often being popular brands in the U.S. |
| 308 | ** Any time Taffer begins a sentence with "My friends from/at...", this is in full force. |
| 309 | ** The O'Kelley's/Pastimes from the 4th season is basically a 60-minute Budweiser advertisement. |
| 310 | *** As is the City Bistro episode. Somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in both cases, as both are located in St. Louis, where Budweiser is based. |
| 311 | ** Swiffer is often seen when a major cleanup is shown... one employee even uses one to mop up a flooded kitchen. |
| 312 | ** [[ProductDisplacement Inverted]] when various brands are covered up in the bar's décor during taping, when the tap handles for those beers are not installed before the relaunch, or when patrons are shown simply saying "I'll have a beer" when ordering during a stress test. |
| 313 | * PunnyName: It's a show involving the bar industry. Unless the bar is considered a landmark by the locals, or has a family name in it, then chances are its name will be this if it wasn't already by the end of the episode, complete with themed drinks. O'Face is easily the most infamous example, though, considering it's a DoubleEntendre. |
| 314 | * RageQuit: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by the owner after Gipsy was remodeled into SBLV. Paul walked out during the relaunch and came back two days later to close it for good. |
| 315 | * RascallyRaccoon: KC's Neighborhood Bar had an infestation of these critters in the building. (Bittersweet in that the staff not working the kitchen would be getting coonskin caps for the relaunch.) |
| 316 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Taffer isn't afraid to rip incompetent bar owners a new one, [[https://youtu.be/v6FxwRGIy1g but he gives an epic one]] laced with TranquilFury on his way out of O'Face: |
| 317 | --> '''Taffer:''' The first day I got here, I never even made it inside the bar. I got involved in a fight in the parking lot where your manager was fighting with... Cerissa. At the end of that fight, [the co-owner] looked at her and said [[PayEvilUntoEvil she had it coming.]] And then I saw a video a few minutes ago that took me over the top, and I want an answer to this. Matt, Dave, please explain this. |
| 318 | -->''(Cue video of Matt, one of the co-owners, slapping Dave, screaming expletives, and yelling "[he's] military, mother f***er" and trying to bribe "Syck," the bouncer, with a $10 an hour raise if he throws Dave through a window. Taffer continues.)'' |
| 319 | --> '''Taffer:''' [[KickTheDog You get a $10 raise, per hour, if you throw your own employee through a glass window]]... How do you like it when he slaps you in the face?! ...Your bar isn't what's wrong, [[BrutalHonesty your character is what's wrong.]] The problem is [[StupidEvil you guys think this is okay.]] You guys are ''a mess''. My tolerance for an owner hitting an employee: ''zero''. You have no responsibility. None. You see, I have a reputation and I have to protect it. And you will destroy it, just like you destroyed your own. The ultimate ''coup de grâce'' is an owner hitting an employee. I am ''not'' going to rescue a bar, and then read the newspaper that somebody got hurt here next week. I won't have any part of it. Since I've been here, you guys have proven to me you don't have the fundamentals to begin running this business, and have proved to me how irresponsible you are. So here's the deal. [[KnowWhenToFoldEm I'm leaving. I am not rescuing your bar.]] My advice to you is this, as another human being: you need some help and you need to pull your lives together. And then maybe you can save your business. You need a counselor, not a bar professional. But I'm done. This is the first bar rescue I've ever walked out on. You blew it. [[ScrewThisImOutofHere I'm gone. Good night.]] |
| 320 | * RightBehindMe: Two words: Desi Romano. This fifth season bar owner was drunk and flirting with patrons, not noticing for quite some time that Jon was standing right behind him. Even though someone else was trying to warn him of that fact. The resulting confrontation led to one of Jon's ultimatums and walkouts. |
| 321 | -->'''Jon:''' (''to gentleman who tried to warn Desi'') [[SarcasmMode Pretty observant guy, huh]]? (''to Desi'') Speechless? |
| 322 | * TheRoaringTwenties: Sometimes, Taffer's redesigns seek to emulate aspects of this era as a bar's theme. |
| 323 | ** P's and Q's Auto Body (formerly Artful Dodger/Radio) is designed specifically to resemble a Speakeasy, complete with a false front as a 1930s autos-shop and secret entrance manned by a look out (or in this case, the hosting staff). The name is a reference to the old term to mind your manners, or in Bar terminology, of "mind your Pints and Quarts." |
| 324 | ** Moonrunners Saloon (formerly Characters Quarters) evokes Moonshining and the Bootleggers who would make the trip from mountain stills to the speakeasies. Many of its mixed drinks incorporate the (legally produced) moonshine flavors, and serves them in mason jars. |
| 325 | * RunningGag: Often spoils things as a ForegoneConclusion, because if Taffer, or the editors find anything worthy of turning into a Running Gag, you can bet that whatever, or whoever they are mocking is probably not going to see the end of the episode, or else Taffer's going to walk out of the location. |
| 326 | ** James and his infamous "All In" verbal tic, with added whip crack. He was fired for failing to show up to training and his terrible attitude. |
| 327 | ** During his re-rescue of Second Base, Taffer gathers the entire staff around a table to explain the $100,000 dollar costs of having to do yet another remodeling and make over to the location. Every time he gives an important fact about what he's doing (I.E. how people tend to be attracted to places with multiple layers of materials used in the building, or how bars tend to fail if they go through three names, as people regard the location as a failure), he ends each note by looking at Terry, the owner, and going "Did you know that? [''moment's pause while Terry is silent, or tries weakly hide that he didn't''] You didn't know that." |
| 328 | * SchmuckBait: A rare RealLife example. Taffer is well aware of the problems with an 18-and-over night, given that it comes with a great deal of liability with relatively little profitability. However, he lets the owners of the Artful Dodger run one anyway, just to prove what a bad idea it is. |
| 329 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: |
| 330 | ** The bartender Yum Yum from Chilleen's, after blowing off the mandatory training earlier that day and coming into work just as it was opening, gets so overwhelmed during the stress test that she quits her job. |
| 331 | ** Gary, the manager of the Bridge in Season 4’s “We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat,” essentially rage quit after the stress test made it [[SarcasmMode apparent to everyone]] that he was utterly useless as a manager and was taking advantage of the owner. |
| 332 | ** Mark, chef at Swanky Bubbles, gave up and walked away when told what changes were necessary. |
| 333 | ** Archer, the server/busboy at Piratz Tavern, got fed up with Taffer's yelling and quit his job after Taffer came in with the harsh reality that the pirate theme was not working. Juicanno, the head chef, walked out during the stress test, [[SubvertedTrope only to come back after the bar closed for the night.]] |
| 334 | ** Brittany (a.k.a. "B.C.") from O'Banion's quit her job just before its relaunch when she wasn't getting any sleep and decided that it wasn't her top priority in her life. |
| 335 | ** Paul, Gipsy's owner, walked out shortly before the relaunch as SBLV. Ostensibly unhappy with Taffer's changes, he came back two days later and closed the bar permanently. |
| 336 | ** On the Chix On Dix/Power Strip episode, the hiring agent Chuck threw a tantrum and knocked over a glass display when Taffer argued with him before walking out on the job. He changed his mind after the episode and was rehired. |
| 337 | ** On a "Back to the Bar" episode, Sal from Six Point Inn and Chef Pink (who butted heads in the original episode) have a gravy-making contest, with the audience picking a winner by blind taste test and voting by applause. Sure enough, Chef Pink wins (albeit by a respectably narrow margin)... and to say that Sal does not take it well is just a bit of an understatement. |
| 338 | ** Taffer has threatened to just walk out and not help the owner on more than one occasion (and sometimes will walk out for a while, or evening to let the owners and staff know just how close they are to having Taffer completely RageQuit from rescuing them). It's actually happened four times, the first time being at the O'Face Bar. |
| 339 | ** Happens in what was supposed to be the first "re-rescue" of the show, at Second Base (formerly Extremes). Taffer gets too fed up with the owner (who is clearly not that interested in the welfare of the bar or its employees) and decides to not go through with it. |
| 340 | ** Black Light District Bar has become the third bar that Taffer has walked out on and chosen not to rescue, after the owner, Dave, made it clear all he wanted from the show was the free publicity, makeover, upgrades, and that he had no intentions of keeping any of the cocktails or management or theme changes that Bar Rescue was providing. |
| 341 | ** The Hideaway Bar & Grill is the fourth site of a Taffer walkout. The employees said during interviews that the owner drank heavily enough to hurt the bar's business, but both they and the owner repeatedly denied it to Taffer's face even after he confronted them with the footage. Fed up with being called a liar, he pulled the crew out. |
| 342 | ** Taffer tries getting through to The Dugout and its owner Eddie in every way he can. Eddie's unwillingness to change his ways or even ''smile'' at customers angers Jon to the point of him reluctantly agreeing to do the makeover only because it was his obligation. When [[BerserkButton Eddie shows up to the relaunch drunk]], Taffer and ''the entire staff'' finally abandon the rescue. Eddie is left all alone in the new bar, [[NeverMyFault never once accepting blame for his failures, instead taking it out on Taffer and the staff]]. |
| 343 | ** At The Fifth, Elisa the bartender doesn't know how to make a Gimlet, insisting that no one has ever ordered a Gimlet in sixteen years. Instead, she is instructed to show how to make a drink she did serve: an Alice. Unfortunately, she refuses to make it. So Devon the manager makes the drink instead, seemingly on the fly. They taste-test it, but it's too punchy and the proportions are off. For Elisa, offended by the criticism, that's the final straw, and she leaves on the spot, complaining that that is exactly what she doesn't want. The owner of The Fifth tries to reason with her, but she won't have it, and he ends up letting her go. He doesn't fire her, though, just lets her go home. |
| 344 | %% * SeenItAll: ExactWords in the narration of the eighth-season opener. |
| 345 | * SerialEscalation: For The Union in Season 7, the traffic was so light that Jon decided to recruit ''fifty'' spies. |
| 346 | * ShakingTheRump: Amanda from "Speakeasy" was highly prone to twerking on the job, much to her husband's displeasure. The episode featuring their bar was even dubbed "All Twerk and No Pay Makes Taffer Shut It Down". |
| 347 | ** The entire female staff of Bottoms Up in Season 7’s Bottoms Up, Going Down along with other practically overt sexual displays. |
| 348 | * SickeninglySweethearts: Bar manager Jimmy and his wife from the "Pat's Cocktails" episode. Jimmy spent most of the first night during the recon being so lovey-dovey with his wife, it prompted Taffer to call one of the bartenders and set a trap to see just how distracted he truly was. Said trap involved the bartender giving away nearly ''eighty'' free drinks, with Jimmy too busy making out with his wife to notice. They get better once they're called out on it, though. |
| 349 | * SmallNameBigEgo: |
| 350 | ** Common occurrence, particularly from those in the management who think what they're doing is correct, but are often wrong, and just attention seeking. |
| 351 | ** James from Cashmere. Mr. "All In" pretended that he owned the bar, and that he was a celebrity... well at least he got the embarrassing public behavior part down right. |
| 352 | ** Ivan, the owner of Laguna Lounge was so focused on being the center of attention, going by the DJ name of El Comandante (The commander). He had no controls in place, beyond shouting at his employees and embarrassing them in front of customers. |
| 353 | ** Anthony in "Crappy Cantina" called himself the best bartender in America. Jon gave him 4 drinks to make during relaunch and he literally ran out. Needless to say he wasn't rehired. |
| 354 | * SpecialGuest: Maria Menounos helped Taffer out for his recon of Scoreboard. Adam Carrol also made an appearance later on to help the staff with the new drink menu. |
| 355 | ** Music/{{Halestorm}} made an appearance at Win Place Or Show's relaunch as America Live. |
| 356 | ** Pro golfer John Daly appears in an episode supporting his fiancée, one of the owners of The Bridge Lounge in Florida. |
| 357 | ** Music/LilJon watches the recon with Big Bad Jon in "Fish Out of Blue Water". |
| 358 | ** Barstool Sports joins in an episode to stress test a bar that specialized in pizza by ordering every pizza at once. |
| 359 | * TheStarscream: Susan thinks her co-owner John is this at Barlow. ''John'' thinks the same of ''Susan''. Finding some way to rectify this was the first part of the rescue. |
| 360 | * {{Statuesque Stunner}}s: Among the mixologists, there's Mia Mastroianni and Ashley Clark (the latter of whom is just a hair below Taffer in heels). |
| 361 | * StealingFromTheTill: |
| 362 | ** Some of the bartenders brazenly overpour for better tips. And that's not counting the employees who apply this ''literally'' and actively steal money. |
| 363 | ** A good example of the latter was in effect at Kerry's Sports Pub. However, Taffer put equal blame on the manager, since the reason the employees could get away with it was the fact that said employees were ''storing their tip money in the register''. All it took to skim off the top was putting in a no sale and taking the money, and claiming they were just retrieving their tips if confronted. |
| 364 | * SwappedRoles: The Palace co-owners and brothers-in-law Sam Khalil and Ghazi Ashkar for the stress test at Stein Haus Bar & Grill. Taffer's reasoning was that they needed to get a feel for the other's expertise. An EpicFail ensued. |
| 365 | * TantrumThrowing: Jon has a habit of smashing plates, bottles, and glassware during his rants. Ami from [=ZanZBar=] throws plates against a wall when Jon tells him how much money he's been losing. |
| 366 | * TitleDrop: In the episode "Bar Fight," said twice by Jon. |
| 367 | -->'''Jon Taffer''': This isn't a Bar Rescue, this is gonna be a Bar Fight. |
| 368 | ** From the episode "Pole Without a Purpose" |
| 369 | -->'''Jon Taffer''': "This is a pole without a purpose." |
| 370 | ** Done three times in "Dragon Lady". |
| 371 | *** "So we got Dragon Lady puffin away here." |
| 372 | *** "There's no question that Dragon Lady is gone." |
| 373 | *** "When I got here I didn't know who was smoking more, the kitchen or Dragon Lady." |
| 374 | * TrailersAlwaysLie: At one point in the episode at the Sand Dollar, the teaser for one segment suggests that co-owner Paul is about to backslide into his crude, CasanovaWannabe ways. However, when the episode resumes after the commercial break, Paul does ogle the female customers in their low-cut dresses but does nothing beyond that, instead concentrating on his job and making customers of both sexes welcome. |
| 375 | * ThisIsWrongOnSoManyLevels: It's very rare for a bar to have only one really bad problem. To get to ''Bar Rescue'' levels, the problems need to be widespread and persistent. Such problems usually include some combination of the following: poor hygiene, bad service, drinking on the job, lazy/incompetent employees, bad management, a lack of training, and a negligent or absentee owner. |
| 376 | * ThrowTheDogABone: While Taffer doesn't take kindly to incompetence, abuse, or neglect, he always makes sure to point out the people who do manage to live up to his standards or improve themselves. In some cases, it's the only positive feedback they've had in a very long time. |
| 377 | * TrueCompanions: The show usually averts it, but Joe and Raja from "Love Live A Legacy" fit this trope. They were lifelong friends until Raja passed away, in Joe's arms nonetheless, and Joe took it upon himself to get out of retirement to take care of Raja's kids. Raja's kids think very highly of Joe and even view him as an HonoraryUncle. |
| 378 | * TooDumbToLive: |
| 379 | ** Tim at The Brixton didn't seem to understand that people want to enjoy themselves in bars - right down to ''throwing people out for being loud''. Cranked up to eleven when we are told that he has a degree in marketing and, in addition to to the above behavior, posted pictures of things like garbage and bloody feet on the bar's Twitter account under the genuine belief that it was a good idea. |
| 380 | ** And then there was another bar where an employee was caught red-handed StealingFromTheTill. Taffer pointed out to the owner that he couldn't let his employees get away with shit like this, and advised the owner to fire his employee. The owner confronted his employee, admonished him not to steal again, [[EpicFail and said that he would be keeping him on.]] |
| 381 | ** Then there's Ami from [=ZanZBar=]. The man walks out onto the street screaming like a town crier that various things can be had for free or nearly so, including "very cheap sex." Then he begins giving away ''bottles of champagne'' among other alcoholic drinks until his customers are falling-over drunk and spends most of his day screaming at things. The whole time he's wondering why nobody is coming to his business and why he is not getting any profits. |
| 382 | ** The owner of the Sand Dollar repeatedly hit on Taffer's wife in the most offensive way imaginable. That passed the TooDumbToLive area and went straight to just plain suicidal; Taffer was so angry he nearly walked away from saving the bar. |
| 383 | ** In the Pilot episode, during the stress test, the owner of South Park Bar & Grill angrily screams at a customer smoking in the bar, then literally picks him up and hurls him out of the bar and then gets into a physical fight with him right outside the bar's windows. Taffer remarks that that incident had taken everything they had worked on the past few days and threw it all away in a few seconds. |
| 384 | ** The owner of Headhunters was a combination of this and DefiantToTheEnd. He fought every suggestion Taffer put forward, and denied or made excuses for every problem that was pointed out to him. Taffer wasn't even out the door before he started reverting to his old, bad ways, and unsurprisingly, the newly dubbed Metal and Lace closed down with some of the worst reviews ever given to any bar on the show. |
| 385 | ** Jimmy from "Pat's Cocktails" threatened Taffer after he caught him being an incompetent manager and told him to get out if he wasn't gonna help in the way he wanted him to. It's a miracle Taffer didn't fire him on the spot. |
| 386 | ** The owner and staff of Piratz Tavern, who were unable to let go of their attachment to the over-the-top and garish pirate theme of their restaurant, even as the owner was over ''nine hundred thousand dollars in debt'' and forced to live in her parents' basement with her young daughter rooming with her. The staff resisted Taffer's attempts to recreate the business as a more contemporary setting at every turn, placing their love of their fantasy setting before everything else. As soon as the highly-successful relaunch night was over and Taffer had finished the job, the owner reverted everything back to what it was, even ''burning'' the new signage provided by Taffer and his crew, even recording the bonfire for him to see! Unsurprisingly, they only succeeded in burying themselves deeper in debt and had the audacity to try to ask for Taffer to return. By then, it was too little too late and the bar finally bit the dust. |
| 387 | * TranquilFury: |
| 388 | ** Mixologist Russell Davis, one of Taffer's more frequent experts, will enter this anytime someone fails to show up for training and/or is wasting his time. When the stress test hits, he will get his revenge by making sure to remind them that each failure they made could have been lessened if only they had showed up to training earlier that day. One such troublemaker, "Yum-Yum" from Chilleen's, pulled a RageQuit and walked out. |
| 389 | ** Taken up to eleven on the O'Face episode. After losing a day of training to the staff arguing with each other and pointing fingers, and a disastrous stress test, Russell unleashes his Tranquil Fury like a boot camp drill instructor. HilarityEnsues. |
| 390 | ---> '''Matt (one of the co-owners of O'Face):''' We just got our butts kicked by one man. |
| 391 | ** Jon is capable of this himself, especially when he decides a bar can't be saved--or he sees a situation that he determines he can't put his reputation on the line for, like the O'Face situation. |
| 392 | * TrashOfTheTitans: Many bars have a lot of trouble with hygiene, but the worst example by far was Fairways Golf and Grill. It had not only accumulated a disgusting amount of filth and trash, but actually had ''fungal blooms'' growing inside the refrigerator. |
| 393 | * UltimateJobSecurity: Usually one of the main problems is one of the employees know full well that the Boss is too weak to fire anyone or is friends with the Boss. Because of this they usually barely work or just cause problems for everyone else because they know they don't have to work. Guess who is the first person Taffer orders the Boss to fire? |
| 394 | * TheUnfairSex: Taffer has a tendency to get angrier with the men than the women. |
| 395 | ** If it's a male manager with bad female employees, he blames the manager for not disciplining them (Bottoms Up); but if it's a female manager with male employees, he blames the employees for screwing their manager (Lona's Wardlow Station). |
| 396 | ** Also at Speakeasy, he makes only the male owner, Keith, clean the kitchen when his wife Amanda was an equal business partner and ruining the business just as much as he was and only threatened to humiliate him never her. |
| 397 | ** At Piratz Tavern, he never once raised his voice to the wife, despite the fact that her ludicrous concept and being averse to change was causing just as many problems as her husband's horrendous cooking. Guess how he talked to him. |
| 398 | ** In "Jazz Katz" he fires the male bartender for insulting a customer and yells at a male cook for illegal treatment of food, yet the cook Janelle got off for being caught on camera stealing money, something Jon has fired other women for, but she wasn't even yelled at for it. Rather the owner did for having no standards. |
| 399 | ** At "Crossroads", Jon Taffer blames the co-owners, primarily the husband for the all female bartending staff's deplorable behavior. When it comes time to chew out the all-male kitchen crew, he puts the majority of the blame on them even though they admitted to their failures. |
| 400 | ** But it is ''not'' beneath Jon to yell at a female owner if they deserve it. In the 8th season episode at Ace's Sports Hanger, he lambastes the female owner for permitting bad practices and not caring enough ''for nine years'' to do things properly with the food at her bar. In the same exchange, the expert he had on this bar stepped up in defense of a male cook she was scapegoating for the food mistakes she was making. Or in "Hideaway" when he chewed the all female staff for enabling the owner's alcoholism by constantly refilling his beer and lying to Taffer about how Duane is viewed in the community. |
| 401 | * UngratefulBastard: The famous Piratz Tavern, which served horrible food and had a terrible pirates theme not fitting for its area clearly needed help. John goes out of his way to give it a full makeover into a cool corporate-themed bar to bring in the young clientele of the area. How did the owner thank John for all this hard work to keep him going? ''Three days'' after John left, they threw away all his redecorations (literally burning the new sign), re-hired the terrible cook for the crummy menu, went right back to the pirate theme... and were out of business within months. |
| 402 | ** On a "Back to the Bar" episode, John calls it the biggest insult he's ever received and has no sympathy for what he openly calls "idiots." |
| 403 | * VerbalTic: James from Cashmere appears to be unable to go without saying "All in" at least every other sentence. Even when passed out on the couch, he kept muttering the phrase. |
| 404 | * VerySpecialEpisode: |
| 405 | ** The "Bungalow Bar" episode, instead of being about helping a failing bar get better, features Taffer helping to rebuild a bar that was wrecked by Hurricane Sandy and has run out of funds. He does a bit of improvement with the staff and décor, but it isn't a case of making a bad bar good; rather, it's making a good bar better.[[note]]It was ranked #1 on Taffer's top 10 list of the toughest rescues he faced during the first three seasons of the show.[[/note]] |
| 406 | ** "Operation Puerto Rico" in Season 6. Jon heads to Loíza, Puerto Rico to rescue a bar devastated by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. What starts out as a bar rescue turns into a community rescue and the biggest rescue Jon has ever done as he works to help a community devastated by natural disaster and struggling to recover. Along with rescuing the bar, Jon repairs the local community center and its playground, baseball field, and basketball court, all devastated by the hurricanes. Jon's team comes to include Mark Cuban, J.J. Barea, Luis Guzmán, Bethenny Frankel, and Bernie Williams. Furthermore, Jon personally gives the owners $12,000 to settle their mortgage after learning they are in danger of losing their home. Also special in that it is the only episode where Jon does not yell at ANYBODY.[[note]]The beginning and ending narrations are done by Jon himself, and instead of an update being given of the bar's status at the end where he speaks to the audience, he talks about the disaster and how to help.[[/note]] |
| 407 | %% * VocalDissonance: The narrator: P.J. King. Look at him doing the countdown for the worst server uniforms... |
| 408 | * VomitDiscretionShot: On several occasions, a spy or expert has consumed something that caused them to vomit. On those occasions, the camera crew will follow them into the bathroom, but will generally spare the audience the sight of the actual vomit. However... |
| 409 | * VomitIndiscretionShot: The Oasis Hookah Lounge episode features a GrossUpCloseUp of the actual vomit in the toilet after a recon spy throws up a gross drink into a non-functioning toilet. |
| 410 | * WackyParentSeriousChild: |
| 411 | ** At Chilleen's, both owners are alcoholics whose antics make it difficult for their teenage daughter who's trying to help them keep the bar business afloat. It's not until they sober up that things get better for them all. |
| 412 | ** Dalia and Krystal, at least while the bar was called "Country Nights." Once it changed to "Madame Dalia's Country Bar," she became considerably less wacky. |
| 413 | ** It's clear that Lonie of Underground Wonder Bar is rather eccentric, but is too stubborn to accept Taffer's help. Her adult son Jordan has to convince her to let Taffer do his business if they want to keep the business running. |
| 414 | * WhatDidIDoLastNight: The female owner of Kid Chilleen's was so drunk that she did not even remember meeting Taffer. |
| 415 | * WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Jon Taffer challenges Jesse from "Underworld" to prove his value by bringing women to the bar and keeping them since he had scared his recon off earlier in the episode. To Jon's own surprise, he actually gets a respectable number of women to come and, despite nearly folding, manages to serve them. Jon even concedes Jesse has proven his value in the business, though Jon still admits he's not sure what the girls see in Jesse. |
| 416 | * WhatTheHellHero: |
| 417 | ** Taffer takes a very dim view of bars who continue serving over-intoxicated customers, putting profits or "fun" above consumer and public safety. Crosses over with TheAlcoholic above, as in several cases, the owners or staff are among these heavy drinkers. |
| 418 | ** KC's Neighborhood Bar & Grill (renamed to Johnson County Line during the episode) has one business related. The owner Bill, was selling the ownership of the bar to his head bartender/manager Liz over time. Problem is, while Liz wants the place to succeed, he's partying at the location's costs by demanding his staff over-pour drinks for sake of the staff and customers getting drunk. Made much worse when Taffer and a lawyer he brings in look at the agreements and find that not only is Liz being fleeced on the deal, it's not even legally certifiable, while at the same time making Liz completely liable for the bar. She chooses to walk away from the deal altogether, after Bill refuses to re-negotiate the agreement. |
| 419 | * WhatWereYouThinking: Many of the owners who decided to try their hand at the bar business without even a day's experience at it. The owners of J.A. Murphy's admitted that one day they sat at a bar and thought "well we like to drink, and we've got some money, so why not?" |
| 420 | * WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Every episode ends by telling what happened to the bar a few weeks or months after its relaunch, including updates on the staff's personal and financial problems detailed throughout the episode. |
| 421 | * WithFriendLikeThese: This show serve as a cautionary tale to going into business in friends. Many partnerships start out as friends who wanted a good money making opportunity and results in one friend pulling all the weight and the other partner dragging it down. A key example is "Black Light District" where Gabe was 100% receptive to Taffer's changes and Dave was 100% defiant. Gabe says at the endthat he still sees Dave as a friend but he would never go into business with him again. |
| 422 | * WomenAreDelicate: The owner of Mandala Lounge believes this to the point where he refuses to bring in female employees. Taffer's expert, Mia Mastroianni, is quick to take him to task for this and floors him in a cocktail making race in both speed and quality.[[note]]In fairness to him, he indicated that he wasn't going to hire a female solely for her build. And he actually finished a hair behind her in the rematch featured on a "Back to the Bar" episode.[[/note]] |
| 423 | * WrongGenreSavvy: The manager of Stand Up, Scottsdale did not believe that a comedy club should solely be about comedy. While he does have a point,[[labelnote:*]]Creator/JonStewart, Bassem Youssef, and others who tackle contemporary politics will at times have a serious edge to their work[[/labelnote]] his ''delivery'' of such a point undermined him at every turn. |
| 424 | * YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: When Taffer walks out on his re-rescue of Second Base, he gives a speech like this to the staff, telling them he believes in them even though he doesn't believe in the owner, and he will help them find jobs elsewhere. |
| 425 | * ZombieApocalypse: The final concept of The End, transformed from the tacky Halloween-themed Underworld (which thrilled its owners in no small way once Taffer used those ExactWords to describe the concept). |
| 426 | ---- |
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