Jon Tafferhas quite the job on his reality television seriesBar Rescue. He and his team of experts do recon on pretty poor establishments, places that don’t have the means to generate a profit due to their bad reputation,dirty interior, bad drinks, or something else altogether. Taffer has seen it all and has done his best to revamp, rebrand, and help these bars get back on their feet so they become successful in the future. Andsome places buy into his teachings and really turn things around.
From increased revenue streams to a complete makeover and new bar name, Taffer has a knack for looking at something run down and void of personality and seeing the possibilities of making it something incredible. Even dealing with managers and bartenders who don’t necessarily know what they are doing, Taffer was able to make these bars successful with a bit of elbow grease and a lot of help.
Bar Rescue
10‘Tiki Cruise’
Season 2, Episode 2
One of the few bars in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located right on the sand with a poolside bar, the Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar had prime real estate to bring in patrons. In fact, the place was pretty profitable when it first opened. The issue with being on the water, though, is that a lot of maintenance is required. So, the Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar was a little worse for wear, with fruit flies buzzing around, a dilapidated tiki hut, and floorboards caving in. That’s where Taffer and his crew came into play.
Taffer decided the bar needed a new name and some work done to make it look new once more. The owner, Frank, was hesitant at first, but with some push and excitement over the rebranding from his staff, it was renamed the Bamboo Beach Bar (this didn’t last long). Even though Frank changed the name to the Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar & Cafe, adding in the new food fromBar Rescue, it was a success, bringing in tourists on vacation and even some locals who enjoy a drink in the sun.As of 2024, the bar has 4.4 stars on Google Reviews, with patrons praising the food, drinks, and fun, energetic service.
9‘Punk As A Drunk’
Season 1, Episode 10
With an owner who scares customers away and staff who drink on the job, the Triple Nickle Tavern in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had its work cut out for them. Around $150,000 in debt, owner JJ Greuter treated his bar as more of a clubhouse for his friends, not taking the business too seriously. Case in point, he had a kitchen, but it was always closed since there was no cook, the bartenders didn’t know how to make drinks, and the place looked like a country western bar despite being advertised as a punk bar.
The good news was that Greuter was very open to his bar being rescued, as it was a homage to his father, who was formerly in the military. Taffer’s crew of experts helped the staff perfect signature cocktails, particularly a blackberry tequila drink that would, hopefully, draw in female clientele, as well as sweet donuts. Taffer also revamped the interior, sticking with Greuter’s original idea of a punk bar and getting rid of all the wooden country decor.The reopening was a success, and it was praised for the fun bar food and live music. As of 2024, the bar is still open, earning enough profit to be able to move to a new location across the street.
8‘Green Walls And Donkey Balls’
Season 6, Episode 18
The strange green walls weren’t the only thing that wasn’t working in the Louisville, Kentucky, bar, the Drunken Donkey. Owned by two friends, the establishment was overstaffed, had 16 pages of menu items, and over 70 beers on tap. The unorganized manner of the bar, lousy food, and lack of cocktails showed that what the Drunken Donkey had to offer was just too much, and not in a good way. They were even in $3 million of debt. But after some people being let go, a few screaming matches, and a little training, Taffer got the place up and running.
Taffer and his crew renamed the Drunken Donkey to Butcher & Brew Pub, playing off the bar’s original concept of having a lot of fun, craft beer available. They cut the menu down to one page, offering some signature dishes the kitchen staff was trained up on, and made a liquor wall, advertising specialty cocktails to patrons. Whilecustomers liked the new conceptand how the bar was being run, it took five years for the owners to go back to their original name. Even so,the rescue was successful enough that they were able to open a second location.
7‘Hard Heads and Softballs’
Season 4, Episode 43
Located in Oak Grove, California, Mac and Chester’s Standing Room Only bar was owned by two friends, Scott Mac and Todd Chester. As it goes, having two friends owning a bar doesn’t always end well, and, in this case, it ended with SRO getting a bad reputation. When Taffer came in for the rescue, SRO was full of rowdy bikers, staff who poured free drinks, and owners who were more so there to party than to work.
After a lengthy discussion with Chester, Taffer decided it was a good idea to hand over ownership to Elise, Chester’s wife and the one who’d been managing the bar’s finances. Between the new leadership, bar makeover, new menu items, and drinks, and renaming it to The Boulder Lodge and Grill, Elise saw sales go up 35%. According to staff, they learned a lot from Taffer andBar Rescue, using their new skills daily and making small changes here and there to keep their profits high, even though they did decide to rename it Back to the SRO.
6‘Caving In’
Season 6, Episode 9
Once a profitable bar, making around $20,000 a month, owner Maria had to step away and had her son Jamie take over the business. He renamed it The Cave, and it pretty much went downhill. The staff was drinking on the job, and the bar was losing around $5,000 a weekend due to over-pouring. By the time Taffer stepped in to help, The Cave was $200,000 in debt and needed a lot of help.
It didn’t take too much (byBar Rescuestandards). After training the bartenders to work seamlessly behind the bar, making drinks properly and in a good amount of time, taking the blackout windows away, adding bright beer and drink signs, and remodeling the interior, Jamie had a place he could be proud of. Local hotels in Anaheim, California, even began recommending the bar.Just six weeks after the rescue, The Cave Sports Bar was up 30% in profit. Jamie then announced a new bar, Cave 2, opening in 2018 and Cave 3 in 2021.
5‘Characters Assassination’
Season 3, Episode 16
A New York family relocated to Garner, North Carolina, and opened Character’s Quarters right outside downtown Raleigh. While the location was ideal, the concept was confusing, as staff wore odd costumes, and there was a bright yellow sign out front that made it seem as though it was a family-friendly establishment, not necessarily a bar. The thing is, the aesthetic was the least of Taffer’s worries. The family-run bar had a bully in its midst, the son.
Bar Rescuetends to rescue bars for a slew of reasons, many of which have to do with patrons not coming in, so there is no profit. This time, Taffer wanted to make a difference with the family. Throughout the episode, Taffer helps change the family dynamic, making sure the son isn’t bullying his sister and that their relationship doesn’t bring hardship to the workplace. Rebranding the bar as a prohibition-era establishment and renaming it MoonRunners Saloon did wonders for their exposure, butTaffer says this is one of his most successful recuses solely because he helped improve the family’s relationship. As of 2024, they have plans to open two new bars with talks of a food truck and franchising.
4‘Operation: Puerto Rico’
Season 6, Episode 19
Unlike the other episodes ofBar Rescue, the episode “Operation: Puerto Rico” occurred not because a business was failing and was in need of a pseudo-intervention. The El Krajo bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, needed help because it was destroyed during Hurricane Maria in 2017. This Category 5 storm left the bar without a roof and six feet of sand in its interior. Even after an army came in to help the owners get back up and running, including Taffer and other celebrities, a second storm hit and ruined all of their progress.
3‘Hurricane Jon Vs. Hurricane Sandy’
Season 3, Episode 24
The Bungalow Bar, located in Rockaway, New York, was a wildly successful establishment, racking in $100,000 weekly. So, why did Taffer have to go rescue it? Sadly, Hurricane Sandy rolled through, destroying the bar and leaving the bar staff unemployed. So, Taffer came in to help, and after watching the two owners yell at one another, tensions were definitely a bit high for everyone involved. The employees were slow at first, since they hadn’t been behind a bar for a while, and the establishment needed a lot of work to function again.
The stress test was, well, stressful, as everyone was feeling those long months of being out of work. Taffer and his crew worked with them, though, and eventually, the bartenders and kitchen staff got their groove back. They even added new menu items and cocktails! The bar was renamed to The Bungalow Bar and Restaurant, showcasing the new food available. Amazingly, a month after the rescue,the bar’s sales were up 20%, even before the hurricane came and shut them down.
2‘Bar Over Troubled Water’
Season 5, Episode 19
Once a successful bar and community hot spot to catch a Saints football game, Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill was sadly destroyed by flooding in Denham Springs, Louisiana. The bar was making $1.5 million prior to the flood, which unfortunately resulted in around $2 million worth of damage. The damage was so severe that the owners were looking at a six-month repair and at least a million to return Big Mike’s to its original state. Thankfully, one of the bartenders, Emily, reached out toBar Rescueon Facebook, asking for help. Taffer responded.
He came in and wanted nothing more than to help owner Mike O’Neal get his bar back up and running. It took some time and training since the staff was a bit rusty after being out of work, but the bar was reinstated to its former glory, with some updates, of course! Crown Royal donated tables and TVs to the bar, and Saints player Deuce McAllister not only volunteered to help with renovations but also donated signed memorabilia to Big Mike’s Saint’s room.Six weeks after the rescue, Big Mike’s sales were up 50% from before the flood.
1‘Turtle On Its Back’
Season 3, Episode 1
Located on the iconic Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, it might seem as though the Turtle Bay bar would have zero issue getting patrons through the door and turning a profit. Sadly, that wasn’t the case when Taffer arrived. The bar was pretty hidden, with Taffer’s recon crew walking by it, and people on the street had never even heard of the place. Once inside, it was pretty bare and didn’t stand out from the numerous other bars on the street. Not to mention, it was a knockoff of the Tropical Isle Bar, an establishment owned by the same people and located right across the street, signature drinks and all.
Taffer got to work, helping the owners and managers learn the best business practices to help revenue streams, brightening the outside of the bar to draw prospective patrons' eyes, and making a to-go drink station close to the door. He completely revamped the space, making it more inviting and drawing on the legend of the old building – an old barber’s residence whose spirit is said to still live there. The new name: Spirits on Bourbon. According to Taffer,after the recuse, Spirits on Bourbon’s revenue went up from $2 to $3 million in ten years. The two owners wound up selling the bar for millions.
