I've been watching SpikeTV's "Bar Rescue" starring bar turnaround artist John Taffer.

Taffer rocks.  He goes into these complete crap holes, rips the owner and his employees a new one, and then turns them into food and liquor service gold mines.  8)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510Lu8FU3dL._SX500_.jpg

Last night they fixed up this bar where they found a dead rat in the kitchen and maggots on the bar.  8-P

There was this one chick who was handling raw chicken and then hand-scooping grated cheese onto somebody's meal without washing her hands.  :o The meal was supposed to be served to John's daughter, but he intervened, followed by yelling at the worker and shutting the place down for the rest of the day.  ;D

I've been watching SpikeTV's "Bar Rescue" starring bar turnaround artist John Taffer.

Taffer rocks.  He goes into these complete crap holes, rips the owner and his employees a new one, and then turns them into food and liquor service gold mines.  8)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510Lu8FU3dL._SX500_.jpg


I've caught this show a few times, and it's interesting to watch it and see why a lot of these bars are failing. I think part of the problem comes from too many people buying old bars thinking it's all just going to be one big party like Cocktail or something and not taking seriously enough the fact that they're running a business and that it takes a lot of hard work and responsibility to be successful at it.

BTW, did you see the episode about the Piratz Tavern just outside of Washington, DC? The aftermath of that one turned out to be rather interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPkbJohdyo

::)

Yeah, if you look up the word "loser" in the dictionary, you'll see a group picture of the crew at Piratz.

The help just want to play pirate all day.  meanwhile the owner and her husband (Juciano, the lazy cook) are losing money like it is going out of style, and they live in her mother's basement.  ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IimDpk09wpc

Last night, Jon and his crew rescued a Philadelphia bar called Swanky Bubbles.

http://media.philly.com/images/SwankyBubblesLogo.JPG

Jon rebranded the place as Sheer, and changed the menu and decor to bring in more women.  8)

Like Piratz, the owner of this bar reverted back to the original name (Swanky Bubbles in this case) within a week or so.  Couple months later they went out of business for not paying thier taxes.  These guys should have listened to Jon.

I have watched it and it gives me an uneasy feeling about all the "grub and pubs" I have been too :-\\  Not sure if I will be frequenting what I thought were good food at a low price anymore.  EEEEEK

I saw one the other day with "bottle service" LOL - I had never heard of bottle service before and the prices for a bottle that I have to mix my own drink still.  I would rather have the bartender mix it, call me lazy (and the bartender only does a 200% markup as opposed to 1000%)  :P

I have watched it and it gives me an uneasy feeling about all the "grub and pubs" I have been too :-\\  Not sure if I will be frequenting what I thought were good food at a low price anymore.  EEEEEK

I saw one the other day with "bottle service" LOL - I had never heard of bottle service before and the prices for a bottle that I have to mix my own drink still.  I would rather have the bartender mix it, call me lazy (and the bartender only does a 200% markup as opposed to 1000%)  :P


Yeah, that's the one where Jon worked his magic rebranding The Mystique Lounge, a bar that had a murder in it three years ago, to a more hip and upscale place called Aura.  I think the whole idea of "bottle service" is to be seen as a "VIP"... the ultimate in conspicuous consumption.  ::)  If you are in the VIP section getting bottle service, you're a player.

The proprietors at this bar really listened to Jon and embraced the changes.  When Jon came in, the place was a dump where the bottle service glassware had hair on it.  8-P  Jon really spiffed up the place.  These guys are going to succeed, unlike the clowns at Piratz and Swanky Bubbles.

There was something odd on the episode though.  The announcer said that "The Mystique Lounge is the only bar in town that caters to an urban clientele".  WTF?  All the bars in town are urban.  Why didn't he just say "The Mystique Lounge is the only black bar in town"? ???

There was something odd on the episode though.  The announcer said that "The Mystique Lounge is the only bar in town that caters to an urban clientele".  WTF?  All the bars in town are urban.  Why didn't he just say "The Mystique Lounge is the only black bar in town"? ???


The use of "urban" as a euphemism for "black" is a pet peeve of mine.  I don't want to go back 50 years (or even 25 years), but once upon a time it was a lot easier to tell the actual racists from innocent businessmen and newscasters trying desperately not to metion race.

The use of "urban" as a euphemism for "black" is a pet peeve of mine.  I don't want to go back 50 years (or even 25 years), but once upon a time it was a lot easier to tell the actual racists from innocent businessmen and newscasters trying desperately not to metion race.
LOL - I thought "urban" meant coming from the city....  I would have never guessed it was a racial term.  Now I know. 

LOL - I thought "urban" meant coming from the city....  I would have never guessed it was a racial term.  Now I know.


Here's an info page from the Urban League of Pittsburgh.

http://www.ulpgh.org/about.asp

LOL - I thought "urban" meant coming from the city....  I would have never guessed it was a racial term.  Now I know.


Most of the time it is.  For example, urban development is about planning where the buildings, roads, and transit services go.  If you're talking about how people migrate from the countryside to urban areas in response to changes in the economy, or how the suburbs are being abandoned in favor of urban areas because nobody can afford to commute, it's neutral.  It's usually pretty clear from context (either positively; as in "the urban league", or negatively, as in "The shootings occurred in an urban area") when it's code for race.

  It's usually pretty clear from context (either positively; as in "the urban league", or negatively, as in "The shootings occurred in an urban area") when it's code for race.


Or "urban youths".  ::)

For hooked on it last night again!  Do they only rescue Irish pubs???  Last night was another one that was on the pier they ended up renaming Break Wall (I think) making it more of a beach themed bar!  The bar manager (Carlos I think) stank it up big time!  I enjoyed watching him trying to sabatoge the whole redo!!!  He was worthless!

For hooked on it last night again!  Do they only rescue Irish pubs???  Last night was another one that was on the pier they ended up renaming Break Wall (I think) making it more of a beach themed bar!  The bar manager (Carlos I think) stank it up big time!  I enjoyed watching him trying to sabatoge the whole redo!!!  He was worthless!


I'll have to watch for that one, I have not seen it.  :)  The new episode last night (the Irish/German bar where they sent 3 people to the Guiness Brewery in Ireland) was kinda boring to me.

I like Taffer's take-no-crap attitude.  If I knew that a local bar was gonna be on Bar Rescue, I think I'd go in a couple days before and hide a few dead rats just to set off Jon.  ;D

For hooked on it last night again!  Do they only rescue Irish pubs???  Last night was another one that was on the pier they ended up renaming Break Wall (I think) making it more of a beach themed bar!  The bar manager (Carlos I think) stank it up big time!  I enjoyed watching him trying to sabatoge the whole redo!!!  He was worthless!


I saw that one. Carlos was a total sh!tbag who was leeching off those two sisters.  :P

I saw that one. Carlos was a total sh!tbag who was leeching off those two sisters.  :P
Definitely!!!!  Why the girls were so beholden to him was beyond me... Heck he was an ex!!!!

In a similar vein, Gordon Ramsay's show Kitchen Nightmares paid a visit to a local establishment, Levanti's Italian Bistro, in none other than Beaver, Pennsylvania.  8)  The show was filmed in June but has not yet aired.

Gordon kicked ass and took names, re-branding Levanti's from an Italian bistro to an American bistro concept, whatever that is.

Two weeks after Gordon left... the place closed its doors...  ;D

Well, at this time Season 3 is in production, and should air later this year.

I first started watching this show last year, and was quickly addicted to it.  I have also worked for many years in bars, and have seen a lot of the same problems at places I worked at.

I wonder if I can pitch a show like this to one of the adult networks, calling it "Strip Club Rescue"?  I find it funny that pretty much every strip club I quit, within 6 months they were out of business.

Well, at this time Season 3 is in production, and should air later this year.

I first started watching this show last year, and was quickly addicted to it.  I have also worked for many years in bars, and have seen a lot of the same problems at places I worked at.

I wonder if I can pitch a show like this to one of the adult networks, calling it "Strip Club Rescue"?  I find it funny that pretty much every strip club I quit, within 6 months they were out of business.


Strip Club Rescue... This idea is pure gold.  8)

One of my favorite Bar Rescue moments is when they found rat droppings in a beer mug.  Taffer said "You see this guys?  We're serving up rat turds!"  ;D

Strip Club Rescue... This idea is pure gold.  8)


Having worked for many years in such "establishments", you would be amazed and disgusted at some of the things I have seen.  But overall, a lot of the failure of such a club boils down to a single thing, the owner/manager and their being cheap.

The best clubs I worked at paid a wage (even if minimum wage), and one even had free gym dues, health care, dental, and 401k.  Also enforced was a strong "no drinking - no drugs - no dating customers/employees" policy.  Violation of that, and you were gone.

Others, sheesh.  One I worked at was a real dump, in the "hood", and the owner wanted me because I was experienced, and would bring in new music (those girls would play the same 50 Cent song over and over if the DJ let them).  Well, in 3 months I got the girls to realize there was more music then Hip Hop, and some even got to appreciate Bob Marley, George Clinton, and classic Motown.  By this time the 2 owners were seperated, and the wife brought in this other idiot as a bouncer at $20 less a night.  Within 2 weeks, he had taken over "announcing" (if you can call talking for 5 minutes with the mic right in the face so that nobody could understand you "announcing").  I always kept chatter to a minimum, girls names, birthdays, drink specials, and the like.  After all, the guys are there to look at them, not listen to me.

Well, I was making an entire $75 for 8 hours work, and none of the girls tipped.  ANd I was bringing in my own equipment (they had a guitar mixer board and a single 5 disk home stereo - junk).  Then I was told to not come back, the "Bouncer" was going to take over at only $50 a night.  I had another job by then anyways, so happily walked away.  I went in a few times after that, and all the girls said he was complete junk.  There would be girls on the stage dancing, and he would be rambling on the mic constantly like it was his own private radio station (and unintelligable because he still talked with the mic right at his mouth).  3 months later, they were closed.

About a year later, I heard of another club that was hurting, and needed a good DJ.  So over I go, the owner told me they paid $50 a night plus tips.  So I took the job, and after 2 weeks told the manager that I had not had any tips yet.  The girls loved that I brought in my own music (over 5,000 songs), but I already had a full time job, and the $50 was not worth my loosing 2 nights of sleep every week.  After 2 months I told the manager I would finish up the weekend and they needed somebody else for next week.  Now here the bouncers drank on duty and allowed the customers to do just about anything they wanted.  One guy kept hastling me to play a certain song (which I did not have).  I told him to ask one of the dancers to select it, since they decided what music they wanted to dance to most of the time.  He actually got into the DJ booth and smacked me on the back of the head, and the bouncers did nothing because he was their buddy.  I quit that night and never went back.

I drove by 2 months later, and saw they were closed.  I later found out that my replacement was the same idiot from the last club.  It reopened a year or so later, same owner, same manager.  I was not surprised a few years ago when there was a double-murder there (the owner's son and one of the dancers).

But wait, there's more.  A friend of mine opened a "legitimate club", and had a bunch of leeches manage it for him.  In short, they were bleeding the club dry.  After 3 months of loosing money, he asked me and a few others to come and see what the problem was.  Did like Mr. Taffer did, measured bottles and counted the till.  In one night over $1,000 of booze served, less then $200 in the till.  Everybody was fired (including the $250 a night DJ), and we started to turn it around.

The decour was English Pub.  The name was Grand Mayan.  He wanted this to be a "middle class white club", and we were right next door to the biggest Hip-Hop club in town.  So my first night, I changed the music.  Hip-hop was out, I started to play techno and trance versions of old 80's songs.  And the people loved it.  The songs were older, so the crowd my age enjoyed it.  It was techno, so the kids liked it.  And it was not the same thing the club next door played.

The first weekend was great.  Lots of money at the bar, owner met this guy who was an "expert", hired him as a manager.  Yep, Mr. Bouncer from before, who hired his GF to check IDs.  Then the demands start.  Crowd just starting, had me play "Photograph", a good song, but way to slow for the crowd.  Then had me play hip-hop, I refused.  When the owner came in a few hours later, asked why I was playing what I was ("old junk"), instead of what the "manager" told me to play, I pointed to the crowd of over 40 people dancing and having a good time.  Now he and I had this conversation before, about tryng to compete with the "big dog", and the best way is to provide an alternative.  He insisted I change to hip-hop.

30 minutes later he is walking around a now totally empty club, looking like he had been in a train wreck.  That night we had a meeting, and the "manager" blamed me for everything.  I told them both that the last 2 weeks we had crowds because we provided an alternative, the only other bars downtown having hip-hop or goth.  We wanted an older crowd, I catered the music to provide what that older crowd would want.  The "manager" laid into me for not playing what he wanted, so I replied "Like Photograph?  We are running a business, not a private dance club for you and your GF".  And I told them both that the crowd left because they did not like hip-hop.  If they wanted to hear that, they would have been next door, not his place.

Needless to say, I walked.  Mr. Manager also became Mr. DJ.  He made $250 a night, his GF made $150 a night for checking IDs, I made $0 the entire month I DJed (I was doing it as a favor to a friend, not for money).  Found out later the club was only open 2 more weekends, and lost lots of money.  Manager and his GF made around $2,000, owner lost over $20,000.

That was 7 years ago, and I have not DJed since, other then at the recreation tent downrange, and for a unit party.  But every time I watch Bar Rescue, I see a lot of the same things I saw in RL.  Clueless managers, often trying to hire the cheapest help they can instead of real professionals.  Trying to run a club as their own private party palace, instead of as a business trying to cater to a crowd.


One of my favorite Bar Rescue moments is when they found rat droppings in a beer mug.  Taffer said "You see this guys?  We're serving up rat turds!"  ;D


That is not all that uncommon.  Good clubs and bars at least once a week do a complete tear-down of the back counter area, cleaning everything.  Bad clubs and bars simply do not care, and ignore anything that does not actually bring in money directly.  At least 2 places I worked at actually had stopped running kitchens after the health department shut them down (one even sold pre-packaged sandwiches like you would get at 7-11).  One place I started to bring in my own cup, saying I needed a bigger one so I was not leaving the booth every 15 minutes (in reality twice I got sodas with nasty glasses, and did not trust them to clean them).

I worked bars and clubs off and on for over 20 years, and seen incredibly awesome and absolutely disgusting.  And the ones that shut down I can usually point to several of their problems, including towards the end hiring the same leech staff.

Having worked for many years in such "establishments", you would be amazed and disgusted ...


Others, sheesh.  One I worked at was a real dump, in the "hood", and the owner wanted me because I was experienced, and would bring in new music (those girls would play the same 50 Cent song over and over if the DJ let them).  Well, in 3 months I got the girls to realize there was more music then Hip Hop, and some even got to appreciate Bob Marley, George Clinton, and classic Motown. 

Sounds like the Dizzy Duck in downtown Detroit.  You know the kind of strip club that the girls go to after they're done at the "high class" clubs?  The Dizzy Duck was the place they went after that.  :o

I spent a memorable night there with one of my vendors, during the mobilization phase of Desert Storm.  All sorts of reservists who were ready to be deployed, having a go at The Duck before they shipped out.    :P


One place I started to bring in my own cup, saying I needed a bigger one so I was not leaving the booth every 15 minutes (in reality twice I got sodas with nasty glasses, and did not trust them to clean them).


When I was at The Duck, one of the performers did this thing where she'd, uh, put her fingers *down there*, and then she'd reach into a patron's scotch on the rocks and pluck out an ice cube.  8-P

After watching that, I stuck with bottled beer for the rest of the night.  ;D

When I was at The Duck, one of the performers did this thing where she'd, uh, put her fingers *down there*, and then she'd reach into a patron's scotch on the rocks and pluck out an ice cube.  8-P

After watching that, I stuck with bottled beer for the rest of the night.  ;D


http://image.hotdog.hu/user/nookie95/1250675188_family_guy_barfing.gif

I always laugh that one place I worked at was rated at .5 stars (out of 5).  That was a real dump.

http://image.hotdog.hu/user/nookie95/1250675188_family_guy_barfing.gif

I always laugh that one place I worked at was rated at .5 stars (out of 5).  That was a real dump.


^^  ;D

Having worked for many years in such "establishments", you would be amazed and disgusted at some of the things I have seen.  But overall, a lot of the failure of such a club boils down to a single thing, the owner/manager and their being cheap.


*awesome stories snipped*

OK, I'm now convinced the world needs a Strip Club Rescue show, and we need you to be in charge of running it.  I've only been a patron at reputable (as far as these places go, and yes, ladies, there is a spectrum of reputability here) joints, and that was back when I was in college.  Good times, good times.

Jon Taffer worked his magic again in yesterday's new episode of Bar Rescue.

He was called to a bar in Austin TX where there were roaches in all the alcohol bottles and mold dripping down from the ceiling and into the drinks.  8-P

He turned the place around and ranamed it Metal & Lace.  It is Austin's only Steampunk bar. The bartenders and other staff wear steampunk attire and the customary aviator goggles.  8)

SpikeTV announced this week that they've renewed Bar Rescue for another 20 shows.  8)

http://3.images.spike.com/images/shows/bar-rescue/carouselpromos/bar_SPmassive_204_439x332_2_.jpg?width=439&height=332&quality=0.91

Those bar owners don't know how lucky they are to have Jon Taffer come into their establishments and beat the crap outta them.  8)

I just read that in addition to the new 20-show order, Jon Taffer got a contract with Spike TV to create another new show where he coaches somebody in the operation of a restaurant or something like that.

Dude's a juggernaut.  8)

I just read that in addition to the new 20-show order, Jon Taffer got a contract with Spike TV to create another new show where he coaches somebody in the operation of a restaurant or something like that.

Dude's a juggernaut.  8)


I say we nominate Jon Taffer for President.

I can just imagine his first State of the Union speech to congress:

Fix this mess!  I don't embrace excuses, only solutions!

8)

The host of Bar Rescue, bartender par excellence Jon Taffer, is coming out with a book this week.

It's called Raise the Bar and it shares Jon's secrets for business success.  8)

I usually don't go for these sort of books, but since this one is written by Taffer, I'm making an exception.  :)