Sunday, March 29, 2015

Bar Rescue - Patriot House (The Holding Company) Update

On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in San Francisco, California to try to rescue The Holding Company.  The Holding Company has been in San Francisco for about 40 years and was recently bought by four Irish sisters.  Their bickering is supposedly causing the bar to go downhill and The Holding Company is supposedly losing $6,000 a month with a total debt of $600,000.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, The Holding Company was renamed to the Patriot House.  They have kept the name of the bar and still go by Patriot House.  Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for the Patriot House since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar:

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Bar Rescue's Piratz Tavern (Corporate Bar & Grill) To Close

Photo - Spike TV
Piratz Tavern in Silver Spring, Maryland, which was featured on the second season of Bar Rescue has announced that they will close on April 4th due to the bar losing their lease.  Tracy, the owner of the bar, posted the following message on the "The Soul of Piratz Tavern" Facebook group.

"It is with a heavy heart that I have to deliver the sad news that Piratz Tavern has lost it's lease. Our last night will be April 4th. I am trying to keep this information within the family as we really don't want to deal with anymore bullshit from the reality TV world. Thanks to all who worked and played so hard to make the last eight years so great. The memories will last forever!"
The Piratz Tavern episode of Bar Rescue is one of the show's most popular and controversial episodes.   Jon Taffer got rid of the pirate theme at the bar and renamed it Corporate Bar & Grill.  This upset the owners and regulars who wanted to keep the pirate theme, and quickly after Jon Taffer left, they removed all of Bar Rescue's changes and reinstalled the pirate theme.  They sold items from the Bar Rescue makeover and supposedly spent $60,000 to get the bar back to the way they wanted it.  Also the self serve draft beer tables didn't have the proper permits, so they were removed.  Piratz Tavern even posted a Youtube video of them burning the Corporate Bar & Grill sign, and as of today, this video has been viewed over 200,000 times.


After the makeover, the owners and customers were publicly critical of Jon Taffer and his concept, and Jon Taffer felt they were more concerned with being pirates rather than making profits.  Also, fans of Bar Rescue flooded the Piratz's Yelp page to give a bunch of 1-star reviews (over 200 of which have been filtered).  A fan of the bar reached out to Jon Taffer on Facebook about this, and Jon Taffer actually responded to a fan saying he wanted his fans to be civil but also that the pirates brought this upon themselves with the way they acted.

One of the most common questions I get asked is "Is Piratz still open?," and the answer to that question will soon be 'No'.  If you want to get your pirate fix before they close, you have a little over a week to do so.  When they close on April 4th, the bar will be updated as 'Closed' on the Bar Rescue Update Page.


UPDATE - After everyone found out about the closure, Piratz Tavern posted the following on their Facebook page:
"Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Piratz Tavern will open it's doors for the last time on Saturday April 4th. Unfortunately the negative publicity, constant prank calls, vandalism and bogus reviews generated by our unfortunate participation on Bar Rescue have taken their toll. To add insult to injury, late last year Taffer's crew reached out to me again asking that we participate in a back to the bar episode. They promised that it would be followed by a re-rescue and that they would right all the wrong's committed during the first episode. Obviously I don't learn. I believed them. On December 1st we went to the effort to open on a Monday, the one day a week we have been closed for 8 years, with a skeleton staff of former employees who agreed to play the parts. It was basically coerced and staged to be an opening act for a re-rescue. I was told to bring in several changes of clothes to make it appear that filming covered several days. As usual they brought in a bunch of extras to fill the house and we were told what to say and with whom to speak. Throughout the entire shoot the director coached Juciano to curse and say negative things about John Taffer. He referred to me as the "hero", my daughter as the "victim" and Juciano as the "villan". Total bullshit frown emoticon Basically we have been fucked by reality TV again and with know one to blame but ourselves, we have decided not to renew our lease. Just can't take anymore. Director James Agiesta sweet talked me into the deal and then left us behind like carnage, just like the first time. A HUGE thanks to all of you who worked and played so hard to make Piratz Tavern the awesome place it has been for the last 8 years."
So, the bar will be on an upcoming episode of Bar Rescue and they appear to be saying everything was faked in hopes of another makeover.  I guess we will see when that airs...


Here is a preview of the "Back To The Bar" episode that will air on Sunday, April 5th and the clip features Piratz Tavern (video after the break):

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Bar Rescue's LA Brew Co. Listed For Sale

Photo - Loopnet
LA Brew Co, which was just featured on Bar Rescue on 3/22/2015 and was Jon Taffer's most expensive rescue is already listed for sale.

There is a real estate listing on LoopNet that has the bar listed for $600,000.  The listing was posted two days ago (3/23/2015) and the description states:
"Business for sale. Upscale Bar & Restaurant includes a separate bar and sitting area for private events. Completely updated less than 6 months ago. With 100 beer tab Glycol system, two large seating areas, 50 foot long bar with 5 individual coolers behind the bar, large kitchen, pantry station and prep area, several coolers and jockey boxes, Auto-Chlor dishwashing system, liquor storage room, private office, one food walk-in cooler, one walk-in 100 line beer cooler, too much to list&

This beautiful clean classy bar & restaurant is located in the historic Broadway Theatre District in Downtown LA and not to mention the cities new project of revitalization Bringing back Broadway . True opportunity&"

There is also a real estate listing that was created 3/16/2015 that has the bar listed for $650,000 and has multiple pictures of the interior.  It appears they may have dropped the price with their latest listing.

(h/t commenter The Ugly Truth)

UPDATE - The bar is no long open as they try to sell, so this has been marked as 'Closed' on the Bar Rescue Update Page.

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Bar Rescue - LA Brew Co (Los Angeles Brewing Company) Update

On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Los Angeles, California to try to rescue Los Angeles Brewing Company.  The bar is located in downtown Los Angeles, and is owned by Richard Ramos who is supposedly a million dollars in debt and losing $15,000 a month.  The debts and disagreements caused by owning the bar have triggered a family divide.  Maria Menounos is back again to do recon with Jon Taffer, and the bar ends up serving Jon's spies raw hamburger meat.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Los Angeles Brewing Company's name didn't change much as the signs that Bar Rescue put up now say LABREWCO.  They seem to be going by LA Brew Co, but still have a Los Angeles Brewing Company website and Facebook page.  Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Los Angeles Brewing Company/LA Brew Co. since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar:

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Bar Rescue - Stein Haus Brau & Brats (Friar Tuck's) Update

On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Pomona, California to try to rescue Friar Tuck's.  Friar Tuck's is a castle-shaped bar, and the owner Ivan has anger management issues that has pushed his staff to their breaking point.  Ivan does not get along well with his bartenders, or his general manager Sami, and he is supposedly $100,000 in debt due to the bar.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Friar Tuck's was renamed to Stein Haus Brau & Brats, which has a German theme most likely due to the castle exterior.  The bar has kept the name of Stein Haus Brau & Brats.  Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Stein Haus Brau & Brats since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar:


Sunday, March 8, 2015

Bar Rescue - The Hot Rock Bar & Grille (Sandbar Grill) Update

Photo - Spike TV
On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Coconut Grove, Florida to try to rescue the Sandbar Grill.  The bar is co-owned by Albert and Matt, and Albert is too concerned with his fantasy football team to pay attention to his bar.  The bar was thriving but the local government made some changes in 2010 that impacted the bar.   The bar is supposedly losing $7,000 a month and is two months away from closing.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Sandbar Grill was renamed to The Hot Rock Bar & Grille, which had a Korean BBQ theme.  The bar quickly changed the name back to Sandbar Grill and also put back up some old decorations.  Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Sandbar Grill since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar:

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Bar Rescue - Ele (Heat Restaurant & Lounge) Update


On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Hollywood, Florida to try to rescue Heat Restaurant & Lounge.  The bar is co-owned by Vin and Vanessa, who are husband and wife.  They bought the bar in 2012 and things started to go downhill when they slashed prices, which attracted a bad crowd.  Heat's bartenders also are out of control and they are giving away a ton of free drinks.  They also act more like strippers than bartenders and are dancing for tips.  Vin and Vanessa are supposedly $230,000 in debt and are losing $5,000 a month, so they called on Bar Rescue to help out.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Heat Restaurant & Lounge was renamed to Ele.  The bar seems to have kept a variation of the name and goes by Ele Lounge and Ele Nightclub.  Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Ele since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar: