Bar Rescue - The Airliner Update

On this week's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Los Angeles, California to rescue The Airliner.  The Airliner is a Los Angeles dive bar and music venue owned by Luiz Quiroz.  The band American Authors are on hand to help Jon Taffer do recon and they discover the food is inedible.  The owner Luiz has lost his passion for running the bar and Jon will need to reignite his passion to turn the bar around.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Jon Taffer decided to keep the name of The Airliner. Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for The Airliner since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):


Positive Reviews:

• "I go to this place every possible Wednesday that I can for Low End Theory. Because I come for the music, I love this place. It's only $10 at the door to see several up-and-coming music producers. The venue is an intimate size that allows for occupants to dance practically next to whoever is playing that night. The music is loud and the bass is exquisite. Usually, there are two stages: one inside and one outside; recently, however, the inside stage had been the only one running. Smoking of all sorts is allowed outside. "
• "I came here the other night for the rap contest they host every Tuesday. I found the place I to be pretty cool, a hidden gem if you may. I like that they have the separation between the upstairs and downstairs and I also like that you were able to go back-and-forth between the two either inside or outside. "
• "I went there for a birthday party and ended up having an awesome time. The live hip hop show was bumping. I met several nice young girls even though I'm old and married. People were respectful for the most part. The "dive bar" label is accurate. The sound system for house or live patio area music sounded excellent."

Negative Reviews:

• "Living down the street from this place for a number of years, it could easily be described as pretty terrible, even with Bar Rescue having come through to rehab it...and it's mainly to do with the drinks program, or lack of... poor bartending and one of the owners is a pretentious schmuck. So yes, if you want to see a show, come here, but if you're going for a place with atmosphere, good drinks and good service... take your business elsewhere"
• "The staff are incredibly rude and uncouth. My friend passed out from heat exhaustion inside the venue and instead of giving him medical attention the staff accused him of being on drugs and kicked him out. This is no way to treat people and the staff should be ashamed of themselves. Beyond that, its just not worth coming here, even if it is just $10. The venue is extremely small and they overpack the place beyond the max occupancy limit and you feel incredibly claustrophobic. If you look at the past 5 star reviews from a few years ago they were extremely accurate but now in 2017 this place is beyond garbage."
• "The women's restroom is disgusting. No toilet seat covers, there was no soap. No mirrors. Piss in the sink, throw up all over the floor. It's no wonder Los Angeles has a Hepatitis A outbreak. Bartenders weren't particularly friendly. Not exactly a fan of this place."
• "Rude bouncers, undrinkable drinks. Good people watching. Good music, but they penny pinch. $10 minimum + $10 cover + lines that keep you from the music = bad night"
• "Super dingy place- not sure why it hasn't been shut down. The women's restroom has broken lighting, no seat covers and no soap!!! Then, the ceiling looks like it will come crumbling down if a feather lands on the roof. "
• "All in all, wouldn't bother even thinking about coming here unless it was for a really cool event such as Low End Theory, but at the same time I wish Low End would find another home."

*Reviews from Yelp


Other News and Links:

• The Bar Rescue makeover happened in February 2017, so over a year before the episode aired.
• Here are two preview videos of the episode from the Paramount YouTube page - Video 1, Video 2
• Here is The Airliner Facebook page.
• Here is The Airliner's liquor license which is still valid. (Link)
• It seems like The Airliner rents out the bar to promoters often.  Wednesday nights are Low End Theory at the bar and Tuesday's are Tacos, Booze and Blues.  Their Facebook Page has a lot of posts from all of the promoters promoting events. 
• The Airliner is currently listed for sale for $450,000. It was listed for sale in February of 2018 and in the listing it says, "Owner would like to now focus on a different business." (Link)

Conclusion:

The Airliner has more negative reviews than positive reviews since Bar Rescue came and made the changes to the bar.  People seem to complain about the service, the rude staff and the dirty bathrooms while some people like the events held at the bar.  The Airliner is currently listed for sale for $450,000 and was put on the market a year after the Bar Rescue makeover.


UPDATE - The Airliner closed for a bit, then reopened in January 2020 under new ownership who kept the name.  It is now marked as sold on the Bar Rescue Updates page.


*To see how all of the bars from Bar Rescue are doing, go to the Bar Rescue Updates page, and also Like us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter to stay up to date with all things involving Bar Rescue.