Saturday, March 19, 2022

Stadium Club Bar & Grill (Gilly's Sports Bar) - Bar Rescue Update

In this week's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Dunwoody, Georgia to rescue Gilly's The Spot.  Gilly's is owned by Willie Chandler who has been in the hospitality industry his whole life. The bar is supposedly losing between $2,500 and $5,000 a month and Willie is supposedly $275,000 in debt and 60 days from closing.  The kitchen is so dirty that even the employees will not eat the food there.  Jon needs to get Willie to regain his passion for his bar in hopes that things turn around.



During the Bar Rescue makeover, Jon Taffer decided to change the name of Gilly's The Spot to Stadium Club Bar & Grill and the bar went back to their original name of Gilly's. Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Stadium Club Bar & Grill/Gilly's since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):





Positive Reviews:
  • "Best dive bar in the area, now it's even better that it's been remodeled and now called Stadium Club. New decor as well as a Friday night DJ."
  • "This is a cool bar seems to have some branding issues , we know it as "gully's" the menu says "the spot" and the sign says something else. Things have changed aesthetically since last I was there. There were some updates and the menus changed. Got real busy in a Saturday night it was karaoke. Food is pretty good here . I think the menu is too new for the employees I ordered the slider trio.. three different sliders but I got all one type. No big deal what I had was good so no complaints. It's give that dive bar feel it's a good time. Service isn't the fastest so if you want things right away you might have problems. But everyone was nice."
  • "Very friendly staff. Burgers are great. Check out their daily specials! The place has a new name above the door, something like Stadium Sports Grill. Wouldn't recommend if you're pressed for time."
  • "I had gone to Gilly’s for the first time to celebrate my 21st birthday and it unexpectedly became one of the most unforgettable birthdays ever!! The vibe inside was nice. Our waittress Jenna was SO AWESOME!! Everyone at the place was super nice and welcoming. Their wings were DELICIOUS!! I got mango habanero! They made my birthday so fun and special. Definitely going back! Thank you guys!!!"
  • "Great place. The food was delicious, the staff was friendly and they had a pool table and plenty of TV to watch sports. I was in town from Hawaii with my fiance and wanted to find a good wing spot since we were in the south. They did not disappoint. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone in the Atlanta area who wants wants good sports bar vibe but with good food."

Negative Reviews:
  • "Restaurant opens at Noon, bartender/server showed up at 1215p. Our 4 plates were served separately, about every 5 minutes. I ordered grilled chicken cesar. Got the lettuce, but had to get it to go since the chicken arrived when everyone else was done eating. The kitchen was not short staffed, so not sure of the issue. We were the only customers for the hour we were there."
  • "Charged for a double, didn’t order one. Had a drink that was disgusting, was told I should had ordered something different. Automatic gratuity on 2 guests and a liquor tax. I’m done with this place"

*Reviews from Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google



Other News and Links:
  • The Bar Rescue for Gilly's The Spot happened in December 2021.
  • Here is a preview video of the episode from the Bar Rescue Facebook page.
  • Here is the Gilly's Sports Bar website and Facebook page
  • The social media accounts say Gilly's Sports Bar and they advertise Gilly's The Spot, so they seem to use the names interchangeably.
  • Here are the Facebook pages of Willie (owner), Alonna (bartender), Rena (bartender), Dayzia (bartender)
    • Rena stopped working at the bar in February 2022. (Link)
  • In a local news article, Willie said he was trying to get on the show for five years.  Originally, he didn't have enough drama at the bar, “So, the second time they came, we had a meeting and just made up a whole bunch of stuff,” Chandler said laughing.
    • He said the crew is like family and the fighting and drama was just for the cameras.
    • Regarding the name change, Willie said, "I’m not getting rid of 45 years of history just because the building is curved, so we are going to go back to Gilly’s” 
    • Overall, Willie said he was happy with the renovations.
  • Here are the reviews for Gilly's from Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google


Conclusion:

Jon Taffer decided to change the name of Gilly's The Spot to Stadium Club Bar & Grill, but the bar decided to change their name back to their original name of Gilly's.  The reviews for Gilly's are mostly positive with people liking the food and staff.  The owner Willie said he manufactured drama to get picked to be on Bar Rescue and he is happy with the renovations.  He didn't like the name change just because the building was curved and changed the name back to Gilly's to preserve history.


*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.

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