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Bar Rescue is a pretty good show

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M

Mully

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I've been watching the marathon of the show all day while recovering from a hangover and watching a dog. It's like Kitchen Nightmare's if Gordon Ramsay decided to shit on bar owners and basically throw tens of thousands of dollars at dive bars, etc.
 
Tonight's episode was a local bar that my cousin's friend own and now I feel like I have to go there once and get that German chocolate drink. :P
 
Saw a promo commercial for the pirate bar rescue... some reason peaked my interest and I decided to watch some of the marathon before the new season premiere. Love it. And man, was the owner of that place a very passionate moron.
 
Hmm..the place linked to for the VOD is like 5 minutes away from me. I've been there a couple times. Now I feel like I have to watch it.
 
The Pirate Episode is... so incredibly bizarre. I like the one-eye dude, he seems genuinely nice.

The people in charge seem to be a bunch of children, though.

Edit: Holy shiet, she went back to being a pirate. I don't think she realizes she's being incredibly selfish. She's burdening her parents, she's going to leave her staff without a job, and her daughter is fucked.
 
yea the pirate episode was a hard one to watch, how can people be so ignorant and blind , I feel really sorry for those employees . but I am hoping that the place does gets shut down
 
Restaurants Impossible and Bar Rescue are awesome shows.

I love how John Taffer doesn't take any shit. I also love how he breaks down the surrounding area and talks about bar science.
 
hwalker84 said:
Restaurants Impossible and Bar Rescue are awesome shows.

I love how John Taffer doesn't take any shit. I also love how he breaks down the surrounding area and talks about bar science.
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Yeah its pretty cool how he breaks down the local area and knows exactly what to turn the bar into.
 
pretty much all the shows on Spike are pretty cool. 1000 ways to die, Bar rescue, the show about those two guys who buy, fix then sell houses, that auction show and even the new World's wildest police chases is really entertaining.
 
Slayven said:
The Piratez ep was godlike. Goddamn you could not make that shit up.
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That bar is in my neighborhood.

The idea of turning a quirky little bar based on pirates into a bar that looks like an office, and had conservative humor on the walls was one of the dumbest things the showrunners could have done.
 
Eidan said:
That bar is in my neighborhood.

The idea of turning a quirky little bar based on pirates into a bar that looks like an office, and had conservative humor on the walls was one of the dumbest things the showrunners could have done.
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Piratz doesn't seem all that quirky. It seems god awful that offers hundreds of dishes with a cook that truly does not know how to.
 
Mully said:
Piratz doesn't seem all that quirky. It seems god awful that offers hundreds of dishes with a cook that truly does not know how to.
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It's quirky in that it's a pirate themed bar in the DC metropolitan area. I agree that its biggest problem was that its food was garbage (I also was never a fan of people singing shanties while I'm trying to drink), but the Corporate Bar & Grill idea concocted by the show was just awful, for two main reasons.

1) The owners and staff at Piratz are obviously a little unusual, and the pirate bar offers a form of escapism for them. Moving the bar in the polar opposite direction, as opposed to simply improving the menu and making the pirate themes more subtle and contemporary, was a guaranteed way of ensuring that the new bar would receive no support from the inside. My girlfriend and I ate at Corporate shortly after the show left, and it was clear that the staff hated the changes. They were still decked out in pirate gear, several items on the menu were scratched off just days after the show had left, and they were still pushing their old menu.

2) After a long day's work, what made the showrunners think that people would want to go to a bar that looked and felt just like their office? It was madness. Corporate Bar & Grill had one of the most lifeless, uninteresting interiors of any bar I'd step foot into in the area. Your run of the mill Greene Turtle had more character.
 
The woman is in way over her head. She was given the chance to make some actual money through the relaunch which also trained her staff and gave her a chef. As quirky as Piratz was, it was not going to make any money. It needs to offer to the corporate crowd to make money, whether that theme was good or not does not take away from the fact that the relaunch did more for that market than Piratz would have ever done.
 
I love the show but the success rate of the bars after he leaves is pretty lousy.

Besides the fact that some of his concepts really make me scratch my head (the most obvious being The Corporate mentioned above) it goes to show you that it's a lot harder to change people/culture than it is to change a name and the decorations.

I was glad that the guy who runs The Chicken Bone in MA seemed to be doing a lot better.
 
i watched it for a moment. couldnt keep watching when I realized how fake it was when they dont seem to follow any real life alcohol establishment regulations.
 
yeah, i don't think a pirate bar would survive but "the corporate" was a bad idea. you leave the office to get away from that shit, even the corporate logo was stuffy as hell. it was obvious that the owner and staff were passionate about their pirate shit, they should have just got help with that. replace the terrible food, improve the over sweetened drinks, and update the decor.

oh, by the way. was was up with the own owner and her italian boy toy luciano? dudes will do a lot for a green card these days.
 
bangai-o said:
i watched it for a moment. couldnt keep watching when I realized how fake it was when they dont seem to follow any real life alcohol establishment regulations.
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That's my issue with the show (and a lot of shows these days): I cannot tell what is real and what isn't.

Still an enjoyable show though!
 
Mully said:
The woman is in way over her head. She was given the chance to make some actual money through the relaunch which also trained her staff and gave her a chef. As quirky as Piratz was, it was not going to make any money. It needs to offer to the corporate crowd to make money, whether that theme was good or not does not take away from the fact that the relaunch did more for that market than Piratz would have ever done.
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I agree wholeheartedly. Which is why I don't understand why the show didn't use successful bars in the area as a model (Quarry House, or Jackie's Sidebar). You don't need a gimmick or shtick. Just good food and a relaxing atmosphere.
 
Eidan said:
1) The owners and staff at Piratz are obviously a little unusual, and the pirate bar offers a form of escapism for them. Moving the bar in the polar opposite direction, as opposed to simply improving the menu and making the pirate themes more subtle and contemporary, was a guaranteed way of ensuring that the new bar would receive no support from the inside. My girlfriend and I ate at Corporate shortly after the show left, and it was clear that the staff hated the changes. They were still decked out in pirate gear, several items on the menu were scratched off just days after the show had left, and they were still pushing their old menu.
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I haven't seen the Piratez/Corporate episode... but a bunch of pirates working in a corporate office themed bar sounds like some sort of bizarre social commentary and three times quirky/weird than straight up pirate themed.
 
Perspicacity said:
I haven't seen the Piratez/Corporate episode... but a bunch of pirates working in a corporate office themed bar sounds like some sort of bizarre social commentary and three times quirky/weird than straight up pirate themed.
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One guy actually lost one eye in a sword fight and now wears an eye patch.
 
I saw the Piratz episode. One of the stats that the show used to justify "corporate" was that during the lunch hour, there were 3x the number of people walking the streets and they all averaged a salary of $90k+. After the suits end their work day, the city cleared out and the townies that were left made an average of $30k.

Seems like the owners cared very little about actually appealing to the customers, and were just more interested in having a year round Halloween party. I guess I can get on board with that, but it doesn't seem like a good idea for a business.

Read the Yelp reviews, and it sounds like they went right back to Piratz a few weeks after the show.
 
Eidan said:
It's quirky in that it's a pirate themed bar in the DC metropolitan area. I agree that its biggest problem was that its food was garbage (I also was never a fan of people singing shanties while I'm trying to drink), but the Corporate Bar & Grill idea concocted by the show was just awful, for two main reasons.

1) The owners and staff at Piratz are obviously a little unusual, and the pirate bar offers a form of escapism for them. Moving the bar in the polar opposite direction, as opposed to simply improving the menu and making the pirate themes more subtle and contemporary, was a guaranteed way of ensuring that the new bar would receive no support from the inside. My girlfriend and I ate at Corporate shortly after the show left, and it was clear that the staff hated the changes. They were still decked out in pirate gear, several items on the menu were scratched off just days after the show had left, and they were still pushing their old menu.

2) After a long day's work, what made the showrunners think that people would want to go to a bar that looked and felt just like their office? It was madness. Corporate Bar & Grill had one of the most lifeless, uninteresting interiors of any bar I'd step foot into in the area. Your run of the mill Greene Turtle had more character.
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The man isn't perfect. They definitely screwed up with Piratez and the theme. 1 bad rescue out of how many? Not too bad.
 
Totally agree. Started watching it yesterday and now I'm hooked.

SniperHunter said:
pretty much all the shows on Spike are pretty cool. 1000 ways to die, Bar rescue, the show about those two guys who buy, fix then sell houses, that auction show and even the new World's wildest police chases is really entertaining.
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I didn't think I would enjoy any House flipping shows, watched an Episode of Flip men ad enjoyed it.
 
I'm really torn on this show. I've seen a fair number of episodes and I like the concept, but I can't stand the host.
 
The Downey's episode was pretty good too. That chef/owner Dominic was pretty depressed and it showed in his business. Taffer and Co. came in, and from the looks of it, helped him start to work out of his depression. However, judging from the Yelp! reviews he went back to his old ways after the show.
 
The weird thing about this show and Restaurant Impossible is that they try to turn every rescue effort into the same place. Everything turns into a hip looking place where the food is always fresh, but you're going to play $18 for a piece of fish and $9 for a cocktail.

Now, I would like to hang out in places like that, but that can't be the only successful business model out there, and I doubt that it fits the demands of every neighborhood out there.
 
i was actually at the grand re-opening for the episode of the Canyon inn from season 1. Its ok...and i just found out they re did this other bar i used to go to and my Gf was a regular at ( the Olive Pit from season 2)...have been there since the reopening. That place was a shit house.
 
I watched the first 4 episodes last night. I can hardly believe these bars can even survive for as long as they have before the "rescue". It's cool to see the host bring the heat down on these people and their horrid business models that have lead them to disaster in the first place.

It is annoying that all the reopenings seem to be the same. Short menu items with an emphasis on cocktails.
 
i went to the olive pit a couple times while in college. god that place was nasty. everyone was smoking in it too.

everyone in the area knows Paul's is the best dive bar!
 
Slo said:
The weird thing about this show and Restaurant Impossible is that they try to turn every rescue effort into the same place. Everything turns into a hip looking place where the food is always fresh, but you're going to play $18 for a piece of fish and $9 for a cocktail.

No, I would like to hang out in places like that, but that can't be the only successful business model out there, and I doubt that it fits the demands of every neighborhood out there.
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Totally. Some of the places just come off as pre-fab after they're renovated and each one has the same vibe: New, cool, expensive. That vibe works for a certain crowd, but there are some towns and neighborhoods that just don't have that crowd.

A bar does not need to be known for their food, special mixed drinks, or gimmicks. A bar has to have character and make a customer feel comfortable. Crispy french fries and mixed drink machines are secondary. That's what I hate about these makeover shows. They're all the same when it comes to actually making it over, they add some new gadgets and then punch out.

This program is pretty good, but I'd really like to see Taffer, Ramsay, or someone else come into a place and actually retrain the staff and teach the owners to truly be an owner for more than one week. A good percentage of the bars/restaurants/hotels fail after because of the owner doing nothing after the "rescue." The hosts lay the groundwork but nothing can be really accomplished unless the owner changes and it's not possible in a week.
 
Just watched the Pirates episode, and the Irish bar on the beach episode.


It's a stupidly entertaining show, like most reality TV shows. I'd watch it if I came across it one TV one night.
 
Slo said:
Read the Yelp reviews, and it sounds like they went right back to Piratz a few weeks after the show.
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They did. The show was right in that the population in the area dwindles enormously after work hours, when Discovery Communications and NOAA employees head home. But there are successful bars in the area, and the one thing they all have in common are relaxed, comfortable ambiance, and good food at a decent price. The only thing you need to succeed here. That and decent location, which Piratz has.
 
Clydefrog said:
i went to the olive pit a couple times while in college. god that place was nasty. everyone was smoking in it too.

everyone in the area knows Paul's is the best dive bar!
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One been there once. Im watching the Olive pit episode there now. I heard that the ladies a the olive pit got fired cause they would rub the shot glasses on their vaginas before pouring the shots. Heard that froma friend who spoke to Tatiana who is in that episode. #gross
 
jossueinacoma said:
One been there once. Im watching the Olive pit episode there now. I heard that the ladies a the olive pit got fired cause they would rub the shot glasses on their vaginas before pouring the shots. Heard that froma friend who spoke to Tatiana who is in that episode. #gross
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the ladies a the olive pit got fired cause they would rub the shot glasses on their vaginas before pouring the shots
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they would rub the shot glasses on their vaginas before pouring the shots
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shot glasses on their vaginas
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on their vaginas
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WAT
 
HATED the Pirate episode. That owner just pissed me off. What a waste for everyone involved but I loved the cameo of a bar owner that the show had helped in an earlier ep
 
I also love the show and if anything I'll be sure to catch the last 15 minutes. Some of the names he comes up with seem weird to me but what do I know.
 
Just saw the show, and wow, its like a better Kitchen Nightmares (US). It's amazing how much money they pour into the renovations too! Great stuff, thanks for the recommendation!
 
JavyOO7 said:
My sister introduced me to the show earlier today. Its godlike. Great concept and the host takes no BS from the bars/clubs owners that he's trying to save. They even have VODS for a lot of the episodes I think.

http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/zy0ol9/bar-rescue-beach-bummer-season-1-ep-104

I'm watching episode 4 of Season 1. When you make your way down a bit you'll see season 1 and 2 episodes. Great show and glad I gave it a chance.
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LMFAO, that episode has C&C Kane's Wrath theme song at the beginning when introducing the bar...
 
I'm watching episode 3 of season 2 and I feel really bad for Tammy, the cook. Her hygiene issues (touching raw chicken and then cooked products) are shocking but she seems like a sweet person that was shocked by John Taffer's tirade.
 
I work at a bar and a lot of the messes that Taffer points out make me laugh pretty hard, they fail at the most basic elements of customer service, efficiency in taking the orders and getting the food out and what happens when you do not clean the equipment properly
 
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