Bar Rescue 5x12

1. Stop.

2. - You ripped my shirt.

3. █ This year 6,500 failing bars nationwide

4. will close their doors for good.

5. If things don't change soon, Triple Nickel Tavern

6. in Colorado Springs, Colorado,

7. will become just another statistic.

8. In 2005, after spending his twenties touring with bands,

9. punk rocker JJ Greuter decided to go

10. into the bar business his second act.

11. I was a traveling musician since high school.

12. And then I turned 30 and didn't have much of a skill set,

13. so I just decided to try my hand at running a bar.

14. I've known JJ since high school. We're best buds.

15. - Don't egg him on. - I've been working here,

16. bartending, since the bar's opened.

17. At first, the Triple Nickel Tavern was a hardcore success.

18. █ When we first opened, we were the only

19. rock 'n roll bar in town.

20. We were bringing in about $25,000 a month.

21. █ But shortly after opening the bar,

22. JJ experienced a series of devastating

23. personal tragedies in his family.

24. █ Right after the bar opened, my sister died.

25. She had cancer. Then my mom got diagnosed with cancer.

26. She died about a year later.

27. And then a couple years after that,

28. my big brother got cancer and he died as well.

29. That kinda put me in a bad place.

30. I kinda really just didn't give a anymore.

31. I gave up. It was just too much.

32. I definitely feel it's had a toll on him.

33. The bar just wasn't that important to me anymore.

34. █ Now, JJ's bar has a reputation

35. for being his private punk rock clubhouse.

36. We've been around each other for so long...

37. That's from last night.

38. It turns into hitting.

39. Just don't.

40. Then it escalates.

41. It's like a frat house,

42. only we're old, so it's more pathetic.

43. Yeah.

44. █ And the clubhouse has ostracized new customers,

45. especially women.

46. Bye, bye, bye!

47. It's just, like, a man-cave vibe.

48. It tends to be more of a guy's place, for sure.

49. In 2015, JJ hired bar manager Jacob

50. in an attempt to keep Triple Nickel

51. from adding to its $150,000 debt.

52. What's frustrating here, trying to manage the bar,

53. is getting the owner to comply with instilling structure here.

54. It seems to be just a hang-out for his friends.

55. Did you buy toilet paper for the bar?

56. Why would I do that?

57. But instead of respecting Jacob as a leader,

58. JJ treated him like a punk.

59. Dude, wait. Wait a minute.

60. I don't make the situation easier for him, I know that,

61. but he overreacts.

62. I sometimes want to hit JJ in face.

63. Now, JJ's second career

64. could be facing its final performance.

65. The Triple Nickel is beyond in danger at this point.

66. If we can't find a way to change things now,

67. this will not last another six months.

68. It crushes me every month when I'm doing the books

69. and I'm realizing that I can't sustain it anymore.

70. The Triple Nickel, it was my dad's squadron in Vietnam and Korea.

71. My dad is 72 years old,

72. and if I ended up closing the Nickel,

73. it would break my heart.

74. █ To keep from being a post punk disaster,

75. JJ has decided to pull back the doors,

76. bust open the books, and make a call for help...

77. to "Bar Rescue".

78. Jon and his experts arrive at the Triple Nickel Tavern—

79. a 2,500 square foot music venue

80. with an "L" shaped bar and an open kitchen.

81. There it is guys. The Triple Nickel Tavern.

82. - JJ's our owner. - Okay.

83. JJ's a rock n' roll guy. Loves his punk.

84. He bought the bar 11 years ago.

85. This bar is named the Triple Nickel.

86. JJ's father was part

87. of the 555 fighter squadron,

88. - so this name has meaning. - That's kind of cool.

89. So we don't want to just discard it, but, Jesus, look at this place.

90. At my last punk rock bar, Black Light District,

91. the owner was so difficult, I had to walk out.

92. - Go home. We don't want you here anyways. - Oh, really?

93. I hope this isn't a similar situation.

94. It's kind of confusing.

95. The logo looks like it's kind of a country bar.

96. █ For the bar, Jon brings in mixologist Lisamarie Joyce.

97. Her no-nonsense knack for training can nudge a staff full of punks

98. into a staff full of rock stars in no time.

99. Notice the front of the building,

100. looks a little like a garage door, doesn't it?

101. Yeah.

102. So I'm guessing this was a garage

103. or repair shop or something at some point.

104. Here's the inside of this place.

105. It lacks color, does it not?

106. It's just really bland.

107. Brown and lifeless.

108. For the kitchen, Jon brings in Jason Santos.

109. This chef's ability to craft classic comfort foods with complex flavors

110. can jump start any ailing culinary program.

111. Look at the wood with the vertical beams and that wood structure.

112. He built something that sorta looks country, but he's into punk.

113. It's strange. Most of the people I know that are into punk,

114. if they had a venue it would be steel and dark colors.

115. But this is just like a cheery country bar.

116. I alone put the hardwood floor in and put your kitchen in.

117. There's Steven. He's one of your bartenders, Lise.

118. Okay.

119. A shot of tequila? How do you do that?

120. There's Randy. He's another one of your bartenders.

121. They're off tonight.

122. Really should do a shot. I just did three.

123. They're doing what they normally do on their nights off—

124. - hanging at the bar. - Right.

125. Look at those girls from Adam's work.

126. Yeah, the blonde with the— Tits McGee over there.

127. - Oh, my God. - The blonde with the tits.

128. That's the owner, ladies and gentlemen.

129. And his buddies, I'm told, come and hang out,

130. and they act like it's his basement

131. rather than it's his business.

132. To good livin'.

133. This guy is losing $2,000 a month.

134. He's borrowed a $150,000 from his family.

135. If we don't turn this bar around,

136. he's going to be financially ruined.

137. Can I get any of this out of your way?

138. There's Jacob. He's our manager.

139. There's Vincent. He's another bartender.

140. That's a lot of men behind that bar.

141. It is. And there's Sierra, another bartender.

142. Okay.

143. Do y'all have a tab open or you cashing out?

144. "Where's the cook?",

145. would be the first question I'd wanna know.

146. They don't open their kitchen.

147. They don't open their kitchen?

148. It's now about 8 o'clock at night.

149. When somebody orders food,

150. what's the next thing they order?

151. - A drink! - Obviously.

152. Look at the sales they're missing.

153. - We're gonna open it. - Absolutely.

154. Oh, that— wouldn't that be nice?

155. We got pickles.

156. You see any women in here?

157. It is a sausage fest.

158. █ The absence of women doesn't only effect men,

159. it actually has a greater effect upon women.

160. 'Cause you want to

161. go to a place where there's other women,

162. - and you feel safe being there. - Absolutely.

163. If we can't get some women to come here,

164. then they can't possibly make money.

165. No.

166. This is a gentrified, pretty hip neighborhood.

167. For recon, I wanted bring in people that fit that demo.

168. They're sorta like them.

169. They're from the local community,

170. but they're not part of the club.

171. And what I find often happens in a bar like this,

172. is the regulars take over.

173. The worst enemy of the business,

174. is in fact, the existing customers in that case.

175. And they don't want new customers coming in,

176. because you take up their space and you invade upon their scene.

177. Hey, guys, what can I grab y'all?

178. Could you grab us a couple of menus?

179. Uh, we don't actually have food right now.

180. █ Can you make a Bahama Mama?

181. I don't know what a Bahama Mama is.

182. I'll be honest with you.

183. I'm sorry about the menu, that I don't know it,

184. but I can do you anything else you want me to do.

185. You just told your guest you don't know the menu?

186. I'll just do the cherry lime soda.

187. Sure.

188. Hey, how do I make the cherry lemonade?

189. Cherry lemonade?

190. The cherry lime— cherry lemonade soda.

191. - Cherry lemon soda. - Ask Jacob.

192. Jacob put it on there. I don't know—

193. He put them on there a couple weeks ago.

194. I don't what any of that is.

195. Excuse me?

196. The owner doesn't know how to make the drinks.

197. He doesn't give a.

198. - Cherry limeade? - Cherry lemonade.

199. I don't know. What's on that menu Jacob put on there?

200. I don't know what the that is.

201. I have no idea what I'm making right now.

202. Go tell her. She asked me. I don't know. Figure it out.

203. - Look at this pour. - Oh, my— she's a mess.

204. Half of that pint is liquor.

205. That's like a pitcher.

206. That is almost a full pint of liquor.

207. It's way too strong. I feel like a face.

208. face? Who is this?

209. I have two of the cherry lemonades.

210. Do you not want me to make 'em?

211. I don't give a what you do.

212. Hey, hey, hey, bro? Hey, bro.

213. - Hey, bro. - Look at him. Is he drunk?

214. Stop.

215. Did this guy just open this bar

216. and hire all his friends?

217. That's what it looks like.

218. - What's that? - It's a cherry limeade.

219. - Cool. - Who's it for?

220. I don't know. I already made the cherry lemon soda shot—

221. or drinks for two people.

222. I thought you said you need cherry limeade.

223. Oh, boy, we've got a band tuning up here.

224. This song is called "Explode".

225. He's telling him, "Good job tonight.

226. Everything's running flawlessly.

227. Cocktails are great, band packed the room.

228. Did you see any signs in front of this bar

229. that says that there's a band like this playing tonight?

230. - No. - If you had lights on the band

231. and you produced it properly, this isn't terrible.

232. But the owner pays no attention to the band when it's on stage,

233. pays no attention to customers when they come in.

234. What exactly does this guy pay attention to?

235. - Let me get the 555 root beer float. - Okay.

236. █ With one of Billy's Punchies.

237. Hey, is a Billy's Punch a shot, Jacob?

238. - Huh? - Billy's Punch— shot or rocks?

239. Billy's Punchies? I don't know.

240. You have to ask Steve, I told you that.

241. This is embarrassing.

242. How did Vinnie not know how to make a punchie?

243. - And he's working. - I don't know how.

244. How do you not know how to make a punchie?

245. You made a menu of it and you don't know how to make a punchie.

246. I was told to put it on the menu.

247. - By who? - You.

248. Randy, get out of the way.

249. Did you guys ask me to make a shot?

250. You did, but now you're just standing there looking at me.

251. - Well, that. - I'm so sorry.

252. Can I have a Three Amigos shot?

253. A Three Amigos? To be honest with you, I don't...

254. No matter what you ask for, they do not have something.

255. █ And he's over there, doesn't have any idea

256. the struggle that that table is in,

257. but he's gonna take a shot with his buddies.

258. - you. - Yeah, I got smokes.

259. Hey, how about you do your damn job?

260. - This is degrading. - King of his castle, isn't he?

261. There's my nipple right there, the whole time. This is humiliating.

262. Oh, poor drunken-ass Randy,

263. who hangs out here every day,

264. drinks a hundred dollars worth of booze.

265. You know why this bar's failing?

266. Randy!

267. Randy does not waste...

268. I'll be honest with with you guys.

269. I have no idea what's going on right now.

270. Watch this.

271. You got nothing?

272. I'm trying to think of something,

273. but coming up with nothing.

274. You mother.

275. Stop it. Don't punch me anymore.

276. I swear! Aah!

277. You're hurting my arm!

278. Punch you, mother.

279. There's people here, stop it.

280. - Do something. - I'm not getting in between it.

281. I told you guys a 100 times.

282. You gonna pull my hair again?

283. - Pull my hair, go ahead. - He's instigating.

284. - They're like teenagers. - Yeah.

285. What happened?

286. - Oh, my God. - There you go. There you go.

287. Look at this fricking place.

288. Get down. get down there.

289. Have you ever seen anything like that before?

290. I've never seen anything like this.

291. I'm gonna you up.

292. He degrades his manager, fights with his staff.

293. You should have left when you could, you.

294. I'm going in there. This is too degrading to watch.

295. Go home.

296. Tell him to get the out.

297. No! It doesn't matter what I do. He just comes back.

298. - Tell him— - You guys have to stop.

299. tell him to go home.

300. So, you like degrading him, don't you?

301. - Me? - Yeah, 'cause you're a big shot,

302. you can make him lay down on the floor.

303. And you enjoy degrading him in front of everyone.

304. Who here thought he was a jerk for doing that to him?

305. So you when up to him, started it,

306. and then degraded him.

307. Now, I've degraded you! How do you like it?

308. Tell him he's an ass!

309. You're a ass!

310. You want me to fix your ass and your bar?

311. Lay down on the floor like he did.

312. Go ahead. Do it ass!

313. - Put me on the floor. - This is getting awkward.

314. Lay down on the floor!

315. I'm not getting on the floor.

316. Then I'm not rescuing your bar.

317. I'm not getting on the floor.

318. Then I'm not rescuing your bar.

319. Save the Nickel! Save the Nickel!

320. Save the Nickel! Save the Nickel!

321. Really? , really?

322. Now you know what it's like to be

323. a degraded piece of!

324. Get out of here now so there's no fights. Go home!

325. If you humble up, I'll help you tomorrow.

326. Good night, everybody.

327. JJ needs to feel what it's like to be bullied.

328. Now, I hope he humbles up,

329. 'cause tomorrow, I'll help him rescue his bar,

330. but tonight, he's gotta think about rescuing himself.

331. - Vincent: Damn - Wow

332. - Holy. - Man: Holy, dude.

333. I think JJ needed that.

334. Maybe a little butt kicking put him in his place.

335. Hopefully, Jon's like the drill sergeant.

336. He's gonna come in and kick our butts

337. and put us back where we should be.

338. I need a shot.

339. I need ten shots, is what I need.

340. JJ: Randy was drunk, out of control,

341. going behind the bar when he didn't need to,

342. and for some reason, I'm the ass.

343. I think Jon Taffer has it all wrong.

344. If you want me to throw your best friend out,

345. you're gonna regret it in the morning.

346. And tomorrow you're gonna have him back.

347. Get the out of here.

348. █ Today, I want to meet with the staff right away.

349. How does an owner and his best friends act this way

350. in the middle of a bar that's supposed to be a business?

351. Today, I'm hoping JJ is humble, has an open mind,

352. and understands I'm not messing around.

353. I'm here to take care of business.

354. - Hello. - How you doing?

355. Come on over, guys, let's talk.

356. Should we meet properly?

357. - Jon. - JJ. Nice to meet you.

358. - Randy. Nice to meet you. - Randy.

359. I was a ball-buster on you last night, wasn't I?

360. You were.

361. Let me tell you what I saw sitting outside.

362. I sent a bunch of customers in here that are part of your lifestyle—

363. look, dress, pretty much act like you do.

364. most of the drinks they asked for, they couldn't get.

365. How many times did you say to them, "I don't know"?

366. - I can't even tell you. - I can't do. I don't know how to?

367. Good employee, trying her hardest—

368. had no knowledge whatsoever.

369. The owner of the bar is egging an employee on,

370. embarrassing him, making yourself a big shot

371. 'cause you can push a drunken fool to the floor.

372. - You don't even remember last night. - Not much of it.

373. So, did you let him drink?

374. I did.

375. Did you let him come behind your bar and drink?

376. I did.

377. How often does that happen?

378. Almost every night.

379. Too many drinks, and it's our little clubhouse

380. and we're immature little kids.

381. Have you seen customers that just don't come back?

382. Oh, absolutely.

383. And you let him do it anyway.

384. He's my best friend.

385. A best friend who comes into your business,

386. doesn't pay for drinks, gives them away to other people,

387. is a drunken fool, chases customers out the door,

388. knows it, continues to do it anyway.

389. You're perpetuating his failure aren't you?

390. - I'm not trying to. - But you are.

391. How long have you two known each other?

392. Since we were about 14, 15.

393. So you guys have been around with each other

394. like I saw last night your whole lives.

395. Absolutely.

396. And you're running out of money. Do you have money to keep going?

397. If this didn't happen, we probably wouldn't be open next month.

398. You're the general manager here.

399. You couldn't even kick him out last night, could you?

400. A lot of times, we've let people go

401. and they're just back the next week.

402. - I need to feel empowered. - Do you have a future here?

403. Not if it keeps going this way.

404. I need you guys to be on board.

405. I'm trying hard. It's effecting me a lot.

406. - I know. - You're my second family.

407. I need you guys to respect each other and respect me,

408. and we need to get this going,

409. 'cause it's not fun to come here anymore.

410. It wasn't always like this.

411. The first five years this place was open, I did care.

412. What happened? I want to understand. Help me understand you, JJ.

413. I opened the bar. My sister passed away. She was 34.

414. A couple months after that, my mom got breast cancer.

415. She died two years after that.

416. And then my big brother got leukemia

417. and passed away two years after that.

418. I kinda hit rock bottom.

419. Pretty devastating things happened in a seven, eight-year span.

420. You've had some rotten luck, buddy.

421. But you realize that rotten luck ended when I showed up.

422. God, I hope so.

423. Let me tell you a story, personal.

424. My dad died when he was 34.

425. 34 was a tough year for me.

426. Fact of the matter is, I'm gonna make it to 80.

427. And the reality of it is, I'll lay it on you,

428. if I didn't change one thing in this bar physically,

429. and I just took it over as a manager,

430. I'd have this place profitable in three weeks

431. without changing one physical thing.

432. I'll build you a cool bar.

433. But the problem is not the bar.

434. It's this. The club is not an asset,

435. and it's this dynamic that has to end, guys.

436. He's going down the tubes, you get that?

437. This bar is gonna financially bankrupt him.

438. Do you want to be a part of his success or his failure?

439. His success, for sure.

440. You play a pivotal part in helping me get him out of this fricking circle.

441. I can do it. I think it's time.

442. It's ready to change, for sure.

443. - When did you buy this place? - Ten years ago.

444. - What is Triple Nickel? - My dad's squadron.

445. His fighting squadron?

446. So, you put your father's name on it and you opened it.

447. Did he fight for you to piss away his money

448. drinking with your best friend?

449. No.

450. What would he say if he saw that?

451. I'm not sure.

452. - Would he be proud of you? - Probably not.

453. He'd say, "You pissed away my money

454. that I worked my whole life for like this?

455. This is where you make money. This is where you're straight.

456. Out there is where you cut loose.

457. Would he say that?

458. If you don't want to come through for yourself,

459. come through for them, you hear me?

460. - Yes. - Okay.

461. Guys, this is a rock n' roll bar.

462. It's gotta stay a rock n' roll bar.

463. We gotta make this place cool again.

464. I brought some great experts with me—

465. Lisamarie Joyce and Jason Santos.

466. You'll notice I didn't bring a conservative team with me.

467. I brought a team that has a little edge, a little style.

468. That's where we're going.

469. We're gonna go to work and start training.

470. Absolutely.

471. Not holding up a good standard.

472. My family name, my dad— disheartening.

473. I wanna make this place awesome again.

474. Today we're going to train. Last night was a disaster.

475. They had no idea how to make basic drinks

476. and all I heard from Sierra was,

477. "I don't know how to make that."

478. Jon and I have created cocktails for them

479. that are all the same recipes,

480. just different ingredients.

481. It should be really easy, but you never know.

482. Let's talk about last night.

483. Mo one knew the cocktails. Where are the recipes written down at?

484. It's on there, that's it.

485. And I don't even know how to make the punchie.

486. What's in the punchie? Do you know the recipe?

487. - Nope. - Do you know the recipe?

488. - Do you know the recipe? - No, ma'am.

489. - Do you know the recipe? - No.

490. I've never seen that menu before until last night.

491. And who trained you behind the bar?

492. - Uh, nobody? - Jacob, that's insane.

493. As a manager, you got to take charge of that.

494. Your guests thought she was a joke last night.

495. I don't know why you would work for somebody

496. who would set you up to look like an idiot.

497. The only people besides our recon last night

498. I saw in here were your friends.

499. We've gotta draw other people.

500. We gotta bring women in here,

501. so it's not a man party.

502. The more ladies you have, what else you gonna get?

503. - More guys. - More guys.

504. And then they're gonna buy drinks for those ladies.

505. When there is a band in here, how busy is it?

506. - It's pretty packed. - Pretty busy.

507. We can't have cocktails where we're muddling

508. and it's got ten different ingredients, right?

509. It would be setting you up for failure.

510. So, you've gotta make a cocktail list that makes sense,

511. a lot of the same ingredients, but different flavors.

512. So, let's start with tequila.

513. We're just gonna do a half ounce of lemon juice.

514. Half ounce of blackberry syrup,

515. and then we're gonna grab our tequila

516. and we're gonna do an ounce and a half.

517. So, I'm gonna fill this with ice.

518. Now I'm gonna cap it and I'm gonna shake it.

519. Here's the important part.

520. Put it up here and I look around my bar,

521. smile at somebody, and then I'm gonna cap it and pour it.

522. We got a little bit of a pink hue. We're gonna appeal to those ladies.

523. I'm gonna grab two blackberries.

524. There's your blackberry tequila drink.

525. - You like it? - Yeah, it's refreshing.

526. - I hear we like our bourbon here, right? - Yeah.

527. The first thing we're gonna do again,

528. we're gonna grab our lemon juice.

529. It's gonna be half an ounce.

530. We're gonna do a half ounce of vanilla.

531. And then last, but not least,

532. how much booze am I putting in here?

533. - Ounce and a half. - Ounce and a half.

534. Shake it over my shoulder.

535. Perfect pour every time with that recipe.

536. Garnish with a lemon wedge,

537. and, boom, there is your whiskey cocktail.

538. - Yeah, that's awesome. - Good, balanced, and easy.

539. We look professional when we're making it,

540. but our guests don't know how frickin' simple it is.

541. Cocktails would definitely do very well here.

542. They're very simple.

543. All the ingredients are virtually the same.

544. Now I don't have to sit there and ask how to make something.

545. - All right, you are gonna make the bourbon one. - Yes.

546. Tonight's the stress test.

547. Jacob, tonight, he needs to get a voice.

548. He's gotta make sure that he's holding a standard

549. and he's got everybody organized.

550. Tonight's gonna be a true testament of how much

551. he can handle at once. All right, guys.

552. Today, I'm gonna be cross-training the staff.

553. There's no cooks, so I gotta get someone

554. to step up to the plate, teach them as much as I can,

555. and get them to produce food.

556. Last night, at the bar when I was watching,

557. I saw no activity in the kitchen.

558. I was wondering why was I even here?

559. Last night, I didn't see any food, you know?

560. You have everything. it's crazy not to sell food.

561. It's like free money, right?

562. When people get to watch their food being prepared

563. guest satisfaction goes up 17 percent.

564. - Would you agree? Open kitchen— - Oh, totally.

565. - Fun? - Oh, yeah

566. Every percent, more money.

567. So, we're gonna start with something that's so simple.

568. Given the skill set, we're gonna make a really good burger—

569. good beef, little bit of black pepper, and a little bit of salt.

570. Right on the griddle. I have some cheddar cheese,

571. Put the cheese on the burger. Gonna let it sit for a minute.

572. We're gonna serve this with some tater tots.

573. We have a spicy ranch. A little bit on the top,

574. a little bit on the bottom. Fresh tomato,

575. nicely cooked burger, pickled jalapenos.

576. These are delicious. Crispy onions. Let's try this.

577. That is awesome. I don't think I've ever had spicy ranch before.

578. Do you think your customers are gonna like this?

579. - I think so, yeah. - That is awesome.

580. Big night, let's do this, yeah? Cool.

581. I'm about to start my stress test,

582. and tonight, Jacob needs to be a manager

583. and JJ needs to be involved in his business.

584. So, tonight I want to see JJ come out of the kitchen

585. and work on the floor,

586. raising the standards of his bar.

587. And I wanna see these bartenders execute properly.

588. Let's hope Randy stays sober

589. and is a real contributor to—

590. - Woo!

591. Welcome to the Triple Nickel! Come on in.

592. How you doing today? What can I help y'all with?

593. Me, too.

594. - Where can I have this? - Just put it in front of me.

595. You made three in one thing, and so this won't be balanced.

596. I gotta dump all this.

597. Let me go get a piece of paper

598. so I can write these orders down.

599. How's the product coming out?

600. I have no product out yet.

601. Do you know that they're working on it?

602. - Let me go check on that right now. - Do.

603. Table seven, jalapeño burger.

604. Man, if you can't handle two burgers,

605. I don't wanna see what happens when you get ten in.

606. I need one more lemon on this order and the black and black.

607. Randy, can you get on dishes for me?

608. Try again.

609. Does any tables have drinks, at all?

610. - Not one, right? - No.

611. Raise your hand if you don't have a drink.

612. Guys, look around. Look around.

613. I'm still missing this burger here.

614. I gotta go get glasses.

615. Hey, hey, hey, hey, come here, you guys.

616. Guys, JJ, JJ, stop. Come here.

617. That's not even like, almost cooked.

618. These guys are literally running in circles.

619. It's taking forever. They need to do a better job. That's for sure.

620. This kitchen hasn't been opened before, and it looks it.

621. JJ's trying to help on the cooking line, but he can't.

622. I wanna find the only person who knows how to cook

623. or this is gonna be one ugly stress test.

624. - Jon: Who on your staff says they know how to cook? - Vinnie.

625. - Jon: Vinnie! - Vincent: Yes, sir?

626. Have you worked in a kitchen before?

627. - Yes, a couple kitchens. - Okay, get back here.

628. J, what can you do, JJ, to contribute right now?

629. Can you get drinks out to tables?

630. Can you make drinks? What can you do?

631. - I can— I can do both. - Okay, do it. Move product.

632. Vincent, come through, okay?

633. I will try my best, sir.

634. - Jason: Did you season both sides? - No, one side.

635. Take it off the grill, season both sides, man.

636. Both sides need to be good. I'm not around.

637. Waited about 25 minutes for the burger.

638. The burger's cold, really not any flavor to it.

639. Tater tots are really, really salty,

640. but I'm hungry, so I'm gonna eat it.

641. Hopefully I don't have to use my shirt, though.

642. I don't have any napkins.

643. Oh, I forgot to put ice in there.

644. No!

645. Never, never, never— it's already chipped right here.

646. It's already— we gotta get new ice.

647. - Lisamarie: Burn the ice. - We're burning ice.

648. You do not scoop with a glass. It's not a joke.

649. Glass is for real, it cuts people,

650. and it's taken us like half a hour

651. to get this ice out. I don't understand.

652. Let's go, guys. We gotta move.

653. My name's Lisamarie. It's not sweetheart.

654. We need more people to come here.

655. Do you realize how much money this man is losing?

656. We can't just have you guys in here.

657. We've gotta have more people.

658. This isn't JJ's— Oh, my God.

659. That is the exact problem with this bar.

660. The club house is pissed off

661. because there's new people here.

662. JJ's gonna lose his ass and you won't have a bar to go to.

663. How about that?

664. - Lisamarie: This is why

665. we're losing right here, Jon.

666. - Jon: Why?

667. 'Cause these guys right here we're pissed off they didn't

668. get their drinks right away,

669. because they said all the bartenders are waiting on the new faces.

670. They're pushing customers out, and that right there

671. is why he's gonna lose his ass.

672. They've been bitching the whole time.

673. What's your problem, guys?

674. The fact that he's actually making money tonight?

675. Is that what's bumming you out?

676. 'Cause we're not gonna make money on you, are we?

677. Ooh!

678. I don't want you chasing away my other customers. Do you blame me?

679. You think this is funny?

680. Fact of the matter is I'm building this bar for them.

681. Well then act that way or leave.

682. Do you understand that—

683. Why don't you just go now?

684. 'Cause you made yourselves look like ass.

685. - Be a good guy, man. - Meet some new people.

686. Hey, dudes, if you guys are gonna be dicks,

687. you're gonna have to go, it's not cool. Seriously.

688. Not just cause of me. It's just chill out.

689. If you're, kick rocks.

690. I just told 'em if they didn't like what was gonna happen here

691. or any changes, then don't be here.

692. Tonight wasn't good.

693. We were unprepared, mainly in the kitchen.

694. I would blame me for failing tonight.

695. For not being organized enough.

696. Hopefully we'll be able to learn from it.

697. We've seen everything we need to see, correct?

698. Yes. We're in a bad spot right now.

699. - Okay, so let's shut it down. - Okay.

700. Invite everybody back for the opening.

701. Thank you.

702. All right, guys, we're shutting down.

703. I do apologize.

704. Please come back and give us another shot,

705. we'll try to do you right.

706. You know, a good rock n' roll bar works.

707. - They're just not doing it right. - Not at all.

708. So, I wanna put together a rock n' roll bar concept that makes sense.

709. Now, that building used to be a garage.

710. Rock n' roll was born in garages.

711. Live bands, drinks gotta come out quick.

712. Yep. Rock n' roll, it's gotta be easy, it's gotta be fast,

713. and we gotta make it simple and still appeal to more women.

714. So, with a great signature cocktail program, we can.

715. So when we think about women, in the food program,

716. we gotta do the same thing.

717. I think some really good doughnuts, women love sweets.

718. Something they can carry around, listen to music.

719. Just something that is their skill set.

720. I'll buy a pot of coffee. Let's put together a bar.

721. Sounds good.

722. JJ's had some really difficult breaks with his family,

723. but he has to stop looking back,

724. he has to survive.

725. Today, it's all about hope.

726. So, did you come here when your father was in service?

727. My dad retired here. That's how I ended up here.

728. When you opened this bar,

729. this was really a way that you honored him in the service.

730. Mm-hmm, absolutely.

731. - So were you a close family growing up? - Yes, very close.

732. Since you opened the bar, you had a string of really bad stuff, I know that.

733. Yeah, seems like after one of my family member would pass away

734. within six months, another one got diagnosed with cancer.

735. You sorta lost your spirit a little bit, and I understand.

736. It got— when my big brother went,

737. because I mean that's my big brother, you know?

738. Seeing it happen to him, what chance do I got, you know?

739. You gotta great chance, 'cause you're still here, aren't you?

740. - Yes, I am. - If your brother

741. was sitting next to you, what would he say to you now?

742. "Grow the up."

743. - Wouldn't he tell you to live the days that he lost for him? - Absolutely.

744. This is a celebration of your memory of your brother,

745. your mom, your sister.

746. You got every opportunity to succeed.

747. You're not going anywhere.

748. Fricking do this.

749. There's no reason for you not to.

750. - Ready to fight for this, man? - I am.

751. 'Cause I'll be back to see you in your bar

752. - ten years from now. - I hope so.

753. And we'll have a drink and we'll remember this conversation.

754. So I wanna bring Jacob in now.

755. I want the three of us to have a talk, okay?

756. Hey, buddy.

757. What do you wanna say to Jacob so that we can move forward

758. and he can really assume responsibility for you?

759. You're the one who convinced me not to close the bar,

760. gave you a shot, keep it going.

761. I know I haven't made things easier on you.

762. I know sometimes I step on your toes,

763. but I'm turning it over to you.

764. And if I start getting in your way,

765. you need to tell me to kick rocks, dude.

766. You having my back means the world, so, that's all I've ever needed.

767. You know his ass is on the line. You know that.

768. - Yeah, oh yeah. - Make this happen for him.

769. Absolutely, I'll do it, man.

770. Everything starts fresh, now. Okay?

771. - Cool. - Yeah.

772. JJ's putting his head into the game

773. and showing that we can move forward,

774. and he's willing to let me do my job.

775. I think that a lot of hope's been restored.

776. Everyone's down to make this work

777. because failure's not an option.

778. Hey, guys, how are we doing?

779. - Good. How are you doing? - Doing all right.

780. We've got the cocktails that are basically the same recipe.

781. And then I can't not give you a shot.

782. Because this is a rock bar. I wanted to put something on the menu

783. that related to the Triple Nickel.

784. It's actually gonna be three shots for one person.

785. It's the same shot in each glass, but the garnish is different.

786. Start with an ounce of lime juice.

787. Add one ounce of simple syrup.

788. Then an ounce and a half of tequila.

789. Add ice, shake,

790. and strain into three shot glasses.

791. Garnish with a lime wedge, a sugar rim, and a few dashes of hot sauce.

792. This cocktail is called the Triple Nickel Shot.

793. - I like the last one. - Oh, that's nifty.

794. The great thing about this is one, it's easy to make.

795. Two, it's value for the guest,

796. because they're ordering one shot,

797. but they see three. That's big.

798. JJ, tell me about your experience so far, overall.

799. I feel excited for these guys, to see them kinda come out of the norm,

800. come out of the box that we've been in, you know?

801. Well, now stop. Now you're gonna get me emotional.

802. Because that's an owner. Would your mom be proud?

803. Absolutely.

804. This is the type of stuff my mom liked.

805. - This is the type of stuff your... - Yes, yes.

806. Your mom would have drank tequila?

807. - Oh, yeah. - Oh, my God, I love that.

808. My mom's a tequila drinker too.

809. My mom was a bartender for 20 years when I was a little spud, so.

810. - Your mom was a bartender? - Uh-huh, yeah.

811. - Oh, then you have to succeed, JJ, for her. - Absolutely.

812. That's frickin' cool.

813. So, we've got a lot to train on.

814. 'Cause tomorrow, you get a new bar, and we wanna make sure

815. - you guys look like rock stars, all right? - Yes.

816. All right.

817. So now we're gonna go back to basics,

818. serving very, very, simple, handheld

819. Chocolate Belly Buster, perfect for, you know, a big group.

820. We're gonna take refrigerated biscuit dough,

821. we cut it open, we made it look a little bit of pretty.

822. And then we're gonna take three pieces and drop it in the fryer.

823. So doughnuts come out of the fryer, and while they're hot in the bowl,

824. we're gonna take our cinnamon sugar,

825. and you're gonna see that they're gonna stick right to it.

826. Give 'em a little toss.

827. This is the best homemade doughnut you're ever gonna have.

828. It's very high profit, you're gonna make a ton of money.

829. A little bit of caramel sauce,

830. a little bit of chocolate sauce,

831. and in the short order world,

832. these are called the "Chocolate Belly Buster."

833. So, cool thing about this, in an open kitchen,

834. people are gonna see fresh doughnuts being made.

835. Dude, everybody's gonna get this.

836. With the open kitchen, everybody's

837. gonna see everything getting made, getting prepped,

838. and I think these new items are gonna bring a lot of revenue in,

839. and keep 'em coming back.

840. Along the bottom, I would put "live music dot draft beer."

841. We'll just put the one car right in the middle.

842. Sort of a garage door there, and rock n' roll was created in

843. garages.

844. So we got ourselves a concept, guys.

845. - Hey, buddy. - What's happening?

846. It's funny JJ, when I got here, it was almost

847. like an episode of "Jackass," to be honest with you.

848. I would agree.

849. Losing 2,000 a month?

850. - Tough to swallow. - Jon: Yeah,

851. you were a $150,000 in debt.

852. Not a place we can make money, no more club.

853. You got the courage to do it now

854. 'cause you got the hope. Jacob, feel empowered?

855. I feel a lot more empowered and confident now.

856. I'm excited— it's the best I've felt since I've been here.

857. - Let's turn that determination, that hope... - Yeah.

858. - ... into money tonight. - I'm ready for it.

859. Sierra, Randy, and Vincent have been troopers.

860. You really stepped up. All right, guys, you ready to see your bar?

861. - Yes, sir. - We are.

862. On the count of three. One.

863. Two.

864. - Three. - Damn.

865. Three.

866. - Damn.

867. - Steven: That is awesome. █ - Way better.

868. That's sweet.

869. There it is, brother.

870. It feels like a fresh beginning.

871. The fact that Jon was even here to help us do this,

872. it means everything to me that he kept the name.

873. It's a symbol of my life. Everybody I've lost over the past years,

874. they're probably looking down right now, and they're just as excited as me,

875. and there's a rainbow right behind me.

876. Hopefully that's a good sign of good things to come.

877. - I bet you were scared I would change it too much. - I was terrified.

878. When you drive by, guys, you see that sign. It's still the Triple Nickel.

879. I wanted to give the logo a little more of a hard edge,

880. make it fit a little more rock and roll.

881. What I call "call to actions" on the windows.

882. Gives you reasons to come inside.

883. Live music, draft beer, but when you walk through those doors,

884. that's when the concept comes alive.

885. - You ready to see a cool concept? - Yep.

886. All right, go.

887. - Get it, man. - Come on.

888. That is awesome.

889. Check it out, how cool that looks right there.

890. - Oh, that looks amazing. █ - Dude, that is bad ass.

891. I'm at a loss for words. I don't know what to say. Just it's incredible.

892. It's very garage orientated.

893. Even though it's the same, it's taken on a new identity.

894. Look at the doors, how it looks like toolboxes.

895. Holy.

896. It's amazing.

897. The Triple Nickel doesn't feel like a boy's club in here anymore.

898. It's inviting, I could definitely see a lot of women coming in to the Triple Nickel.

899. It's awesome.

900. - What do you think, JJ? - It's awesome.

901. - Fits who you are? - It does, 100%.

902. - Fits your concept? - 100%.

903. - How'd I do, bud? - It's amazing.

904. You didn't change my home, but you made my home better.

905. There's a bunch of stuff going on.

906. Come over to the bar. Let me show you.

907. So when you think about this market, $35,000, military,

908. little older than normal,

909. you gotta provide good value, but rock n' roll works in this town.

910. Where does rock n' roll start? In garages.

911. Look around the room, look at your drink rails,

912. your tables, your chairs.

913. Look at how the upper area is now a car lift

914. with a car on top. I had a good friend of mine,

915. Jason Hulfish from Jason Hulfish Design

916. come and work on that all night long.

917. Now we have a garage concept

918. that rock n' roll fits in.

919. Our new bar top, look at the stainless steel in the front.

920. - Yeah. - And the tire track

921. vertical is going up there.

922. Two complete work stations.

923. One, two, three,

924. 2TouchPOS systems.

925. Those stations and that 2Touch makes you faster.

926. Drives the revenues, but I also wanted to protect your profits.

927. So I got you a lifetime subscription to Partender.

928. Now, Partender takes inventory,

929. using the camera on the tablet in ten minutes.

930. 'Cause what's the point if we fill the bar and don't make money, right?

931. Partender protects that.

932. You thought you lost your home.

933. Look at that 555, man.

934. Your dad's legacy fricking lives, buddy.

935. It does, thank you.

936. Look at me. It's not going anywhere, and you know what?

937. Neither are you.

938. Guys, you have nothing but hope, right?

939. Tonight, let's turn that hope into money, okay?

940. - Let's do it. - Thank you.

941. I'm JJ's father, and I started the tavern with him.

942. 555 was my air force specialty. It's changed quite a bit,

943. but it looks good.

944. - Sierra. - Yes.

945. - You ready? █ - I'm so ready.

946. - Okay, we open in five minutes. - I'm excited.

947. - Look at your bar, man. - It's awesome, it's great. I love it.

948. - You're full of hope, man. Look at your face. - I am, I am.

949. You're frickin' lit up. You are ready to do this.

950. - I'm ecstatic. I am ready. - All right, buddy, go invite 'em in.

951. - Let's make some money. - All right.

952. Welcome to the Triple Nickel! Come on in.

953. - Hey! - Welcome, welcome.

954. What can I get you?

955. Yeah, those look awesome, dude. How good is that?

956. What do these two need?

957. A blackberry? Okay.

958. All right, we done here with these?

959. - Yeah. - Okay.

960. Take some empties here.

961. I'm feeling confident.

962. - Blackberry, okay. - Awesome, thank you.

963. Another hot dog over here, and I'll be right back, okay?

964. - Am I doing a good job? - I think you're a bartender now.

965. This bar has gone up hugely at speed,

966. productivity, attitude, product quality.

967. It's remarkable what they've done in two days.

968. I got two more Sierras coming up.

969. A lot of the success of this bar relied on Jacob. He worked here for year,

970. but didn't make it better. Tonight, he actually is.

971. If you need help, just let me know. I'm here for you, okay?

972. - All right. All right. - I'm gonna go touch tables,

973. - I'll be right back. - Got it.

974. Triple Nickel shot? Right on.

975. It's good? And you get three of them.

976. I know, I've never seen a triple shot like that.

977. I like the spicy one, though.

978. Food is amazing, the drinks are amazing, the service is phenomenal.

979. So I'll definitely be returning back to this bar.

980. - These are both the Sierras. - The mango.

981. I am so proud of JJ tonight. He really stepped up and gave us some leadership.

982. He's been helping out when I've needed him,

983. which that never really happens. It's been awesome.

984. Here we go, guys. Do we need more silverware? Few more sets?

985. - Man: Two more. - Okay.

986. Tonight went so much better, things are going smoothly.

987. We're getting orders out, drinks are flowing, people are having fun.

988. The environment is way better.

989. Go for it, boys. Whoo-hoo.

990. Think about when we got here, how this staff had no hope.

991. JJ had no hope.

992. Look at JJ back there bussing tables, engaged.

993. - It's a good rescue. - Jason: Yes, yes.

994. - Jon: Good rescue. █ - Lisamarie: Thank you, Jon.

995. Whole bunch of new people here.

996. It is, and they're all happy.

997. - Jon: My work's done. - It is. I appreciate it.

998. - Thank you. - Good luck to you, buddy.

999. Thank you.

1000. This is definitely not the boy's club house any more.

1001. Jon came in and he kind of revived me.

1002. He kind of, kind of, made me wanna care again.

1003. Hey, guys, thanks for coming back out

1004. to the new Triple Nickel Tavern.

1005. We hope you guys are liking it so far. Thanks!

1006. When I got here, the staff had no hope and they were embarrassed.

1007. Tonight, they showed confidence, teamwork. JJ was proud.

1008. Randy was sober. Jacob was in charge,

1009. and this bar was rescued.

1010. Now, the legacy that JJ's father fought for lives on.

1011. Business has been going all right here.

1012. Kitchen is going good for now.

1013. JJ has been calming down,

1014. just really lit a fire under his butt,

1015. and he's been doing better at work.