Bar Rescue 5x17

1. On August 12th, 2016,

2. a slow-moving storm system

3. dropped more than two feet of rain

4. on southwestern Louisiana,

5. three times as much rain as Hurricane Katrina.

6. Rainwater caused the Amite river

7. to overflow and flood the entire town

8. in nearly six feet of water.

9. Watch your step. The floor is uneven.

10. It's been taken up. There was nice wood in here.

11. It was such a beautiful home too with all the brick.

12. My name is Mike O'Neil,

13. and I am the owner of Big Mike's

14. Sports Bar and Grill.

15. I got up Friday morning and went to work,

16. and that's when I started receiving text messages

17. and phone calls that employees couldn't leave their house.

18. Still at that point did not know

19. that this was gonna become the devastation that it had.

20. She called me and told me I need to get home now.

21. She said, "We have water in the house."

22. And we were just like, "Okay, now's the time.

23. Let's pack a bag. We're getting out of here."

24. I had Keaton on my hip,

25. and they were right behind me...

26. We had a boat outside waiting.

27. Waiting, yes.

28. To take us.

29. That morning, we couldn't get out.

30. It was, like, upsetting,

31. because I was like, "I'm gonna miss your wedding."

32. I was actually in the boat getting transported

33. when my son was getting married.

34. Right here in front of this house that was being built,

35. all you could see was water.

36. All the way up as high as the trees.

37. We were in a boat going down this road.

38. There was cars in the ditch.

39. All you could see was the top of 'em.

40. And it was just amazing to actually think

41. that we were going down Highway 16 in a boat was just—

42. I couldn't believe it.

43. People don't really realize what flood damage does

44. is pretty significant.

45. Everything's gone.

46. There's nothing that can be salvaged.

47. When we came down here for the first time

48. and actually saw the restaurant

49. and realized just how devastating it was.

50. If you look at the door,

51. you can see the water line to where the flood was.

52. The entire restaurant, back of the house and front of the house.

53. Stuff that was in the kitchen, it floated to the front,

54. Stuff that was in the front, it floated to the kitchen,

55. And it's just amazing the destruction that it did.

56. Before the flood, every game we were packed.

57. Every night, we had functions here.

58. We had live music, great crowds in there.

59. We are a very huge part of this community.

60. 2015, we almost did 1.9 million.

61. and it rolled over to 2016.

62. We were doing very well until the flood.

63. Three months after the flood, savings ran out,

64. and Big Mike's reconstruction came to a standstill.

65. I feel like we have made great efforts

66. to get everything back up and running,

67. but we still got a long way to go.

68. We have no furniture in here.

69. We have no equipment.

70. Just off the top of your head,

71. how many hundreds of thousands are we talking?

72. I would be all in at half a million.

73. With flood insurance months away,

74. Big Mike stands to lose out

75. on potential sales of over $1 million.

76. I don't know if, you know, any insurance is gonna help

77. or anything like that.

78. They're months out from even writing checks,

79. so insurance may be out of the question.

80. It would take us at least six months

81. to rebuild this place on our own,

82. and I guarantee you we would lose

83. at least 75% of our staff,

84. and we realized that we would have to close.

85. With all hope lost,

86. an employee took matters into her own hands

87. and posted a call for help to "Bar Rescue."

88. I feel like I would be missing out on an opportunity

89. and I would regret it later if I didn't just try.

90. These are the people I go to every day.

91. These are the people I see every day.

92. This flood has taught us a lot of things,

93. but this really is an extension of my family.

94. Mike has been a friend of the family

95. 25, 30 years.

96. We can't do without him.

97. It's, um... I'm sorry.

98. Big Mike's is a staple of this community,

99. and there's almost emptiness in the city

100. because we can't get to Big Mike's.

101. Any time we can get somebody open,

102. it's a big morale booster for the city.

103. Any time.

104. But when it's Big Mike's,

105. that's what makes it so special.

106. We mean just as much to the community

107. as the community means to us,

108. so we really knew that we had to bring

109. Big Mike's Sports Bar and Grill back.

110. Well, here I am in Denham Springs.

111. This is a community that's still digging out

112. from a terrible crisis...

113. which closed 90% of the businesses and houses

114. and devastated this community.

115. It normally takes a community like this

116. two years to recover.

117. Big Mike's bar is looking at six to eight months to reopen.

118. Mike and Jocelyn O'Neil

119. are losing thousands of dollars a month,

120. and this community lost their favorite bar.

121. You know, my thought is if I can get this bar to open

122. four months earlier than it was gonna open,

123. that's a big deal to this family

124. and this community.

125. - Mike? - Yes, sir.

126. Welcome to our home.

127. This is your temporary home.

128. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

129. How are you? Nice to meet you.

130. Mike O'Neil. Nice to meet you. My wife, Jocelyn.

131. Jocelyn, pleasure.

132. Give you a hug.

133. Thank you.

134. Oh, boy, you guys have been through hell, huh?

135. I'm so happy I could be here to help.

136. We can't— you don't even know what it means to us

137. and to our daughters and to our community and everything.

138. Why don't we go back here, sit down.

139. - Come sit down? - Please, come.

140. Sure.

141. This is our makeshift dining room.

142. Wow. But it works.

143. August 12th, how high did the water come?

144. Just the rainwater flooded us to 13 inches,

145. but once all the back wash...

146. it rose to 41/2 feet inside our house.

147. And it basically destroyed everything.

148. We came back on Saturday to try to salvage a few things.

149. We had a car in the driveway that we couldn't get out.

150. That was entirely covered.

151. It was our daughters'.

152. We were gonna give it to them.

153. They were supposed to get their driver's license the next week.

154. Oh, my gosh.

155. How many kids you have?

156. Three daughters.

157. We have a set of 16-year-old twins

158. and then we have a four-year-old.

159. The twins unfortunately can't live with us,

160. because the house isn't big enough.

161. The trailer's not big enough.

162. So where are they?

163. They're with some friends of ours

164. that have been a godsend.

165. They have a daughter that's in the same grade.

166. Look, I have a daughter who's now 28,

167. and, you know, back at that time,

168. I couldn't imagine not looking into her eyes

169. every night as her father.

170. Right, no, just not being together.

171. I never fathomed to be away from them.

172. That's why I'm here to help you.

173. We appreciate it so much.

174. People don't understand till they look in your eyes

175. and see a man who's worked his whole friggin' life

176. to have this.

177. You know, um, to lose everything like that,

178. it was just overwhelming.

179. I know that this town loves you.

180. Give the shirt off his back to somebody, won't he?

181. Absolutely. Yeah.

182. Just I wanna get up and go help, you know?

183. We— we wanna pay it forward.

184. So you've given.

185. We have.

186. I know what you've done for your community over the years.

187. Yep. Life is knowing when to give and when to take.

188. This is the time for you to take.

189. Because it would take you months to reopen your bar, right?

190. Absolutely, yeah.

191. Yes, a very long time.

192. I'm gonna do it in days.

193. And it starts with getting the financial pressures off you,

194. getting the bar together

195. so we can get the house done quickly,

196. and I want you to stand in front of this town and say,

197. "I got opened and so can you."

198. So we gotta go look at your bar,

199. see what needs to be done,

200. and let's get to work and do it.

201. We are ready. Thank you.

202. I learned how powerful reopening this bar

203. will be to this family and this community.

204. So these are the emergency trailers

205. for insurance companies and banks?

206. That's actually our mortgage company right there.

207. I talked to the mayor a couple days ago.

208. He says that 75% of the businesses

209. are still closed.

210. And the sad thing, Jon, is, like,

211. we don't know how many businesses are coming back,

212. how many people are leaving our community

213. that can't rebuild.

214. That's the scary part when this happens,

215. is you could lose 30% of your community.

216. And your property values take a hit then.

217. And then can the community sustain it?

218. I mean, something like this

219. could actually bury the community.

220. There's no tax money coming in.

221. The city could go bankrupt, you know?

222. The mayor's just as scared as we are.

223. That's why it's important that people do come back.

224. So we need to get Mike's open four months earlier.

225. Wow, it's a big space.

226. Let's go see inside.

227. We had three high-tops along the wall there.

228. Totally wrapped with bar stools around here.

229. Yep, filled with people.

230. Filled with people.

231. This is the main bar.

232. This is the main bar.

233. How many work stations did you have back there, Mike?

234. - We just had one. - Just one?

235. We tried to get as many taps as we could.

236. This is— we had swinging doors here,

237. because of course we have—

238. we tried to keep the bar separated.

239. This was the main dining room.

240. Booths along the wall.

241. - Jon: Packed for LSU games? - Mike: Packed for LSU games.

242. - Jon: Packed for the Saints? - Mike: Everybody. Saints too.

243. Local high school teams,

244. after they finished their game,

245. they would call and, like, reserve this whole area.

246. That's where they could come and watch—

247. it's called "Sportsline Friday Night."

248. It's the local news coverage.

249. So they would come in just for that.

250. If this was the LSU room, this was the Saints room.

251. With the closed door,

252. you could have a private birthday party

253. of 25-30 people.

254. Keep showing us.

255. Jocelyn, take 'em to the kitchen.

256. - Wow. - Yes.

257. It's a pretty big kitchen as far as kitchens go.

258. - Jon: This is a great kitchen. - Jocelyn: Yeah.

259. It's about 2,500 square feet.

260. You normally don't have this kind of square footage.

261. After the tragedy, you said,

262. "I've been thinking about expanding. I'm gonna do it now."

263. There was an existing business in there.

264. They were gonna leave at the end of the year,

265. so this was something

266. that we were gonna address in January.

267. This kinda just expedited it.

268. This is all the new space.

269. We put soundproof sheetrock.

270. So it's sort of two concepts in one building now.

271. That's what we're hoping,

272. that we wanna just be able to come to one spot.

273. Whoa.

274. It's about 4,000 square feet,

275. front of the house, back of the house.

276. You got four or five months' work here.

277. - Absolutely. - Wow.

278. Nobody deserves this bar more than Mike and Jocelyn,

279. but promising this bar in a week

280. is gonna totally strain my team's capabilities.

281. This would be the biggest project

282. I've ever undertaken, with no time to do it, Jocelyn.

283. - Really? - Really.

284. Gonna have to assemble a serious plan

285. and figure out how to attack this.

286. 'Cause this is an attack.

287. Let's head out for a minute.

288. Mike is probably worried at this moment

289. that I might not be able to pull this off

290. and I don't have the resources to do it,

291. but he's about to see something

292. that's gonna change his mind greatly.

293. Oh, wow.

294. From local contractors to local volunteers,

295. everybody is here to get their hands dirty

296. and make sure Big Mike's opens up.

297. This community isn't the same without this bar

298. and without you and you.

299. Everything I've learned about him and Jocelyn—

300. you need Big Mike's back, don't you?

301. Yeah!

302. So I fibbed.

303. We are coordinated, aren't we?

304. We're gonna go to work and build you a bar, okay?

305. Thank you, everybody.

306. Thank you all so much. Thank you.

307. Mike and Jocelyn are feeling confident

308. that their team is up to the challenge.

309. With the additional space that Mike and Jocelyn has leased,

310. this bar has the potential to be a multi-venue operation,

311. targeting two different types of customers at the same time

312. with two different experiences.

313. Now I gotta get this space done.

314. I got a bar to open in a day,

315. and we're not even close.

316. - Concept A. - Yeah.

317. Concept B.

318. This is a casual, loose, fun experience.

319. This is a little more structured, a little more formal.

320. I like the idea of calling this a crown room

321. and using the Crown from Crown Royal.

322. We take the Crown Royal crown.

323. We've partnered with Crown Royal

324. to help elevate Mike's new space

325. into an upscale bar.

326. And the generosity provided by Crown Royal

327. is gonna help make this bar great.

328. Great. Thank you, everybody.

329. We're at the Office Bar in Baton Rouge.

330. Big Mike's is a big project.

331. I wanted to get a head start,

332. so as we're training here,

333. my team is working on rebuilding.

334. First, let's talk. Let's meet.

335. - Hi. - Hi.

336. - What's your name? - I'm Mookie.

337. Hi, Mookie. What did you do before here?

338. I actually managed a private-owned restaurant.

339. You came here with a nice kitchen background.

340. Yes.

341. Not only did I work at Mike's,

342. I hung out at Mikes.

343. I'm just hoping it opens.

344. For me, it'll be like having some sort of normalcy in life.

345. - Hi. - Hi, I'm Paige.

346. I'm the assistant general manager.

347. My name's Nick. I'm a line cook.

348. We've been together for almost six years.

349. And we get married in January.

350. Honestly, I can say working different jobs

351. and working opposite schedules this past couple months,

352. I miss working together.

353. I'm Meghan. I'm a bartender.

354. I've made lifelong friends

355. with some of my employees.

356. We've been a big part

357. of all of each other's lives.

358. I'm Heather. I'm a bartender,

359. and I've been with Mike for six years,

360. since we opened.

361. Wow. So people don't run away from him very often, do they?

362. No, he can't get rid of us, even if he tried.

363. I've stuck with Big Mike's because I just—

364. I really couldn't see myself anywhere else.

365. I've worked corporate and a bunch of places,

366. and it's just not my thing.

367. I like the feeling of friends and family,

368. and, I mean, that's what you get here when you walk in the door.

369. Everybody knows everybody.

370. - Hi. - Hi.

371. - What's your name? - Alicia.

372. I'm the general manager.

373. I've been being a stay-at-home mom with my children.

374. Financially, it's been incredibly stressful on us.

375. I'm so ready to come back to work.

376. - What's your name? - Emily.

377. - And what do you do? - I'm a bartender.

378. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you.

379. You know that.

380. I thought, "Why not?"

381. Here we are, we need help.

382. Mike is a huge fan.

383. He would come in daily with his Taffer tips.

384. Put in an application,

385. I posted some pictures on Facebook,

386. and here we are.

387. You got some gold around you, don't you?

388. We really do.

389. We wouldn't be where we are right now

390. if it wasn't for our staff. They've become family.

391. That's what makes Big Mike's special.

392. Okay, so I brought some great experts to help me, guys.

393. This is a seasoned crew.

394. Most of 'em have been with Mike from the beginning,

395. but they're rusty,

396. 'cause this bar has been closed for two months,

397. and we need to get 'em flowing again.

398. I wanted to make certain

399. that everything in this bar

400. has such a positive energy to it.

401. Let me bring 'em in. You guys ready to go to work?

402. - Yes. - All right, let's do this.

403. Come on in, guys.

404. For the bar,

405. Jon brings in mixologist Rob Floyd.

406. His skill for working in high-pressure situations

407. makes him the perfect fit.

408. At his side is culinary expert

409. Aaron McCargo.

410. His experience working in over nine restaurants

411. ranging from casual to fine dining

412. make him the perfect choice to assess the weakness

413. in any kitchen program.

414. So, guys, we got a lot to learn.

415. You're with some great experts.

416. If I can pull off this renovation,

417. Big Mike's is gonna have

418. a second entirely new kitchen and bar.

419. And this staff has never operated

420. in a venue this size.

421. I'm not sure that they're up to the challenge,

422. so I've set up off-site training

423. where I can put 'em under pressure

424. and make sure they're up for the task.

425. I don't get to do a normal stress test, do I?

426. So what I wanna do is a production

427. and efficiency exercise.

428. So how many food items, chef?

429. - Two. - Two simple items.

430. From Big Mike's old menu.

431. I'm gonna pin you guys into making these entrees

432. in 71/2 minutes.

433. The minute that food is ordered behind the bar, Mike,

434. Aaron is starting his start button.

435. I wanna see how good we can be

436. before we get back into the new Big Mike's,

437. so I'm gonna bring five customers in.

438. How long should the drink take?

439. Drinks should take about 15 seconds for each one to be made.

440. Okay, so let's be generous.

441. We're gonna give you 25 seconds.

442. We're all a little rusty.

443. I think we're all a little nervous.

444. Last thing we wanna do is have all this help

445. and then fall on our face.

446. I wanna see if we can get that 25 seconds down to 15.

447. Or if we can get that 71/2 minutes

448. down to 61/2 minutes.

449. - You guys with me? - Yes.

450. Hi. Grab a seat.

451. So I'd love each of you to order one drink

452. and one food item.

453. We're gonna be focusing on efficiency

454. - and productivity. - Okay.

455. So it's gonna be about the clock.

456. From the minute you order, we're gonna start timing them, okay?

457. Aaron, start the watch. Here we go!

458. Hush puppies. Am I telling food to the kitchen?

459. - Yes. - Okay.

460. So you said we are gonna be getting tickets?

461. Yes.

462. I'm sure an order's about to come in

463. in the next 10 seconds, okay?

464. All right.

465. Hold on. Gotta do that again.

466. They're very rusty.

467. They're having a hard time coordinating.

468. They're not working as a team.

469. Oh! Blew the pour. Dump 'em out, do it again.

470. One down. Rob, start the clock over again over there.

471. Perfect.

472. Guys are getting a little thirsty down there, aren't ya?

473. Let's go.

474. Oh. What's the time here?

475. We're at 32 seconds.

476. I got y'all's orders, but I don't feel like

477. I told anyone y'all's orders.

478. Big Mike's is gonna be called Slow Mike's.

479. I got three deviled eggs and two hush puppies.

480. Three deviled eggs, two hush puppies.

481. Heard.

482. Y'all's plates ready.

483. These cocktails should take 25 seconds or less to finish.

484. How long did that take?

485. Minute and 15 seconds.

486. Minute and 15 seconds.

487. We gotta be better, right?

488. And we dumped down the drain.

489. So to make two drinks, it cost us four.

490. Guys, let's go. How much time we got?

491. Couple of deviled eggs. It should be easy.

492. You got it, Jon.

493. - Deviled eggs is up. - Yep.

494. I'm ready for your hush puppies.

495. Second time's looking good, guys.

496. You are well ahead of time. Beautiful.

497. Get it here. Get it here.

498. Food up.

499. - Ooh. Where we going? - Right here.

500. All right, who's got the hush puppies?

501. As good as they were, they need to be better.

502. That's why Big Mike's needs to become better Mike's.

503. They need to be faster, more efficient,

504. and they need to really be on top of their game.

505. Hey, hey. How are we?

506. - All: Good. - Rob: Last night we had

507. the service training, and it was rough.

508. What a better way to get them ready

509. for the new Crown Royal room

510. than to train them with the new cocktails

511. featuring great Crown product that are really exciting?

512. Anybody know when it started, Crown Royal?

513. 1939. King George VI comes to visit Canada.

514. They make him the greatest whiskey, it's incredible.

515. Everybody falls in love with it.

516. It's now the number one selling Canadian whiskey.

517. So we got a new product for you to taste.

518. Crown Vanilla.

519. Vanilla is one of the most expensive ingredients in the world,

520. 'cause everybody loves it, it's yummy, it's fantastic,

521. it's a great additive.

522. So first drink. Big Mike's Whiskey.

523. All right. All right.

524. Half ounce lemon juice, half ounce simple syrup,

525. one and a half ounces of Crown Vanilla.

526. Three dashes of cherry bitters,

527. shake and strain into a rocks glass.

528. Garnish with an Amaretto cherry.

529. We call this Big Mike's Whiskey.

530. That's awesome.

531. The lemon brought out that vanilla flavor.

532. Perfect. And this one's called the Denham Deluxe.

533. - Oh, yeah. - Yeah, all right. Here we go.

534. Three ounces of milk.

535. One and a half ounces of Crown Royal Deluxe.

536. One bar spoon of brown sugar,

537. a dash of cinnamon, shaker filled with ice,

538. shake and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice,

539. garnish with a dust of cinnamon.

540. We call this Denham Deluxe.

541. Cheers, guys.

542. - Cinnamon too. - Cinnamon, excellent. We have that.

543. And we have a little bit on top and a little bit mixed through,

544. so it's always gonna be there for us.

545. That'll be a great game day drink.

546. So on this one, the spirit makes me feel like,

547. "Oh, it's still there, it's creamy."

548. Sweet drinks make you feel like, "Oh, I don't want something to eat."

549. But here the drinks are perfectly balanced,

550. so they lead to food just awesome.

551. Last night was all about skills, right?

552. Tonight's all about team work.

553. You will have to rely on each other.

554. When we open, it's gonna be killer.

555. All right, guys. Thank you.

556. Big Mike's is a huge challenge,

557. so I'm heading back there right now

558. to see how our construction progress is going,

559. 'cause one thing for sure:

560. I wanna make sure I keep my promise to Mike and this community.

561. - Hey, guys. - Hey, Jon.

562. What's going on?

563. They have more trouble to, like, the front bar area, or—?

564. Well, a lot of our problems right now

565. is because they were hit so bad,

566. the stores close by, they've wiped out.

567. - Common things you can't get. - Exactly.

568. But then when you're done,

569. you gotta stock this place.

570. - Yes. - Every shelf is bare, guys.

571. I mean, every piece of equipment is empty.

572. So every minute ahead we can get's gonna matter, okay?

573. - Definitely. - Right.

574. - Cool. Okay. - All right.

575. - How y'all doing? - Great.

576. I know you had some trying things happen in the last few months

577. and you guys are just trying to get everything back in order.

578. I believe, Mookie, you have been having some problems.

579. - Yeah. - What's your story?

580. Saturday, flooded.

581. Lost the house, lost the car,

582. so I was in a boat getting rescued

583. while my son was getting married.

584. - Really? - Gonna make me cry.

585. I'ma be personal right now,

586. because I know when I got married,

587. my most important person there was my mom.

588. It hurt. It still does.

589. When he hugged me, he told me that God was good

590. and that everything was gonna be okay

591. and that you guys had our backs.

592. It might take a while, but life is gonna get back to normal.

593. I want us to have some fun

594. and rebuild some new items for the menu.

595. Hopefully these recipes and these new dishes

596. will make you smile even bigger and better

597. and give you confidence,

598. and know that it's just the beginning

599. of a good thing coming.

600. - Who created the menu first? - I did.

601. And what was your method to the madness?

602. We have some unique dishes.

603. Uh, you know, some family recipes that I use.

604. What's your, like, top items that really rock people's socks?

605. Everybody loves our shrimp and corn soup.

606. Our steaks are awesome. We do fresh seafood every day.

607. - Wow. - Yes.

608. How about muffuletta pizza?

609. - She mentioned that. - Ah, nice.

610. The muffuletta is popular throughout Louisiana,

611. but they never had a pizza in Big Mike's,

612. so I always heard the quiet voices of Jocelyn

613. saying "I wish I had a pizza."

614. Well, now she has one.

615. So I'm just gonna put a little bit

616. of the seasoning oil right around the edge.

617. But I put some cornmeal

618. to give it that nice, crunchy bottom.

619. Got a little bit of provolone, shredded mozz.

620. Put a couple pieces

621. of this nice ham all over the top of it.

622. That mortadella. That salami.

623. So this is gonna go in the oven.

624. Somebody about to have a baby today.

625. I've been wanting to do some sort of a signature pizza for a long time.

626. Them putting a Southern twist on it,

627. I am— I'm blown away.

628. - Wow. - That's pretty.

629. Olive salad. Some of those green onions.

630. I wanna dig in this so bad,

631. but you are my guests today.

632. Go for it.

633. - It's awesome. - Yeah.

634. - You gonna make me cry.

635. The customers are gonna love this stuff.

636. It might be our top seller.

637. Spicy. Everything that everybody wants.

638. I can't be more happy than the stuff that he's come up with.

639. - Aaron: You ready to do this? - Ready to do this.

640. Back on the job site, our building materials are getting scarce,

641. so I've brought in Facilities Maintenance Management.

642. They have some clout locally,

643. and they can help me get some of these materials.

644. - Hey, guys. - Hey, how you doing?

645. - How's it going? - Hey, how you doing?

646. - Steve Loga. - Good to meet you, Steve.

647. - Steven Davis. - Steven, pleasure.

648. - Bryan Achee. - Bryan, pleasure.

649. I really appreciate you coming here and doing this,

650. and I know you displaced other things to do this stuff, guys, so thank you.

651. At times like this, you see people pull together,

652. and that's what makes the community what it is.

653. Can you guys pull all the materials

654. together in time for this?

655. We reached out to other community vendors.

656. They have gone over and above,

657. and so they've actually put things in front of other places

658. that didn't get flooded.

659. That's outstanding. Well, now let's build them a great bar.

660. - Thank you, guys. - Thank you so much.

661. Thanks for your hard work.

662. In the normal world, everybody's in here—

663. one trade's in here at a time.

664. Our world, we're all on top of each other.

665. Things get missed.

666. When you realize it, you're behind.

667. We still have a lot of projects to build,

668. and then we have a lot of cleanup and install.

669. Will we make it?

670. What you think, Chip?

671. We're gonna be close.

672. So we've got 30 hours.

673. It'll be tight.

674. I don't want this staff and these owners

675. to rely on their old laurels.

676. Because they were good then

677. doesn't mean they're good now.

678. This staff needs to up their game.

679. We got a lot of work to do today.

680. We're gonna get slammed.

681. Whatever business level you used to do,

682. you should be prepared for twice.

683. We're doing a friends and family night.

684. Now, this is not like a stress test.

685. We're gonna be with you, training, helping you every step of the way.

686. While I'm building the bar,

687. I have a soft opening tonight

688. to raise the employees' confidence, communication,

689. and the ability to use the new systems.

690. And even though this bar isn't very big,

691. I'm gonna put the pressure on them

692. so it feels like they're running a 10,000 square foot bar.

693. - What are you worried about? - Consistency and team work.

694. What worries you about us being ready, chef?

695. I'm hoping that we don't freeze.

696. - Those first 45 minutes? - That's the make or break moment.

697. We got a lot to do today to be ready for that.

698. Yes, sir.

699. - We have to do that, right, guys? - Yeah.

700. It's very emotional for me

701. to get my family back together.

702. The bar is the key to build my house back.

703. So just knowing that we have help coming

704. has been a life saver.

705. All right, guys, let's go to work.

706. - Awesome. - Awesome.

707. Y'all take a look at our menu. Absolutely.

708. - Crab-stuffed burger. - Crab-stuffed burger for you.

709. - What about you? - We'll have one of those too.

710. Two crab-stuffed burgers.

711. Yeah, two crab burgers and a shrimp etouffee dip.

712. First ticket.

713. All right, we're at six minutes on our ticket time.

714. Got you.

715. I definitely would suggest, maybe,

716. everybody getting one thing,

717. so that way you can try everything.

718. And the girls are gonna be behind a little bit,

719. but they're gonna be right with you.

720. Those are your tickets. Go.

721. All right, let's see how you do.

722. Two at a time. Two at a time. Two at a time.

723. - Missing one. - Doing great.

724. Here we go.

725. The more fun you're having,

726. the more fun they're gonna have back.

727. The bar team's making great drinks,

728. but here the most important part,

729. we need to see that big smile,

730. giving that guest a great experience.

731. - First two. Good. - Perfect.

732. Yeah!

733. Nick, give me your— I wanna know what's going on.

734. Three burgers, two pizzas.

735. We have three burgers?

736. We have two burgers. I'm sorry.

737. Don't confuse Mookie, 'cause she's carrying the bulk of the weight down here.

738. Please remember. Please remember.

739. If you're gonna pull the tickets,

740. please make sure you give me grill tickets,

741. because I need to know about those burgers ASAP.

742. ASAP.

743. Kinda slow, to be totally honest.

744. Checks came in all at once.

745. Little bit of confusion.

746. But they're making a way to get some kind of rhythm

747. going on a steady pace.

748. Up, up, up, up, up, up, now down.

749. That's all right. Getting there. Getting there.

750. Move this to the side of it,

751. otherwise you're trying to angle it.

752. I knew there'd be a few kinks.

753. We're a little rusty.

754. They're doing the best they can,

755. but they're pulling themselves out of the weeds and getting things done.

756. I can't complain. I just hope everybody enjoys everything.

757. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.

758. Timing is everything.

759. Let's see how we do here. It's the moment of truth.

760. It should be four.

761. Good. Yeah, you did good. You did good.

762. - Deviled egg. On the fly. - Another deviled egg.

763. - Mookie, you coming together? - Yes, sir.

764. I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

765. You know, we kinda got, like, a little frazzled.

766. Dealing with, you know, equipment that we're not used to.

767. Once we got adjusted to the heat levels and what was going on,

768. it started banging out.

769. It's awesome being back. I got my swag back, baby.

770. Perfect, perfect. I'll reach it over.

771. The purpose of this soft opening

772. was to get the staff working again,

773. get them comfortable in their processes again.

774. We succeeded.

775. Shrimp etouffee and two crab burgers.

776. I had a table tell me

777. - the food was "a ten, a ten, a ten." - Good.

778. They hit all the beats. They were consistent,

779. and they were also working as a team.

780. Chef, what are you worried about?

781. We had an exercise that started out to be

782. very lethargic and long.

783. We promised six to seven minutes,

784. but we went to about 15,

785. and it's all about the jitters.

786. Now that I think we got those jitters out,

787. we're ready for the big numbers,

788. and that's gonna be the true test.

789. What do you think, buddy?

790. In the beginning, it was, like, a little frozen,

791. and then we loosened up,

792. we started to work with a team.

793. So I was really excited about that,

794. but we've got a lot of work ahead of us.

795. And I wanna be honest with you.

796. I have one of the biggest bars we've ever done here.

797. We are behind.

798. Some equipment hasn't arrived.

799. I am gonna try my best to finish this.

800. The staff is starting to get their groove back.

801. Now I got a major issue.

802. The staff is ready. The building isn't.

803. We're working all night, we're working all day.

804. But, Mike, as I'm standing here,

805. I can't promise you that we will be ready.

806. Every day that we're not open, we're losing money.

807. We need it open as fast as possible,

808. and then we can get all of our girls

809. home and have the family under one roof.

810. Our soft opening was great.

811. The staff is more confident. We are more coordinated.

812. And Mike and Jocelyn

813. are feeling confident that their team is up to the challenge.

814. Now I gotta get this space done.

815. I got a bar to open in a day,

816. and we're not even close.

817. - Hi. - Hi.

818. Wow. I have never seen Sysco deliver

819. in hours what you guys have.

820. We worked very, very hard to get this done.

821. - Thanks so much. - Thanks.

822. Now that we have all the equipment,

823. we only have eight hours to get this bar built.

824. So I'm calling in every friend we've got,

825. including Crown Royal friend and partner

826. of the New Orleans Saints Deuce McCallister.

827. - Awesome. Thank you so much. - Not a problem at all.

828. All right. Whoo!

829. This area still needs help.

830. Now, I wanna thank Crown Royal for their generosity

831. to help this facility, Big Mike's,

832. to be able to reopen.

833. We definitely appreciate it.

834. Don't quit my day job.

835. - How you feeling? - Nervous. Excited.

836. Guys, when I think about this town...

837. 70 days ago, life was fine.

838. Doing $2 million a year.

839. And then inch by inch, literally,

840. it was robbed from you.

841. Your house was gone.

842. 90% of the businesses were closed.

843. 90% of the houses vacant.

844. This community is broken.

845. You're part of fixing it, Mike.

846. This community can feel some positive energy again.

847. This is the biggest rescue I've ever done.

848. 10,000 square feet. Starting from zero.

849. I looked you in the eyes and promised you

850. that I'd get this done, get your kids back.

851. You did.

852. You've given to this town for a long time, right?

853. Now it's time for you to get something back.

854. Let's open it again.

855. One... two... three.

856. Aw.

857. Big Mike's has been serving people in this town since 1989.

858. I couldn't imagine running a place that wasn't called Big Mike's,

859. to still have our sign.

860. Couldn't change that sign, could I?

861. - Does that sign pop or what? - Absolutely.

862. You can't wait to go in, can you?

863. - It's killing me. - Go!

864. Yeah.

865. - Y'all ready? - Open the door!

866. - Oh, my God. - Oh, my gosh.

867. For the main dining area,

868. I've put in a brand new floor,

869. 13 table tops, and 6 TVs.

870. My God, no way!

871. We have two solid work stations,

872. two future POS systems,

873. brand new beer taps.

874. We had USB ports installed from BarJuice,

875. four table tops along the wall,

876. and eight brand new TVs.

877. It's just so exciting to know

878. that this is the place I'm gonna get to come to work every day.

879. I'm gonna love spending a lot of time here.

880. Look at this.

881. Brand-new Sysco kitchen equipment,

882. a brand-new double batch pizza oven

883. from TurboChef Technologies.

884. And then I got Manitowoc Ice Machines

885. to give you the first ever of their new machine

886. that makes that custom, high-end ice now.

887. Wow.

888. To see it like this is just... it's phenomenal.

889. Look at the football. Whose signature is that?

890. Deuce McCallister.

891. Oh, my God!

892. No. They kept the Saints room. Are you kidding me?

893. For the Saints room, we have eight brand-new table tops

894. and two TVs, and we decorated the walls

895. with Saints memorabilia.

896. Holy.

897. Oh, my God!

898. Oh, my God!

899. For the first time in "Bar Rescue" history,

900. we partnered with Crown Royal

901. to give them their very own room.

902. It's surrounded by 11 new TVs.

903. It features a new Big Mike's sign,

904. and it's filled with 12 new table tops

905. and three new pool tables.

906. Wow.

907. I never dreamed that I would have a place this classy.

908. You deserve it, Big Mike.

909. This is unbelievable.

910. This has been a week of emotions for me.

911. To come around that corner and to see the Crown bar

912. and again the wood and the pool tables

913. and the Big Mike's sign.

914. I mean, I could go on and on and on.

915. I cannot believe that that is our bar.

916. How did I do?

917. - Did amazing. - You happy?

918. Oh, my— Jon...

919. I am speechless.

920. That bar brought me to tears.

921. Feels like a brand new home.

922. Come on over here.

923. So welcome to the Crown Royal room.

924. When you take a look at everything around this room,

925. this is a completely different feeling.

926. - Yes. - Did we capture your vision?

927. Oh, hell yeah.

928. So I wanna tell you a story.

929. About two years ago I rescued a bar.

930. Superstorm Sandy had robbed them of their bar.

931. They wanted to send you this video.

932. Hi, Mike and Jocelyn,

933. and everyone down at the Big Mike's sports bar.

934. My name is Sean Tubridy. This is my brother Dee.

935. We're from the Bungalow Bar in Rockaway Beach, New York.

936. You know, we've been in your shoes before,

937. and we want you to know

938. that there are better days ahead

939. and this too shall pass.

940. When Jon called us and told us about this rescue,

941. we were excited at the opportunity

942. to help out where we could,

943. so please accept this $10,000 donation

944. from the Bungalow Bar family to you guys.

945. It's gonna get better one day at a time.

946. Gotta be kidding me.

947. Tubridys' check for $10,000

948. is to get you a trailer for your girls.

949. That was the last promise, Mike.

950. "Thank you" does it no justice.

951. For each one of us, it's gonna get better starting tonight.

952. Let's share this with the community, okay?

953. Mike has been generous his whole life,

954. but he needed help to keep the generosity going.

955. Hi, I'm with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

956. Okay. Nice to meet you.

957. - My wife, Jocelyn. - Hi, I'm Jocelyn.

958. - Nice to meet you, Jocelyn. - Pleasure.

959. Very nice to meet you.

960. So the Baton Rouge Area Foundation

961. does a lot of local work

962. to help families like yours

963. and businesses get through the storm and the floods.

964. So Crown Royal, charitable effort,

965. they wanted to write a check for $10,000

966. to help other families like we helped yours.

967. Great. That is great.

968. We've helped hundreds of families

969. get back into their own homes.

970. This'll help get even more families back

971. to where they belong.

972. That is awesome.

973. The lieutenant governor is here.

974. The parish president is here.

975. The mayor is here.

976. Uh, it's been a long journey.

977. 45 days ago there was nothing in there

978. but studs and mud and muck,

979. and, you know, 45 days it came together.

980. That's very exciting.

981. Let's reopen it. Here we go.

982. Thank you, buddy.

983. Big Mike's been a friend of ours for a long time.

984. This is just a tremendous, tremendous thing

985. that's happened for him.

986. This is a big night for him.

987. As I walked through the door tonight, I had a tear in my eye.

988. I can't tell you what this means to not only Mike

989. but this whole community.

990. We got two Denham Deluxes.

991. Good, good, good, good. Two hands.

992. Thank you.

993. Two Denham Deluxes.

994. How's it going?

995. Oh!

996. Whoa, girl.

997. What we havin'?

998. Pizzas? 11.

999. And that's not even including the tickets

1000. that are down there.

1001. The biggest seller tonight is the pizza,

1002. so it's got us pretty backed up.

1003. All right, guys. Why don't you take this?

1004. Slaw. Parsley.

1005. I need one more.

1006. The pizzas are killin' us.

1007. Tickets are horrible. You can start with that.

1008. It's okay. I'm just happy to help.

1009. Hit a little snag with the pizzas and got behind,

1010. gotta get this together, get it straightened out.

1011. Lock and load, put it in beast mode, baby.

1012. - Jon: Who likes the new bar?

1013. Two Big Mike's whiskeys.

1014. Thank you.

1015. - Perfect. - Awesome.

1016. - Good job. - Thank you.

1017. - Do me one thing. - Yes.

1018. Stand up, look around.

1019. None of this would be happening if it wasn't for you.

1020. I want you to just think about that for a second

1021. and feel really good, 'cause I'm incredibly proud of you.

1022. Thank you.

1023. Feels really good.

1024. We're all here. We're all back together.

1025. We're here for Big Mike. We're here for Jocelyn.

1026. Just knowing that they're gonna have their family back together

1027. in a couple of days' time, it just feels so good.

1028. My work is done, isn't it?

1029. I can't thank you enough.

1030. - Congratulations. - Thank you.

1031. Thank you, Jon. I appreciate it.

1032. This bar went from zero to a 10,000 square foot bar

1033. in four and a half days.

1034. Big Mike and Jocelyn's family is together.

1035. All 40 employees are back here together.

1036. Thank you.

1037. The town is back together.

1038. This bar was the centerpiece of this community,

1039. and it's the centerpiece of this community again.