Bar Rescue 5x18

1. I want a beer! I mean, y'all like stupid.

2. Why won't y'all just give me one more, and I'll be happy?

3. People are happy with just one more.

4. This year, 6,500 failing bars nationwide

5. will close their doors for good.

6. If things don't change soon,

7. Desi Romano's in Chalmette, Louisiana

8. will become just another statistic.

9. Veteran bar owner, Desi Romano,

10. has been in the business on the Bayou for 25 years.

11. 25 years in the bar business. This place is my life.

12. - I'm a newbie. - Touché.

13. I'm Desi.

14. I'm Lindsey, Debbie's daughter. I'm the manager.

15. - He says he's been waitin' for a drink. - I can't fix it.

16. Ooh, who's waitin' for a drink?

17. - The guy over there. - Okay.

18. My name is Bethany. I am Desi's niece.

19. I am his main cook in the kitchen.

20. Very rare that somebody doesn't like my food. Thank you.

21. The burger's really good.

22. The bar was greeted with immediate success.

23. When we opened the doors everything worked fine.

24. And then things took a turn for the worse.

25. My dad Desi had a stroke.

26. He almost died, like, you know,

27. yep, it was bad, bad, bad time.

28. Due to his stroke,

29. Desi was forced to take time off.

30. Walking was bad.

31. I did the— I went from the—

32. the people holding me to the walker to the cane.

33. With Desi's larger-than-life personality gone,

34. combined with Lindsey's lack of experience,

35. the business began to suffer.

36. Customers like to see Desi, 'cause it's Desi,

37. and everybody knows Desi,

38. and he's this great personality.

39. And then when he wasn't here, people totally stopped coming.

40. Four months later, Desi reentered the bar,

41. but just like Desi,

42. the bar struggled to regain its footing.

43. He changed and now he's just very lackadaisical.

44. I tried to teach that earlier and I forgot.

45. - Who fixed the problems? - Desi.

46. Well, why are they not fixed?

47. With Desi not caring about the bar,

48. the staff followed suit.

49. I don't give a if I drink a beer.

50. Nobody is running this place.

51. You can basically do what you want.

52. There is not a repercussion to an action.

53. It's enough when I say it's enough!

54. Instead of fixing the problem,

55. Desi turned to drinking.

56. Y'all put a hair in my drink. Can I have a beer?

57. I will be so much better with one more shot.

58. And n To make matters worse,

59. Desi let the staff run open tabs for themselves.

60. - Who's tab's that on? - It's on my tab.

61. And I don't police them, I'm drinkin'.

62. these bitches. I'll get my own beer. Hey!

63. This is my Uncle Desi's— it's his life.

64. There's no retirement sitting out there for him.

65. There's no— we don't have a 401K.

66. I got the bill just now. I don't get it.

67. I can't let the doors close. I just can't.

68. - This is our livelihood. - It's my dad's legacy. It means everything.

69. With his family legacy on the line,

70. Desi has agreed to pull back the doors, bust open the books,

71. and make a call for help...

72. to "Bar Rescue."

73. Automated voice: We're sorry...

74. So here we are, guys, in Chalmette.

75. It's a young market

76. and the median household income is 40,000 a year.

77. - So it's not a wealthy town. - Right.

78. But it's not a high cost of living either.

79. - Right. - And there it is, Desi Romano's.

80. It's very clean. It's lit up.

81. When you drive by, you see that you go,

82. - "I'd stop by and eat." - Yeah.

83. For the bar Jon brings in Derrick Turner.

84. Derrick is an award-winning mixologist

85. known for shaking up the roughest drinks

86. and transforming them into perfectly poured cocktails.

87. And for the kitchen, Jon brings in Tiffany Derry,

88. a master chef who brings her soulful Southern spunk to the kitchen

89. creating flavorful signature dishes

90. with spice and flare.

91. Look at the inside of this. You see a concept?

92. - Derrick: It's sad. - This place has no personality.

93. So Desi has been in the bar business

94. in this town for 25 years.

95. Desi is in debt $150,000.

96. And ask me how much money he's losing every month.

97. - How much? - He doesn't know.

98. So Desi had a stroke three months ago. He's fine now.

99. You wonder if the failing of the bar

100. might've helped cause a stroke.

101. Everything's gotta be, "Desi's gotta do it all."

102. - I got that, I got that. - Oh, look what Desi's doing.

103. There's Lindsey his daughter.

104. - Y'all okay? - Jon: She's the manager.

105. Her dad is older. He's not as well.

106. Now the pressure is on Lindsey to take over.

107. She needs to take the burden off him physically

108. of coming here every day.

109. - That's your answer. - Why you have—

110. Shh! Shh! Shh!

111. But he's not giving her the control to help him.

112. I'm just tryin' to help out everybody.

113. In they go.

114. In the kitchen

115. is Lindsey's cousin Bethany,

116. and she's our head cook.

117. That's fine, whatever.

118. Wow.

119. Look at the color of that cutting board.

120. It hasn't been bleached,

121. hasn't been cleaned, or scrubbed.

122. - Mm-no. - Derrick: That's pretty much mold right there.

123. That's been on there for weeks.

124. Probably hundreds of bacteria.

125. There's Gwen. She's a bartender.

126. Do you need something to drink, my darlin'?

127. There's Jessica. Bartender.

128. There's Amanda. She's another bartender.

129. - Look at that mosquito. Ahh! - Oh, my God.

130. They're smoking and drinking

131. - while they're working. - Smoking is legal in these bars,

132. but not for employees, and not in work areas obviously.

133. - Can you smoke behind a bar? - Derrick: No.

134. Of course not. It's a food service preparation area.

135. We're good. Don't worry about it.

136. - You owe me. - Okay.

137. Most of these staff have been working here for years.

138. Every one of these employees has a bar tab

139. and they owe Desi money.

140. I have never seen an owner encourage employees

141. to drink with money they don't have.

142. It's like, "Steal from me.

143. It's okay. Here's the tab."

144. So four years ago I did one of my favorite

145. rescues at Spirits on Bourbon.

146. You're not gonna sit here and look at my face in my place

147. - and call me a liar. - I'll just did, and I'll do it again.

148. Wow, I think you did a great job, Jon.

149. Excellent, man. That means a lot to me. You're a good guy.

150. It's one of the greatest turnarounds in "Bar Rescue" history.

151. I asked Brad and Steve,

152. the owners of Spirits on Bourbon, to come and do recon here,

153. 'cause they know this market.

154. They know what we're looking for, and they can give us

155. a great local perspective on this bar.

156. We're always happy to see Jon.

157. He comes and sees us whenever he's in town.

158. He keeps in contact, he's been a friend to us,

159. and we're very, very lucky to have him on our team.

160. - What can I get for you? - Can I get a rum and Coke?

161. - Okay. - Do you have any kind of drink menu

162. or specialty drinks or anything like that?

163. Um, I don't have a drink menu

164. and unfortunately I don't have a specialty drink,

165. but I can you whatever you want.

166. I'll try like a Hurricane or something.

167. Um, I— we don't have— I can't do a Hurricane.

168. How 'bout a margarita with salt?

169. - Sounds good. - Okay. Excellent.

170. - Thanks. - You're welcome.

171. - Can I buy you a shot? - That'd be awesome.

172. - Thank you. - You're very welcome.

173. - Your first ones are on Desi. - They are?

174. - Yes. - That's on me. I got that.

175. I can tell one thing, Desi's allergic to money.

176. - Free should be never expected. - Yeah, absolutely.

177. - It should be special. - That's right.

178. When you come out of the gate this way,

179. - now free's expected. - Exactly.

180. See, there's no count system here.

181. - No measurements. She's double shotting. - Yeah.

182. Is she pouring a drink with a cup inside of a cup

183. pouring it into another cup to serve?

184. Oh, I've never seen that one before.

185. Wow, that's real class over there.

186. That's strong, too.

187. You got me doin' shots over here.

188. Vegas Bombs, on Desi.

189. So Brad and Steve got a free round of shots.

190. - This shot is disgusting.

191. - Do you have oysters? - I do not.

192. - You have no oysters today? - None.

193. Now it says they have oysters and they don't.

194. - It's only New Orleans.

195. What do they have here that—

196. would you consider New Orleans food?

197. It says the mac 'n' cheese is first place.

198. What's it first place of?

199. - Oh, ha, ha, ha, hold up. - It's first place.

200. - It says it's first place.

201. They had a contest, like, four years ago

202. for National Mac 'n Cheese Day.

203. It's a totally different than you've ever had.

204. And it's first place? That's what I'm getting.

205. It is first place. It won first place.

206. - We'll try that one. - Thanks.

207. We're in one of the culinary capitals

208. - of the world. - Yeah.

209. Presentation matters here.

210. They don't even really seem to be trying.

211. They're just slapping the stuff in a ball.

212. It's not baked. It's not really creamy.

213. It's sitting on top of bread

214. that's now wet.

215. I mean, there's nothing about this that appealing.

216. Bethany is head of the kitchen,

217. but she is never in the kitchen.

218. That's the issue here.

219. - Awesome. - Thank you.

220. Look at the size of this.

221. It doesn't even look like mac 'n cheese.

222. - Like, how do you eat it? - This is so massive

223. you don't even know what to do with it.

224. - Oh my gosh. - There's nothing to it.

225. It's just— it's bland.

226. I love cheese, but I don't like this.

227. - Whatever, sweetheart. - Wow. Another one.

228. If he would put his eyes on that cash register

229. as much as he was putting on beer,

230. there's potential to make money here.

231. - That's right. - There's people here,

232. but you gotta charge people for drinks.

233. Desi Romano's. Home of the "first one's free."

234. - Now he's gettin' smashed.

235. I can't even imagine how much that tab is of just free drinks tonight.

236. Jeff said I needed a shot.

237. No, that's not what I'm havin'.

238. You said a Vegas Bomb.

239. - That's not it. - It is it.

240. Well, you made it wrong.

241. - She didn't make it right. - It is right.

242. He doesn't know when to stop himself.

243. - Lindsey: Babe. - What, baby?

244. You're gonna do another shot?

245. - I don't like you. - Okay, well, you're makin' that clear.

246. - Really. - Will you remember? Just calm it down.

247. - Shut up. - Okay.

248. She is trying to calm him down, stop him.

249. I'm the boss and nobody give him a shot.

250. - Okay? Thank you. - Whatever.

251. No more drinking, but Desi's not listening.

252. - Did I get what I ordered? - What did you order from me?

253. I would like a little shot, and I would like a beer.

254. I'm the manager. I asked them not to serve you anymore.

255. So imagine being in Lindsey's shoes.

256. Her dad has a medical issue.

257. He sitting here drinking and partying.

258. This ain't it, but I'm drinking it.

259. Please, Dad.

260. So if he continues to drink this way

261. and continues to be uncontrolled,

262. this poor man will probably die.

263. That's what we have to prevent.

264. - 'Manda? - Yes.

265. You really can't give him another shot.

266. - Can... - Lindsey: Ugh! Um, hey, okay.

267. I can't— I'm sorry.

268. - I'm not the boss no more? - You've had enough.

269. You think I've had enough.

270. I want one more.

271. 'Manda, you're done if you don't fix a shot.

272. - Amanda: What do I do? - Pretty please do it.

273. - I'm Desi. - All right, all right.

274. I just want that one more.

275. Here you go. There you go— okay.

276. - There you do go. - Another drink?

277. No, he's not.

278. Desi's not drinking anymore!

279. One more time. I'll quit.

280. What?

281. What you want?

282. - He's got your beer. - Pretty observant guy, huh?

283. Speechless?

284. You have nothin' to say, do you?

285. Not the time or joint.

286. Wow. No.

287. I'm so.

288. - You're what? - Nothin'.

289. You've been in this business 25 years,

290. and this is what you got to show for it?

291. Really?

292. Not tonight.

293. - Really? Tonight? - What do you mean tonight, really?

294. You're losing money tonight.

295. Isn't tonight a good night to fix it? Where's your daughter?

296. Lindsey, can we talk for a minute?

297. Come over, Desi.

298. - Can I get a beer? - Come on, buddy!

299. Can I get a beer? I want a beer.

300. Dad, Dad, okay. Gwen, I said no more.

301. Desi, first put the frickin' beer down.

302. Put the beer down. He takes another drink.

303. Is the next beer more important to him than making money?

304. - No, sir. - Are we making money?

305. What're you doin' here?

306. - Is he in debt? - Yes.

307. - How much? - A little bit, a little bit.

308. - But we don't know. - He doesn't know.

309. And does he know how much money he's...

310. - What the are you— - I'm talkin', listen.

311. Does he know how much money he's losing?

312. No, he doesn't, does he? Does he have a retirement?

313. - Why tonight? - 'Cause I'm here tonight!

314. That's why.

315. I would like him to act like an owner

316. and you to act like a manager, get the bar empty,

317. get your staff together, and let's have a little meeting.

318. I don't want to tonight.

319. I'm gonna save your ass starting tonight!

320. Isn't that better than starting tomorrow?

321. - Not tonight. - Yes, yes, yes.

322. Tomorrow, not tonight.

323. There is no tomorrow if you don't do it tonight.

324. Stand with me toe-to-toe and I'll save your ass.

325. - Okay? - Please, please.

326. Why tonight? Why tonight? I'll do it tomorrow.

327. - Listen, we have to say okay. - I'm gonna walk outta here now.

328. Either he's gonna tell me to stop or not.

329. No, no, no, what the?

330. There's only one person in this bar

331. who can tell me to stay,

332. - and that's you, Desi! - Please!

333. - We want you to stay. - Five, four,

334. - three, two! - Dad, tell him you want him to stay.

335. - Yes, we have to do that. You have to agree with me. - Do I leave or not?

336. - Yes. - Wait a minute!

337. One minute. One minute, Jon.

338. - One minute. - forget it.

339. You caught me on surprise.

340. Please, come back. Oh, my God.

341. You caught me on surprise, Jon.

342. I caught you drunk is how I caught you.

343. Pull your staff together

344. and show me you got a frickin' spine, okay?

345. - Lindsey: I love you so much. - Go to work!

346. - You don't want to see my staff. - Go to work!

347. Dad, do what he said!

348. - I love you so much! - Really, tonight?

349. You just have to— Please, Dad, just do it!

350. Listen, everybody has to go. For reals, sorry.

351. Desi needs to understan.

352. that he has to change his behavior to change his future.

353. Come on over, guys. Let's sit and talk.

354. Whatever. What did I do wrong?

355. I want you guys to sit down here at the bar.

356. Let's all talk, okay?

357. If you don't listen to what he's saying,

358. - then we're not gonna have— - Come on, Jon.

359. - What the? - You're not understanding.

360. Please, just listen to what he's saying

361. so this can happen for real.

362. - Please just listen. - No, no.

363. - First and foremost... - You're not understandin'.

364. Do you really wanna talk right now in your condition

365. and embarrass yourself more, Desi?

366. Don't you think that's in your best interest

367. to shut the hell up for five minutes?

368. They say it, but I don't know if that's the right thing to do.

369. Maybe that's why you're failing,

370. because you talk and don't frickin' listen!

371. How far in debt is he right now?

372. I know. It's about $150,000.

373. You just know too many people.

374. No, I just know too much stuff, and you don't like it.

375. I also know that you had a stroke three months ago.

376. Desi, look at me.

377. I could be at a thousand other bars right now, do you get that?

378. I live a thousand miles from here, and I'm here to help you!

379. So either you take it seriously or you don't!

380. Up to you! Do you get it?

381. - Thank you. - Oh.

382. - What's your name? Tina.

383. What's your relationship here?

384. - Husband! - He's your husband?

385. Can he deal with a losing business right now?

386. This is more than a business, isn't it?

387. What are you worried about?

388. You're worried that your dad might die

389. - over this, correct? - Stop!

390. Absolutely. We're all worried about that.

391. Stop the daddy. Thank God.

392. - Thank God! - Bethany: It's all for Desi!

393. We love you! Stop!

394. Jesus.

395. Seeing my father like this makes me very upset.

396. Come on, babe.

397. He's embarrassing.

398. She loves you. And listen, we do care.

399. We don't want somethin' bad to happen to you.

400. That's your daughter.

401. She's scared for the health of her daddy!

402. Where's Lindsey?

403. You chased your daughter away.

404. Good guy!

405. - I love her more than life. - It shows!

406. Act like an tonight.

407. What the are you tryin' to say?

408. - I am trying to get you to look at me and say... - I'm trying to do this right.

409. No, you're not.

410. No, you're not.

411. Then look at me and say understand that you're drunk

412. and that you failed tonight

413. and that you will come back here sober tomorrow

414. and be sober all week and work to improve this

415. and then I will help you, but if—

416. Did you rehearse what you just said?

417. I don't rehearse a thing!

418. I gotta do everything you just said?

419. - Yes. - Just show up tomorrow sober.

420. You gotta be sober and you gotta come back.

421. That's nothin'. You could that.

422. You do that a lot. You could do that.

423. - The hell with it, guys. - Jon, please, wait a minute.

424. - Jon: The hell with it! - Wait a minute.

425. Have Lindsey give me a call.

426. You're a dick. You're a dick.

427. And you're broke.

428. I'll take one more beer.

429. Desi is so drunk, he might blow

430. one of the greatest opportunities he's ever had.

431. I'm not goin' back tonight.

432. You're helpless if he doesn't open up his ears,

433. - you know that. - You're right, yeah.

434. It's not just about a bar, is it?

435. It's about the life of your father.

436. Now if he drinks like this, he's gonna kill himself, right?

437. And he's not reasonable in any way.

438. So here's what I wanna do. I wanna try this for you.

439. But he's gotta work with me here.

440. - Absolutely. - We'll make sure of that.

441. And I'm expecting him to be here everyday this week sober.

442. And I will bust my ass for you guys, you hear me?

443. - Yes, sir. - And I'll realign this for you,

444. but I don't wanna do that for him to come in here

445. and drink himself to death,

446. - correct? - Right.

447. So we have to make this right with him.

448. And then we can make it right for him.

449. Thank you.

450. He needs to be woken up a little bit.

451. Well, I'm gonna give him some tough love tomorrow, okay?

452. But you guys gotta back me up, too.

453. Everyone that's here, we all want this.

454. Okay. I'll come through for you,

455. but let's pull him into line, okay?

456. - Please. - Okay.

457. Not tonight. No.

458. But this was terrible what happened tonight.

459. Let's start fresh, what do you say?

460. Yes.

461. That would be very ideal for me, sir.

462. Hi, Desi.

463. - Desi Romano. - This is the real Desi.

464. - Yes, sir. - Good to meet you.

465. - Likewise, thank you. - Do you remember last night?

466. - Do you? - Truthfully, no.

467. And that's what's scary.

468. A picture's worth a thousands words.

469. - Oh, please. No.

470. Just watch for a minute.

471. Whatever, sweetheart.

472. - Lindsey: Babe. - What, baby?

473. You're gonna be doin' another shot?

474. - I don't like you. - Lindsey: Okay, well,

475. - you're making that clear. - I heard enough.

476. Desi, you can't drink here.

477. Ugh! I got that. Oh, do I have that.

478. And I look at you guys last night

479. drinking, smoking behind the bar.

480. Desi, you don't know how much money you're losing.

481. What employee has a bar tab here?

482. How much is your tab?

483. - 90? - Yeah.

484. How much is your tab?

485. - $50? - About, yeah.

486. - Bethany? - Yes.

487. How much is your tab?

488. How much?

489. I know the number. So give it to me straight.

490. You know, it...

491. You got me cringin' right now.

492. - $1,200, $1,300. - 2,000.

493. I added it up. The tab was $3,890 with all of you.

494. At a 20% liquor cost,

495. Desi, you just ate $700, $800 worth of booze

496. in support of your staff.

497. Encouraging them to drink

498. with money they don't have.

499. He disrespected it, he disrespected you,

500. but you guys disrespected it, too.

501. Where he didn't give a.

502. - We didn't give a. - Really, everybody?

503. Desi, you're about 150,000 in debt

504. at your age after a stroke,

505. but you have an unbelievable asset.

506. Your daughter.

507. Do you believe your daughter

508. has the ability to run this bar.

509. I just don't think nobody can do it like me.

510. You're just dead wrong, buddy.

511. She can do it.

512. - You have to empower her to. - Yeah.

513. He's always said a lot of things

514. are supposed to change, and nothin' ever does.

515. We used to have meetings all the time.

516. We'd all give him suggestions, and he'd say,

517. "Okay, we're gonna do it, we're gonna do it,"

518. - and we just never do it. - He talks a big game.

519. ATD, All Talk Desi.

520. He'll talk about all day long.

521. But when it comes time to do it,

522. then "All Talk Desi," becomes "Sit On His Ass Desi."

523. Get your together.

524. You have a family, they love you,

525. and they want you to be here ten years from now.

526. I want to set you up to act like an owner.

527. Sit back a little more,

528. direct your team, direct Lindsey,

529. function as an owner in less of a stressful way,

530. and know the things are getting done

531. so you can come back with piece of mind.

532. You gonna step up?

533. - Do whatever it takes, right? - I absolutely will.

534. - You ready to fight?

535. Okay, let's do this. Let me my experts in here.

536. Good friend of mine, Derrick Turner.

537. Great mixologist. What did you see?

538. You didn't know how to pour properly.

539. You didn't know how to make a cocktail properly,

540. and it was just chaos. And the smoking.

541. I don't care if the customers do it.

542. You don't do it. You're serving.

543. This is a food service preparation station by law.

544. You cannot smoke behind the bar anymore.

545. Okay? Tiff.

546. The kitchen was not cleaned properly,

547. and I didn't see direction in the kitchen.

548. And I saw you out here versus in the kitchen managing.

549. So guys, here's the deal.

550. My two experts Derrick and Tiffany are as good as it gets.

551. So learn everything you can. Okay?

552. All right, guys, let's get to work.

553. What we're gonna be doing today

554. is just revamping the way you guys are actually doing things.

555. You wanna get consistent with how you pour your cocktails.

556. So, I'm gonna have to teach you how to pour.

557. Okay, an ounce, four seconds.

558. One and two and three and four.

559. - Okay? 3/4ths of an ounce? - One and two and three.

560. - Bang.

561. This is my first time in Louisiana and I was like,

562. New Orleans has a massive cocktail history.

563. It has real roots that you should portray in your drinks.

564. So the first cocktail,

565. something that's key to this city.

566. - A Hurricane. - I like that.

567. Passion, pineapple, two ounces.

568. One and two and three and four and five

569. and six and seven and eight.

570. With a little bit of acidic, 1/2 an ounce.

571. - Gwen: One and two. - Derrick: Boom.

572. Quarter grenadine, two ounces of spiced rum.

573. You need a job?

574. - Taste it up. - I'm gonna pass, guys.

575. - I like that.

576. - You guys ready to do that? - Yes.

577. - Okay, so, Amanda. - Yes.

578. You know what time it is.

579. Your Hurricane. Miss Hurricane, yeah.

580. You go, girl.

581. It was nice to experience mixology.

582. We never had that kind of training before.

583. - Mmm, good. - Ooh, that's good.

584. There are a lot of changes that do have to be made,

585. but with all of us working together,

586. we're going to make it a success.

587. We have a lot of work to do today, guys.

588. In a bar you need things that you can do quickly

589. and people can share.

590. You need bar snacks.

591. I love lots of flavor. I love Louisiana.

592. I wanted to do a Southern theme.

593. We're gonna do some okra.

594. We're gonna stuff 'em with pimento cheese

595. and then we're gonna fry 'em.

596. Duke's mayo, mozzarella, extra sharp cheddar.

597. So I took that mixture and I take my hands

598. and I put them on the side so that they never go over that.

599. And we're gonna dredge 'em on up.

600. - Okay. - And this cooks in two minutes.

601. Two minutes, done. Give it a try.

602. Is anybody else doin' this around here?

603. - Not to my knowledge. - Tiffany: And that's what you have to think about.

604. What are your signature dishes?

605. What are we doing that everyone else isn't doing?

606. Challenge accepted.

607. Here's the deal, guys.

608. We are gonna simulate a busy weekend night.

609. The whole point is to feel the stress, right?

610. - Yes, sir. - Jon: The most important thing

611. is don't sacrifice quality for speed.

612. Desi, your job is to greet people, be seen,

613. and let Lindsey step in and be the manager.

614. Tiff, what're you lookin' for tonight?

615. I wanna see strong ticket times,

616. making sure that we get the orders out within six minutes.

617. We wanna make sure that every dish looks the same, so quality.

618. - Derrick, what're you lookin' for tonight? - Count properly.

619. We're making sure that everything is paid for,

620. - accounted for, so your sales do go up. - You guys ready to do this?

621. - Okay, let's go to work.

622. I want Desi to be less involved tonight.

623. - Invite 'em in. Let's do it. - All right.

624. But Desi can only step back

625. if Lindsey steps up

626. - Yeah.

627. - All right, everybody,

628. welcome to Desi Romano's.

629. Come in and let's do this.

630. - Yes! - All right, Des!

631. - Yay! - How y'all doin'?

632. Yay.

633. - Oh, hey. - How're you feelin'?

634. I am better.

635. We have three specialty drinks.

636. All right, a Hurricane, Hurricane?

637. And you're gonna get the whiskey.

638. Be with you in just a second.

639. Two burgers, one okra, please, let's go.

640. I am excited for the stress test.

641. I like stress.

642. I like under pressure. I always liked pressure.

643. I'm a fourth and goal kinda girl, so I'm okay.

644. I see what you're doin'. you're double fisting.

645. I see that. All right, I like that.

646. Hurricane. Did you want a Hurricane?

647. - Hey, guys. - That was three.

648. Ah!

649. I'm gonna buy the next ten people

650. hamburgers or cheeseburgers.

651. The next ten people who give their orders to Lindsey.

652. All right, somebody gotta help. Gotta step in and help.

653. - I got it. - Derrick, now could that drink

654. possibly have been poured right?

655. Nope. Absolutely not.

656. - Can these possibly be right? - No, they're not consistent.

657. So you gotta dump 'em out and start over again.

658. - Who got fried okra? - Whose food is this?

659. It's mine.

660. We need to work as quick as we can to get back up to speed,

661. 'cause we're running 20-minute tickets.

662. One and two... Whoa, I messed up.

663. I just thought of something.

664. Ah, I don't know what I did wrong.

665. - Let's go, order's up.

666. So I need two bourbon teas, one Hurricane.

667. Oh, he's calling out the drinks. They're not gonna get to 'em.

668. So we definitely have to reorganize.

669. Good luck with that one.

670. You guys movin' a little slow.

671. If I'm workin', I'm movin'.

672. - I want you to move quick. - Really?

673. Honestly, I'm a little overwhelmed, a little angry.

674. Oh, See, I did wrong.

675. - Oh, my God. - It's not good.

676. You could see it's not good.

677. Derrick's having a catastrophe back there.

678. Sweat is rolling down my back, literally.

679. It's a mess.

680. We're still on the ten burgers you sent in.

681. - What kind of times? - 25 for the ten burgers.

682. Guys, that's four times what ticket times should be.

683. But we can't move on to the single tickets

684. until we get this big one out.

685. So now we're running behind on all the tickets.

686. No one's taking care of these tickets?

687. - Lindsey: No. - Nobody.

688. And I got my burger and no drinks.

689. She's ignoring me and the customers, fantastic.

690. Got burgers comin' in the window.

691. Tickets.

692. - Lindsey, you see what this is? - It's— yes, a lot.

693. - Look, this is failure. - Right.

694. So you have to divide your time between this and the bar.

695. - Hold it, Lindsey. - Yeah.

696. - What're these? - Um, they're tickets.

697. - Were those served. - Well, those...

698. - Derrick: No. - Jon: Lindsey.

699. - Yes. - How're you gonna

700. manage this when you can't manage ten tickets?

701. You gotta get these tickets outta here. Come on, move.

702. Everyone's just doin' their own.

703. - Lindsey, where'd the burgers go? - Right here, right here.

704. - Where'd they go? - Wait— wait— ah!

705. - I'll get it - You do it then.

706. I'm just tryin' to help you out, baby girl.

707. - Here, you give it to him. - Him who?

708. They all— the guys over there.

709. - What guys? - They bought ten.

710. I don't know what's goin' on! I don't know what's...

711. Lindsey, look at me. Your father's future is on this.

712. - You hear me?

713. - You hear me?

714. Lindsey, look at me. Your father's future is on this.

715. - You hear me?

716. Three teas for service.

717. Now Lindsey, she doesn't have the urgency to run this place.

718. No, she panics. I see what you're seeing.

719. I'm seeing it. I'm seeing it.

720. Oh, how perfect is that?

721. Stop! Our ticket times in the kitchen is six minutes!

722. We're running almost 30 minutes!

723. Drinks are coming out wrong!

724. Did this bar work tonight, Lindsey?

725. - Nope, not exactly. - Complete failure!

726. I'm shutting this down now!

727. Come back in two nights,

728. and we'll show you what the Desi Romano brand can be!

729. Let shut down this bar. We gotta have a meeting.

730. I'm scared to open this bar with this staff.

731. What happens when I open a brand-new bar

732. for you guys and this happens again?

733. It can ruin everything.

734. What'd you think of your bar tonight?

735. - What happened? - Lindsey: It was a lot.

736. I showed you the tickets and you looked at me.

737. And then I came over to you again, you ignored me.

738. And then you ignored the customer.

739. - So what're we here for? - Jon: Lindsey, this is serious.

740. The simplest of things you could not pull off tonight.

741. I want you to be pissed at yourself

742. 'cause you coulda done better, and you didn't!

743. And if you don't step up, he's gonna lose this.

744. And how did the kitchen do, Tiff?

745. We had the same issues, uh, ticket times being long.

746. Josh and Bethany have to learn how to communicate better.

747. Just two dishes tonight.

748. It just was a cluster.

749. Is that the Romano brand?

750. We have to figure out a plan.

751. I gotta protect you, Desi. That's my goal.

752. You're a brand.

753. 25 years you put into your brand.

754. Good night.

755. The restaurant failed. I feel like.

756. I wanna make sure Desi is motivated,

757. so I set up training at Spirits on Bourbon,

758. one of my greatest successes.

759. I wanna show him firsthand

760. the turnaround this bar had.

761. I beat you up pretty hard last night.

762. Now let me tell you the good part.

763. You guys had great attitudes.

764. The fact of the matter is we can turn this around

765. and bringing you here was really important to me,

766. 'cause this bar was a failure four years ago.

767. You know, it was close to closing, all I did was give them

768. a platform, Des, just like I'm giving to you,

769. and it's what they did with it that's so amazing.

770. - Brad, Steve. - Good job. Good job.

771. These guys are one of my greatest success stories.

772. How much money would you say you're up

773. since I left in these four years?

774. - $5 million. - All: What? Wow.

775. I asked them to come and do recon in your bar where you said,

776. "Desi Romano's home of the 'first shot is free.'"

777. - Yeah.

778. It has a lot of room for improvement,

779. and it comes from the top.

780. It's up to you to train these guys to be successful,

781. and your legacy will live on forever.

782. We're gonna train today, and we're gonna get you guys better and better and better

783. - and better. - Desi: I feel reenergized.

784. Ready to go.

785. So we'll do a cocktail today.

786. What I want to do is we keep that rustic, old-school feel vibe

787. that New Orleans has.

788. The cocktail we're gonna make is a bourbon martini.

789. It ties into the culture of this city.

790. An ounce of grenadine,

791. 3/4th of an ounce lime juice,

792. two ounces bourbon with ice.

793. With a cherry.

794. And that, guys, is a Romano's Bourbon Martini.

795. Mmm.

796. Desi Romano's stands out from any other bar that's around you guys.

797. - You guys have specialty cocktails.

798. We was always just thrown to the wolves,

799. so now being actually trained

800. as long as we always stay on the same page

801. and we communicate with each other,

802. - we're gonna do awesome. - What I really wanna focus on

803. as we're going through all of our training

804. is your leadership skills.

805. I want you to be focused on

806. - what you need to do. - Yes.

807. For our relaunch, I wanted to stay Louisiana.

808. So we're gonna do some crawfish beignets.

809. This is also something we could have prepped and ready to go.

810. - That'll work in the ticket times. - This is the name of the game.

811. The great thing about recipes like this

812. is if you wanted it to do something else,

813. really, only one ingredient changes.

814. Less ingredients, cost less, more efficient.

815. I'm excited about it.

816. Crawfish beignet has onions, some bell peppers, celery,

817. some crawfish.

818. You have your dough which has flour, three eggs.

819. I'm gonna add in some beer,

820. then add a little bit of cayenne, paprika for smokiness,

821. add in some green onion.

822. - Those look good.

823. The key to deep frying food

824. is to use the rising bubbles in the heated oil

825. as a barometer for determining cook time.

826. The bubbles are a result of the moisture

827. evaporating from the food not actually the oil boiling.

828. When the bubbles stop rising,

829. the food is finished cooking and ready to eat.

830. So we're serve this with our Louisiana sauce.

831. You'll sit that on the side, and then the Beignets are going out.

832. - We're gonna get this show on the road, all right? - All right.

833. Desi's open mind and Lindsey's confidence,

834. together can equal success.

835. How're you feelin' these days?

836. I'm feelin' good, I— I mean,

837. there's some things I have to do different.

838. We're only goin'-- talkin' three months now...

839. - I hear you. - ... since the sickness.

840. Let me give you a choice. You can retire or refire.

841. Right now, Jon, I can't lie to you. I got to refire.

842. You have an unbelievable personality.

843. You have a chance to keep the legacy alive.

844. Think of what you can do for Lindsey in the next year.

845. - Oh, yeah. - Set her up, train her,

846. elevate Lindsey.

847. What do we do to get Lindsey more confident?

848. I gotta show her the growth that I've experienced from you.

849. Like you said, it— it's our future.

850. But I have to hear it from her,

851. - "Dad, it's me that wants to do this." - Of course.

852. And then, I have to work with her.

853. Before I always thought,

854. all-talk Desi could get it done, but no, I can't.

855. With help from Lindsey, I'ma make this work.

856. Why don't we bring Lindsey in for a couple minutes?

857. We talked about management. Let's see how she feels.

858. - Okay. - Lindsey, come in.

859. - Hi, Daddy. - Hey, sweetie.

860. - Hi. - Hello, how are y'all?

861. Good.

862. What is your role in this?

863. And that's what you and your dad need to figure out.

864. You know, I never did allow you to fire anybody.

865. I never did allow you to discipline anybody.

866. I never allowed you to do the ordering

867. without me going over it.

868. If I can give up some of what I do,

869. if I do this, you really think that you can...

870. you can do it?

871. - Absolutely. - You said it yourself,

872. "This should be the best place on the Paris."

873. I say it all the time. Yes, definitely.

874. I am totally ready to step up and prove to my dad

875. that I can do this and make this better for all of us.

876. We're looking at in management

877. where we have the ordering of product.

878. We have the hiring of people, the training of people.

879. He can do marketing and promotions and bands.

880. That stuff's easy for you.

881. If she focuses on some of the operational things.

882. Seein' is believin'.

883. And bein' in this club is believin'.

884. And Lindsey steppin' up to the plate and managing,

885. helpin' takin' off my plate.

886. I'm ready to go.

887. - Love ya. - Muah.

888. - Hey, guys. - All: Hello.

889. Lookin' sharp, Des'.

890. You know, when I heard your story,

891. it really meant something to me.

892. When I heard about the stroke 90 days ago,

893. and I heard about you being about $150,000 in debt or so.

894. You being in the business 25 years,

895. to me you were a brand.

896. But I don't change things for the sake of changing them.

897. I only freshened up the outside because it worked.

898. Inside didn't. The concept didn't make sense before,

899. - did it? - No.

900. I didn't understand what it was, a sports bar,

901. - you know, a nightclub. - I get it, I get it.

902. I mean, it made no sense on the inside.

903. I had to build a bar that was as appealing as you are.

904. Something that's powerful when you go inside.

905. I wanted Desi Romano's Sports Bar & Grill

906. to be Desi Romano's Sports Bar & Grill

907. when you walk inside.

908. - You ready, Des? - Yes, yes.

909. - All right, go ahead, guys. - Lindsey: Go!

910. Right? They gotta stop us.

911. Go, go, go, go.

912. Shut the up!

913. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

914. - Wow. - Look it, look it, look it.

915. Oh, my God. Look at the things.

916. - The doors. - Look at the POS. Look at that.

917. Unbelievable Look-a the juke box. Look-a the TV.

918. I can't quit sayin' that word "Look-a."

919. - Look-a the bar. - That's where we gotta be.

920. - Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. - That is nice.

921. - Look, Dad. - New light. New light, y'all.

922. This is awesome. Da— everything.

923. The darts. The backboard is perfect.

924. This is beyond my imagination.

925. Oh, my God. USB. We have charging stations.

926. You chargin'-- no, don't say that.

927. - Lindsey: Everywhere. - Don't say that.

928. - Around the whole bar. - How does he think of that?

929. - This is the. - "Hurricane Lindsey."

930. "All Talk Desi."

931. I can't thank Jon enough for comin' in here

932. and makin' my Dad open his eyes and helpin' us all out.

933. I feel like I'm dreamin' still.

934. - What'd you think, guys? You like it? - I think it's unbelievable.

935. You know, this was a challenge

936. because Desi Romano's is a 25-year-old brand.

937. So we went out to an architectural artifacts house

938. and bought all of these old shutters,

939. the wrought iron behind the bar

940. to bring age and authenticity.

941. Your brand is authenticity, history.

942. This will definitely work for this bar.

943. I got Future POS system to put two behind the bar,

944. one back here to make sure you're set up.

945. Okay, guys, I wanna show you

946. what we did behind the bar. Come on over.

947. When customers come to this bar,

948. they're gonna stay so long

949. that their phones are gonna go dead.

950. So I got the company Bar Juice to fly out here

951. and work all night to put USB posts—

952. - go ahead, plug that baby in. - Oh, I love it.

953. That is the best— everything's the best thing.

954. All of this stuff adds to value.

955. You don't give away drinks in a place like this, do you?

956. - All: No, you don't. - You don't need to.

957. I gotta protect your profits.

958. I got you Partender. A lifetime subscription.

959. Partender takes inventory behind your bar

960. using the camera on the tablet in seconds.

961. Oh, I love that.

962. Okay, guys, there's only one thing left to do.

963. Tonight, we open. We open in about 20 minutes.

964. - So let's get to it. - Let's get to it.

965. I couldn't have done without all y'all, all y'all, all y'all.

966. - Des. - Yes, sir.

967. I'm lookin' at a man with a new brand.

968. I'm beside myself. I'm just so beside myself.

969. So what I'd like you to do is have a little staff meeting for a minute...

970. - Okay. - ... tell 'em what you want, pump 'em up,

971. then go out and invite everybody in, okay?

972. You got it.

973. Desi has really opened his mind the past few days.

974. Fact of the matter is, he has straightened up.

975. He's engaged and he's curious to be better than he was.

976. - Hello, everybody.

977. Welcome to the new Desi Romano's.

978. Come on in.

979. - Hello, how are you? - How are y'all doin'?

980. Okay, two martinis a Hurricane Lindsey and I got yours.

981. Okay, good.

982. Don't doubt yourself. You got this.

983. Gimme that garnish and push it back out.

984. - Gotcha. - Derrick: They knockin' it out the park.

985. The customers are appreciating the cocktails.

986. Now they're makin' two or three at once,

987. and they're making 'em right.

988. We're servin' these drinks and this food.

989. So when you order a cocktail, order some food.

990. All right, Josh, you have what else comin' up, sweetheart?

991. - You got an okra comin'. - Now we're waitin' on an okra.

992. One okra, this is the one okra. Okay.

993. Bethany had to step and lead the kitchen,

994. and now it's looking mighty bright here.

995. One okra by itself.

996. I'm ready to be a leader, I'm ready to take over.

997. I'm ready to get us in the right direction and, you know,

998. just go for it and make the best Desi Romano's we can make it.

999. Food's gotta get outta the window.

1000. - Runner.

1001. - How is everything? - All: Delicious.

1002. Lindsey is killin' it, and they got a drink named after her.

1003. Ah, yes indeed. I'm so excited.

1004. Y'all comin' back?

1005. Good.

1006. Lindsey is showing great progress as a manager.

1007. With Desi working with her

1008. and focused on her gaining her confidence,

1009. she's gonna be able to take over.

1010. - Hey, Jon. - How are you, Steve?

1011. - Place looks amazing. - Did you pay for your first drink?

1012. Of course they took the money. Not like last time.

1013. Thanks, buddy. Always good to see you.

1014. Whoo! Bring it on.

1015. Who was here the other night? A little better?

1016. Desi looks good. He's proud.

1017. He's an example of what the Desi Romano brand should be.

1018. - I'm really proud of you. - Thank you.

1019. Are you ready to do this and really step up?

1020. - Absolutely ready. - Awesome. Good job.

1021. - Thank you. - Good night, Lindsey.

1022. I'm feeling very excited about our future, and I'm gonna step in

1023. and I will make sure this business keeps on going.

1024. I promised you I'd leave you in a better place.

1025. - Did I keep my word? - You kept your word.

1026. - I've got the tools. - I'm proud of you, buddy.

1027. Jon, thanks so much.

1028. Am I proud that my name is on the outside of this building?

1029. Yes, indeed. I sure am.

1030. I've got everything I need to make this place skyrocket.

1031. Everybody, tell Jon goodnight, people.

1032. When I first got here Desi was so drunk

1033. he doesn't remember half the night.

1034. I said I needed a shot.

1035. But he did remember being in a hole $150,000.

1036. This new bar should lift that financial pressure.

1037. I really am so excited. Muah, I love you.

1038. And Desi and Lindsey together can equal success.

1039. Bam!