Bar Rescue 5x21

1. Go get Robbie's cigarettes off the bar

2. so he can have a cigarette, that's all he wants.

3. Can we all just take a deep breath

4. and everybody takes 5, stop.

5. That bitch is not gonna talk to me.

6. This year, 6,500 failing bars nationwide

7. will close their doors for good.

8. If things don't change soon,

9. Jack's Place in Las Vegas Nevada

10. will become just another statistic.

11. In 1997, Corinne Vaughn started bartending

12. at the busy east Las Vegas dive bar Jack's Place.

13. I was a preschool teacher and I didn't make enough money.

14. And I started supplementing my income

15. by going into the bartending industry.

16. Enjoy.

17. Then, in 2008 Corinne took over as owner.

18. When Jack was ready to retire I wanted the bar to keep going,

19. I had made a lot of friends here.

20. I loved Jack's Place, and I bought the bar.

21. But the success of Jack's Place

22. proved to be a thing of the past.

23. The bar has struggled to attract newcomers

24. and its loyal customer base of regulars

25. has literally begun to die off.

26. I have attended approximately 50 funerals

27. of long-term customers that were in here every day.

28. I cannot seem to get a younger clientele through the door.

29. Oh!

30. And Corinne's forgiving management style has led

31. to undisciplined staff whose antics drive away new business.

32. Hey guys, I got some goulash, anybody want some?

33. - Mom. - Mom. - Ma!

34. How many of you guys in here call me Mom?

35. Already a mother of 4,

36. Corinne proved unable to leave her maternal instincts at home,

37. as she tried to run her business.

38. Corinne treats everybody like they're her kids.

39. When I train the bartenders I tell them it's their house,

40. they're in charge because they're they're responsible

41. for everything they do.

42. And when you own a business, you can't do that.

43. Bartenders, they all have issues.

44. Corinne's the softy.

45. There is no discipline here.

46. Oh.

47. He just thinks he's the best.

48. And Corinne lets it happen.

49. Jon Lopez: That's what I'm talking about!

50. Yay, you got one.

51. I hate confrontations.

52. I think I treat everybody like they should have 10 chances.

53. Oh.

54. Because I'm mom.

55. Now, Corinne's dysfunctional family is out of control.

56. Resulting in chaos and pushing Corinne to the edge.

57. Bulll picked it up!

58. Whoa whoa whoa.

59. Please listen for a minute.

60. No!

61. Now, Corinne is in over $500,000 worth of debt.

62. And set to close the doors any day.

63. As a result of me not taking paychecks for 7 years,

64. I lost absolutely every one of my assets

65. including my home that I raised my children in.

66. I fight with my husband, it's destroying my health,

67. I'm exhausted.

68. So Corinne has decided to pull back the doors,

69. bust open the books,

70. and make a call for help to Bar Rescue.

71. There is nobody else, it's me, myself and I.

72. And the three of us are tired of failing.

73. There we are buddy. Jack's Place.

74. So we're in my hometown.

75. - Vegas. - Las Vegas.

76. Yes.

77. We're on Bonanza,

78. we're nowhere near the tourist area of Las Vegas.

79. No, no.

80. This is all grey and blue-collar employees

81. that live in this area.

82. They want to go to a nice, neighborhood, cool dive bar.

83. Absolutely, bars that are in strip malls

84. that are neighborhood bars, they work out very well,

85. if they're done right.

86. For the bar, Jon brings in Phil Wills.

87. Phil's flair for spirits and knowledge of the

88. Vegas bar scene make him the perfect expert to assess

89. why this bar is failing.

90. So this bar was opened in 1980 by Jack Regan,

91. who was a state senator in Nevada.

92. After he passed away, Corinne his bartender bought it from

93. his estate 9 years ago.

94. So what I understand happened in Jack's is

95. they've been in business so long that

96. their customers have literally died off.

97. And you know what the challenge with a bar like this is,

98. we can't alienate them.

99. Mmm umh.

100. But we've got to put people around.

101. And get this Phil, she's never taken a paycheck out,

102. and now she's in a hole $500,000.

103. That's insane.

104. Look at that sign Phil, dated.

105. Just kind of blends in with everything.

106. There's a terrible front, there's nothing inviting.

107. If you look on the outside,

108. imagine what the personality on the inside is gonna be.

109. What about the rope lights.

110. - Very attractive don't you think? - Ugh

111. So if you were gonna get rope lights,

112. and you were gonna go to the wall,

113. you would have a plan would you not?

114. Absolutely.

115. Look at this carpet, looks like it's from the 80's.

116. It's like it's from a hotel banquet room in the 80's.

117. Mmm hmm.

118. There's Corinne.

119. Guys, come on in.

120. Get the door for ya.

121. Ernie's the manager. Ernie's been there about a year.

122. You get the drinks, I'll get the drawer.

123. There's Jon the bartender.

124. I didn't bring for work.

125. No bottle opener, no keys.

126. There's Caryn, she's our second manager.

127. What is that?

128. Jon Lopez: That's not mine.

129. It's not yours? It's not yours?

130. It's nobody's duty?

131. I just got here.

132. Jon Taffer: That's Travis, he's the son of owner Corinne,

133. he fills in every once in a while as a manager.

134. So you're gonna hate this.

135. The staff calls Corinne Mom.

136. Oh jeez.

137. - Mom. - Yes.

138. You can't coddle your staff.

139. Do you want me to get you a sippy cup?

140. So tonight for recon I wanted to get some real influencers

141. in the Las Vegas marketplace,

142. so I got John Mac from Sunny 106.5 radio.

143. And I got Big D from The Bull 95.5

144. And they like what we do at this bar, pack this place.

145. That's great.

146. Jon's recon team arrives at Jack's Place.

147. A 2,000 square foot space with a circular bar

148. and one speed well, located 11 miles north east

149. of the Las Vegas strip.

150. What's up my man?

151. I want to see what happens here.

152. Jon Lopez: How are we doing tonight?

153. Good, how about yourself?

154. Jon Lopez: Doing well, doing well.

155. Big D: Can I get a Lynchburg Lemonade?

156. All right.

157. They've ordered a Lynchburg Lemonade,

158. which is probably one of the most popular mixed

159. Jack Daniels drinks in the world.

160. Oh 100%.

161. Let's see if he can make it.

162. He's not using a mixing cup to mix it.

163. He's gonna serve this in a pint glass.

164. Definitely gonna want to shake that,

165. it has some sort of citrus in there.

166. So you want to bind those ingredients,

167. you want to break down that tartness.

168. And there's a big difference in taste when you don't shake it.

169. All right, let's see what they think.

170. Ugh.

171. You don't like it?

172. I'm guessing bitter?

173. I think bitter, tartness, and there you go,

174. when it's not shaken, that's what you're gonna taste.

175. Yeah, that's not good.

176. What's up?

177. It's a little ahh.

178. It wasn't strong enough. It was very very sour.

179. Hey what's up guys, how ya doin'?

180. Have a seat wherever you like.

181. Oh!

182. Hey I gotta try it.

183. They got me a child proof

184. bartender flairing bottles, see?

185. Big D: Is it plastic?

186. Yeah!

187. Don't do it!

188. Hey!

189. You already broke a cap, no.

190. Jon Lopez: But that's how you do it.

191. Oh.

192. Big D: It was awkward because as we sit there,

193. like all of sudden he's flipping a bottle.

194. It do— that happens, this is Las Vegas,

195. - that happens in some places. - I was gonna say livin in Vegas

196. you see flair bartenders all the time.

197. It's just that they don't usually

198. practice in front of you.

199. Yeah.

200. Oh!

201. All right, let me see.

202. We're gonna get this. Oh.

203. He threw it right up into the...

204. , all right, here we go.

205. - Oh! - Ah! - Oh!

206. And now he lost it, it's gone.

207. It's gone in the abyss.

208. The thing about the local bars, you don't want to see that.

209. No.

210. That's on the strip you know,

211. that's the entertainment value of it.

212. Except for when he breaks a bottle

213. and the the glass goes into the ice chips.

214. Jon Lopez: How about just let me do my damn job.

215. By creating a liability,

216. I don't believe that's what I hired you to do.

217. Is he the manager?

218. Yeah.

219. He's not my manager man, 'cause he, he tries to be.

220. So is that the end of the conversation Jon?

221. Hey, I'm working over here, would you guys mind?

222. Washing dishes?

223. Jon Lopez: I'm, I'm doing my job.

224. I'm conversing with the customers.

225. Oh.

226. I literally just asked you not to do that.

227. John Mac: And then to end it with your manager yelling at you

228. to stop doing it and you're like

229. no I got this,

230. this is, this is the time, right now.

231. Jon, can you step out of the bar

232. No. I still got this.

233. Go ahead Jon, take a break. Get out of here.

234. Jon Lopez: This is ing bull. This is bull.

235. Then leave.

236. I'm gonna go sit next to these, these good fellows over here.

237. Eh, all right.

238. He is a good bartender, he's got, he's—

239. Doesn't matter. He's got no sense of authority

240. He's not showing any respect to you Corinne.

241. My man.

242. Minus, minus the maraschino cherries.

243. Now he's drinking.

244. He sat on the other side of the bar

245. and now he's chugging his cocktail.

246. This isn't good.

247. Jon, can I borrow you?

248. My man, bye bye.

249. I'm gonna go talk to my manager, great.

250. John Mac: Which one?

251. Jon, I need help. I admit it.

252. Why do you think I'm flairing? I'm tryin' to help.

253. I get that.

254. Jon Lopez: I'm trying to bring, an attraction.

255. And I appreciate that. And I appreciate that.

256. Really? I'm getting on the whole time!

257. I need you to be able to take direction.

258. I do take direction, I take direction fine.

259. But when the direction is coming from 4 different people,

260. who are we supposed to listen to?

261. He's got a point.

262. I'm sorry if you don't like who I've hired,

263. but you're gonna have to learn to live with that.

264. just get somebody good.

265. They are my managers, so you do have to listen.

266. Whatever.

267. They have no respect for her at all.

268. No.

269. Everybody's just going to crap right now.

270. So as this is going on, Ernie is out there tending bar.

271. Everybody's acting like a fool.

272. Apparently you have a problem with authority.

273. No.

274. If the authority is legit, I'm good.

275. So he makes the rules.

276. But have I, have I not just officially

277. handed over the authority to these guys?

278. So that means that's who you respect.

279. No.

280. Honestly, maybe Jon should just rule the world.

281. He has the answer to everything.

282. Jon Taffer: Sure does.

283. - Now... - Corinne.

284. Travis is here to back up Caryn.

285. Can I have a minute still?

286. And you're not involved involved in this either.

287. - I know. - Step out for a minute.

288. So now nobody's behind the bar?

289. Every employee is in the office arguing,

290. I think it's the perfect time for me to go in,

291. don't you agree?

292. Absolutely.

293. I can't take this anymore, this single employee

294. is disrespectful to all three managers,

295. and none of the managers are acting like managers.

296. They need to step up,

297. and the employee needs to shut up.

298. What is your problem with me?

299. You coming over here barking ing orders

300. like you know what you're doing.

301. And then we got somebody else

302. barking orders to me left and right.

303. That's the problem.

304. - Hello. - Hi.

305. - He's a prick isn't he? - Yes, he is.

306. - And you know he's a prick. - Yes I do.

307. And you know he's a prick, correct?

308. - Yes. - Yes.

309. Look at your fricken attitude here.

310. I won't listen to this person, I won't listen to that person.

311. I'm talking to her not him!

312. I'm doing this not that! You don't make the rules!

313. You can't even flair and catch one fricken thing

314. or do one thing right!

315. But you're standing here bad mouthing them.

316. You are a prick!

317. Takes one to know one man.

318. Jon Taffer: Is he a prick or not?

319. Not all the time.

320. You want to run a business?

321. Act like a businesswoman not a mom.

322. I don't want him to be a prick in front of my customers.

323. You just don't do anything about it.

324. OK.

325. You step up, act like an owner,

326. and I'll come back and help your bar.

327. But I'm not working with a prick who doesn't give a.

328. He does give a.

329. If I didn't care I wouldn't be trying to do what I do.

330. I don't have formal flair training, but I try.

331. Well here's the deal, it doesn't mean.

332. What you did tonight would destroy this business.

333. Apologize to her.

334. Show me you're a ing man, and apologize.

335. Please, please, Jon please.

336. 'Cause only a child won't.

337. A man will.

338. Jon, I know you can do this.

339. Shut up. Humble up.

340. Oh but you're gonna talk to her like that right?

341. Jon Taffer: No!

342. Why don't you be a man and apologize?

343. - Where's your manhood? - Apologize.

344. Where's your manhood?

345. - Jon. - Apologize or leave.

346. Where's your manhood? Apologize to mom.

347. Show me how to be a man.

348. Apologize to mom. C'mon man, Mr. Successful, let's go.

349. Jon, I need you to stick up for me by being a part of the team.

350. That's how you stick up for me.

351. Humble up or leave.

352. All right, sorry.

353. All right bro.

354. I respect you bro, and I want you here,

355. - I understand. - I want us to all make money.

356. You needed to feel small for a minute man,

357. because that's what you did to him, her and her.

358. Jon Taffer: You want me to help this bar?

359. Yes, I do.

360. Have I earned any respect from you?

361. Yep.

362. And he's right, consistency.

363. He deserves that as an employee.

364. He does.

365. So let's get this place together tonight,

366. let me come in here tomorrow

367. and let me teach us all how to make money.

368. You with me?

369. We do this together,

370. - OK? - Yeah.

371. - OK? - Yeah.

372. I understand I can be a little stubborn sometimes,

373. and gotta give and take a little bit.

374. But at the same time, I feel like I have a valid argument

375. sometimes saying that there's no consistency at this bar.

376. You want one more?

377. When Jon Taffer walked in,

378. I was scared for somebody else to see my failings

379. when I feel like I've failed so much already.

380. But I also felt relief.

381. I believe that if anybody has the ability to help me fix

382. my mess that I've made, it's Jon Taffer.

383. Oh, Jesus Christ.

384. Last night I walked into this bar

385. when I saw Jon completely disrespecting the owner

386. and the owner not doing anything about it.

387. Now I want them to deal with it.

388. Today I need to change the attitude of the staff.

389. I need to make mom an owner.

390. And I need to make the family employees.

391. And it's gonna start now.

392. Jon Taffer: We didn't get a chance to

393. formally introduce ourselves last night.

394. So you bought this bar when?

395. I bought it in 2008.

396. So 9 years ago?

397. Yep.

398. And you worked here how long before then?

399. Almost 12 years.

400. Have you ever been able to pull money out of it?

401. No.

402. - Never. - Never.

403. I work harder than most people do on a 40 hour job

404. and I have no income.

405. And you were incredibly close to closing

406. just a few weeks ago, right?

407. I was actually gonna throw in the towel, yes.

408. Jon Taffer: You were done.

409. I was done.

410. So you leave with a couple bucks

411. in your pocket each week, right?

412. Yes.

413. Jon Taffer: You leave with a few dollars? She doesn't.

414. That's why I got pissed at you last night.

415. You didn't like it when I got rude to her.

416. No.

417. But yet you'll disrespect her business,

418. which is no different than disrespecting her.

419. How do you fit into this Travis?

420. I help out when I can.

421. I also work a full time job.

422. I do push people,

423. I guess you could say a little more than, than needed.

424. You can push their buttons man,

425. because I watched you last night.

426. Yes.

427. Hi.

428. I'm Caryn.

429. Jon Taffer : And how long have you been here Caryn?

430. Uh 3 weeks.

431. OK, you walk into this place 3 weeks ago,

432. what did you think of last night?

433. It was just a mess. This place is a mess.

434. Jon Taffer: Care about her don't you Ernie?

435. Yes.

436. But you've contributed as well haven't you?

437. Yes. We've all helped destroy this place.

438. In a lot of different ways for each of us.

439. I've drank on shift, I've acted like a fool in here.

440. He listens to me, more than her and that's wrong.

441. It just seemed like everybody was going their own way,

442. and so I felt if everybody feels that way I should,

443. because I'm entitled to,

444. and I realize that I'm saying I love this place,

445. but I'm it at the same time and that's not cool.

446. And I got kids and...

447. Jon Taffer: How many kids do you have?

448. I have 11 kids.

449. 11 kids.

450. 5 still at home.

451. You need to make money.

452. Yes I do.

453. Jon Taffer: So you're screwing yourself too.

454. Yes I am.

455. When somebody owns a business and works in it for 9 years,

456. keeps writing check after check after check,

457. there's a reason why you keep doing it.

458. Either it's financial and logical,

459. I'm doing it because I'm making money,

460. that's not the case,

461. or I'm gaining something from it emotionally.

462. When I heard that story of how you worked here so long,

463. put your ass on the line to buy it,

464. have never pulled anything out,

465. and then how you mother your employees...

466. Yes.

467. Jon Taffer: Protect everyone, take care of everybody else

468. but in the end screw yourself.

469. Yes, in more ways than you can begin to imagine.

470. Jon Taffer: I hear how everybody calls you mom.

471. Now moms accept their children in their weakest.

472. Oh Jon's trying, awe that's the way Jon is,

473. ah Travis is having a bad day. That's what moms do.

474. That's the exact opposite of running a business.

475. We're not a family, we're a team.

476. You're not mom, you're the owner of this place

477. and he's not treated like a boy or family,

478. he's treated like a fricken employee

479. and he's held accountable.

480. And if he doesn't hit the ball what happens?

481. You get benched.

482. Jon Taffer: He gets benched.

483. Yes. Yes.

484. Jon Taffer: He comes in here every day acting like a prick,

485. knowing he'll never get benched.

486. And as long as they know that,

487. you're doomed.

488. I want to illustrate to you guys why I get angry.

489. So I brought Partender in here the past weekend.

490. Over the weekend you guys sold 542,

491. you poured $1,360 worth,

492. you gave away $818 worth.

493. I gave away more than I made.

494. Jon Taffer: Losses in a single weekend was $818.

495. Losses in a month, $3,272.

496. Losses in a year $39,264

497. and that's just the weekends.

498. Oh my god.

499. So, that's your family mom.

500. There's no way that this dynamic

501. - is gonna open this bar - Oh my god, oh my god...

502. with my reputation on it.

503. That's a lot of money you guys.

504. Jon Lopez: I'm the one that's always starting with everybody.

505. I got a piss poor attitude,

506. and I'm causing this much distress,

507. and you need to hire better hands to help out.

508. I'm OK stepping out.

509. No, don't go there. Really Jon? Really?

510. now who am I gonna train?

511. I'm never gonna get a god damn day off in this place,

512. me.

513. Jon Taffer: Jon!

514. No, it's not what I wanted.

515. Come here man. Jon!

516. No.

517. No, not true.

518. Jon Lopez: You make it seem like

519. I'm the reason why this place is failing.

520. it. If it's me then it's me.

521. I also think you can be the reason why it succeeds.

522. Look at me. I think that you're a good guy

523. who got into a bad fricken groove.

524. I saw how you cared,

525. I saw how you talked to those two guys

526. that I sent in the other night.

527. I'm fighting for her,

528. I want to make this right, so do you.

529. Yeah.

530. I believe you can do this, believe in me.

531. Let's do it.

532. Jon Taffer: OK? OK. Let's go do it, c'mon.

533. Jon Lopez: We're gonna do it together.

534. Jon, we understand each other, don't we buddy?

535. Yeah.

536. I didn't come here expecting anyone to leave,

537. I walked in here expecting you guys to change.

538. Yes.

539. OK? We've got some training to do.

540. Now that Jon is on board and Corinne understands

541. that she's not mom, she's an owner,

542. it's time to start training

543. and see if I can actually turn this into a business.

544. Boy have we done a lot of rescues together, Phil Wills.

545. I wanted to bring in a mixologist

546. who I knew that you guys would respect,

547. would get this place and could teach ya some cool stuff.

548. OK guys let's go to work.

549. - All right, thank you. - Thank you.

550. Before I get started with training,

551. I want to see what these bartenders are working with.

552. I have to walk through this bar

553. and see what's wrong with it.

554. This is your beer cooler right?

555. Yes.

556. How often do you guys clean it?

557. Because this has an inch,

558. 2 inches of water in there almost,

559. and it's just dripping out.

560. - Gross. - Oh my god.

561. Do you guys have any coolers where you guys

562. store your beers and all that type of stuff and...

563. Yes.

564. I want to take a look at it.

565. How often do you guys clean the ice bin?

566. We have a company that comes in and cleans it.

567. Look at this.

568. - That's disgusting. - Know what that is?

569. - I know exactly what that is. Yes.

570. - What is it? - Mold.

571. I'm looking right here, oh my god!

572. Look at this, come here.

573. You will get people sick

574. by serving ice out of this machine.

575. It's all dripping right into the ice trays

576. and it's going down and then you're serving

577. and you're putting it into people's glasses.

578. This is absolutely disgusting. I want all of this ice burned.

579. We need you guys to go to the store

580. and get some bags of ice,

581. there's no way in hell that I'm gonna serve this ice

582. while I'm here.

583. This is good, call it done.

584. Finally the staff got together, worked as a team

585. and cleaned the bar.

586. They burned the disgusting ice,

587. so now we can start training.

588. So we have some cocktails to make for you guys.

589. Last night Jon, somebody ordered a Lynchburg Lemonade from you.

590. It's made with what?

591. Jack Daniel's.

592. Are you guys familiar with Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey?

593. It's charcoal filtered, I know that's

594. what makes Jack Daniel's specific to Jack Daniel's.

595. You're right, I know that Lynchburg Lemonade

596. got returned on you though.

597. Yeah.

598. Really the thing is

599. is that it just wasn't a balanced cocktail.

600. We're gonna make one first the way you made it,

601. and then we're gonna make it the way it's supposed to be made.

602. The Lynchburg Lemonade is not a build cocktail.

603. You have to shake cocktails with citrus

604. to properly bind the ingredients,

605. chill the cocktail down and make sure it's properly diluted.

606. So Jon, this is the way you made yours first right?

607. Mmm hmm.

608. A lot of bartenders like to build drinks

609. that should be shaken because of the speed and the ease of it.

610. Let's make it the way it's supposed to be made.

611. So we're gonna start off here with an ounce and a quarter

612. of Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey.

613. Half ounce of triple sec, two ounces of sweet and sour.

614. You want to ice everything,

615. we're gonna give it a good shake.

616. Strain that out, top it off with lemon lime soda,

617. and a nice fresh lemon on top.

618. You see the difference? Just in appearance alone,

619. now what I want you guys to do is

620. I want you to taste the difference.

621. That was horrible.

622. Taste the one that's made properly.

623. That might be my new drink.

624. I see what you mean by, uh balanced.

625. Jon, let's come back here, let's make a drink.

626. I knew I was making the Lynchburg wrong,

627. I want to help Jack's Place succeed,

628. and in order for it to succeed,

629. I have to be a better bartender.

630. Tonight, we're gonna pack this place.

631. I want you guys to be ready, all right?

632. All right.

633. Let's rock and roll tonight guys.

634. - Let's do it, OK. - All right. - Yeah.

635. Yes!

636. C'mon over. Let's have a little pre-opening meeting.

637. Does anybody know what's in Lynchburg Tennessee?

638. The Jack Daniel's distillery.

639. So here's the deal, at the end of tonight

640. I want you to pick two people and tomorrow morning

641. I'm sending you to Lynchburg Tennessee,

642. to the Jack Daniel's distillery.

643. Not a personal choice, a professional choice.

644. I don't want you to do it as mom...

645. Right.

646. I want you to do it as a business owner. OK, cool?

647. First impressions.

648. Tonight's stress test is key.

649. Now that this staff has had an attitude reset,

650. tonight I want to see them perform as bartenders

651. and I want to see if

652. any of these managers deserve their title.

653. Hi everybody! C'mon in!

654. How ya doin'?

655. Welcome to Jack's how are you doing?

656. This is our cocktail list of what we have as of right now.

657. I like the Lynchburg Lemonade, it's actually pretty good.

658. Two of them? Coming up.

659. Keep it moving guys, keep it moving.

660. Jon Lopez: Two Lynchburg Lemonades, where we at?

661. Here you go brother.

662. Thank you, I'm glad you like it man, thank you.

663. I have no idea who Corinne's sending to Jack Daniel's.

664. I've always liked Jack Daniel's

665. and I think it's something pretty cool you know.

666. Guess we're gonna have to wait and see who she picks.

667. Lemonade.

668. Jon Taffer: Ernie, two, three, four at a time right?

669. Yep!

670. Here we go, let see, let's see how the pour is.

671. Moment of truth go back and forth.

672. Back and forth, there you go Ernie.

673. Keep going, keep it going, keep it going.

674. Top it off, good job, good job. Here we go!

675. Here we go!

676. Let's go! Let's go!

677. Those people at the pool table...

678. Uh huh?

679. Do whatever you think you need to do to make this run smooth.

680. This is your chance.

681. I'm not very impressed by the management staff.

682. Travis is helping out a little bit.

683. Very disappointed in Caryn. She had issues

684. and she didn't even know how to handle those issues on her own.

685. They have to learn how to actually run this bar

686. like a profitable business.

687. You guys have drinks coming?

688. No! Not even a little.

689. We haven't even ordered yet.

690. No? You haven't even ordered yet?

691. NO!

692. What are you guys? Invisible?

693. Yes!

694. Hey, are we only serving one side of the bar or what?

695. You need to pull everybody out of the weeds,

696. I mean we're packed right now.

697. Right.

698. And only have like 6 drinks out there.

699. OK. All right, OK.

700. So get this going, you know what I mean?

701. Let's go, let's get it going.

702. Can we have some drinks over here?

703. Yes, we can get some drinks over here. What can I get for ya?

704. Oh wow,

705. so nobody has any fricken drinks in this place, huh?

706. No, you know what?

707. I just got Corinne back here trying to help out

708. but nobody has any drinks at all.

709. First time here and they forgot my drink.

710. First impression is

711. it's not something I would be coming back to.

712. Tastes kinda watery,

713. actually just I don't taste a lot of Jack in that.

714. OK just a sec. They're the same batch I sent...

715. Ugh!

716. I'm sorry. OK let us remake those for ya.

717. You're paying for juice not the booze. There's no booze in it.

718. Guys being fast doesn't mean being sloppy, all right?

719. Keep your techniques together.

720. All the bartenders are trying real hard to make these drinks.

721. The problem is that they're making the drinks incorrectly

722. because they're getting so flustered

723. they're not making the drinks right, they're coming up short,

724. they're over pouring, they're forgetting to put alcohol.

725. This place is packed

726. and we've been working for a while

727. and only half the bar has their drinks.

728. Take the middle buddy, let's go!

729. I'm coming I'm coming I'm coming.

730. Sorry about that guys. I'll get it right now.

731. I gotta tell ya, he's had a big attitude change,

732. he's actually really trying.

733. Yeah. He's working hard, he's smiling.

734. Jon Taffer: He's likable.

735. And it's showing through right now.

736. What are you drinking baby?

737. Lynchburg Lemonade.

738. Lynchburg Lemonade.

739. Jon Taffer: This is crunch time,

740. this is when every employee has to step up.

741. Ernie is pitching in wherever she can,

742. trying to serve the back side of the bar,

743. but our biggest failure is the workspace.

744. Coming through, coming through

745. excuse me ladies, excuse me excuse me.

746. Let's start delegating.

747. All right, we need some dishes done.

748. But, tell somebody specifically,

749. - maybe Travis, Caryn, somebody. - Travis, OK.

750. How about if I do dishes and you guys do drinks?

751. How we doing guys?

752. Jon Lopez: Excuse me, excuse me.

753. This physical bar is a fricken nightmare.

754. Not only do we only have one station,

755. but it's in the corner,

756. so you can't have a person on either side of the station

757. converging in the middle.

758. And look there,

759. there's four people trying to work out of one well.

760. They'll never make it.

761. No way.

762. Trying to get out of the way.

763. Damn it, I only made it for 2.

764. Focus focus focus.

765. Here you go brother, 10.50. Sorry about the wait.

766. I had to wait like 30 minutes for a drink.

767. I think they were a little overwhelmed.

768. Do you want me to give you two straws?

769. You guys could be the best bartenders in the world,

770. this station is gonna fricking kill us.

771. Yes.

772. I have seen everything I need to see,

773. OK let's shut this bar down.

774. Everybody come back in 2 days, see the new bar OK?

775. Shut it down! Shut this sucker down!

776. They did their best,

777. I have a very big decision to make

778. and I am having a hard time deciding

779. who gets to learn more about Jack Daniel's.

780. Because I think we could all use some improvement.

781. Jon Taffer: C'mon over, let's talk.

782. You know what guys, sometimes any of us can get into a rut.

783. I wanted to make sure you guys are inspired.

784. We talked earlier this afternoon about Lynchburg.

785. Yes.

786. Who do you think then?

787. Um.

788. Honestly...

789. And who do you think then?

790. Um. Honestly...

791. Jon you get so much into everything, you like to learn

792. so I honestly I think you're just a no-brainer I really do.

793. And Ernie you work hard

794. so with all my greatest faith I think

795. you would be the second person that I would want to see go.

796. Yay!

797. Taking a plane flight.

798. Yay!

799. You're going to Lynchburg Tennessee,

800. you're gonna have a great time.

801. Thank you Jon.

802. - Thank you. - Thanks Jon.

803. I made this decision as a owner.

804. I feel that they can make the most of it

805. and bring back the most to the business.

806. So I feel like it will benefit me as an owner

807. and them as employees and future employees.

808. Yesterday Corinne hit rock bottom,

809. today, I want to sit and talk for a few minutes.

810. And I want to see if now she's on her way back up.

811. Hell of a few days.

812. Yes. Hellacious few days.

813. How's it going? What are you thinking?

814. I'm feeling more positive about making the bar someplace again

815. the way it was 36 years ago. Which is a community bar,

816. someplace that you can hang out and have a good time too.

817. Jon Taffer: I gotta build us a great

818. Jack Daniel's based neighborhood bar.

819. Thank you,

820. and I'm hoping that that gives my children's generation

821. a taste of something that I had growing up.

822. You know what's interesting?

823. Is we're sitting here talking about your future

824. but you're talking about other people.

825. When do you start thinking about yourself?

826. You hear what I'm saying?

827. Yes.

828. This is your retirement. This is your debt.

829. It's supposed to be yes.

830. My kids turned 18 a month after I bought the bar.

831. You transferred your affection to the people.

832. Yeah, it was like, it was like empty nest syndrome.

833. You like coming through for people.

834. Yeah I feel bad for people.

835. But I need to check mom at the door.

836. Yes.

837. So I'm now gonna lay out rules

838. and we're laying out boundaries

839. and we're laying out job delegations,

840. who's responsible for what.

841. This is a victory for you in the end.

842. Yes, it is.

843. You're gonna have a new bar...

844. Yes.

845. - You're gonna train employees... - Yes.

846. I protect your bar, you protect you.

847. Thank you.

848. - Let's go to work OK? - Yes.

849. Let's get this bar together.

850. Yes, new beginnings.

851. Jon Taffer really recognized the deeper issues within my bar,

852. and I am going to be a boss.

853. No more mom.

854. Hey how ya doin'?

855. How ya doin'?

856. Good, so I'm Chris Fletcher, the assistant master distiller

857. here at Jack Daniel's. - Nice.

858. And we'll take a little tour

859. and show you how we make our whiskey.

860. - Good. - Sounds good.

861. This is where it all begins.

862. This limestone rock naturally filters out iron.

863. So this is a natural water source

864. that's perfect for making whiskey.

865. Jon Lopez: That's so cool.

866. Probably familiar to Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey?

867. Yeah.

868. Which is 80% corn, 12% barley malt, and 8% rye.

869. What we gotta do first,

870. is grind, mash and ferment the grains.

871. That's where our yeast will be waiting.

872. All the bubbles that you see,

873. that is the action of the yeast.

874. So if you want to you can taste this one,

875. just put your finger down in there just a little bit.

876. It's kinda like a stale corn beer right now. Much more sour.

877. Oh yeah.

878. Right? Alcohol.

879. Jon Lopez: Yeah.

880. That's probably around 10 to 12% alcohol right now.

881. Now we gotta make whiskey out of the beer.

882. All of our stills are made of copper. 100% copper.

883. We know copper makes better whiskey.

884. At this point it qualifies as bourbon.

885. You're gonna take it from this point

886. to our charcoal mellowing.

887. Jon Lopez: That's cool.

888. So we're talking about your cocktail menu.

889. Before we relaunch this bar,

890. we need to make sure these bartenders are on point.

891. So today we're gonna train

892. while Ernie and Jon are at the Jack Daniel's distillery.

893. We're gonna introduce a nice Jack Daniel's cocktail.

894. Anytime you guys are creating a cocktail

895. you really want to use the flavor of the spirit

896. and match it up with different flavors

897. that really balance each other out.

898. So we have a really cool one

899. that we're gonna do for you guys.

900. This one's gonna go in a stainless steel mug

901. by Jack Daniel's.

902. Start off with Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey,

903. fill it up with ginger beer,

904. and you're gonna squeeze half of a lime as a garnish.

905. We call this one the Tennessee Mule.

906. Oh my god.

907. That was good. Sweet but...

908. You still taste the Jack Daniel's.

909. Yes you still get, you still get a hint of the Jack.

910. We have our cocktail menu in place,

911. we do have a lot more training to do,

912. we're gonna work on the techniques.

913. All right, you guys excited?

914. Yes.

915. All right.

916. - Oh snazz. Oh wow. - Yeah, so there's one thing

917. that we do that bourbon makers don't.

918. All this wood you see is hard sugar maple.

919. They're gonna age out here in the open for several months

920. and kinda dry out,

921. and they'll light the inside with 140 proof whiskey

922. off of our stills.

923. We wouldn't want to use any type of petroleum product

924. because that would leave residue and would not taste right.

925. Jon Lopez: Oh really, that's awesome.

926. Yeah,

927. this charcoal's gonna eliminate that grainy corny flavor.

928. We make all our own charcoal,

929. we're very passionate about charcoal making.

930. Yeah.

931. Um, is it charcoal?

932. Yep, every drop is going

933. right through this charcoal.

934. Jon Lopez: That's crazy.

935. What you can see here,

936. at that point it's technically bourbon.

937. Once it comes out the bottom of this vat in about 3 days...

938. Tennessee whiskey.

939. It's Tennessee whiskey.

940. Jon Lopez: Right.

941. And so then it goes into our barrel.

942. Barrel is the number one ingredient

943. provides 100% of the color,

944. and over half the flavor.

945. Well you guys are in for a great treat.

946. This is Jeff our master distiller.

947. Hi Jeff, I'm Ernie.

948. Hello, very nice to meet you. Jeff Arnett.

949. How ya doin'? Jon. Nice to meet ya.

950. I oversee all the whiskey production at Jack Daniel's.

951. I'm the 7th master distiller for old number 7.

952. What I want you to notice is what you taste.

953. That was the whole purpose of the barrel

954. was to get rid of that bitterness.

955. I believe that we'll be here another 150 years.

956. Well guys, it has been a real pleasure,

957. and I hope that you've enjoyed your day here in Lynchburg.

958. And hopefully that leaves you

959. with a great taste in your mouth towards Jack Daniel's as well.

960. Knowing how much work goes into Jack Daniel's

961. makes me totally appreciate the product even further.

962. We can educate our customers

963. and let them know more about the cocktails and product

964. that we offer.

965. We got another work area here,

966. and we have accessibility to the station.

967. Perfect, we got it man.

968. It worked!

969. Thank you.

970. Good evening Mr. Taffer.

971. Hello.

972. Good evening.

973. Corinne, how are you feeling?

974. Good good, excited.

975. Jon Taffer: Are ya?

976. Yeah yeah.

977. Jon Taffer: Think of the beginning.

978. I started in debt over half a million dollars?

979. All these years of chasing a dream that she never quite got.

980. I can't wait for you to see what we've done.

981. Me neither.

982. Looking sharp buddy.

983. Thanks.

984. How was Jack Daniel's?

985. It was awesome. Great experience.

986. It helped us grow a lot.

987. So, ready to see it?

988. - Yes. - Yes.

989. OK, on the count of three. One, two, three.

990. Nice!

991. Oh wow.

992. Nice!

993. Jon Lopez: Nice, I like it.

994. Nice!

995. - Oh wow. - Nice!

996. Oh I love the color.

997. It think it's wonderful

998. that they're respecting the legacy of Jack Regan.

999. And by having it say lounge instead of just place,

1000. it's so bright and cheerful,

1001. let's people actually know it's a bar.

1002. I had to take the sign in a different direction

1003. and a more contemporary color.

1004. So Hartlauer Signs worked all night long

1005. to get this done for us.

1006. I think it stands out.

1007. - Better lighting for sure. - Very inviting.

1008. Oh yeah.

1009. So it tells the old guests there's a reason to come back...

1010. Yes.

1011. And new guests there's a reason to come the first time.

1012. You ready guys?

1013. - Yes! Let's do it. - Yes, absolutely!

1014. All right, let's go.

1015. Holy

1016. Oh my god.

1017. Oh my god!

1018. Wow.

1019. We got a well.

1020. You got yours, I got mine.

1021. Jon Lopez: This is awesome.

1022. Look at the back wall.

1023. Jon Lopez: New pool table.

1024. Oh wow, nice color.

1025. - These tables are amazing. - Love the wood.

1026. Look at the carpet, it ties in together so well.

1027. Oh look, a Jack Daniel's!

1028. - Oh my god. - Do you know this man?

1029. I know this man.

1030. - This is nice. - This is amazing.

1031. Jon Lopez: I think the younger group, around my age

1032. is really gonna like the Regan Lounge

1033. just because it's something different.

1034. It's not one of those gloomy bars, it's a lounge.

1035. It's upbeat, it's a little classy and I think it's cool.

1036. How did I do Jon?

1037. Awesome.

1038. Oh my god, it's absolutely gorgeous.

1039. I mean there's just so much new and old all mixed together

1040. in such a way that just makes it all feel so cozy and warm

1041. and I think it's wonderful.

1042. Grab a seat, I want to tell you everything I did.

1043. First of all, look at the blue front of the bar.

1044. It's the contemporary kind of color.

1045. Uh huh.

1046. But yet I kept the old wood and certain old elements

1047. to keep the age of the bar intact.

1048. Yes.

1049. Jon Taffer: So I'm blending contemporary, with older.

1050. And when you blend the two together

1051. the interior becomes timeless.

1052. Look at the back bar display back here

1053. to give it some height.

1054. The front of the bar, the vertical wallpaper.

1055. Those picture frames, I want you to start putting

1056. pictures of customers on the wall to make it fun.

1057. OK.

1058. I also got ya a Manitowoc ice machine

1059. to make certain that your ice was clean, fresh,

1060. and you had plenty of it.

1061. The most important thing that I did in this bar was

1062. a second complete work station

1063. with a soda gun, ice bin, speedwells,

1064. and each of you have a HarborTouch POS system.

1065. So we doubled the production potential behind the bar.

1066. This is awesome.

1067. We don't have to look like idiots banging into each other.

1068. Jon Taffer: What do you think?

1069. It's good.

1070. I'm flabbergasted.

1071. My daughter would walk in here

1072. and she would invite her friends.

1073. Would she have done that before?

1074. No, she was embarrassed before.

1075. Are you proud to be here now?

1076. Yes I am.

1077. Jon Taffer: When you walk into a bar like this,

1078. you want to act better don't ya?

1079. Oh yeah.

1080. All right guys, there's about 200 people standing out there,

1081. so let's get to it OK?

1082. - All right. - All right.

1083. OK.

1084. Hi everybody!

1085. Welcome to The Regan Lounge! C'mon in.

1086. C'mon in, welcome to the Regan, how are we doing?

1087. Jon Lopez: Tommy, how ya doing? Good to see you again brother.

1088. No flair tonight, no flair, don't even ask. Don't even.

1089. I'm gonna let you guys take on the orders.

1090. What are we having tonight? Check out our new drink menu.

1091. Oh, OK.

1092. Right behind you.

1093. There you go.

1094. Thanks Ernie!

1095. You're welcome. Thank you.

1096. Yeah Ernie!

1097. Jon Taffer: Look at her go.

1098. We're slammed, the bartenders are working real hard,

1099. best part about it though is

1100. the drinks are coming out consistent,

1101. these guests are loving the drinks right now.

1102. One of you guys, when you have a minute

1103. I need a Lynchburg Lemonade over there in the corner.

1104. Were you here during the stress test?

1105. Yeah.

1106. Little different huh?

1107. Yeah. That didn't go so well but this is good.

1108. Jon Taffer: You like the difference?

1109. I live near here, yeah.

1110. So would you come back now?

1111. Yeah, absolutely.

1112. OK, we have Lynchburg Lemonade.

1113. The drinks are great. I love it,

1114. I'm a big fan of Jack Daniel's so this is great.

1115. No ashtrays, do we not have any ashtrays?

1116. Is this nice?

1117. So you won't take orders, you won't run drinks,

1118. there's nothing that you can do to help?

1119. - I just took 6 orders. - And what are they doing?

1120. How am I gonna call that to them?

1121. Here's how you be a manager,

1122. Travis, I got 6 orders of tables,

1123. can you focus on getting them done for her?

1124. Yeah.

1125. Solve the fricken problem Caryn!

1126. Ask him and he'll help you. Correct?

1127. Yes.

1128. Go make the drinks! C'mon guys!

1129. Woo.

1130. Caryn, what's the matter?

1131. I go to do something, someone takes over.

1132. You're the manager. Come out and take orders.

1133. You said Lemonade? Lynchburg Lemonade.

1134. Jon Lopez: I am not playing at all tonight,

1135. after going to Jack Daniel's distillery,

1136. I just get to present the product even better,

1137. so it's great.

1138. Caryn.

1139. Jon, can I get you anything honey?

1140. I'm like so focused right now, I'm good.

1141. Caryn is in the office crying.

1142. Caryn can't handle the stress,

1143. but I don't have time to go hold her hand

1144. while the business needs to be run.

1145. Yep, I'm proud of you.

1146. Anybody want some Mules? One? Anybody else?

1147. No time to be mom tonight, it's crazy busy,

1148. new systems, new drinks, new menus, so it's a new era,

1149. it's a beautiful new era.

1150. Cheers.

1151. You have been a boss tonight, and a leader,

1152. I'm really proud of you.

1153. - Thank you. Thank you. - My work is done.

1154. Thank you, it was so good doing business with you.

1155. Thank you so much.

1156. This is a great relaunch.

1157. Mom isn't here, Corinne the owner is here,

1158. Jon is cranking out drinks because the bar is packed

1159. and my guess is all of these people are gonna come back.