No, I wouldn't...
We'll find a different business.
Male narrator: For over 30 years,
Jon Taffer has traveled the country
saving hundreds of bars from failure and ruin.
[theme music]
Jon: I started rescuing bars decades ago
because they're part of the backbone of America.
Let's go. And we're doing it. We're doing it.
But as the industry continues to explode,
the amount of failing bars is increasing at an alarming rate.
When do I have you say "that's not going to work?"
So I'm on a mission to save as many bars as possible
and give worthy owners a second chance at success.
I'm gaining more respect for you by the minute.
Male narrator: Now Jon's headed to Houston, Texas
to attempt to rescue Nico's Bar and Grill.
We are determined to raise the bar
and rise to the occasion.
Male narrator: In 2007, Greg Lee,
an investment banker, and his wife Emmy, a flight attendant,
opened up Nico's Bar and Grill in Houston, Texas.
We were looking for a business to buy
when we first moved to Houston,
and Greg's idea of buying a bar
would be something people would drink
in the good times and the bad times.
Greg: I was in banking and finance for many years
and I had done a bunch of capital raises for restaurants,
so this just seemed like a really cool spot.
I thought it was a great idea and we-- we bought it
[chuckles] and then said, "Now what do we do?"
Male narrator: Under their new ownership, Nico's Bar and Grill
quickly became a success in the area.
Man 1: Nico's has the best [bleep] pizza
in Kingwood, hands down.
Food is good, actually. [laughs]
My vision for Nico's when we first moved here and bought it
was I wanted live music
and the fun place to go to that everybody wanted to go.
Emmy and I came in. We spent a lot of time here, you know.
It was slow when we bought it. We were able to build it up.
You know, people were coming here
all the time to have a good-- good time out.
So I fooled myself into thinking I knew what I was doing.
But it's just slowly been
sliding down the cliff.
Male narrator: As owners Greg and Emmy
blame the slow business
on factors outside of the bar.
I mean, COVID was something that nobody could predict,
but you know, that construction killed us.
Greg: Texas put a divider in the middle of the main road
in front of us, but because of the way that they blocked off
the road, it was unsafe to drive on the road at night.
And our night time business absolutely went away.
Male narrator: And with their focus, turned to the external
problems facing the bar, the couple
began losing sight of the problems from within.
Greg and Emmy, as owners can be a little difficult.
They kind of lack a little bit of communication skills.
Kayli: I don't truly feel like we have any guidance
as them being managers.
The 6 p.m. rule is contact them before 6 p.m..
Because after that they're yelling and screaming at you
after having drinks.
Greg: Sometimes when they push me to the limit, I bark.
And I think Emmy even more so than me.
Male narrator: Their lack of leadership
has resulted in a rundown bar
with untrained staff and bad equipment.
Some things don't work correctly.
Sometimes you don't have what you need.
Stephanie: We definitely have people that come in
and they ask for a cocktail menu, and I hate it
when I have to tell them we don't have any.
Emmy and Greg used to have, I think, a passion for this place,
but after losing so much money, I think they lost that drive.
Male narrator: As bills stack up,
Greg and Emmy now find themselves
$800,000 in debt
and on the brink of disaster.
We're always worried every day
about how we're going to pay the next bill.
We poured our life savings into this place.
We had to borrow money from family members,
mortgage our house. We have probably six months left...
to keep Nico's open.
Male narrator: So before they give up
on their entrepreneurial dream
to own their own business,
Greg and Emmy have agreed to pull back the doors,
bust open the books, and make a call for help
to "Bar Rescue."
[shatters]
[instrumental music]
- Hey, guys. - Jon.
- How are ya? - Good. Good to see you, Tony.
- Good to see you, Nick. - Nice to see you.
Welcome to Kingwood, Texas.
Nico's owned by two owners.
Husband and wife, been married for 25 years.
So there's Greg, our owner, there's Emmy, his wife.
Y'all can make all the money on the craw fish, I don't care.
We'll make money on the beer.
She wanted to own an upscale place.
Jon: So they bought this pizza operation.
- Is this upscale, Tony? - Not at all.
Male narrator: For the kitchen, Jon brings in Tony Gemignani,
a 13 time world pizza champion
and master instructor at the International School of Pizza.
Now they're $800,000 in debt. What are they doing?
Drinking, probably wine out of a box,
and it looks like a 12 ounce curl with a koozie around it.
Male narrator: For the bar, Jon brings in Nick Ortega,
With over 20 years of experience
in the food and beverage industry,
Nick consults for some of the largest spirit brands
in the country, designing drinks for theme parks
and nationwide chain restaurants,
all with an acute awareness of efficiency and creativity.
There is Stephanie, a bartender.
Liquors, whiskey, vodka.
And Desiré, the other bartender.
So, did you want another drink?
Woman 1: I wanna try a Tom Collins as well.
There's George in the kitchen. He's our cook.
Six.
He's beaten it up as much as you can.
You can just tell it's under hydrated. It's frozen.
It's depressing.
Nick: Oh, there we go. - He's now on his second beer.
Nick: They haven't gone over to talk to any guests.
Jon: So, this guy is going down the tubes right now.
And he's sitting there drinking and texting. Look at that man.
Nick: Just crushed. He just crushed that shot.
This is not a rookie when it comes to shots.
Nick: No.
Hey, how do you make Tom Collins?
Stephanie: Hold on one second.
I've never trained on this stuff.
[tense music]
Nick: She's looking it up.
- She's looking it up. - She's looking it up.
Stephanie: "Jam, lemon juice, simple syrup."
Desiré: We don't even have lemon juice.
There's no training,
no quality. Here's what I want to do.
I want all of us to go in. Let's order some pizza.
Let's order some drinks and let's see what they got.
- Let's do this. - Let's go, guys.
[intense music]
Male narrator: Jon and his experts enters Nico's,
a 2700 square foot space
with a large soffit covering a central bar,
a worn out and unused stage
and a small kitchen housing on top of the line pizza oven.
Why don't you guys grab a seat?
- I'm going to go talk to Greg. - It's-- it's not like--
Female 1: He's here, he's here, he's here.
- Greg? - Yes.
- How are you, sir? - Hi. How are you?
- Pleasure meeting you. - Greg, where's your wife?
She's right over here in the corner.
- Oh, okay. - I'm Stephanie.
- Welcome to Nico's. - Thank you very much.
Here's our menu.
So I want to, I want to understand...
- Mortgage business? You were. - Yes.
- You were a flight attendant? - I am.
- Came down here to Texas? Greg: Yes.
- Where your family is? Emmy: Correct.
- And bought this bar? - Yes.
- Correct. - Here it is 14 years later.
I understand you wanted
a beautiful, upscale kind of place.
- I do. - Is this it?
No.
Is there cocktails on here, in the back?
Unfortunately, no, there's not.
- No list? - No cocktail menu.
Uh, you know what? Then let's riff.
Let's, uh, for my friend, I'm going to order for you.
- Alright? Tony: Go ahead.
You're drinking an old fashioned.
Let's do a margarita.
Do a Tom Collins.
And for funsies, what's your
favorite drink to make?
Long Island, did you say? Long Island it is.
And then, uh, for our friend Jon over there.
Let's do a Godfather.
Get a margarita and a meatza.
When things are tough what do you do?
- You got to dig in. - Yes.
- You got to work harder, right? - Yes.
- You got to find solutions. - Yes.
Why are you sitting on your ass taking shots?
You're sitting next to him drinking.
Is there any chance, any
that you're going to save this bar
sitting here on your ass drinking?
Is there any chance?!
- No. - Zero.
- Correct. - So what do we do?
We have to turn it around.
My friend's sitting over there. Wave, Tony.
Jon: We're going to sit. I'm going to have some pizza.
We're going to have some drinks and we're going to tell you
what we think when we're done.
You have one drink
while I'm in this building,
either of you, I walk out.
Yes, sir.
I'd be careful about putting your arms down on this.
It's pretty sticky. And it's so wobbly.
- Greg. - Yeah.
- Nasty. - How does this feel to you?
Jon: It's dirty. It's sticky.
Greg, this table, look at this
table is wobbling.
Have you ever walked around and checked your tables?
Have you looked at your bar stools and checked your tables?
They're all ste... Do you walk around?
Do you inspect your business? Do you look at things?
Do you see if there's anything on the floor?
Do you straighten the picture?
Greg, do you do anything?
Anything?
[tense music]
Apparently not enough.
You put your family's money
and future on the line,
and this is what you did.
- We're going to eat. - Okay.
[tense music]
How can they reach the models up in this area?
This huge soffit over this bar.
- It destroys the room. - Absolutely.
I think you should go back there and tell me what you think.
Nick: Yeah.
[tense music]
- Hi. - Hi.
Guys, are they cooking that pizza in there?
- Can you see? - I'll go check it out.
I'm assuming that's our Tom Collins.
-Yeah? Stephanie: Yes.
What's the last part of the drink name on that?
- Tom what? - Collins.
So what should it be served in?
Stephanie: A tall glass. - A tall Collins glass, right?
- Yes. - Pleasure.
- How are ya? -Good. Good pleasure.
-You're making those pizzas? -No, just cleaning up.
Doing my normal cleanup after a little push.
-Did you get our pizza order in? -I got...
I'm pretty sure. What was the name under the ticket?
Tony: Should be a margarita and a meatza.
Well, let's see what this just happened.
Tony: Did she forget to ring it in?
That would be it right there.
I'm assuming that's our simple syrup.
- Yes. - In a water pitcher?
Yeah.
It's fun.
- Frozen dough? George: Frozen dough.
It's the only way I can keep it fresh as possible.
Um, I don't have room for still frozen.
Oh, yeah, I just pulled it out as soon as I got in.
It's hard to dictate on how much,
how much I'm going to sell, I don't know.
I've been trying to keep records myself,
uh, trying to figure it out,
but it's impossible to right now to...
No help from the owner? Nothing?
- No. - So you're making a meatza?
- Yes, sir. Tony: Tell me about this.
Is that precooked sausage?
That is precooked sausage. We pre cook it here.
- Pre cook it. - Yes.
Which obviously, that definitely
got overcooked.
Tony: Yeah, it did.
Alright. man.
Thank you very much. Appreciate you.
She didn't file our-- our pizzas.
She dropped our cocktails. I got back there.
She forgot about our order and then fired our pizzas.
So he's making it now.
She never put the pizza order in.
Tony: Yeah.
[tense music]
And it should be rum, vodka, triple sec gin. Right?
So the first thing we grabbed
was scotch and bourbon for our Long Island.
Stephanie, who taught you to tend bar?
Did anybody train you here?
- No. - No?
Jon: So you just came here, started working?
Desiré, did anybody train you when you started working here?
- Uh, a little bit. - What's a little bit?
- How to use the cash register? - Yes.
If I asked you both to make me a margarita,
would it be the same drink?
Depends, I mean, I feel like
everybody here kind of has their
different ways of making it.
Right, right. Greg.
Should everybody make a drink differently
or should they all make it the same?
They should all make it the same.
How come they don't? How come they were
never trained to make even margarita?
Number one drink in America.
You think you could make that one drink the same, right, guys?
It's not your fault that you weren't trained.
But the fact of the matter is, because you are untrained,
you're embarrassed right now, and that's your fault.
How dare you embarrass your employees
putting them in a situation like this?
Ah. Let's go bring the drinks over, please.
-Yeah. -And don't put your hands...
So what do you think, guys? Who wants to sit on this stool?
Now, if this was your business
and you had all of these stools,
wouldn't you throw this one away?
Would you leave it out for your customers
when you could just put it away and put another stool here?
No. But you see, when you're sitting on your ass over there,
you don't see this, do you?
[clatters]
[intense music]
[shatter]
When you're sitting on your ass over there,
you don't see this, do you?
[clatters]
Jon: Bring the drinks over, please.
This is going to be watered down. But this old fashioned.
- I see Long Island. - Long Island.
This is our Long Island with Scotch, bourbon, vodka,
maybe triple sec tequila.
I didn't see the-- the fourth bottle.
Godfather. Tom Collins.
- And which is this one? - Margarita.
- Margarita. Okay, thank you.
You're welcome.
It wasn't shaken.
[instrumental music]
It's overly sweet. It's not balanced.
Nick: Let's try the Tom Collins.
I mean, it looks like,
it looks like a gin and 7up.
Of course, you can see there's no lemon juice in there.
Awful. No, thank you.
Where's our cherry and orange on an old fashioned?
Where's our pizza?
How long should've taken out of it?
- Three minutes. Right? - Yep.
Half hour.
Greg, the pizzas normally take a half hour?
No, no, just drop it right in the middle.
So this sausage was so was so, was so overcooked.
So it's flavorless, frozen dough. It has no flavor.
Look at this sauce. It's-- it's an orange sauce.
It's a combination of salsa and pizza sauce.
What do you think?
Greg, come on over for a minute here. I'm not messing around.
Tony G is not only my dear friend,
he's the world pizza champion. For how many years in a row now?
Tony: Thirteen times.
- Thirteen in a row. - Oh, wow, congratulations.
He is the best in the world.
I got my A-Team with you. So when you say, how is it?
- It's terrible. - Okay.
Frozen dough in the back.
Sausage. Look at this sausage real quick.
Look at it. It's-- it's like dog food.
Emmy: Right? Jon: Then these drinks.
Nobody is properly trained in this place.
They're putting Scotch in a Long Island iced tea.
This has no mix in it at all. It's strictly drink.
The margarita is awful. The fact of the matter is,
if we don't change your ingredients and your training
you're going to fail but let me tell you what bothers me.
They think you're a drunken fool, both of you.
So they're going to work hard for you?
No. Are they going to fight for your money?
No, because you're not.
You better think about that. I'll see you tomorrow.
Let's get out of here, guys, this place sucks.
[tense music]
I got a wake up call.
I need to do things better around this bar.
I need to set a better example.
I need to train my staff.
I need to figure out a way to make it more professional.
[instrumental music]
Jon: Last night got heated, and it should.
I had to give Greg a wake up.
He needs to understand he's going down the tubes
because of his own actions.
- Hi. - Hi.
- How's it going?
Greg, I need to confront him with the reality
that he's failing because of him.
So I want to share something with you.
I'm here for four days.
Alright? Your future is on the line.
Yes, sir.
Talk to me, Steph. Why are we failing?
I feel like we have minimized staff
with maximum responsibility.
We don't get to just come bar tend. We have to bar tend.
We have to do janitorial duties.
We have to bar back. We have to take inventory.
And I think it-- it makes it hard to be
successful at any one thing
when you're trying to do so much at once.
So we're not organized in a way that,
that-- that allows you to be productive.
- Yes, sir. - Okay.
George, why do you think we're failing, from your perception?
Uh, from my ex-military background, organization
and also lack of management and accountability.
You have to have somebody managing the place
and holding the staff accountable.
- We don't have that. Jon: Okay.
That's a good observation. You agree?
- Got that, Greg? - Yeah. Yes, sir.
Greg, what do you think the three most important
things to running a successful restaurant are?
I think you're going to have great service.
You've got to have a great product
and, you know, something to get people in the door.
Okay, so let me say four, a good environment.
- Yes. - This place a shithole, right?
- Mhm. Emmy: Mm-hmm.
Jon: Good service.
You're running back and forth.
I'm waiting for a table.
You-- you're either not going to
take care of the customer at the bar.
You're not going to take care of
the customer at the table.
Either way we lose, right?
- Yeah. - Service isn't happening.
Jon: Product quality. Could our pizza be better?
Hell, yeah, it could. Absolutely.
- Could be a lot better. - A lot better.
- Yeah. - We got quality issues.
And then the fourth one is consistency.
You all would make the same drink differently.
So all four we're failing on.
What bothers me is you knew what those things were,
but you did nothing about it.
That's why I worry,
because I don't think you're ignorant.
I think you're smart.
And I think you know about those four things.
- Don't you? - I do.
Next. Why is there this thing in this building
that none of you want to talk to them after 6 o'clock at night?
So...
during the day, in the morning,
you know, you're going to pretty much get
what you would expect from a boss or an owner.
But in the evenings,
you know, y'all with lives, jobs, stress,
kids and everything else, sometimes...
you never really know what... you're going to get.
Like it's usually the evenings is when...
if anybody was going to get chewed out,
that's-- that's when it happens.
So we're kind of all try to not bother y'all.
And it's hard to feel, you know...
scared or intimidated.
So why was that an emotional moment there for you?
Jon: What are you feeling?
Because they need to understand this.
If they want to manage people successfully,
they need to understand what you're feeling. Tell them.
[cries]
- Oh. - It's okay.
They need to hear this.
I've known you all a long time. I love you guys.
And I just, I remember when things were different.
And it's frustrating to not be able to get y'all to understand
like that, this could be so much more than it is.
Jon: So understand that your reactions aren't
just impacting your family, you're hurting them.
Jon: You get that. - I understood.
You don't strike me as the kind of guy who wants to hurt them.
No. Definitely not.
So what do you want to say to them?
I'm sorry.
Sorry.
So you're accepting that there's a responsibility here
greater than just yourself and Emmy?
Yes, sir. I do accept it.
It is.
You've got to come through for them now, Greg.
I will.
Hearing that, it definitely hurts.
It's just been so challenging
with everything that's going on,
to really listen to them and be there when they need us.
Jon: Okay. So I ask one question for you and this is a big one.
Why did you enable his failure?
[tense music]
You sit at that bar drinking with him.
You're his enabler of failure.
- Mm-hmm. - Why?
I am just burnt out. We've owned it for almost 15 years.
Do you understand that you're as guilty as he is?
I sure am.
Jon: You're sitting next to him
drinking that wine, right?
You guys are enabling each other.
You're not saying to him,
"Greg, the place is dirty,
go do something about it."
And you're not saying to her,
"Can you train a bar-tender's a little for me?"
Why isn't that happening? I don't understand it.
You're watching your husband, who you love, fail
and you're doing nothing about it.
Correct.
[shatters]
You're watching your husband, who you love, fail
and you're doing nothing about it.
Correct.
Jon: That's a real issue, isn't it?
My wife would be looking at me saying,
"Jon, get your shit together,"
Right? "Get off your butt. Go to work." Right?
You didn't do that.
And I say the same thing to you. You're enabling her.
You got to be instruments of each other's success.
Yes, sir.
Jon: Not fueling each other's failure.
- No more enabling. Right? Emmy: No more.
You hold each other accountable for your futures, correct?
- Absolutely. - Okay. You ready to go to work?
- Yes, sir. - Okay.
Greg: Jon's right.
We're not holding ourselves up
to a high enough standard to
own a bar and manage a bar.
It's making me think about things
that I haven't thought about in a long time.
You know? How can I make it better? What can I do?
You know, what can we do as a team to make it a better place?
[instrumental music]
What to do, crew?
- Hello. - Hey, there.
Alright, well, we know we don't have
a lot of recipe knowledge,
so we are going to play everybody's new favorite game.
It's called name the ingredients.
Nick: I want you guys to write down the ingredients
for a Long Island Iced Tea.
Don't look.
I'm watching.
Alright. Pens down.
- No. - Pens down.
- Okay. - Alright, let's see 'em.
Gin, vodka, rum, tequila, coke. Wrong.
Vodka, tequila, rum, gin,
coke, soda. Wrong. Wrong.
Gin, whiskey, vodka, sweet and sour.
That means you're wrong. All wrong.
All of you got it wrong.
The correct ingredients for a Long Island iced tea
vodka, rum, gin, triple sec tequila,
sweet and sour, topped with coke.
Guys, you're hurting my heart.
I'm sorry.
Alright, guys, let's move on
to the drinks that we're going to work with today.
Last night's Tom Collins, when you couldn't
do that, that's what we're going to start with.
We're gonna do a Tom Collins the right way.
We're going to start with a...
All: Mixing glass. - Thank you.
Half ounce of simple syrup,
one ounce fresh lemon juice,
one ounce and a half of gin.
Add ice.
We going shake...
[rattles]
Pour over fresh ice.
Top it off with Fever-Tree club soda...
dehydrated lemon wheel and a cherry.
This, ladies and gentlemen,
is a classic Tom Collins.
Let's taste it.
It's good.
Desiré: Training with Nick was definitely nerve wracking.
He's a professional and me, I learned off of Google.
I'm a little bit more confident now with these cocktails,
so I'm, I'm hopeful for tonight.
Nick: This is just a snippet of what we got to get into
to prepare for tonight. The stress test.
- We're feeling good? - Yes.
Tony: Welcome. So last night was interesting.
The pizzas that were coming out were just thin crust,
no flavor, frozen dough, overcooked ingredients.
I don't think you were ever taught right.
So I'm going to retrain you.
But before we start,
we got one special gift for you.
- A planetary mixer. - Wow.
- Yes. - Yes. That's amazing.
The crew at One Stop Restaurant Equipment said,
"Hey, we're going to give you a free mixer."
Emmy: Oh my God! George: Wow, look at that.
Tony: You said, "I want to make fresh dough."
George: Awesome. Emmy: Oh my God.
- Look at that. - That looks amazing.
Okay, so we're gonna make the truffle pizza.
I'm gonna stretch out that dough.
Just bringing the crust pushing down the middle.
Creating a crust pushing down the middle.
Stretch it to about eight inches.
Going to add some 100% whole milk mozzarella,
sauteed pioppini mushrooms
and some local other mushrooms that we brought in.
I'm going to grab our peel...
grab it, put it back, grab it,
put it back, stretch it out,
shake it a little bit to get that flour off.
I'm going to land in my oven.
We'll grab our pizza, little arugula for some nice color,
a little pepper finish, sweet and sour
piquanté peppers, goat cheese,
a little bit of truffle honey and some truffle oil.
And you have the best pizza that this oven has ever cooked.
- Mm. - Wow.
- That truffle-- Tony: How do you like that?
It's nice, right?
With that peppery finish on the arugula...
Tony: Balance. It's always about balance.
That is fantastic.
To be trained by a chef like Tony G is
absolutely a dream come true, to be honest.
George: Um, I've always had the desire to work
with somebody of his caliber.
Um, it makes me a little emotional at times
because, you know, i-i-it's a dream of mine.
Stress test is tonight, you need to practice.
It's coming soon.
- You ready? - Yes, chef. Yes, chef.
Good luck.
- We're ready. - Thank you.
[suspenseful music]
Hey, everybody. Welcome to Nico's. You can come on in.
Finally.
[upbeat music]
Oh, shit.
Emmy: Hello, hello.
How are you guys doing?
- That's a good drink. Good job. - Thank you.
Three Italian margaritas.
Oh, that's-- that's not even for me.
Two triple pizzas.
[bleep]! Why is bar tending tickets
coming back here, Greg? Very confusing.
Nick: 70 people in here. We make one drink at a time.
[woman groans]
Stephanie: Come under one button.
Greg: Yeah.
Yeah, because it's showing both
the drinks and the food.
- Yeah. - It's definitely confusing him.
And it's a programming issue that's not easily corrected.
- Correct. - Well, I'll fix that tomorrow.
So right now you got to manage through it.
- Okay. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. - Okay.
Jon: We already have a problem, the POS system is sending
all the orders to the kitchen. Can't be fixed now.
It's a programming issue, but Greg is on top of it.
He's got the tickets, he's communicating with the bar
and the kitchen, making sure it's flowing correctly.
He's acting like a manager.
Two Margarita's, as soon as I can get in there.
I have no way to make drinks.
So we gave them the opportunity to work out of two wells.
They said we always work out of one well.
- So now-- - So they didn't do it?
So they didn't do it. Now we have someone standing around.
We have a whole restaurant waiting for drinks.
Sorry. Pardon my French.
Greg, we should have set up that second well.
- Yeah. - Right.
So right now we got three of them on one well--
- We're all backed up? - They're all backed up.
Right? It's-- it's-- it's a cluster there.
Greg: Yeah.
Which-- which drink is this?
The Italian margarita.
And so why are you splitting that?
You realize I have to dump that, right?
- Okay. - Hey, Jon.
Just out of the gates. We're down two.
Where the hell is the slush bucket?
- We're learning. - Two down. Okay.
George: I got you two classic Neapolitan's in the oven.
Can I get what's next two, please?
Greg: Classic, a truffle, another classic.
Jon: Let's get 'em out, guys, while they're hot. Come on.
Little help to open it up.
George: You running it? Greg: I think so.
Jon: You know where you're going, Greg.
I'm gonna have to ask.
[tense music]
We're going to order another one.
Okay.
You guys order one of each.
Oh, no.
No, Greg! Greg, right here.
I-- I apologize.
Sorry. You guys ordered one of each?
Greg. Greg, I need a Greg. Gotta get Greg.
They can't get two pizzas together. I mean, there's Greg.
He's trying to figure out what table to bring the pizzas to.
Jon: Greg is trying. He's in the middle of it.
Emmy's in the middle of it.
The systems are failing them completely.
He doesn't know where those pizzas go.
Number three tuna, right?
We didn't have a number when we got here.
- Number three tuna, right? - No.
Okay. This is fun.
[instrumental music]
Not a good saucing job, chef.
No, not a good s-- sauce job at all.
- Not enough simple syrup. - Jesus.
Nick: Another one down. Another one down.
Three, tuna.
I don't know where number three is.
- Little jiggly. - Jiggly, right?
Yes, chef. It means too much sauce. Not a good ratio.
You love sauce, don't you, chef?
George: I [bleep] hate sauce.
Nick: What's wrong with this pitcher?
- I'm a little off. - You're so close.
You're-- you're our star right now.
You're just not pouring exactly right. Okay?
Jon: Here it is. We're starting to fall behind now.
Bar's getting disorganized.
Orders are getting slammed into the kitchen all at once.
Ah.
Next 15 minutes, either we unravel
or we come together.
I'm not sure which it's going to be.
I wish I could make it for you, but I can't.
Look at that.
That's garbage.
Shit! Shit!
[shatter]
Look at that.
That's garbage. No.
That's shit. Shit.
Frickin' lime just, like, fell out.
Now we're just losing steam.
I know.
- Nick. - Yeah?
What do you think?
I think he got potential with the staff.
Getting the muscle memory of making these drinks
in an expedited way.
But the lack of training and just having that
cohesiveness, it's not there.
So the staff is doing pretty good.
Staff is good.
The systems in the bar let them down.
There is no system.
They can't make it, no matter
how hard they try.
Nick: No. Not tonight.
- Right here? - Yes, sir.
Greg has really tried tonight.
Jon: Emmy has really tried tonight.
The staff has really tried tonight.
George is incredible in the back.
But the bar cannot succeed
no matter how good the team is.
Oh, my God.
I've seen what I need to see.
I'm going to shut it down.
Listen up folks.
This is what's happening in the kitchen.
We are not set up physically to succeed.
- You guys agree? All: Yes.
Jon: So I got to shut it down because I got to go to work.
Come back in two days and we'll show you this place
how it should be, but for now,
I'm going to say thank you to the team
because this was a heck of an effort.
Heck of an effort.
Hearing kind words from Jon tonight felt very good.
I was afraid that we were a lost cause.
And, you know, now...
he's giving us a vote of confidence.
You know, this stress test, you know, it really showed me
that my staff is very committed to this place.
And they do work very hard and they need better tools.
It says to me, I've got to do my best
to find ways to support them better
than I have been in the past.
Jon: Come on, guys.
Okay, so here's what we know.
We know we got an engaged owner now.
Yes.
We know we have his wife, Emmy engaged.
I got to fix the bar
and you guys got to get them up to speed.
So, here's my worry.
This is a very competitive landscape.
Every one of these yellow circles is a competitive bar.
That's why I brought you in.
Because our pizza has to be
above everybody else's.
Our signature cocktails
really have to have an identity to them.
Something unique to the space.
We have the best pizza guy in the world.
So if I can create some synergy
between back and front of the house,
we're going to do some really fun things here.
I'd love to do a signature pie
that could be just theirs.
Like something spicy, you know,
like that arrabbiata sauce,
shrimp scampi, a little bit of smoke provolone.
You know, that spicy pizza
that just makes you want to drink more?
- Yeah. - Keep drinking.
So, guys, I'll get the bar together.
Workstations, POS systems,
all the systems, get that organized.
I'll get the kitchen together
with the ovens, all the equipment.
Make sure all that's right.
You guys got to train, train, train.
I really believe Greg is going to step up.
- I believe him, I do. - Yeah.
Alright, let's finish the menus. I'll buy the coffee.
- Alright, let's go. - Let's go.
[upbeat music]
Nick: How's everybody doing? All: Good.
We had to throw in the white towel, right?
With all those tickets, etc.
But all in all, it wasn't for lack of trying last night.
Going into today's training,
I want you guys to focus on muscle memory.
So we are doing another build drink.
So we have that speed of service
so that we can expedite these drinks for you.
This is very popular drink.
What is served in this?
- A mule. - A mule. Exactly.
In this case, we're going to do a blood orange mule.
So we're going to riff it up a little bit,
make it specific to you guys.
Okay? We can start with ice.
[upbeat music]
Nick: A quarter ounce of lime juice.
Quarter ounce of demerara.
Half ounce of Aperol.
One and half ounce vodka.
Topped with Fever-Tree blood orange ginger beer.
Garnish with Dress The Drink dehydrated blood orange wheel.
And this is blood orange mule.
- Beautiful. - Nice.
Emmy: I love what Nick has come up with
with all of our new cocktails.
Oh, that's good.
Greg and I are both are very inspired watching the staff.
They're very excited and I can see it.
You know, I can see the spark in their eye again
and for all of us.
Good job, you guys, but we have so much muscle memory
that we need to ingrain into our DNA
before we're ready for an actual relaunch.
We need to put them in your bones.
We need to work it over and over. Right?
So a big day ahead of us.
Let's get rocking and rolling.
- Let's do it you guys. Yeah? - Okay.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Thank you.
[tense music]
You guys are going to freak out on me.
This huge soffit over this bar...
I want to remove it.
It opens this whole thing up,
provides sight lines back and forth,
but it's a huge undertaking.
Right. I don't know, I'm speechless, honestly,
because it's a very big ask.
- It's a big ask. - Yeah.
But if people don't walk in
and see a vast difference...
They're gonna think it's the same place.
They're not going to buy in.
That's why I think somehow
we've got to figure out a way
to pull that entire structure.
Okay.
[hammering]
[whirring]
[buzzing]
[suspense music]
[cheers and applause]
Hi, everybody.
[cheering]
What a week, huh, Greg?
I'm guessing I wasn't your favorite guy
in the world on our first night, was I?
No, sir.
How do you feel, Emmy?
Oh. I can't talk. [laughs]
This entire team was unbelievable.
Jon: Good people in a bad place.
- It got away from you. - Yes.
Everybody started to give up.
But this is a great place,
and this is a great community.
So we got to get it right here.
Greg: Yes.
And now I think we're set up to do it.
Yes.
- You ready? - Yes.
Here we go. One, two, three!
[exclaiming]
[shatter]
Are you ready?
Here we go. One, two, three!
[exclaiming]
[upbeat music]
[scattered applause]
[indistinct chatter]
When I got here, Nico's meant nothing to you.
I wanted to reconnect it to the community,
give it an identity in this community.
That's why we chose the name that we did.
George. Little emotional, buddy?
Yeah, very emotional right now. [laughs]
What are you feeling?
I feel amazing, I feel pumped, I feel honored.
Jon: There's only one thing left to do, guys.
- Ready to see the inside? - Hell, yeah.
- Should I send them in? - Yeah!
Okay, go ahead. Go see it.
[instrumental music]
Oh...
- Holy shit. - my God!
Emmy: Oh my gosh!
Oh my gosh!
Emmy: When I first walked through those doors...
Oh, my goodness. The emotions I can't describe.
This place is beautiful.
It's nothing like it was before.
I just wanted to fall to my knees.
Look at-- look at the stage.
- Yeah. - Look at this. Look at this.
That's, now, that's Texas.
Greg: That's awesome. That's awesome.
George: Wait a minute-- Kayli: Hey, guys.
It's everywhere.
- It's gone. It's gone. - Yeah.
[cheering]
[clapping]
- What do you think? - Wow.
- It's amazing. - We are all crying.
Removing that soffit was unbelievable.
- Yes, yes. - Yes.
So remember this wobbling table?
No more. I got you special rock less tables.
- These are just automatically. - Uh.
If the table moves, moves it
and the feet come down and it locks in,
so you'll never have any wobbly tables.
So there's a lot going on here.
Grab the seat at the bar I want to show you.
Jon: Look at the glass storage system we put in.
We elevated the whole back bar to create
glassware storage back here for you.
And then I got you guys
two workstations really set up now.
Jon: So we're set up for speed, guys.
You each have your own POS system with Skytab
and a third POS system back there.
Then I got you guys a handheld tablet
so you can go directly to tables, put the orders in,
go to the kitchen, prints to the bar.
You don't even have to come back here and use the machines.
I got Cocktail Kingdom to give you guys all the bar tools,
all the glassware, everything you need.
I got Fever-Tree to leave you guys all their premium mixers.
I got Twisted Alchemy also to leave you guys
all those cold pressed juices.
Then I also got One Stop restaurant equipment
to give you guys a stand mixer.
So we're set up for making our own home dough.
And then I also got TV installation in Houston
to put all these TVs.
- I love it. Love it. - Okay, tonight...
you guys get 'em back. Are you ready?
- Yes, sir. - Let's go do it.
- Alright. Thank you. - Alright.
Welcome to the Kingwood!
Stephanie: Welcome, you guys.
- Hello. Welcome. - Hello. Hello.
- Congratulations, brother. - Thank you. Thank you.
Kayli: What can I get y'all?
I love the blood orange mule.
[upbeat music]
And then did y'all think about, like,
any kind of pizza that y'all wanted?
Woman 2: The truffle. - The truffle.
- Same time. Woo! - Yep.
Got one Neapolitan, chef.
[upbeat music]
Can I start you off with some wine?
All right Steph, let's see that blur.
We want to see you moving so quick.
Here.
- I can tell they're perfect. - Of course. They're perfect.
Look who made them.
- Bravo, Steph. - That would be me.
Alright, so now you're going to stretch it out. But watch.
- Go out. - Yep. Yep.
Okay, but now let's shake it.
- Yes, chef. - And now, land it.
[instrumental music]
There we go.
Jon: You know where you're going, Greg?
- Yes, sir. Jon: Okay.
Unlike a couple of days ago,
Greg actually knows where he's going.
You guys ordered the Neapolitan?
Wow. Yes.
Jon: Alright. Shake it, Steph, shake it.
Here we go. Yeah.
[cheering]
- It's working, isn't it? - Yes it is, it is.
It's fun. I'm really enjoying myself
for the first time in a long time.
I've gotten my confidence back.
I know between my staff and me
we're going to make this place a great success.
[instrumental music]
You did another shake and I missed it?
- Yes. - [claps] Attagirl.
Jon: Nick, how we doing?
The whole bar is served.
- Whole bar is served? - Yeah. You did great.
That would have never happened two days ago.
Nick: That's right.
George: Looking good.
Jon: George, they are raving out there, buddy.
Thank you, thank you, Jon.
The mule, amazing and the food was delicious.
The cheese, the flavor of the oil on the pizza, really good.
You know, I'm really proud of both of you.
You're working, you're smiling, you're smiling.
You're into it. You're having fun.
- I'm proud. - Thank you.
You let it get away from you.
Don't let that happen again, alright?
- No, definitely not. - No more.
You push each other to do better for each other.
- Absolutely. We'll do that. - Absolutely.
- My work is done. - Thank you.
- Thank you, sir. - I can't thank you enough.
Jon: You know, a bar can either build you up
or it can take you down.
In the case of this bar,
it took Greg and Emmy down.
Now look at 'em. They're inspired. They're engaged.
I have no doubt they're going to be successful,
because now they have the tools
and the desire to succeed.
[instrumental music]
[theme music]
♪ MTV ♪♪♪