Who runs out of well vodka or Coors Light
like we're out of right now.
Why are we out? Why are we [bleep] out?
Why are we out of this shit?
So that really pisses me off because I feel like
they should be able to handle and do that.
narrator: For over 30 years,
Jon Taffer has traveled the country,
saving hundreds of bars from failure and ruin.
The past two years are unlike anything
I've seen in our industry.
But we're bouncing back.
People are going out again
and restaurants need to get ready.
narrator: Now, Jon is faced with a new set of problems.
There are supply chain issues.
Why are we out of this shit?
Staffing shortages.
Every week, we get a new staff.
We have to crash course them.
And consistent health concerns.
You guys can't fail. You just can't.
narrator: So now, Jon is back out on the road
and heading to Sachse, Texas, to rescue The Brick Tavern.
This is a new era for our country,
so we need to raise the bar and rise to these challenges.
narrator: In 2012, real estate executive Charlene Winter
decided to buy her local bar, The Brick Tavern.
I have a successful real estate company
and remodeling company.
The only experience I've ever had
is bartending and waitressing, I had no idea,
none, what it took to run a bar.
So I've kind of learned as I've gone,
but I thought this was gonna be my retirement.
Here you go, Jordan.
narrator: Initially, the bar saw moderate success
due to the loyal customer phase
and affluent community.
The Brick Tavern held its own
for, you know, a while.
You're my first customer this morning. [laughs]
narrator: However, Charlene's lack of management skill...
One of the biggest problems here
is definitely that there is no manager.
Are we completely out of Coors Light?
Uh, yeah, yeah [indistinct]
Yeah, we're out of Coors Light.
narrator: And unwillingness to trust her employees...
Why did we run out of Fireball?
We're out of Fireball.
That has nothing to do with me.
[indistinct] we don't have any Miller Lite.
narrator: ...began causing problems at the bar.
Charlene doesn't trust people,
she doesn't fully give over everything to one person.
I don't wanna have to go behind the bar on every night
and figure out what the hell I need for the next day.
But we've seen the potential that the bar has
and we want it to succeed, and we wanna see that again.
But there's just gotta be some changes.
narrator: As a result, the once loyal customers
stopped supporting the business.
Hold it up
It looks like it's baby food or something.
I don't really eat here.
I'll eat a bag of chips.
That is mold.
I won't even eat chips here.
[dramatic music]
It's gross.
You know,
I get really angry at the staff.
They piss me off a lot. I need a doer.
I need someone that's gonna take over and go.
narrator: Looking for a solution,
Charlene turn to her personal assistant,
Cassie, to step up.
We need to make sure that [indistinct] in the order for--
Why do I have--that's, that's [indistinct]
It doesn't matter, you're my assistant,
- you need to do it. - Ma'am.
I'm 100% capable of being the bar manager
if she would give me the authority.
But I'm doing a hundred things at a time.
- I do expect a lot. - I need one title.
I need to be this or that.
Do I get paid to handle the staff?
If I'm paying you,
what does it matter what you're doing?
narrator: But the lack of clarity
over Cassie's official role
has caused more problems than it has solved.
He's supposed to walk the bar every day
and make sure that the staff is doing what they're doing.
Ordering, picking up liquor, running personal tasks,
and do my oil changes, air out my tires.
Uh, whatever I need.
It's not my job to fix the toilet!
narrator: With no real leadership
and an owner with little experience,
The Brick Tavern has fallen into complete disarray.
Y'all [bleep] know
that this is what [indistinct] [bleep]...
I'm currently $530,000 in debt.
I spent all my money in my retirement account.
If I lose this bar, my staff will not have jobs,
all my customers are not gonna have anywhere to go
on Thanksgiving and Christmas,
it would be horrible for everyone involved.
narrator: So with a last-ditch attempt
to save her retirement and the bar,
Charlene has decided to pull back the doors,
bust open the books, and make a call for help...
to Bar Rescue.
Welcome to my new control room.
- Oh, I love it, man. - How cool is this?
You know, when we used to do recon in the SUV,
we can only see one thing at a time.
- Yeah, yeah. - Here, we can see the kitchen,
we can see the bar, we can see the customers,
we can see the service, we can see everything.
All [indistinct]
narrator: For the kitchen,
Jon brings in legendary
pit master Kevin Bludso.
Kevin can turn any culinary cadet
into a barbecue captain.
So, Kev, we're in the heart of Texas, barbecue country.
That's why I wanted you here.
So this bar is called The Brick Tavern,
and it was bought eight years ago by Charlene,
there's Charlene, having a drink at the bar.
- Okay. - To her own admission,
she says she went through a midlife crisis
- and went and bought and bar. - Oh, all right.
So, she's in the real estate business,
her real estate office is next door,
it actually has a door that connects to the bar,
- believe it or not. - Have you gotten your shot yet?
- Do you want one? - Hell yeah.
She loses now five, six thousand dollars a month.
So the money from her real estate business
go right into the bar.
And I'm told
that the reason why she's failing,
she's a control freak.
Did you make bustles drink?
- I did. - Fix it.
It's not strong, it tastes like coke.
There's Cassie, she's the assistant.
There's Kyan, she's the bartender.
There's Bre,
- she's another bartender. - Okay.
There's Jordan, another bartender.
Man, how many bartenders they got?
A lot more bartenders than customers you're gonna see.
And then Demo is your man in the kitchen out there.
- Okay. - I mean, it looks to be
like he's used the knife before a little bit, right?
Yeah. Oh, yeah, he got a little skills with the knife.
- Look at those burger patties. - Alaskan burger.
Right there [indistinct] freezer burger.
Yeah, yeah. What is that?
- Barbecue sauce? - Chocolate sauce?
Steak sauce? What the hell is that?
Oh, look how them things turn over.
Bam. Look at that. You see that bounce?
- [laughter] - It's still frozen.
- Oh, man. - Oh, man [indistinct]
- look at that. - Oh. Those fries look awful.
So think about this. Charlene owns this bar,
she doesn't know what the hell to do with it.
It's big, look at the size of this place.
It's got a big show room and a stage,
and then it's got a separate room with a bar.
Hi, guys. Can I get you guys something to drink?
- You got a drink menu? - We don't, I'm sorry.
- Okay. - You know how I love
my radio people for recon.
So for this recon, I got Rachel Ryan
and Al Farb from New Country 96.3.
- Uh-hmm. - They're in bars
three, four times a week, do radio remotes,
so they know a good bar-- they know a good Texas bar.
- Um, do you like-- - What do you want to drink?
- --like, an old-fashion? - We don't have, um, bitters.
We can make something if you-- if you--whatever you're...
- Like a mai tai? - Yeah.
- Okay. I'll take that. - I'm gonna have a Moscow mule.
- I don't have ginger beer. - No? Oh, okay.
- Uh, how about a margarita? - Okay.
- Yeah. - Why don't we have
any ingredients behind the bar?
- Who's the manager? - There is no manager.
So Charlene is the owner
and Cassie is Charlene's assistant.
Why is nothing everywhere it's supposed to go back?
Look at how slow she moves.
[dramatic music]
Look at the ordeal that it takes for her
to make this drink.
[object clangs]
- Oh, cool. - Thank you.
- There you go. - Awesome. Thank you.
You're very welcome.
Woo. That's a little sour.
Yeah, that's too strong for me.
- Like, I just got-- - Really?
--instant headache.
She said she just got a instant headache.
- Instant headache. - Um,
- can we put in some entrees, too? - Okay.
Um, I wanna do the pulled pork.
- Pulled pork sandwich? - Yeah. And--
- With fries? - Yeah.
Now, I wanna see when they make this food.
I'm dying to see what that pulled pork is.
Demo, Anna just ate a raw hamburger.
It's raw. Look at it.
You just fed her a raw hamburger.
That's what happens when you cook a frozen burger.
- Frozen burger. - She it all
- before she noticed it was raw. - I understand.
What would you like for me to say?
That hey, "I'm sorry, I'll never [bleep] do it again,
I'll cook the meat all the way."
So she doesn't know how to fix it
or what to tell him to do.
A lot of owners,
they don't know what the hell they doing.
That's the only thing they know how to do,
is just yell and scream at their employees.
- Yup. - Wait a minute,
we don't have any [bleep] beer?
I did the [bleep] order,
I know that we have [bleep] beer.
Beer's around the corner.
- Where? - In the kitchen.
Listen to this place. It's chaos.
Demo, we need this beer in a cooler.
He's cooking right now. Literally--
Well, can't we do [bleep] things at once?
He can't cook and no-- move beer, no, he can't.
So who opened this place? This is bar 101.
They've even taken our attention away from this food here,
but I don't wanna lose this food.
- Look at that. - Oh, man.
And it's dirty. Look at the--look at
the [indistinct] on the fries.
This place is horrendous.
Something is wrong with these fries.
What are they doing to these
that makes them look that way?
- I don't know. - Look at that.
- What does that say? 10/08. - 10/08.
- Oh, my God.
- That's five weeks ago. - Right.
So what is that? Is that protein?
It look like some kind of meat.
That looks like meat to me.
What the hell is he doing with--look at that.
That's been in that cup for a month.
If that's meat, we can't let them eat that.
- No way, man. - Let's go in there together
and stop this.
[dramatic music]
Really, Demo. Why the [bleep] are you cooking raw meat?
- Oh, shit. - Stop this.
Stop this.
You took pork out of here
that was dated 10/08.
When was 10/08? How long ago?
A long time.
Almost five weeks ago
and you put it in this cheese
to serve it to someone.
Is there anything even here from this month?
Look at this.
11/02. How do you serve this to people?
What's the date on that?
- 10/27. - 27.
Six weeks old.
And you're gonna sell it to someone?
Are you crazy?
And you're screaming at him?
This is Kevin Bludso.
The greatest barbecue chef in America.
Kevin and I were watching this on camera.
I couldn't let you serve this to somebody.
- I didn't know. - You didn't know?
How long have you owned this place?
Nine, nine years or so.
So really, what you're saying to me is,
"Jon, I've owned this place for nine years,
I didn't give a shit enough
to learn and not get people sick."
In nine years! Would you eat this?
Wouldn't you love to see her eat it?
- A little bit. - Yeah, let's do it.
Go ahead, buddy, make this one for me.
I want you to eat it.
Um, no, I'm not eating it.
- This is funny to you? - No, it's not funny.
I mean, it's horrible, man. I mean, I just watched you--
I can see you move around in the kitchen,
I can tell you know a little bit about kitchen,
but where is your pride, dude?
You gonna serve people
some old-ass food like that?
You as a owner, you don't come in
the first thing you check is check your dates or anything?
And then I seen you out there yelling at him,
don't yell at him because you don't know what's going on.
You the owner. Because I would be in here
yelling at your ass. You gave me that shit
that expired from a month ago.
This is where the burgers were sitting, right?
- Yes, sir. - Uncovered.
They're so freeze or burned that the meat was white.
Charlene, this is your life. You understand this?
- I, I understand that. - How, how much money
have you lost here?
So I've put, like, $368,000
for my retirement account, I'm $500,000 in debt.
If I were you, I've had a notepad
and I'd be writing this down, for Christ's sake.
So, the patties were frozen, he takes the frozen patty,
he puts it on the grill, and of course it's raw!
But you don't solve the problem.
You just look at him and say, "[bleep] cooking it right!"
I don't know anything about a kitchen.
What do you know about the bar?
I think I know a lot about that.
Can you make me a drink?
I'm rusty, but yes.
What's in a Godfather?
- Well, not that kind of drink. - So you can pour me a beer?
So you didn't learn anything out there either?
Nine years, and you don't [bleep] know,
$500,000, and you don't know.
So, you can't get your bartenders
making the same drink,
you don't know if you have any beer
in the place or not,
you don't know if it's hot or cold,
you don't know how to make food,
you're serving food that's five weeks old,
you don't know the bar, you don't know inventory,
you don't know the kitchen.
And, I'm not done,
this was the issue with our French fries.
I've never seen--it looks like chicken blood in there.
- What the hell is that? - Uh, I don't know.
Uh...
Figure out what it is!
[dramatic music]
What the hell is that?
Uh, I don't know.
Listen to me. I want you
to clean up your kitchen, do what you need to do,
I don't want you to touch this.
You are cleaning that!
No employees will touch this.
Right now I'm pissed off,
I don't sweep a mop and I don't know how to.
But that's fine, we're gonna do this
and I'm not lazy.
- Here. - No.
I got it. You can't.
- I can't? - No, I have to.
Because apparently I'm lazy. Would you call me lazy?
I don't wanna call me lazy.
[dramatic music]
[upbeat music]
Last night was very disappointing.
I didn't expect somebody
who owned a bar for nine years
to know so little.
I gotta find out how this happened.
What's going on here that would cause Charlene
to fail so much
and not get involved to try to change it?
I wanna talk to the staff.
Today, I'm gonna find out what's really going on.
- Hi. - Hello.
- What's your name? - I'm Cassie.
- Cassie, nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
- What do you do here? - Charlene's personal assistant.
Okay. What does that mean?
Everything that she needs, I just do.
Basically literally anything.
So you said personal, so you help her
- with her personal life as well? - I, I do.
Okay. So you have a personal assistant,
I'm just--so she's,
she's a half a million dollars in debt?
- Yeah. - But she can afford
a personal assistant?
I don't have a personal assistant
and I'm a millionaire.
I find that interesting.
So not only can you not keep the bar together,
you can't keep your personal life together, either?
I--I'm, I'm an only one person.
I can't do everything that I'm trying to do.
I'm one person too, so is Cassie.
I try to do everything I can
to be successful, every day.
And how is that working out for you?
[dramatic music]
I just need to learn some stuff.
Your approach is wrong, Charlene.
You realize that we have an owner who's owned this place
for nine years and hasn't learned to think.
She doesn't know how to cook anything, right, Demo?
She'll be the first one to tell you.
I don't know what to do.
But yet she'll scream at you for not doing it right,
but she can't show you how to do it right, can she?
- No. - But are you allowed
to change things in the kitchen?
- No. - You're not?
No.
So you want him to fix it,
but he doesn't feel he has the ability to fix it
because you won't let him change anything.
So think about this poor guy.
He's here, he's trying to do
a good job for you. He's screwing up.
He doesn't want the food coming back, right, Cassie?
That's the last thing in the world you want.
Foods coming back.
He's as bummed as you are about it.
So rather than saying what happened, how do we fix it?
You scream, fix it, do it right!
That's not leadership.
And I'll be honest with you,
people won't work for you very long
if that's the way you manage them.
So we have a real issue
with your style of management or lack of it.
Do you see what I'm saying?
So we have to solve the management issue
in this building, either with you
or with someone else.
And you know what, when I look at the four of them,
I sense that if you give them the leadership,
that they will step up.
I believe that.
So you're the obstacle to them stepping up.
This is why I'm focusing everything on you.
But I wanna show you something
that is incredibly revealing about our performance.
We use a company called Partender,
and Partender comes in in a way
every liquor bottle behind the bar.
Put your seatbelt on.
You guys poured $9,415 worth of alcohol,
- you took in $6,137. - Oh, my God.
In one weekend,
you guys gave away $3,278
worth of alcohol more than you sold.
In a month that's $49,853.
How in debt are you, 500,000, right?
500,000, yeah.
How much is it for a year?
$598,235, I wouldn't be in debt.
Had you just manage your alcohol behind the bar,
you would not be in debt right now.
So there was no reason for you to lose that $500,000.
This is happening probably while you're sitting at the bar
over pouring and all these things are happening.
It's training, but it's a lack of management.
So we need to fix that, don't we?
Yes, we do.
So the first step of this process
that means so much to us is hearing her say that.
- Yeah. - Right?
So what do you think
when you hear this conversation?
You've been here a long time you know her well?
- Do you believe her? - I believe her.
100% she can do it.
She's one of the smartest people I've ever met in my life.
I know she can do it.
But it's-- she's got to be willing
to listen and to learn. She's got to listen to us
when we're expressing, this is what we have to have to succeed.
Demo, you believe she can change?
- I really do. - Okay.
She's a really driven person.
Great. So I just got to direct that drive.
- Right. Right. - Then let's all help her
get there, okay? That's our goal,
but we got a lot of work to do you guys agree?
- all: Yes. - Can we do this?
- Yes, sir. - Okay.
Let me get my experts in here.
- Let's go to work, okay? - Okay.
Come on in, everybody.
[dramatic music]
This is the man, the myth.
My dear, dear friend Kevin Bludso.
Kevin is America's best barbecue chef.
We're gonna get you the equipment
and we're going to set you up to do true,
low and slow, great barbecue.
- Wow. - Slice and serve,
- works great in the kitchen. - I'm excited.
You're gonna have the best barbecue recipes
and chef in a country to do this,
and we can start to build an identity around,
- does it make sense? - Yeah.
- I'm gonna cry. - I do, too.
Let's start to take you guys somewhere.
- Oh, I'll eat here now. - And you'll be able to say
you have Kevin Bludso barbecue here.
- Okay. - Which means a lot.
Emily yet is one of my favorite mixologist in the country.
narrator: For the bar, Jon brings in Emily Yett,
an expert mixologist who has won numerous cocktail competitions
and was voted Best Bartender in Las Vegas in 2000.
Emily, you didn' t get a chance to see us last night.
But we have eager bartenders here.
And what do you want to accomplish today in training?
Well, here's the thing. I mean, John, we
have to look to see how they are with technique
to see where everybody is at.
Also we need to see how comfortable you can be
really holding down a bar.
And I don't mean serving a cocktail,
I mean, holding down the entire place
and making sure everyone's happy.
Yup. So our job is to train today.
And tonight, we're going to do our stress tests.
I'm gonna slam you guys.
I wanna see where we fail.
And I'm suggesting that we create a manager
in this building, somebody needs to have
ultimate authority, don't you agree?
Who makes these decisions,
take some of the pressure off you,
and if they're in with you,
then you got to relinquish some control.
- Right. - And give them a chance
to run the business.
Does that make sense to you?
- It does. - Okay.
So why don't you guys talk about it,
and you choose who you think should be manager tonight?
I'm suggesting that we create a manager in this building,
somebody needs to have ultimate authority,
don't you agree?
Okay. So choose who you think
should be manager tonight for stress test, okay?
All right. Let's go to work. Let's do it.
Jon said that I need to let go
and give some of the control to a manager and my staff.
But for me, it's very scary to give up control of the company,
but I realized that that's what has to happen.
- So? - You.
So if you wanna really be a manager
and we need to do it during the stress test
and see if you can do it.
I would agree 100%.
So why don't you pump with Kyan?
Yes, I have asked Charlene
for a chance to manage in the past,
but I feel a lot of pressure
because I don't ever wanna fail.
It's very intimidating and scary,
but we do need a manager here.
I know why you're saying that
because I have--you-- you're scared.
But if you wanna do that and you need to branch out,
you need to learn it.
What's the better way to learn bartending?
- Jump right in. - All right.
Are you ready to do this, guys?
100%.
Cassie has been wanting to be,
um, the manager for a while now,
and I haven't, uh, given her any control
or any say so on the business.
So tonight is Cassie's chance to prove herself as a manager.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome.
Today we're training to be able
to properly execute recipes on time.
- You guys ready for quiz time? - Yeah.
Okay. Let's play this game.
We have unbalanced cocktails.
There's a severe issue with over pouring.
Absolutely no one knows what they're doing.
If I were guests at this bar, I would order a bottle of beer.
So here's the deal.
I'm gonna shoot out a question,
you've got 10 seconds to answer it.
Okay. Question number one.
What is in a Godfather?
And show up your answers when you're done.
No idea. I have no idea.
No idea. Whiskey, coke and a coke and whiskey.
It's scotch and amarreto.
You aren't making your cocktails quickly
because you're unaware of the recipe
that's costing you money.
I've never heard of the Godfather and all that.
I'm, like, and there's a baby Godfather.
So we're gonna walk through this barbecue
pineapple margarita.
Half an ounce, point five of chamoy,
half an ounce of that strawberry,
a one ounce of our wine juice, one, two, three.
Put one and a half ounces of pineapple juice.
Two ounces of our tequila,
add ice, cap it.
Look at that color.
It's so good.
Oh, my gosh.
- Oh, my God, that is amazing. - Uh-huh.
We want our drinks to taste like another one.
So tonight we're looking for accurate course,
beautiful-looking cocktails, quick service.
What do you think? Can we do it?
- Yeah. - All right, ladies.
Thank you very much.
What y'all think about this? Wait a minute.
Why you ain't saying nothing?
- Oh, my God. - That is...
These people are so lucky.
I mean, we're giving them one of the best
barbecue smoker trailers around.
The double barrel deluxe barbecue trailer from Lang.
I mean, that thing almost cooks by itself.
narrator: While there are many different types
of barbecue smokers,
one of the most common use
is the offset smoker.
However, champion pit masters tend to rely on
the reverse offset smoker model.
This variation uses baffles to force the smoking heat
to travel both under and over the food.
Reverse flow offset smokers are relatively
easy to spot as they have the chimney
mounted above, not opposite from the firebox.
And I'm just gonna show you how we can
[indistinct]
here a little mustard, the Bludso's rub,
that's ready to go on a smoker for a 15-hours smoke bath.
I've been smoking brisket to break in their pit for 15 hours.
And that's what we're going to introduce tonight.
Things that can be done at a time
and you can get out quick.
Mac and cheese.
Some baked beans, fresh today.
You understand what I mean?
- I understand. - So, you know.
- I understand. - Your customers
are gonna just go crazy
about your food now, okay?
Oh, I'm giddy with excitement really
with looking at the new smoker out there.
I love barbecue and I'm a big fan of Kevin Bludso.
It's--honestly, it's mind blowing a little bit
because it's something I've always wanted to learn
from the best but never had the chance to.
Guarantee when you take that out to your customers,
they're gonna love it.
- I agree. - All right.
- That is amazing. - That looks amazing.
All right. So let's go! We got stress test tonight.
- Let's do it! - You know how it is.
It's gonna be stressful, but let's have some fun.
- All right. - Let's have some fun.
- Thank you. - Let's do it.
Okay, guys. So we're gonna go
into stress testing a little bit.
You're manager, you're owner,
who's gonna determine how to run this room tonight?
The manager is.
Great. Okay, Cassie.
This is your show.
Have you laid out how you want this to go tonight?
We went over it.
We feel confident, we feel like each other
supports each other very well.
Okay. Well said.
Now, let's make this happen, okay?
- Yes, sir. - Let's go to our stations.
Let's get ready.
I have asked Charlene for a chance to manage in the past
and now I'm--it's like all my dreams are coming true.
It's kind of-- it's crazy and exciting.
If any cocktail is incorrect, we dump it in a bucket.
At the end of the night, we'll see how we did,
how much we wasted, how fast we were.
We can weigh it all, makes sense, Cassie?
- Yes, sir. - Here we go, guys.
Hello, guys.
Welcome to The Brick Tavern.
Come on in.
[upbeat music]
- How are you doing? - Good. Good. How are you?
- You're welcome. - Hi, how are you?
So we have our menu here. You can scan.
Okay. Hustle, guys. Here we go.
Let's get ahead of it now.
If you scan that, that'll be your options.
- All right. Perfect. - We'll get somebody
to take your order in just one second.
Thank you.
- Okay. Same for you? - Why does that not surprising?
[laughter]
I'll take that with that pineapple margarita.
The margarita? All right.
- Do you need help? - Maybe.
You're remembering the drinks or not?
- No, my mind is like-- - Emily? Blank mind.
Okay. We have margarita in here, so--
So it's always in the mixing glass, right?
- Yes. Yes. - So, it looks like
- you got your mixing glass. - Do that.
I already put it in here though, do you want me to start over?
So that's--yup. Absolutely. Start over.
Okay. That's one down.
Now, can you make some drinks?
What do you wanna try to do to help them?
Well, at this time, I'm gathering people,
I'm talking with them, let them know
that we're taking care of them.
- Okay. - I have orders over here,
but we only have two stations.
I know.
Just whatever you think you can do to speed it up.
First order.
I got brisket plate and a pulled pork
[indistinct]
Let's go.
A little more than that.
- One old fashion. - That's not point
two-five of chamoy.
- One margarita. - Or the strawberry.
Kyan, I rang in cowboys past season [indistinct]
and I can tell you what they are.
- You ringing in? - Yes.
I'm looking for five pineapple margaritas, two old fashions.
- Charlene? - Yeah?
Can you give me just a second
while I finish these and then I'll--okay?
Oh, I thought you were doing that mine.
Are these old fashion?
Dump them in there if it's a mistake, please.
Come on, guys, we got one drink done here.
- Okay. - I know.
Is that pineapple?
Fact is they don't know what an ounce pour is,
what a half ounce pour is.
They can't remember one recipe.
They can't do anything unless Emily is instructing them.
It doesn't taste the same, does it?
- No. - Let's start over.
Let's go. Let's go.
I'm not sure they're trainable at this point.
I'm feeling, how you feelin', D?
A little rush but I'm still got--still in control.
Keep it up. Keep it up.
Holler, holler. If you need help
from your team, holler at them.
I'm just so used to doing it myself.
I know. That's right.
But let them know, it's, it's 20 people
up in the front, only you back here.
Did they bring you silverware?
- Yes. - Okay. I'm impressed
that that happen. Then you got napkins, too?
- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. - And you got drinks?
So did the four of you order drinks?
- Yeah. - We did.
So you, you got two, you're waiting on three.
Yeah, you're correct.
Got an order up.
- Charlene? - Yes, sir.
Okay. So Demo is coming out here.
He's just putting food on the end of the bar,
- so you order up. - All right.
- That's fine, I'll take it. - So who's--is that what
- he's supposed to do? - No, sir.
Because when a cook leaves the kitchen,
there's something burning on the stove maybe.
Actually, that's why I'm helping him right now.
- Well, okay, let's do it. - Okay.
This is unbelievable.
I can't get this reorder of a drink
that I've been waiting for, for about 10 minutes.
What do we have to do to get this drink, Jordan?
- Say again? - Come on, please?
What do we have to do to get the, the barbecue?
Pulled pork ready. All right. Let's get it out.
Okay. 'Cause you got to start on that brisket,
then we got to get you those other orders.
- How are we doin'? - I'm good.
He's, he's kicking ass.
You have an all-star in this kitchen, but he's untrained.
Now the bowl of baked potato.
If I seen that guy and I came into this restaurant,
I would steal him for my restaurant.
And that's what she has because he is totally trainable
and workable, and he wants to be,
and he wants to do a good job.
Systems here are just horrible.
We still going his way, but he's back here by itself.
Nobody has came back here and helped him yet.
I got an order up for Janet.
Nobody's even run food. Nothing.
Nobody checks on him one time.
Do you know who Janet is?
Janet?
We got a whole lot of work to do.
We had to do a whole new system in this kitchen.
- See that? - And he has now four
more tickets, five more tickets coming off.
Nobody's running food or checking on the kitchen at all.
I'm checking right now.
- This, uh, brisket-- - You know what?
Let's switch.
Because I, I can remember drinks and stuff out there.
And will you help him to run the food?
- Yeah. - Okay. Thank you.
Remember how I told you that this is switched?
So [indistinct] and switch them back or they--yeah.
- Switch 'em back. Right. - Okay.
- Quarter, quarter. - One.
One. One and a half. Let's do it again, come on.
There might be as much in this bucket
as we've actually served to people.
I should just put a straw in this and pass it around the bar.
What do you guys think?
[cheering]
- Charlene. - Yes, sir.
I want you to look at this.
- So, that's our profits. - That's correct.
- So we lost money tonight. - That's correct.
All right. Here's what I want you to do.
I want you to go in the middle of the bar.
I want you to close this down and apologize to the people
who weren't served and invite them back in two nights.
- Okay. - Okay?
- Let's do this. - Go ahead.
Okay, guys.
Guys, I wanna thank everyone for coming out tonight.
We have not passed our stress test.
I apologize for your service this evening.
And it will be better next time you're in.
Tonight was brutal. It's probably
one of the worst nights I've ever had bartending.
That bar is not set up for success.
We're not set up for success.
And we failed.
Okay. We got a lot of work to do. Do you agree?
- Yes. - Okay. Thank you all
for coming. This is difficult.
If you can come back in two nights, we'll show you
how this is when we're finished with our training.
Not before we started, okay?
I feel, uh, slightly, like, I failed.
I was trying to get drinks. I was trying to get food out.
I was trying to make sure everybody
had everything they needed.
And sometimes it's just--I failed.
We're gonna get there, guys.
We're gonna have to start early tomorrow.
But we're gonna get there, I promise you.
So, what could I have done to help you guys out
more tonight as, as a manager?
I mean, I personally feel, like, you should have been
like, "Hey, you got-- you should calm down.
Do one thing at a time." We don't have enough room
for you to, like, make drinks with us.
I will say, you know, what we've discussed earlier
is bringing something in the computer and then coming
and saying, "Hey, I, I rang in these three--
these three different people all their food and their drinks.
Can you make 'em?" When I'm already 10 drinks in,
it's just not helpful, which I've told you that before.
After tonight, I think Cassie needs more training.
Once she's trained, she might--
she might be able to do it.
But she needs more knowledge.
[upbeat music]
Well, last night, let's talk about it
a little bit, shall we?
Let's not. No. [laughing]
They're coming off a stress test,
I saw a lack of communication, absolutely no technique.
We're gonna really have to bring it down
to Bartending Basics 101.
So, does anybody know what's in a Manhattan?
Uh, yeah. Vermouth, simple syrup, and whiskey?
- Close. - No dice though.
It's actually sweet vermouth, whiskey and bitters.
So, today we're going to do a Reverse Manhattan.
Two dashes of bitters, one ounce of whiskey,
two ounces of the sweet vermouth,
fill up the ice.
Give this puppy a little stir.
[upbeat music]
A garnish of a cherry.
Add a cherry wood on the top and torch that baby up.
And bam, you got a little smoked cherry there.
- Yeah. - That's cool. [laughing]
Let's give it a shot, everybody.
The new drinks that we have on the menu are super cool.
I mean, being able to put a flame into a drink
and like make it smoke, that's so amazing.
- How'd we do? - It's awesome.
Okay. So, tomorrow's re-launch.
So, we have some work to do.
But we're gonna get there. What do you think?
- Yes. - Rock on.
- Let's get to work. - Let's do it.
- What's up? What's up? - How's it going?
- Hey. - How you doing?
- Doing well. - Nice night last night.
- It was exciting. - For you.
You, I never even seen you back here the whole night.
Straight off the bat, we know that shit
they've been doing does not work.
We need a pulled pork.
Look at that. What does that say?
- 10/08. - Clearly, no type of systems,
no type of nothing.
Everything was in a microwave.
Pull your phone out and put it on your stopwatch,
you're gonna do your old way of a pulled pork sandwich,
- you ready? - Yeah.
Go.
I can't believe that Texans have been letting them get away
all this time with a pulled pork sandwich
that's done in a crockpot.
Two minute, forty.
We gonna give 'em some real, real barbecue
to put them into the fight in Texas barbecue ring.
- That's it. - Three minute, twelve seconds.
Okay. Now, your new pulled pork sandwich.
Begin by toasting your brioche buns on the flattop.
Then, add two slices of brisket, our four ounces of pulled pork
on top and drizzle with barbecue sauce.
Add three ounces of coleslaw on top.
Close the lid. This is your char bar sandwich.
- Stop your time. - One minute, six seconds.
So now, let's compare.
Which one would your customers want?
Okay. You guys wanna come try that?
- Yes. - Oh, Kevin's food was amazing.
Now, I finally have something I can be proud of
and serve people.
No words can explain how much I love that.
- Yeah. Yeah. - Okay. Uh, we done prepped.
It's time for y'all to rap.
- Yeah. - Let's do this.
Yeah. Thank you.
[upbeat music]
[applause]
- How you doing? - Good.
- Good to see you. - Everybody.
- Charlene. - I'm so excited.
- What a journey this week? - Yeah.
Learned a lot about yourself, didn't you?
I sure did. I thank you for it.
Aw, my pleasure.
You know, the median household income
in this area is over $100,000?
The median household income in America is $61,000.
This is a really affluent, great community here.
So, expectations are higher, aren't they?
So we had to up our game, Charlene, didn't we?
Yes, we did.
We had to up our drinks, we had to up our food,
we had to up each other.
- Yes. - And we really had to create
an environment that made sense.
We also had to turn this into a concept.
Not just a room with food and drinks.
So, I think I did it.
- You guys ready? - Yeah.
Here we go. You ready? You ready?
- Yeah! - One, two, three!
[cheering]
You ready? One, two, three!
[cheering]
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
I can't believe it!
Oh, my God.
Really? Oh, my God!
Jon!
- Thank you. - I'm so happy for you.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
Come on. Give me a hug.
So, I want a name that meant something.
And when you work under that sign every day,
it'll connect with you in a way that Brick never did.
And you guys, you're connected more than before.
So much of the work we did was you correcting
all of this but then
we had to have a real smoker low and slow.
This is Texas.
We don't fake barbecue down here.
It's a real great wood smoker.
And that was given to us by Lang BBQ smokers.
Then of course, we have new branding,
new seating, call to actions on windows.
Craft cocktails, live music.
So when people pull up,
they know what's happening inside.
Now, we have an identity.
So, you guys ready to see it?
- Yes. Yes. - You sure?
- Should we let 'em in? - Yeah!
All right. Go ahead.
- Oh, my God! - Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Wow.
Oh, my God. Wow.
That looks amazing.
Oh, wow. Look at [indistinct]
- Oh, my God. - It's like a new beginning.
I'm looking forward to be starting fresh.
And just, uh, making a better name for ourselves.
- What do you think? - That--oh, my God.
It's so beautiful!
It looks amazing!
How about those doors?
Slide one of those doors for me, Cassie?
Got it.
- Oh, my God. - And there's our showroom.
Oh, my God.
Crown Audio Video revamped all the lights in there.
- Wow. - That's so cool.
So, if the band is coming on at 9:00.
At 9:00, you open up those doors.
Voila, and everybody piles into the nightclub room.
So, by closing those doors now in the earlier part of the week,
we're smaller, we're intimate, right?
We can provide a great bar environment.
During dinner, we can open those if we need to, right?
When tables fill up, we can close it.
It just allows you to control the environment better.
So, we set up the bar for you.
Calibrated all your soda guns, gave you a brand new POS system.
This is a state-of-the-art Harbortouch System.
And then here's our SkyTab unit.
So, you just take it out in the deck,
put the order right in.
You don't have to come back in here and do it.
By the time you come in here, the order will be ready.
It's fast.
Then remember those Partender numbers?
- Yeah. - The 500,000
- blew you away, right? - I did.
Well, I got your subscription to Partender.
Lifetime subscription. Then I got your PathSpot device.
This is unbelievable.
PathSpot, you wash your hands, you put them
under the PathSpot device, it scans your hands.
Green light, no viral
or bacterial content on your hand.
- Oh, wow. - How cool is that?
- That's really cool. - Okay.
So, think about what I've done. I've set you up.
I've empowered you. Follow this through
- and finish it. - I will.
And let's get 'em back.
We got a bar to set up, a kitchen to get ready.
We're gonna open in a few minutes.
We got about 50 people out there
dying to come in to taste your barbecue, okay?
- Okay. - All right. Let's do it.
- Hello, everybody! - all: Hello.
Welcome to Char Bar and Barbecue.
Come on in!
[upbeat music]
- Welcome! - Hello.
[indistinct]
Hi. How y'all doing tonight?
The barbecue pineapple with margaritas is the spices
that we use on top of it are the same spices
- on the barbecue we made so-- - Interesting.
Uh, let me have a apricot milk.
- Apricot milk? - Yeah.
Okay. Sounds good.
[upbeat music]
Look at those shakes, ladies and gentlemen!
Woo-hoo!
I would have never imagined that we would be here now.
The, the bar is great. The transition is great.
Our regulars are gonna love it.
I think Charlene will take it to the next level.
-We got some brisket plate. -All right.
There you are.
Tonight, Cassie is the new manager
of the bar and she's doing an awesome job.
I can see her blossoming.
And I think she'll be a great manager
with some training and some direction.
Once she finds that, then I think we'll be fine.
So, okay. There's the-- my favorite one right there.
- How we doing? - Doing good.
- All caught up, right? - Yes, sir.
- And we got one ticket. - Yeah.
Look at this place.
- This is amazing. - They're eating good food.
- Uh-hmm. - Your bartending staff
is getting more and more trained.
- They are. - Uh-hmm.
Right? You got a great looking group of customers here.
Place smells clean, looks clean. You got a concept.
- Yeah. I do. - Bar is named after yourself.
And you guys have each other, don't you?
- Yeah. We definitely do. - Yes.
- My work is done. - Thank you.
You've got this now, don't you?
- Yes, sir. - All right. Give us a hug here.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Congratulations. Make me proud, okay?
- I will. Thank you. - Okay. Bye-bye, Cassie.
- All right. - Good night.
- I love you so much. - Unbelievable.
This was a tough rescue because Charlene
and none of the employees had any knowledge.
Nobody had any capability to do anything.
So training was from the ground up.
We got 'em pretty well trained but the most
exciting part of this rescue is Charlene.
She's showing leadership and so as Cassie
and with a commitment
to continue growth,
the staff is gonna get better and better.
[upbeat music]
narrator: Promotional consideration provided by
Harbortouch, PathSpot, Partender, Lang BBQ Smokers,
Crown Audio Video, Total Beverage solutions,
Cody & Sons plumbing, Texas Custom Sportswear,
S&M Amusements, Agree Mechanical,
One Stone, Six Springs Tavern and ERSI.