Cap’n Odie’s Lounge - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Cap’n Odie’s Lounge in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Cap’n Odie’s Lounge is owned by Kim Goings.

It has been open for 36 years and she got the bar from her father.

Her father passed away and she took over the bar.

She has kept the bar open as her mom is benefiting from the support of the bar.

Liz is the manager and took care of the bar while Kim’s father was sick.

Liz has let a lot of things slide at the bar.

There are parties and drinking behind the bar, all which has brought down the business of the bar.

Kim is hardly present and she is blamed for the state of disrepair of the bar.

They have a book of tabs, which is costing the bar as they aren’t collecting their debts.

The bar was affected by a Hurricane with patrons saving their money and not going out as much.

The owners have put in almost $50,000 to keep the business afloat.

They are currently losing $3,000 a month and are close to closing.

Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Phil Wills.

They note the area is in proximity of two naval bases with a lot of families.

They meet Liz and the other staff members.

They see the staff are implementing a disastrous marketing strategy and have a bizarre set up at weekends.

The customers pay just $10 and are able to drink as much as they want on a Saturday night.

Jon gets two Naval officers to recon the bar and test the service at the bar.

The spies are ignored while the bartenders are smoking and drinking behind the bar without paying for their drinks.

After ten minutes, they finally order a whiskey sour and it is sourer than it’s supposed to be.

A customer who ordered a sprite sends it back because there are black specks floating on top of the drink.

The same complaint is raised by the navy officers on the recon.

The staff don’t investigate why this is happening and just replace the drinks with fresh ones.

Jon and Phil go into the bar to confront the staff.

Phil tries to find the source of the contamination and Jon meets with Kim in her office.

Kim tells him of the problems with Liz and Jon tells her of the contamination.

They go to meet Liz and Jon points out it is illegal to smoke behind the bar and set up tabs.

He announces to the whole bar that the drinks are contaminated.

They trace it to the ice machine at the back and see water running over the mouldy interior that is getting into the ice maker.

Jon shows the bar the black mould that is in the ice machine and the ice from their drinks.

The customers are disgusted and the bar is closed so they can clean.

Kim cleans inside of the ice maker while Liz smokes in a corner.

Jon meets with the staff the next day.

They quickly get into the tabs and they get the total of over $200 that is not accounted for.

It is also not a secure system because Jon is able to take two tab receipts the night before.

Legally they can’t collect the money so it has to be counted as a loss.

Liz said she had just continued what Kim’s father started but Jon doesn’t believe she is ready to turn around.

Kim is asked to take charge and she addresses the staff telling them they need to do better for the legacy of her father.

Phil is then introduced and he trains the bar staff on some new flavours in cocktails using Captain Morgan rum.

For the stress test, Liz is being tested as a manager and the focus is consistency and quality.

The community comes out en-mass to support the bar with mostly servicemen and women coming to the bar.

The bar is quickly besieged and Phil is strict about the drinks leaving the bar and lots of drinks are dumped for bad quality.

Customers are left waiting for up to twenty-five minutes and a whole section of the bar is ignored.

Liz has fallen back on being a bartender rather than a manager and she has to be reminded to manage the bar.

Miami is the only high performing bartender but without a POS system they are slow to ring orders.

In forty-five minutes only half the bar has been served.

The bar is shut down as they can’t catch up with the service.

Phil gets some help training the bar staff the next day through the person of Captain Morgan himself.

They make the bar’s new hero drink in a signature cocktail glass.

Jon meets with Kim to make sure Liz is on board and respects Kim.

The meeting is a success and it ends with them on the same page.

Jon brings the staff to the relaunch.

The first surprise is that Captain Morgan Rum has donated $25,000 to a relief fund for the community.

The reveal shows the outside of the bar has been made more colourful with the name unchanged.

The brand has incorporated navy colours in respect for the community.

The inside has been brightened up and made warmer with military graphics and a wall dedicated to Kim’s father.

There are paddle ball cocktail menus for a fun twist.

There is a new beer cooler, a Harbour Touch POS system and East Coast Chair and Barstool has provided the furnishings.

Manitowoc has provided new refrigeration and an ice bin and there is a Orange Door Entertainment System.

Dimension Design did the mural of Navy air and Navy ships and Jason Hulfish Designs did the graphics.

They are ready for the relaunch and the customers are let into the bar.

The fun atmosphere they were aiming for is achieved and customers are happy with the new signature drinks.

They love the visuals, motifs and tribute to the navy and say they would come back.

The bar staff are miles better than they were on stress test night.

What Happened Next at Cap’n Odie’s Lounge?

Six weeks later, it is revealed sales are up 85%.

Liz stepped up as the manager and everyone loves the new cocktails.

Cap’n Odie’s Lounge is open.

Reviews are positive with praise for the bartenders and amtosphere of the bar.

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Next episode - Copper Rocket Pub

This post was last updated in March 2022.