Wildefire Bistro / The Prime Bar - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Wildefire Bistro in Aurora, Colorado.

Wildefire Bistro is owned by Tony David, a lounge musician.

He used to perform in Bistro Alveno till 2018 when it closed down and the owners sold to him.

The Bistro was making $125,000 a month then and he thought it would be great idea to keep it going.

He didn’t learn the bar business and stuck to his lounge performances, which started bringing his business down.

He turned to his wife Dani, his daughter Rylie and son Nick to help keep the business afloat.

His family think he is disruptive to the business and he fired his son over being asked to stop singing at the bar.

The family is fractured and the relationships are suffering.

Tony is $225,000 in debt and is currently losing $14,000 a month.

Jon arrives with his team including expert mixologist Mia Mastroianni and chef Michael Ferraro.

They notice that the bar is in a great area and the inside looks okay.

Jon thinks that being based in an affluent neighbourhood they should be making a lot of money.

They see Tony being friendly with customers and then not with his wife and daughter.

Jon gives them the low down on the family situation and the suffering relationships.

The footage shows John the bartender, Lamar the cook and May the server.

May delivers the wrong drink to customers and is flustered.

Tony is behind the bar drinking rather than helping the staff make drinks.

Jon has Ami from a previous Bar Rescue come in with a friend to test the service at the bar.

They sit at the only vacant seats at the bar where there is dirty glassware.

He has to ask the bartender to clean the bar.

Tony apologies with a shot for both him and Ami and Ami orders some wings.

The bartender breaks a glass over the ice bin and walks away.

Ami has to tell Tony about the breakage before any more ice is used.

The server sees food on the food window, which has been there for over 40 mins and has no idea where it should go.

The bar is in shambles, the kitchen is a mess and Tony decides that’s the best time to take the stage to sing.

The wings are served and there’s a silver hair in Ami’s food.

All Jon and the team see is Tony’s ego and aren’t sure if the bar is even worth saving.

Jon sends his team in and they unplug his microphone as he is singing.

They tell him all they noticed that has gone wrong with the kitchen and food.

Mia calls him out on the state of the bar.

They are upset with him and leave with Jon.

Tony is in disbelief and goes outside to look for Jon but he is gone.

The next day, Jon comes in and meets with the staff who are cleaning.

He gathers them all together including Tony to talk to them about the bar.

He calls each of them out on their actions the night before and Lamar was the only one who was hardworking.

Rylie reveals the atmosphere is toxic with constant bickering that is affecting the family and the business.

Jon points out to Tony that he is losing both his family and business.

Jon has Tony call his son to get him back to the bar, that’s the condition Jon lays down before he moves forward.

Tony tearfully places the call and tells Nick he has failed and he needs his help.

Nick agrees to come back and Jon brings in his experts to train the staff.

Nick arrives just before their training starts.

Mia has the staff practice being classy and professional whilst greeting and serving customers.

Michael teaches the kitchen a steak dish.

He has Tony wear a hair net to keep stray hairs from getting into the food.

It is soon time for the stress test and Tony is to work in the kitchen.

Customers are let in and the bar is working too slowly.

The kitchen gets incomplete tickets and it needs to be corrected.

The bar picks up pace but Tony needs a lot of handholding in the kitchen.

He needs to be told things twice and watched closely.

The customers are already complaining that the food is taking too long.

Some customers cancel their order because they see the plastic curtain touch it on the way out of the kitchen.

Jon sees the bar is doing well so decides not to shut down the bar.

They close out the night well despite the few hiccups.

The next day, Mia takes them through more upscale cocktails.

Michael takes the kitchen through a lamb shank dish.

Jon meets with Tony and finds out what he has learned this week.

He is appreciative and feels a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

The rest of the family is called out and Tony tells them he only wanted to protect them and he is grateful for the help.

The family is united finally and ready to work on rebuilding the relationships.

Jon’s team work all night and a new bar is revealed.

It has been renamed The Prime Bar to make them more upmarket.

Freeman Signs made the new bold sign advertising the bar.

The inside of the bar has been modernised and made swankier with more stations at the bar.

There is a stage curtain to cover up the empty space when not in use and old black and white pictures on the wall.

East Coast Chair and Barstool provided the seating and Rockless tables provided the tables.

Onestone Hub provided the table tents, Plumb Pros and Denver Beverage set up the bar station.

Restaurant Manger set up an extra terminal and Prime Acoustics set up an acoustic panelling for better sound.

Harmony Painting made the environment darker and Colorado Signs and Vinyl Wraps did the wraps on the walls.

Team Electric did the lighting and Thrill North America gave them a CO2 chilling system.

Sculpture hospitality gave them a lifetime subscription to their inventory system.

There are new uniforms with a bistro style apron and Lamar is given a new chef’s jacket.

Tony happily brings in the customers for the relaunch.

For the relaunch, Tony is taking orders confidently.

The bar is on top of the orders and Nick is happily running the place and making drinks.

Lamar is enjoying making food in the kitchen.

The customers gush about how good the food is and Jon is most proud of the progress of the family.

What Happened Next at Wildefire Bistro / The Prime Bar?

Six weeks later, sales are up 20%, customers love the new menus.

The family are getting along and still working well together.

The Prime Bar was sold to new owners in July 2019.

The Prime Bar is open.

Reviews are mixed with compliments to the food and complaints on service.

Click for more Bar Rescues

Previous episode - Edge of Town / The Prime Bar

Next episode - G.I. Jodi's Bar and Grill

This post was last updated in March 2022.