Buffalo City Bar & Grille / BCBG - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Buffalo City Bar and Grill in St Petersburg, Florida

Buffalo City Bar was owned by Frank who opened Buffalo City in 2003.

He ran it for 14 years but passed away during routine surgery.

The bar was left to be run by his daughter Doreen.

She was thrust into it and has been overwhelmed by how it has deteriorated.

She can’t even open a tab or make a single drink.

After a manager quit, she put her daughter Lindsey in charge but she is inexperienced as well.

The bar is in disrepair and Doreen is $100,000 in debt.

They are losing $5,000 a month and her husband is recovering from two strokes.

Jon brings in chef Vic Vegas and expert mixologist Alex Goode for what he describes as an emergency rescue.

He introduces Doreen and her story to the team.

They meet Lindsey and Angel, who they notice are shaking drinks in a plastic cup and over pouring.

Bob the kitchen manager is using no gloves and Graham the cook is using just one glove.

Jon has radio personalities, Sam and Jim, come in to recon the bar and test their services.

They sit at the bar and order a Bloody Mary that’s served in a short glass.

They also order a beer and the bartender wipes the excess off with his hands.

Sam and Jim hate the drinks, the Bloody Mary is too strong and the beer is flat.

They notice Doreen is sitting in the bar but isn’t interacting with guests or watching staff.

They order food and the team watch the bad sanitation practices as the burger is made.

He notes it takes over 30 minutes before the food is served.

The food isn’t fantastic and it is greasy.

Jon has had enough and he comes into the bar and takes Doreen to meet Sam and Jim.

They give her feedback that the burger and reuben sandwich weren’t fresh and was a mess.

Jon sits with her and talks about her situation and he informs her she has lost over $90,000 from liquor waste.

He wants her to hold her staff accountable and take control of the business.

Jon goes back outside to his team and watches her query the bartenders.

A drunk customer defends the bartenders and Doreen gets into an altercation with her.

Jon comes in the next day and finds the staff cleaning the bar.

He calls a staff meeting and makes them understand that they need to commit to making the bar a success.

He tells them that Doreen has a lot on the line.

He confronts Bob on the bad sandwich and he refuses to accept responsibility.

Jon reveals the inventory report from the weekend and $1885 was lost in two days with a projection of $92,000 a year.

Jimmy is fed up with how the staff are being accused of bringing the bar down when they have not had effective management.

He says he has stayed at the bar for a reason and he wants to be a part of it coming back.

Jon brings in his experts and they have a look around the bar.

They find glass being kept on rags, which is a health code violation.

They find chicken kept in a lukewarm fridge that has clearly gone off.

Jon asks Bob to either clean up the kitchen or leave and he leaves.

Doreen follows him and tells him he is not alone that they all must face the truth and change.

He says he is burnt out but is willing to come back.

Alex Goode trains the bar staff on a blue mai tai.

Vic trains the kitchen staff on an Italian panini that can be made in three minutes.

The stress test starts and Doreen is struggling.

A whole section of the bar have not gotten their drinks.

In the kitchen, they are making orders but there are too few running food so it sits in the kitchen for too long.

Doreen can’t pull receipts from the machine and people are waiting as long as 24 minutes without food or drinks.

People start leaving even after Jimmy and Angel switch sides to move things forward.

The stress test is ended as it is bust.

Jon takes Doreen to the side and says he would get a broker and get her $500,000 for the bar.

The next day, Alex trains the staff on simple pretty cocktails targeted towards women.

Vic also takes them through easy-to-make chicken tenders.

Jon meets with Doreen and a potential buyer, who believes Doreen can get a little over $500,000 for the bar.

After renovation Doreen has the choice to continue or sell and protect her future.

It is reveal night and Jon didn’t change the name of the bar so Frank’s dream is able to live on.

But he brands the outside with the initials BCBG so its more visible.

Inside the bar has been modernised and made classier with a picture Frank on the wall.

There is a parlour area that is all red, a pub area and a clubbing area.

East Coast Chair and Barstool brought in new furniture and there are five new Quasi Touch POS systems.

Florida Restaurant Equipment put in a bottle cooling system and Jtech and HME installed a server pager system.

There is a subscription to Sculpture for inventory.

There is now a game set up where the whole bar can participate.

Last is a customised red chef’s jacket for Bob.

The relaunch gets underway drinks orders are going out quickly.

The kitchen is making good food and customers are loving their orders and having fun at the bar.

Things have been turned around and the bar is successful.

What Happened Next at Buffalo City Bar & Grille?

Some time later, BCBG is turning a profit for the first time in a year.

The staff and customers are happy with the changes.

Doreen was able to sell the bar because of the recent success.

After the show, her brother Frankie took over management over the bar.

Doreen sold BCBG to her Frankie and the bar goes as Buffalo City Bar & Grill.

Buffalo City Bar & Grill is open.

Reviews after the rescue suggest that nothing much had changed at the bar and service was still poor.

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Previous episode - Drunken Donkey Bar & Grill

Next episode - Stix and Stones / The Pit Stop Bar and Grill

This post was last updated in March 2022.