Gil and Rick’s / Sauced - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Gil and Rick’s Sports Bar and Pizzeria in Largo, Florida.

Gil and Rick’s opened in 2015.

It was opened by Postal Service employee Gil Grim with friend and partner Rick Johnson.

The owners are inexperienced as are their staff so they are not running the bar well.

The two owners have differing management styles that affects the business and staff morale.

They have invested $200,000 in the bar and are also in debt.

They have invested all of the money that they have so everything is on the line.

Jon recons the bar with Dave Portnoy, who is an internet celebrity and sports blogger from Barstool Sports.

They notice the name on the signage is so spaced out you would assume the place was three different establishments.

They see the owners at the bar standing around and doing little.

They see bar manager Erica, bartenders Kelly and Michael and kitchen manager Taz.

Jon sends in Frank, who is also from Barstool Sports to order one of every pizza on the menu.

Franks sits and is given a menu but no one takes his order.

A fellow customer has to call their attention before he gets to place his order.

In the kitchen, Taz is upset by the order and has to read the menu to figure out the recipes.

Gil asks that Frank pre-pays for the order, which Jon’s team think is unprofessional and disrespectful.

Rick works with Taz in the kitchen to bring out the orders in time and serves it to Frank one at a time.

Gil is rude and names Frank as the a**hole customer.

Dave is sent in to sample the pizzas with Frank and he finds them horrible.

They are greasy and doughy and are washed down with the flat beers.

Jon comes in to try the pizzas as well and is also not impressed.

They give the owners feedback and Dave says he wouldn’t recommend the pizzas or the place to anyone.

Jon berates them for their attitude to Frank and he tells them he won’t respect them till they respect their customers.

It is expected that Rick shouldn’t drink while they are working on the place.

Jon comes in the next day and meets the staff to find out the issues at the bar.

Jon confronts Taz on his kitchen processes and his attitude.

All three are at fault for the previous night but Rick is highlighted for giving away up to 15 free drinks a night.

The Sculpture report shows they lost $1,405 over a weekend due to giving away drinks and over pouring.

This would amount to a loss of approximately $73,000 a year.

Jon brings in his experts, expert pizza maker Frank Pinello and expert mixologist Rob Floyd.

They say it takes less than ten minutes to get a pizza out and are shocked at the liquor numbers.

Jon observes the bar area and sees dirt all over the floor, equipment and the soda gun.

The owners are put to work to clean their bar along with the staff.

Rob trains the staff on accuracy of pouring and takes them through a basic cocktail, the margarita.

In the kitchen, Frank takes Taz through the basics of making a pizza for consistency and speed.

Their stress test goal is to sell twenty pizzas in twenty minutes.

Each customer that orders a pizza is given a timer to time the kitchen.

Customers are let in and the challenge is started.

The bar is overwhelmed with drinks orders and kitchen with pizza orders.

Rick makes a mistake giving similar orders one at a time rather than as a batch.

Taz makes many mistakes and they fall behind very quickly.

Many of the pizzas are tossed because they aren’t good enough.

It is later traced to their oven being faulty and unevenly cooking the pies.

The bar team also make plenty of errors and many cocktails are dumped.

The drinks that do manage to go out are sent back for being too sweet.

The pizzas sent out are also sent back with complaints.

The kitchen is up to one hour behind on some orders.

Customers soon start walking out because of all the chaos and the bar is shutdown.

The next day, the bar staff are trained on making a Rick’s Mule.

The kitchen is trained on New York style pizzas for the natives in Florida.

Jon meets with Rick and Gil and is complementary of their efforts the night before.

He wants them to recognise they need each other to pull the bar out of the hole.

On relaunch night, the newly renovated bar is revealed.

The name of the bar has been changed to Sauced.

They have a new exterior, a new brand and the bar is warmer.

There are booths by MSS Restaurant Equipment, a portable stage and a monitor that shows pictures of their food.

East Coast Chair and Barstool provided the chairs and the glassware came from Thunder Group.

Florida Restaurant Equipment sent the beer cooler and Draft Medics sent the beer towers.

They also have a lifetime subscription to TVT for trainings and a Harbour Touch POS system.

The oven and refrigeration are fixed in the kitchen for Taz to be able to make pizzas properly.

He is also given a customised chef’s jacket.

There is also a picture up of Rick and Gil on their first day opening the bar in 2015.

On relaunch night, customers are let in.

The bar is working smoothly keeping up with the orders.

The kitchen is getting the job done way better than the stress test night.

The customers love the pizzas and the place, they say they would come back.

What Happened Next at Gil and Rick’s Sports Bar and Pizzeria / Sauced?

Six weeks later it is revealed the owners still work together.

Sales are up with new clientele.

They have implemented a new lunch menu.

The bar decided to keep the name Sauced as changed in the episode.

After a poor health inspection they were ordered to stop serving food.

It looks as though the owners sold the bar a few months after the show aired.

Sauced is open.

Reviews are mostly positive with most liking the changes.

Karaoke night and Bandingo nights are popular but some regulars don't like the new food or menu.

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Next episode - New England's Ale House Grille / Das Brauhaus

This post was last updated in March 2022.