Jack's Place / The Regan Lounge - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Jack’s Place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Jack’s Place is owned by Corinne Vaughn, who bought the bar in 2008.

Corinne started bartending at the bar in 1997 to supplement her income.

She bought the bar in 2008 out of sentiment for the time she had spent at the bar.

The bar was already in trouble and she has been failing to get new customers, while the regulars are dying off.

Corinne has four children but also treats staff like children and they call her ‘Mom’.

Corinne is a softy and hates confrontation so she lets staff get away with a lot of things.

The bar is out of control and she is in $500,000 of debt.

She has never paid herself and her personal life is affected by the stress.

Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Phil Wills.

They see the bar is located in a neighbourhood that is far from the tourist area.

The bar was built in the 70s by a man named Jack, who became a state senator for Nevada but passed away.

They see how dated the exterior is and inside is a dated 80s looking, disorganised decor.

They see Corinne, Ernie and Caryn are managers along with her son, Travis, who manages from time to time.

They see staff call Corinne ‘Mom‘, which is unprofessional.

Jon gets John Mac, a local OAP to spy on the bar and its services with a friend.

They come in and are served by bartender John and they order a cocktail that he fails to shake so it is sour and tart.

John is concerned with flaring at the bar, tossing cups to catch with bottle and he fails every time, to the amusement of the customers.

He is told to stop by Travis and Ernie but he ignores them and continues until he is berated by Corinne for not listening to them.

He complains of having too many managers oversee him.

Almost all the staff are in the back talking to John and that is when Jon comes in to meet them.

Jon confronts John for complaining and mouthing off everyone in authority.

He lets him know John is disruptive and does not make the rules.

John responds rudely.

Jon tells Corinne to control him, act like a manager not a mom and he will not work with her unless she steps up.

John is asked to apologise to Corinne but he refuses and is belligerent before eventually conceding.

Jon meets the staff for a meeting the next day.

Jon gets into Corinne’s story and reveals she doesn’t pay herself but the staff gets paid.

Jon holds the staff responsible for the downturn of the bar and they agree.

Jon points out Corrine’s failing on mothering her staff instead of acting like a manager and holding them responsible.

There is a Partender report and they lost $880 in a day and an estimated $39,264 in a year.

Corinne gets upset at the numbers and breaks down.

John offers to quit since he has been a major problem but Jon talks him out of it, saying he can be part of the turn-around.

Jon introduces his expert, Phil.

He inspects the bar to see the beer cooler is not working properly and the area hasn’t been cleaned.

The Ice bin has mould and he tells them to ditch the ice they have.

They clean the bin and buy ice from a supermarket as what they have is not safe.

Phil takes the staff through making a lemonade cocktail that John failed at making on the first night.

For the stress test, Jon reveals he sending two people to Lynchburg Tennessee to the Jack Daniels Distillery at the end of the night.

The bar opens to the customers and the bartenders are doing well serving drinks but are pushed to make more than one at once.

The management are not doing so well and one end of the bar is ignored while customers start leaving.

The bartenders speed up but the quality drops.

Corrinne tries to help but the work space is too small.

Customers had to wait for up to thirty minutes for a drink and the bar is shut down as they cannot keep up.

Jon calls the staff together and Corinne has decided to send John and Ernie for the field trip.

Jon sits with Corinne and he reveals he wants to make her bar a Jack Daniels base in the neighbourhood.

He sees that she is thinking of others rather than herself and she needs to reverse it as her own children are adults already.

John and Ernie both fly down to the distillery and are given a tour of the facility.

They sit down for a tasting and meet the head distiller.

Phil trains the remaining staff on a new Jack Daniels cocktail called the Tennessee Mule.

The next day, the staff comes together for the relaunch.

The bar has been renamed to The Regan Lounge with bold blue lettering and a modern sign on the exterior.

Inside the bar, it has been made warmer with Jack Daniels branding and a wall dedicated to customers pictures.

There is a new Manitowoc Ice Machine in the back and ice bin.

There is a new work station with a soda gun, speed well and two new Harbour Touch POS systems.

They open for relaunch and invite guests in.

John is playfully reminded not to attempt flaring.

The bartenders are slammed but they are meeting up with orders and the customers love the drinks.

Caryn soon finds herself in a corner idling with nothing to do.

When Jon approaches her she complains she has six orders but cannot get the attention of the bartenders.

When Jon corrects her and gets it through she is annoyed and walks out locking herself in the office, clearly checked out.

The bar continues without her even though Corinne is aware.

The night still ends up a success.

What Happened Next at Jack's Place / The Regan Lounge?

Six weeks later it is revealed Caryn was fired the next day.

Ernie thrived as a manager and was given a raise.

The staff no longer call Corinne Mom.

Jack's Place / The Regan Lounge closed in September 2017 after a fire gutted the building.

There was over $500,000 of damage in the fire that happened after the bar had closed.

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Next episode - Liquid Lounge

This post was last updated in March 2022.