Paddy's Pub / Pat’s Courtyard Bar - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Paddy’s Pub in Pahrump, Nevada.

Paddy’s Pub is owned by Pat Rogers who bought the pub in 2006.

The pub used to be a roadhouse bar.

She ran it for 9 years and her son fifty-one year old Russ Rogers was the general manager.

Business was great when they first started and locals were coming to the bar.

It was planned for Russ to take over the bar.

Once he started running the place he and the staff got too laid back and playful.

Russ was also diagnosed with an eye disease with loss of vision and he had to lean on his staff.

Tawna was given more responsibility than she was hired for.

Russ ended up borrowing $15,000 from Tawna and $26,000 from his mother.

He is just eighteen months into running the bar and is in debt.

Jon recons the bar with expert chef Vic Vegas and expert mixologist Daniel Ponsky.

They notice there is a big casino right next to the pub and they share a parking lot.

Paddy is barely visible and the population of the town is so low.

There are a lot of factors working against the pub and they think that this may be their most challenging rescue yet.

The exterior decor has clovers but inside there is nothing to show it is an Irish bar.

They see Pat and Russ in an argument and Jon fills the team in the situation.

Russ wasted $100,000 on renovations and Pat is writing monthly checks to keep the bar afloat.

There is a kitchen in the bar but it is not functional and Jon hopes to get it up and running.

They see bartenders misuse the equipment at the bar and a bartender has not showed up for work but Tawna is handling it.

A young couple are at the bar and they are served an unbalanced drink that was too strong.

Pat is observant of the bar activities and gives Russ feedback but he blows it off.

Jon reveals Pat wrote a letter to the team where she identifies all the problems, which mainly stem from Russ.

Jen the bartender then comes in drunk and puking.

She is late for her shift and lays on the floor in the back.

She is not responsive and Tawna has to take care of her and get her a ride out of the bar.

Jon decides to go in and meet with Pat and Russ.

Jon confronts Russ on the details of Pat’s letter and he is not ashamed.

Pat says if he were not her son she would have fired him.

Jon asks Pat to read Russ the letter and leaves when she attempts to do so.

The next day, Steven is introduced as the new cook and he is familiar with the staff.

Jon gathers everyone for a staff meeting and Jen is in attendance.

She looks very different from the night before.

Jen explains the incident was a fluke and she had no food, Jon says she is getting fired if she does it again.

Jon highlights the debt situation and how Tawna has only gotten $1400 of the $15000 she has been owed for over a year.

Pat used to charge $3000 for rent but reduced it and still the business is not paying it.

The staff believe Russ is being bailed out by Pat so he does not try hard enough.

Jon introduces his team to the staff.

Daniel takes the bar staff through making a cocktail using the mixology tools correctly and has a one-on-one with Tawna.

In the kitchen, Vic takes Tawna, Russ and Steven on some simple classic sandwiches with twists.

Jon calls the staff together just before the stress test.

Tawna is made a full manager for the night, while Russ is front of house and Pat will be watching and taking notes.

Customers are let in and orders start coming in.

When asked about food Jen is at a loss and confused.

Tawna is helping with the food in the kitchen as they are backed up.

The bar is under performing because they only have one well.

Russ makes an error delivering an order in the kitchen without tickets and is told to do the right thing.

The kitchen is doing okay and not exceeding five minutes in ticket time.

The bar is tossing drinks that had mistakes and lots of customers have not been served.

Russ is needed to do dishes but he is greeting customers.

Pat has four pages of notes and they decide to shut it down.

After the night is over, they have a staff meeting and Pat gives her feedback.

Despite all they need to work on, Pat was happy Russ interacted with customers.

Jon takes the staff to a new location the next day for training.

Jon’s feedback is mostly to Tawna who was everywhere but not impactful.

Daniel takes the staff through making a cocktail with Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey Whiskey.

Vic takes the kitchen staff through some grilled sandwiches.

Jon sits with Russ and Tawna on the running of the bar.

Russ needs Tawna and she feels she is in over her head even though she is loyal to the establishment.

Tawna is to be trained and Russ says he will support her.

For relaunch they all show up in front of the new bar.

The bar has been renamed to Pat’s Courtyard Bar.

The bar finally has her name signifying her dreams of it being successful and her son running it one day.

They go in and the interior has been made warmer, brighter and classier, it feels like you are outdoors.

They now have two wells and Jon explains the concept of the bar is a courtyard, that’s why it feels outdoorsy.

There is an Orange Door Entertainment system in the DJ booth.

There is a new full work station, two Harbour Touch POS systems behind the bar and one on the wall.

They have a lifetime subscription to Partender.

They are soon ready to open and the customers are let in for the relaunch by Russ.

The bar starts well, coordinating and communicating to get the drinks out.

Soon almost everybody has drinks.

In the kitchen orders are coming through and leaving the kitchen fast.

Pat and Russ are happy with the atmosphere and customers have been hugging Pat all night.

What Happened Next at Paddy's Pub / Pat’s Courtyard Bar?

Six weeks later it is revealed drinks sales improved.

The food is attracting new crowds.

Pat has finally taken a step back from the bar and Jen was fired.

They didn't keep the new name and changed the name back to Paddy's Pub.

They later changed the name again to Oasis Bar.

They kept the food that Vic created for the bar but made a number of changes to the bar.

Paddy's Pub / Pat's Courtyard Bar / Oasis Bar closed in September 2017.

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This post was last updated in March 2022.