Schafer's Bar and Grill / R.Lee’s - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Schafer’s Bar and Grill in Sumner, Washington.

Schafer’s Bar and Grill is owned by Jeff Schafer, who opened the bar in 2010.

After the bar opened they were a hit and making between $1.2m to $1.5m a year.

After five successful years, he decided to sell the bar to get more free time.

He sold it to couple Nita Wyatt and Ryan Burks and he remained as a manager.

As the new owners want to make changes this does not sit well with Jeff and they clash often.

The revenues have dropped and the owners blame Jeff and question his intentions.

They are $500,000 in debt and have about a month of business left before they will be forced to close.

Jon recons the bar with expert chef Aaron McCargo and expert mixologist David Vaughn.

They see that the building looks bland with no call-to-actions.

Jon shows the owners and explains their dynamics with the previous owner.

They see a bartender over pouring liquor.

Jon hears the accusation of Nita and she is asked to meet Jon in his SUV to explain what she believes is the problem.

Jeff was only meant to stay for the training and handover process but has stuck around at the bar.

Jon has Nita watch surveillance of the bar with him.

They see bartenders google cocktail recipes at the bar.

Aaron notices that a six-ounce steak was sold for $6.99.

The drink ordered by David is horrible, while Aaron orders clams and they are not available.

The staff are unsure if they have ribs so they settle on the steak, a burger and porkchops.

In the kitchen they see dirty cooking surfaces and Jon points out it was not that dirty when Jeff was the owner.

The cook cross-contaminates the kitchen as he prepares meals.

David keeps striking out when he orders other well-known cocktails

The experts wait over thirty-seven minutes to get a burger.

The burger is well done when it was ordered rare, while the steak is rare when a medium was ordered.

Nita is frustrated to tears seeing all this happen and worries for her family as their house is on the line if the bar closes.

Bartender Lindsey is tired of the experts ordering drinks she cannot make and she walks out.

Nita does not want to lose the bartender and insists on talking her into staying for the process.

It doesn’t work and she leaves.

Nita is angry and misplaces her anger with Ryan and tells all her customers to pay and leave.

After her melt down she goes back to Jon.

The experts go to the kitchen and give them feedback on the meals and the pricing.

Jon and Nita join them and the state of disrepair of the kitchen is pointed out along with the unsanitary conditions.

They confront Jeff on how he let the ball drop.

Jon has Jeff clean the kitchen along with his staff.

The next morning, Jon comes in and inspects the kitchen to see the clear difference that has been made overnight.

Jon meets with staff and Jeff admits he regrets selling the bar to the couple.

When confronted with Nita’s suspicions about him he denies he is sabotaging the bar in order to be able to buy it back from them.

Jeff complains he has no control or authority to do much at the bar.

Jon was not impressed by Nita chasing after Lindsey, who was not a good bartender to begin with.

Jon reveals the results of a Partender report and they are losing $5200 a week on liquor.

Jon recommended all the workers be on probation and Nita struggles with this decision but carries it out.

They have twenty-four hours to show they are committed to the bar’s business or they will be let go.

David trains the bartenders on making a Tom Collins and Ryan is made to step up and learn to bartend in a short amount of time.

In the kitchen, Aaron takes the staff through making a steak sandwich.

For the stress test they are putting the new steak dish for $4.95 up against their old steak meal for the proper pricing of $15.95.

Whichever meal and drink sell best during the stress test will be added to the menu.

The staff prepare for the night and the doors are opened for the stress test.

Orders come in and Ryan is accurate with the jigger and the steak sandwich is selling well.

The bar is slammed and tickets pile up but food is left on the counter.

Jeff is trying to stay on top of the food service but gets confused with who ordered what.

Too many customers are left without drinks and food.

A customer is left waiting for her meal then told the item is sold out without being offered an alternative.

This is when they decide to give up and shut the bar down.

The next day Jon reveals the scores of the test and the steak sandwich and vodka cocktail won.

He meets with Nita to find out which of the staff members would keep their job.

She is still not trusting of Jeff and with input from Ryan they decide to let him go so they can move forward with a new identity.

Nita and Ryan hug him as they give him the news and he accepts it gracefully.

Aaron trains the staff on a sloppy joe burger and David trains them on making a fire ring cocktail and a smoky moon cocktail.

The bar is renovated overnight and the staff are gathered to unveil a new bar.

The bar has been renamed to R.Lee’s, named after the couple’s son.

Inside the bar has been made more upscale with warmer colours.

Nita does not like it and tells her staff she would bring in projectors and rearrange the tables later as she wants the sports bar.

She lets Jon know about her reservations and he explains his design is a template.

Much to Jon’s surprise they say they want Jeff back at the bar.

Jon is confused at her turn around and Nita calls Jeff on the phone.

He refuses to come back unless the old sign with his name on it is put back.

Jon points out they should see that he was not willing to support them and they need to step up for themselves.

Jon explains the bar has been made more cosy like a mountain top lodge and is confident in the theme.

On relaunch, the customers are let in and they love the new drinks and the vibe.

The food is a big success with the food going out within eight minutes.

Lots of customers who have been there before cannot believe the difference.

Nita is happy serving and managing everything at the bar.

What Happened Next at Schafer's Bar and Grill?

Six weeks later it is revealed the owners refused to return calls to Bar Rescue.

The name of the bar has been changed back to Schafer’s.

Jeff is back managing the bar.

Nita and Ryan were critical of the show after the episode was filmed.

They claimed that they were told what to say, the kitchen was dirtied up and bottles of liquor were hidden.

They also claim that Jeff wasn't trying to sabotage them and it was made up by the producers.

Reviews after the episode were filmed were mixed with customers loving the drinks but there were complaints about service.

They renamed the restaurant to Scorpion Lounge & Steakhouse in 2019 and all of the social media pages and website dispappeared.

Scorpion Lounge and Steakhouse / Schafer's Bar and Grill closed in 2020.

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Previous episode - Russell City Grill & Sports Bar

Next episode - Sam Jordan's

This post was last updated in February 2022.