The Bullpen Bar / Oak Tavern - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits The Bullpen Bar in Sparks, Nevada.

The Bullpen Bar is owned by Dan Serafini, a former professional baseball player .

After losing his riches, he used a $240,000 loan from his parents to buy the bar in 2013.

The bar was an initial success.

He hired family friends Wynter and Tara, who live with him and his wife.

When things were going well, he stepped back to spend more time with his wife.

The bar staff got rowdy with no one for the staff or customers to answer to.

Dan is now $300,000 in debt and his family have noticed change in his personality.

Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Phil Wills and expert chef Vic Vegas.

The exterior has an unclear sign as it does not have any wording to suggest that it is a bar.

The interior is not up to par as it is a smoking bar but the ventilator is broken.

The beer taps are also at the back of the bar.

Jon fills his companions in on the owner of the bar and his situationt.

Erin, Dan’s wife helps at the bar and Wynter, Tara, Hannah and Jessica are bartenders.

They behave inappropriately at the bar and one exposes her underwear to the customers.

Tom is the chef and he is making a tri-tip steak incorrectly.

He is smoking in the kitchen while cooking and drinking.

Tara and Wynter come out from behind the bar.

They play with hoola hoops in the customer area and spill jugs of water on the floor.

Dan is running around doing things but his staff are working less than him.

Jon has seen enough and goes in to confront him.

Jon uses a breathalyser on Jessica and she is drunk.

Jon blames Dan for letting his staff disrespect him and his money.

Dan gets into a shouting match with Jessica.

Jon gives them all an ultimatum.

They must come in sober and display some skills the next day or they are gone.

The next day, Jon comes in to meet with the staff in the bar.

Jon explains what they have to do to be successful.

They need to reduce their drink production average to make and sell drinks faster.

He introduces his experts to the bar staff and the staff training starts.

Vic trains Tom on making a Tri Tip steak properly.

Phil tests the bartenders to see how good they are on their own.

Tara is the worst but overall they all did poorly.

For the stress test they are all going to be tested with two starting for half an hour and then the next two.

All of the bartenders will have different coloured cups to track them.

Customers are let in for the stress test and Tara and Wynter are up first.

The orders some in fast and the kitchen cooks tri-tips.

Mistakes are made at the bar and bad drinks are sent out.

Wynter is messy and only making one drink at a time.

Over half the bar is still unserved when Heather and Jessica tag in with their coloured cups.

Customers only love the food, which is arriving before the drinks.

Jessica starts shaky but steps up towards the end.

Customers give Dan feedback that all the bartenders were bad.

Jon has a feedback session with the staff and Tom is commended.

Heather and Jessica did well but Tara and Wynter are still the bottom of the heap.

Wynter is fired as a result of her performance and based on what Jon has seen so far.

The next day, Phil trains the staff on some outdoors inspired drinks to go with the BBQ.

Jon has a surprise for Dan.

He has brought in former baseball player turned successful bar owner Bobby Valentine.

Bobby has nothing but good things to say about Dan.

He gives him some words of advice for his business.

The bar is renovated over the next few days.

The staff are gathered in the afternoon for the reveal of the new bar.

The bar has been renamed to Oak Tavern – A great local bar.

There is a bigger sign that draws the eye.

Inside has been made more sophisticated and modernised with warm woods and lighting.

The beer taps have been moved and are now behind the bar, visible to customers.

There are three Revention POS systems, three workstations and a lifetime subscription to Partender.

Thundergroup gave them new glassware and Get the Smoke Out gave them two smoke cleaners.

They love the new additions and spend some time setting up for the relaunch.

On relaunch, customers are let in and orders come through to the bar and kitchen.

The bartenders make the drinks well and confidently as they are all sober.

The kitchen is doing well well and the food is good and going out on time.

What Happened Next at The Bullpen Bar / Oak Tavern?

Six weeks later, it is revealed the bar is still busy with an increase of 70% on sales.

Jessica is still sober whilst she is working.

Dan’s finances have turned around and he is making a profit.

The bar was revisited in 2016 and sales were up 50%.

All of the changes that Jon made were still in place.

Dan is more positive and is no longer angry at the bar.

The Bullpen Bar / Oak Tavern closed in January 2022.

On The Rocks opened in it's place in June 2022.

Yelp reviews were mostly negative with complaints of overly drunk patrons, lack of food and a run down bar.

Google reviews are more positive with compliments to the bartenders.

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Next episode - Murphy's Law Irish Pub

This post was last updated in February 2024.