In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Caribe Nightclub in San Diego, California.
Caribe Nightclub is owned by Juan Pablo Martinez.
He moved from the Dominican Republic with his family in 2004.
He moved to California to help his brother run the popular nightclub.
The nightclub was successful and made $90,000 a month.
In 2007, Juan took over full control of the bar even despite his limited experience.
In 2012, his mother passed away and he became depressed and lost focus on the bar.
The bar fell into a state of disrepair.
He both drinks at the bar and gives free drinks out.
Things are so bad his family life is affected and his wife is considering leaving him.
They are now $300,000 in debt.
Jon recons the bar with Edith, Juan Pablo’s wife.
She tells him that she was in medical school in the Dominican Republic.
She sacrificed that dream to help her husband run the club and now she is a cook in a failing bar.
They are in so much debt and currently owe their landlord eleven months of rent.
Juan Pablo focuses more on the business than his family.
He even forgot his fourteenth wedding anniversary.
They comment on the exterior and that it is not lit up to draw attention to the place.
Jon sends in two local celebrities, Ashley and Mario as spies to test the service at the bar.
The interior has worn and dingy furnishings and was last remodelled eight years ago.
The spies ask for a mojito but are told they cannot make it.
They settle on margaritas and are told upon asking that the bar does not have a food menu.
The drinks are bad and taste like margarita mix.
Jon calls Ashley and she gives him feedback on how the bar looks like a cafeteria.
Mario says he cannot promote the place.
Victor is a bartender and they see JP drink shots with friends.
He keeps asking for girls to come to the bar and is flirtatious with a woman.
JP openly flirts with some women and denies he is married and his wife breaks down in the SUV.
Edith reveals she filed for a divorce.
She wrapped up the papers as a gift and is ready to serve her husband.
She enters the bar with Jon and he leaves them to talk.
Edith confronts him and gives him the present and her wedding ring.
She leaves and JP chases her.
He is more concerned about being embarrassed and his new shirt she poured a drink on.
Edith is relieved and Jon tells her he will save the bar for her and her children.
The next day Jon meets with the staff with his experts.
They are expert mixologist Mia Mastroianni and expert chef Anthony Lamas.
Jon asks a staff to step up to be trained for the kitchen and Miroslava steps forward.
Jon says he is doing this for Edith and the staff but not for JP.
JP is not happy hearing the truth and tries to defend himself.
The staff speak up that he gets drunk and chases women away from the bar.
JP insists he works hard and the bar is clean but it is anything but.
The bar is so dirty and there is bacteria growth.
There are fruit flies in the liquor and spoilt drinks with hundreds of fruit flies.
JP believes it is a setup, which gets Jon angry.
The kitchen is also in worse shape as Anthony says he cannot cook in there.
The staff clean the bar.
Mia trains the staff on a pouring technique with the beat of a bachata.
She trains them on making a mojito.
Anthony trains Miro on making a simple latin dish.
Jon sits with JP to talk about his debt.
They do the math and they calculate the bar needs to make $1600 an hour to pay off his debt.
Edith is brought in and JP is apologetic and wants forgiveness.
He is tasked to prove he wants to do better.
For the stress test customers are let in and Edith is present.
Orders pour in and the bar is trying its best while the kitchen is swamped with orders.
JP is supportive of the bartenders and the kitchen but it is not enough.
They are way behind in revenue and drinks are slow going out.
It is thirty minutes and less than $700 has been made.
Some girls come to the bar and order shots from him and give him one but he refuses.
With ten minutes left they have hit $1400.
They shut the bar down and they see they met the mark raking in over $1600.
The staff and Edith were impressed with JP controlling himself.
The next day, Jon sits with the couple.
Jon said he was lost because of his mother and thanks Jon for opening his eyes.
Edith allows him to tear up the divorce papers and give her back her ring.
Mia trains the staff on some new Latin themed cocktails with passion fruit and tamarind.
Anthony trains the cook on a new plantain dish.
The bar is renovated over forty-eight hours.
The staff and family are gathered to reveal a new bar.
The bar has been renamed to La Luz Ultra Lounge.
JP is impressed since his mother and daughter have names that start with L-U.
The exterior is brighter and more inviting.
Inside is warmer with red table cloths and back lights.
There is an extra station at the bar for a total three stations with 2Touch POS systems.
While setting up the bar, the children are brought in to the club.
They love the fact their names were incorporated.
The customers are let in for the relaunch.
On relaunch, Edith is helping in the kitchen.
The bar is buried and they are not serving fast enough.
Miro is pulled from the kitchen to the bar to help out.
They dig themselves out of the well and things get better.
What Happened Next at Caribe Night Club / La Luz Ultra Lounge?
Six weeks later, it is revealed beverage sales are up 25%.
Food sales are up 65%.
The back rent is being paid and JP is working with Edith every night.
Caribe Night Club / La Luz Ultra Lounge is open.
Reviews are mixed.
There are complaints of the bar being overpriced, unfriendly staff and poor service.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - Myerz PourHouse / The Study Lounge
Next episode - Molly Malone's / Way Point Saloon
This post was last updated in March 2024.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments will be moderated prior to being published. Those with spam links, offensive language or of an offensive nature will not be published. All comments are the opinion of the commenter and do not represent the opinions of the website owner.