In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits The End Zone Sport Bar and Grill in Houston, Texas.
The End Zone Sport Bar and Grill is owned by Justin Whitfield.
He is a former stripper and bodybuilder.
Justin opened the sports bar in 2005.
Locals embraced the bar and it was initially successful, raking in $100,000 a month.
The work became too much for Justin so he brought in his friend Shawn.
Shawn is also a former stripper and MMA fighter.
They do not see eye-to-eye and Justin lets the bartenders drink behind the bar.
The contention has caused staff to also be argumentative.
They are now $200,000 in debt.
Jon recons the bar with expert chef Vic Vegas and expert mixologist Kate Gerwin.
The bar is in a great location within reach of ten professional and college stadiums.
The exterior is dead, they think the name is not the most creative and it blends in with the mall.
Jon has asked J.T. John and Lory to be his spies and sample the service at the bar.
Jon breaks down the ownership dynamics.
He points out Shawn’s wife Stephanie and Justin’s wife Dana, who both work at the bar.
Taylor is a bartender and the drinks ordered by the spies are so bad and sour that they reorder.
They order a pizza and burger from the menu,
The experts see Kevin the cook and he is working in a dirty kitchen.
He also uses his bare hands to work on meat and cross-contaminates the kitchen.
Bartender Kiana is drinking behind the bar and curses in front of customers.
The floor of the bar is also very sticky as it has not been cleaned properly.
The food is served to the spies and Jon calls them to warn them not to eat it.
Soon some male strippers take the stage to perform.
This confuses them as they believed it to be a sports bar.
Owner Justin is shirtless and joins in the show.
So many customers are disgusted and walk out of the bar as the performance starts.
Bartender Taylor is loyal to Justin and disrespectful to Shawn.
His wife Stephanie gets involved and they get into a physical fight.
Shawn is so upset he cries and has a physical outburst before confronting Justin to fire Taylor.
The fight gets physical between them and the two owners are held back from each other.
Jon decides not to meet them that night as everyone leaves after the altercation.
He goes in to see them the next day and most of the staff are not in.
When they do eventually arrive the staff and owners are divided.
When Jon asks them what happened, they tell different versions.
Shawn was given 15% of the business but there is no paperwork to show this.
Justin was under the impression he was protecting him from the debt.
Jon corrects the misconception and says papers can be drafted that can protect Shawn.
Jon brings in his experts and they tell Jon all the issues they have seen at the bar.
These include staff drinking at the bar, multiple health code violations and strip shows.
In the kitchen they have a closer look at the fryer oil and the grease traps are full.
There are chicken wings in blood and drained blood in the walk-in.
At the bar there are fruit flies, standing water in the bar and a dirty beer draft system.
They are made to clean and most do not know what to do.
Drama rears up again and Kevin wants an apology before getting Shawn his contract.
As a result of the conflict not much cleaning gets done.
Jon and his experts came back and the place is still dirty.
They are upset to hear they are still arguing about the contract matter.
They clean as well as they can and the training starts.
Vic trains the kitchen on making a consistent burger.
Kate trains the bar staff on making drinks fast and consistently while engaging customers.
The stress test commences and customers are let in.
The bartenders are slow to start with.
In the kitchen meats are burning and tickets are piling up.
The wait times up to eighteen minutes.
Food finally comes out of the kitchen but the tables are not labelled properly.
Kevin and Shawn are not working together and it shows.
The stress test is shut down as nothing was getting better.
The feedback afterwards commended both Kevin and Shawn for working hard in their areas.
The bartenders are reminded to be kind to customers.
The next day, Jon comes in to witness the lawyer and the owners finally get the ownership paperwork done.
Kevin and Shawn apologise to each other.
Kate trains them on making some new signature cocktails.
In the kitchen, they are trained on making a proper Mozzarella sticks and other sports food.
The bar is then renovated over thirty-six hours and the staff are gathered at night to unveil the new bar.
The name of the bar has been changed to Houston Sports Hub with eye-catching signage and colours.
Inside all sports are represented with themes for an immersive experience.
There are three 2Touch POS systems, Guinness slim kegs, turbo taps for Turbo Taps and three-hour menus.
All the staff are better with each other, the wives hug and Taylor hugs them all.
The bar sets up for the relaunch.
On relaunch, customers are let into the bar and they love the new atmosphere.
The bar staff are doing good and are confident with their drinks.
Shawn is helping making sure they have all the needs.
In the kitchen, Kevin is on top of things and even has time to offer Shawn some help.
They are all working as a team.
They made $2200 in an hour and they are proud of themselves.
What Happened Next at The End Zone Sports Bar and Grill / Houston Sports Hub?
Two months later it is revealed their sales risen by 30%.
The owners continue to work together.
The bar attracts up to 100 new customers every week.
The End Zone Sports Bar and Grill / Houston Sports Hub is closed.
The bar was sold to new owners in 2020.
Shawn had left the bar and was no longer owner before the sale.
Reviews were mostly positive.
Initially reviews were very positive with the cheap drinks and good food being highly praised.
Reviews declined in 2019/20 with complaints of a sewage smell and poor service received.
Player's Sports Lounge opened in its place and reviews are very positive.
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Next episode - Artful Dodger / P’s and Q’s Auto Body
This post was last updated in February 2024.
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