In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Mystique Lounge in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Mystique Lounge is owned by Darren and Torres.
It used to be the happening club as the only urban in the area.
A shooting happened and they got a bad reputation.
They bought the club and figured they could get the crowds back.
It did not work out and the crowds stayed away.
Their demographic has aged in the area.
A young promoter John was brought in to bring in a younger crowd.
It worked but he kept the door fee.
Soon, questionable characters started patronising the club.
The crowd do not buy drinks at the bar.
They are $80,000 in debt and are losing $2500 a week.
Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Joe Meyer and Jessie Barnes for bottle service.
They see the bar interior is grey and bland.
Jon fills them in on the shooting at the bar.
The new owners never changed the name to separate themselves from the incident.
Jon sends Jessie in with her girlfriends to test the service at the bar.
On her own at the bar no one pays attention to her.
She orders a long island iced tea.
Her friends arrive and they ask for bottle service.
They are not attended to for five minutes and are kept waiting.
Someone gives them a seat in the VIP area.
They are served a carafe, which they find a hair on.
It is changed and they see the new one is also dirty.
The girls refuse to drink and Jon goes in to meet the owners.
He takes them to meet Jessie at her table.
They see the VIP area and see the reserved sign is taped to the table.
They were served ice without an ice scoop.
He points out all they did wrong in the VIP service.
Joe comes in to assess the bar.
They immediately notice servers have to climb over or under the bar.
The bar floor is mouldy and the cutting board for fresh drink produce is dirty.
In this state it would be riddled with bacteria.
The dishwasher behind the bar is not connect to a sanitiser.
They do not have a cleaning schedule.
They are all made to clean the bar, including the owners.
The next day, Jon returns and they finishing up the cleaning.
He is happy with what they have done but calls them together for a meeting.
Jon asks who drinks behind the bar and Brittany is called out.
The staff say John gets people in and demands free drinks for his people.
Jon meets with the owners.
They tell him how they formed the deal and how it changed.
John comes in to defend his end of the deal.
Jon points out the problem is that the promoter makes all the money and the club loses.
They need to renegotiate a deal.
John agrees to help pack the bar as if it gets fixed, they all make money.
Jessie trains the bottle service girls on serving properly set up tables with an attention to detail.
Joe trains the bartenders on some new drinks.
They set up for the stress test.
John has disappeared and only 10 people are there for the stress test.
The owners let them in hoping more will come.
John finally picks their calls and says he will come through.
As the stress test goes on a bottle service girl Brittany sits down to drink rather than work.
Jon catches her and recommends the owners fire her.
Torres does fire her.
Ashley makes mistakes at the bar.
She is taking long to send drinks out that the customers do not like.
Jocelyn is getting affected by the pressure.
She makes drinks too short and is not happy with Joe.
Jon has to talk her into dropping her attitude.
Bottle service is going well until a customer pays Lala by putting the money into her bust.
Outside the crowds do come to the bar as John said.
It gets rowdy and Jon and the owners are worried.
A fight soon breaks out and police are called to break it up.
People leave as they were scared there was a gun.
The night is shut down.
Jon meets with the owners to discuss the issues with the service.
They decide they are done with John and his questionable crowds.
They call John to deliver the message.
He does not pick up so they leave a voice mail.
They have staff meeting and inform them of the development.
The owner gets on the phone to find new promoters.
Jon trains the security staff to get better crowds in.
Jessie trains the girls further on presentation and Joe tests the staff on pouring.
Jon tells the owners they will be rebranding to a high scale Vegas experience.
After 36 hours of renovating the bar, the staff are gathered at sunset outside the club.
The bar has been renamed and is now called Aura Nightclub.
The exterior has been changed and it is simple and inviting.
Inside has been made upscale with new fittings.
The new look moves the owners to tears.
There is a bar door so they can enter and exit normally.
There is bigger liquor display behind the bar.
The dishwasher is brand new and is now hidden with the sanitiser.
There is a 2touch POS system.
In the back there is a VIP service station in the VIP area.
This will mean less running back and forth.
There is custom artwork as a chandelier and a new show light system.
There are new, classy uniforms for the staff too.
Customers come for the relaunch.
The security do their job, screening people before letting them in.
On relaunch, the bar is slammed.
The bottle service are doing their best to deliver a great experience.
The customers all love the new bar.
They are not problematic so the atmosphere is high energy and positive.
What Happened Next at Mystique Lounge / Aura Nightclub?
Three months later, it is revealed bar sales are up 25%.
Bottle service sales are up 30%.
The owners have filled the club up on their own.
There were no further issues at the club.
Mystique Lounge / Aura Nightclub closed in 2013.
The building was abandoned after they closed.
Camelot Nightclub later opened in the space.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - J.A. Murphy's
Next episode - The Olive Pit / The O.P.
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