In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Oasis Hookah Bar in Omaha, Nebraska.
Oasis Hookah Bar is owned by Jesse Hill.
Jesse put his life savings of $50,000 into the hookah bar.
At first, it was the only hookah bar in the area so it was popular.
It was successful and he hired a patron Corrie to manage the bar.
The quality suddenly dropped with reports of slow service, dirt and poor upkeep.
The bar is now more of a frat house, which drives away customers.
Jesse now hides in his office and the bar is in $100,000 debt.
Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Joe Brooke and hookah specialist John Nadour.
The see the exterior and it is bland and dead.
John is there to assess if it makes sense to have a Hookah business in their area.
Jon fills them in on the owner of the bar and the staff.
They are all drinking on the job and Brandon is the only one working.
Jesse is in his office watching funny videos.
Jon sends in his spies Abbie and Jack, who are locals to test the service at the bar.
They order a signature drink called Oasis water but the servers do not know the contents of the drink.
They see the bar is dirty, they order a hookah and are left waiting for twenty minutes before they get their Hookah.
The spies have never used a hookah before and no one puts them through.
The pipe is dirty and they hate the drink.
Abbie goes to the bathroom but leaves as it is dirty and Jack goes to throw up after the drink.
Jon is so angry he and his experts go in to confront Jesse with all the feedback.
Upon hearing what they have to say he is too laidback.
Joe has to use gloves to examine the bar as it is sticky, grimy, dirty and disgusting.
John examine the Hookah area and the storage is awful.
The hookahs are all dirty and have bacteria growth.
There is a smell and they admit to putting rat poison out so a rat has died somewhere in the bar.
Jon takes just a few minutes to find the dead rat.
Jon asks them to let the customers go and give them their money back.
Jesse is embarrassed by all that was found and calls a staff meeting after Jon leaves.
Jesse puts the blame on his staff and they throw it back at him.
They clean the bar all night and Jon comes in to the inspection and they are happy.
Jon finally meets with the staff.
Corrie is not a good manager and Jon shows a video of her so drunk they have to take her home.
She says she is not paid enough to do well at her job.
Training begins and Joe has them practice pouring accurately while making some staple drinks.
John trains the staff on how to prepare a Hookah properly and in good time so customers are not left waiting.
Customers show up for the stress test and most are there for their first experience.
The orders come through and Corrie is in charge of preparing the Hookah.
They send out the wrong flavours and assemble them too slowly.
Brandon is the only person working hard at the bar and is making multiple drinks.
Joe says the bartenders are good but the order process is awful.
Corrie makes so many mistakes and misplaces orders.
Jon speaks to customers to see their preference.
They say they would only Hookah twice a year.
They think that the bar was dirty and after using black lights to see body fluids the customers start leaving.
At feedback they note so many things went wrong and lack of management was the most glaring thing.
Corrie is identified as being the weakest link.
Jesse finally fires her.
The rest of staff are happy with this decision and Brandon is nominated to be the manager.
The next day, Jon announces Hookah is not a good theme for the bar as it is not profitable.
However, Jesse does not want to accept it.
It takes some explanation but Jon says the bar is where they will get most of their money.
They finally accept and John wishes them the best and leaves as he is not needed anymore.
The staff take the Hookahs and they plan on selling it all.
Joe trains the staff on a Moroccan-themed cocktail shots to attract people.
The bar is then renovated over thirty-six hours into a nightclub.
The staff are gathered a night to unveil the new bar.
It has been renamed to Taza Nightclub, named after a city in Morocco.
There is a Moroccan themed exterior with arches.
The exterior stands out more and people can see it from a distance.
Inside has been completely changed with lots of Moroccan themed items, arches, mandalas and prints.
The dancefloor is now upstairs with an Orange Door Entertainment system.
The bathrooms have all been fixed.
The hookah area has been converted into a back bar to increase production.
The staff set up the bar and let customers inside for the relaunch.
On relaunch, people love the ambience and the communal drink bowls Jon introduced.
Jack and Abbie are back and are happy the bathrooms are in better shape.
People are on the dancefloor and there is a lot of energy.
They have made more money in a hour than they had in a month as a hookah bar.
What Happened Next at Oasis Hookah Bar?
Eight weeks later, it is revealed liquor sales are up 30%.
Two more bartenders have been hired to keep up with the growing business.
Corrie found a new full time job.
They returned the hookahs to the bar immediately after the rescue.
This was because their licence required them to as they were classed as a cigar bar.
They kept Jon's concept for two years and had slightly renamed the bar to TaZa Hookah Lounge.
They renamed the bar back to Oasis Hookah Lounge two years after the rescue.
Jesse said to local press that the appearance on the show harmed the business rather than helping it.
Oasis Hookah Bar closed in February 2017.
They closed after a renewal of their liquor licence was declined.
It was declined after a large number of 911 calls due to fights and disorderly conduct at the bar.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - Pat's Cocktails
Next episode - Mary's Outpost
This post was last updated in February 2022.
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