In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits The Brick Tavern in Sachse, Texas.
The Brick Tavern is owned by Charlene Winter.
Charlene has a successful real estate company and on a whim took on the bar business with her retirement savings.
Initially it was successful due to customer loyalty but it began to decline.
There is no management or real leadership, with staff managing themselves.
Customers have not returned due to the decline in standards.
Cassie is the personal assistant and refuses to step into the role of bar manager as it is an unofficial promotion.
The business is close to closing as she is almost out of money to keep the business afloat.
Jon arrives with expert griller Kevin Bludso in his command center.
They surveill the bar and staff, they see that the cook has some skill but still serves subpar food.
Jon has two local radio personalities be his spies.
They order some basic drinks but they do not have the ingredients to make them.
When they settle on something finally the bartender is slow and still makes the drinks wrong.
The food is sent back to the kitchen because the meat is not cooked through.
Charlene has no idea how to communicate to her staff and tries to correct the problem by shouting at them.
In the kitchen, there is improperly stored food and dirty work surfaces.
Once they see some expired mystery meat is being prepared, Jon and Kevin come in to stop service.
Jon and Kevin discover lots of expired food still in storage and Jon reprimands Charlene on how she is not aware.
Jon finds out she is $500,000 in debt, she has been running the bar for 9 years and she cannot run the kitchen or even make drinks at the bar.
Jon asks Charlene and her staff to clean up the kitchen overnight.
The next day, Jon meets with the staff and he is puzzled at Charlene’s logic in getting a personal assistant.
Jon highlights that Charlene is inept but still micro-manages her staff.
He shows them a Partender report in which he reveals they are losing over $3000 in a weekend on their liquor.
The staff are shocked by all they learn but they believe Charlene can learn what she needs to be successful.
Jon brings in his experts including expert mixologist Emily Yett and says they will bring in equipment and train them on slow cooked barbeque.
The most pressing thing is they need a manager and Charlene needs to decide and hand over control.
She decides on a reluctant Cassie who will debut at the Stress Test.
Emily takes the staff through a test to tackle their over pouring and shows them how to make a pineapple Margarita.
Kevin introduces them to a brand new reverse offset smoker.
He takes them through seasoning and cooking their meat along with preparing the sides.
For the Stress Test, the staff are confident with Cassie having a plan.
Charlene lets customers in and orders come in fast.
The bartenders are nervous and soon drinks are being dumped in the buckets.
Cassie faces her first challenge of speeding up the slow service.
The bartenders are messing up orders and not remembering basic pours.
Tyler leaves the kitchen as he has no help and Charlene is pulled in to expedite.
It becomes a mess when orders pile up and Charlene and Cassie switch roles but it is too late.
Jon has Charlene apologise to the customers and shuts it down for the night.
The next day, Emily takes them through making a reverse of a Manhattan and some other new drink recipes.
In the kitchen, Kevin praises Demo, the cook, on his Stress Test but reminds Charlene she should remember to check on the kitchen.
Kevin asks Charlene to time Demo when he makes dishes to show how fast he can be serving customers.
Jon gathers the staff on relaunch night to unveil ‘Char Bar and BBQ’ - named after Charlene.
Charlene and her staff are so emotional at what they can see.
There is new branding and seating.
The inside is warmer with warm colours and it looks more upscale to match the upper income neighbourhood.
There is a showroom for a band with doors separating it from the main bar that can be opened up to make the space bigger.
They have a HarbourTouch POS system with Skytab units, a subscription to Partender and a Pathspot device.
They love it all and rush to set up before Charlene lets the waiting customers in.
On relaunch, orders come in and the bartenders are confident.
Cassie is also confident expediting and helping behind the bar.
The kitchen is moving fast with no backlog and sending out good food.
What Happened Next at The Brick Tavern?
Six weeks later, it is revealed sales have doubled.
They are now bringing in $40,000 a month.
There are new patrons are coming everyday.
Cassie had to leave her role but the staff have stepped up to take over.
Char Bar & BBQ is open.
Reviews are mostly positive after the episode with compliments to the food and service.
They have kept the new name that Jon gave them.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - Ace's Sports Hangar
Next episode - G Willicker's
This post was last updated in October 2022.
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