In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits The Thirsty Ox in Oxnard, California.
The Thirsty Ox is owned by Rony and Gaby Ortega.
It has been his lifelong dream of his to own a bar.
They bought the bar shortly after they got married.
Gaby thought that the bar was ugly and tried to help.
She had limited experience of bars and Rony left her alone to run things.
They are both getting into debt with the bar.
They are losing $4000 a month.
The bar is causing a strain in their marriage.
Expert mixologist Phil Wills is sent to survey the bar in place of Jon.
He is in the command center with TV personalities Maria and Kevin.
They see the bar interior is very empty.
For some reason there is a random medieval knight in the center of the room.
The bar area is not clean.
They see Rony not doing much but Gaby doing a lot of work.
Maria and Kevin go into the bar to test the service for themselves.
Rob Floyd, another expert mixologist, joins him in evaluating the bar.
The spies complain about the cleanliness of the bar as soon as they enter.
They order a signature drink and an Old Fashioned.
A customer is falling asleep at the bar after just 2 long island cocktails.
Gaby refuses to continue serving him.
The customer is abusive and Rony is not stepping in.
Gaby handles the problem customer by herself.
The signature drink tastes good but it takes more than 20 minutes to make.
The experts see the bar is full of clutter with no central theme.
Phil decides to finally go into the bar to meet with Rony and Gaby.
He tells them all he saw and how Rony left Gaby to handle the drunk at the bar.
He compliments Gaby for her work ethic and charges Rony to step up.
The next morning, Phil comes in to meet with the staff.
They all agree Gaby is much more hardworking than Rony.
The staff think that the bar would fall apart without her.
Phil also points out the bar has a distinct odour.
The staff say they that they have not noticed it.
Rob is brought in as the expert and he inspects the bar.
He finds their tools dirty, mouldy and sticky.
There are gnats and bugs in the expensive whiskey bottles.
No one cleaned the bar the night before and no one deep cleans it regularly.
Rony annoys Phil with excuses for the lack of a cleaning schedule.
The staff are all made to deep clean the bar before the show continues.
Rob comes back in to do the training after the cleaning has taken place.
He appreciates the effort and asks them to make a cocktail.
They make many mistakes, which take them longer to correct.
Rob shows them how to make a simple 3 step cocktail for the stress test.
For the stress test, they will be measuring all the bad drinks made that will be dumped in a bucket.
Gaby is told she will be doing nothing and Rony will be in charge of an acid test.
The stress test starts and customers are let in.
The bartenders get busy quickly but no drinks are going out.
Gaby is watching and taking notes.
Rob is directing the staff and watching the drinks which Rony should be doing.
Phil directs Rony but he still falls behind.
They dump too many drinks and the stress test is shut down.
Phil gives feedback to Jon via video.
They discuss the strategy to make the bar successful and get Rony the help he needs to step up.
The next day, Rob trains them on making a Diamond fashioned cocktail with a new smoke infuser.
Phil meets with Rony and Gaby to talk about setting up proper systems.
This will make running the bar easier and it won’t all depend on Gaby.
They both agree to making changes to make the bar run easier.
Jon’s team work tirelessly to renovate the bar.
The staff and customers are gathered at night to unveil the new bar.
The bar is now called the Foxy Ox to reflect the change in service to the brand.
The interior is more upscale and less of a dive bar.
There is a cohesion in design with tiling on the walls and decorative tiles on the ceiling.
They have new Skytabs, branded glassware and a subscription to Partender.
The staff love it all and they get ready to open up for the waiting customers.
The bartenders confidently make drinks.
The spies are back in and cannot believe how delicious the drinks are.
Rony stepped up and Gaby is doing less which is what they wanted.
What Happened Next at The Thirsty Ox?
Six weeks later, sales have increased by 20%.
Gaby has been able to work from home more frequently.
They reverted back to their old name to maintain the legacy of the bar’s history.
The Thirsty Ox is open.
Reviews are mostly positive.
There are some complaints on service.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - Hogwash Saloon / Skybox Ultra Sports Lounge
Next episode - High 5 Grille
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