tonights Bar Rescue; unique

[Mike Mercury]

"Owner Ousted" will be the first new Bar Rescue episode where the bar has already closed down... before the episode had premiered.

Yet another Bar Rescue'd that is within driving distance of us, but we won't be able to go and check it out (located on Rt. 4, Dixie highway). This one in Fairfield Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. Back on 2003 or 04, our local Corvette group cruised to this place (but the ownership had changed since we'd been there... and it was under a different name back then).


The bar had been called "Win, Place or Show" the bar was renamed "America Live" by Taffer.

New venue closes before its TV debut
The struggling Fairfield sports bar revamped by TV’s “Bar Rescue” show has closed before the episode could air.

A hand-written “closed” sign is posted on the door of America Live Bar & BBQ. The bar, formerly Win, Place or Show sports bar, is located at 7121 Dixie Highway (Ohio 4) near Mack and Muhlhauser roads.

The 5,000-square-foot restaurant was rebranded in April as America Live by Jon Taffer, host of Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue.”

The makeover show, which began its second season on Sunday (July 29), is scheduled to air the episode that was filmed in Fairfield on Sept. 16.

During filming in April, co-owner Barry Rogers, of Fairfield Township, said he was “$100,000 in debt” after investing $50,000 in the business, according to a preview DVD that was provided by the cable network to The Enquirer.

A posting on the America Live Facebook page said the operators “were ambushed by two members of the community who schemed to take our bar out from underneath us…. We have lost our entire life savings and everything we put into the bar.”

Bar manager and investor Amber Glacken said Tuesday she was “not free to say what happened. But very shortly we will be willing and ready to tell the story.” Rogers, 43, a U.S. Navy veteran, could not be reached for comment.

His former partner – Dave Marcum of Cincinnati, also known as guitarist Rudy Garcia from the Cincinnati Sinners rock band – said Tuesday he sold his interest in the bar before the “Bar Rescue” taping began.

Before coming to Fairfield, Taffer and his crew shot an episode in Cheviot, transforming the Black Sheep bar into the Public House Bar & Grill. That one-hour episode airs Aug. 26.

Taffer, a bar and restaurant consultant, didn’t like anything at the Fairfield bar, which had operated for years as Charlie’s Throttle Shop biker bar.

I've talked to friends living near Cincy; they said that some local business people went to the bars bank and said they would buy out the loans - in exchange for ownership (this after Taffer spent the time & money to re-do the place).

The bank didn't think the bar was failing - to the extent the "interested buyers" had claimed. After checking into it further, the bank got scared and closed the business down. But it wasn't offered for sale to the two wanting to take it over. Everyone lost in this mess.

[Stangkiller]

What a shame.

[kingpin]

$100k in debt for a bar that large is not very much.

What does "the bank got scared and closed the business mean"?
Did they recall a loan or something?

I think the bank may the ones in trouble.

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by kingpin

Did they recall a loan or something?

that's the way I understood it to be. the bar was already behind in their loan(s) apparently. The bank got nervous and called the loans in.

Originally Posted by Cincy article

The establishment recently posted a notice on its Facebook page: “America Live would first like to thank all are friends, supporters and loyal patrons. You all have humbled us with your kind words and support!! It truly helps us all! We would like to let everyone know that we were ambushed by two members of the community who schemed to take our bar out from underneath us."

Salil Gulati, a spokesman for Spike, said the Fairfield episode of Bar Rescue is set to air Sept. 16. He said the bar appeared to be doing well in its initial follow-up after the show filmed there.

The bar owner had applied to be on “Bar Rescue,” hoping for a shot at a makeover. His bar was chosen out of 1,000 applications, said Jon Taffer, the host and executive producer of “Bar Rescue.”

When Taffer first saw Win Place or Show, “I didn’t find anything good, to be honest. They were losing $8,000 a month and it was an operational mess. Barry was working 90 hours a week and feeling defeated,” he said. Taffer and the show’s staff completely revamped the bar, giving it a barbecue-centered menu, and it opened under the new name in April.

[OddBall]

The band guy is a complete tool.

[Mike Mercury]

WOW; it was tough watching that episode; knowing that it eventually failed. The postscrpit for the show was 90 days after rescue. The best I can determine... the bank balked at about 120 days after rescue.

Someone will be buying the place though; and getting a freshened business. I feel bad about the girl that bought into the bar.

Originally Posted by OddBall

The band guy is a complete tool.

I now believe he didn't buy into a "bar"; instead he spent money to promote his band - and hoped it would lead to a record deal. Sadly, he is the only one that walked out of the place with cash in his pocket.

[Aerovette]

The place looked nice when they finished it, but I don't necessarily think the clientele changed.

[RED-85-Z51]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

WOW; it was tough watching that episode; knowing that it eventually failed. The postscrpit for the show was 90 days after rescue. The best I can determine... the bank balked at about 120 days after rescue.

Someone will be buying the place though; and getting a freshened business. I feel bad about the girl that bought into the bar.


I now believe he didn't buy into a "bar"; instead he spent money to promote his band - and hoped it would lead to a record deal. Sadly, he is the only one that walked out of the place with cash in his pocket.

even rats know instinctively to jump off a sinking ship...

[Mike Mercury]

more info surfacing:

Behind on their rent, the landlord locked out Rogers and Glacken in July, despite “knowing we were about to get big publicity from the (TV) show,” Glacken said.

We saw Halestorm at America live in Ohio. It was for the filming of bar rescue tv reality show. They only played 3 songs to about 150 people and it was awesome.

Originally Posted by user comment

Can't blame your debt on someone else. It not for getting closed down you would be rocking with business now since the show aired. Taffer did a bar on the west side were I live and it's thriving and had much more debt then you all.

Originally Posted by from Amber (co-owner)

I can say that because of bar rescue we lost a lot of money coming through the doors that week. When an already struggling bar has to be closed for days and days it definitely does not make the situation better. And although the show gives you a "make over" they do not give you any funds to replace your net sales that you lose while they are there.

The way our bar was handled by bar rescue was much less to be desired. Especially after watching the other episodes in comparison to ours. We got a paint job a new name and some equipment.

To say the least we were very disappointed after it all settled in on us what had happened. During the week of the show we were all high on emotions and stress, and that I'm sure will reflect on the show. But once the dust settled we were left with a nightmare.

Bar rescue scared off all of our regulars "bikers" and we were left struggling even more than before they came. John taffer is a great man but it is a tv show. As far as us closing, as I said before we lost a lot of money having to be closed from the show. We were already in debt. We got behind on our rent. However the landlords at the time were willing to keep working with us, especially knowing we were about to get big publicity from the show. However all that changed without warning. The owners were asked to meet with the property manager and discuss the rent and the fact that our air conditioner had been broken for over a month and we were unable to open our downstairs at all. Plus it was discouraging our patrons from coming in because it was miserably hot. The landlord had been refusing to fix the air because we were behind.

However when we showed up we were bombarded and ambushed with lease termination papers and a locksmith. I can not give specifics to the conversation or actions that took place in that next hour but in the end we were escorted off the property with none of our belongings. Including personal things from our own homes and the things bar rescue had given us We were promised we would be let back in that Monday to get our things and they never showed up.

Through some rumor and some fact we heard that someone else in the community wanted our bar and he got just that. How it came about I can not say for sure. However he was there to take over before we even were out the door, literally . Im sure he saw a great opportunity to jump in at a perfect time to capitalize on what could be a great success. But the fact is we were done wrong. We lost all of our life's savings and were left with a terrible financial situation. As of now we are all trying to pick up the pieces and move forward the best we can because we have no other choice. What happened is shameful and one can only hope karma is true.

I hope all that watch the show this Sunday realize that reality tv is just a term and it is by no means reality. There is Sooo much more to the show then anyone will ever know. One of the hardest weeks of my life. But I still have love for all my staff and all the girls,minus Tracy, are all still very close. - amber

[kingpin]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

more info surfacing:

They really have no one to blame but themselves.
They made decisions that tanked the bar and from what we know being only $100k in debt they should of been able to pull through.
Sounds like they are lacking business and financial sense.

[Cybercowboy]

They were losing $8000/month and she complains about losing a week's worth of revenue?

[ConstantChange]

The reason they failed has zero to do with Bar Rescue. I'm amazed at how poorly run these bars are that are featured on the show.

If the place is filthy...it's your fault.
If you microwave your food...it sucks.
If you're not keeping a tight eye on your liquor...someone will give it away/steal it.
If you don't manager your staff correctly....your service will suck and they will take advantage of you.

All this is basic 101 stuff that 99.9% of these bars don't do. They deserve to fail.

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

They were losing $8000/month and she complains about losing a week's worth of revenue?

that one Saturday night (pre-rescue)... the cameras showed about 30 patrons. And most of them walked-out when that amateur band started playing.

I can't imagine there was all that much lo$t during the few days of close down.

and this one:

Originally Posted by Amber (co-owner)

Bar rescue scared off all of our regulars "bikers"

clueless.

[Aerovette]

A local bar my band plays in was a known biker hangout. We played in fear. We never knew when rivals were going to go at it and we would get caught in the middle. We would be harrassed for not playing some dude's favorite song and most of the time they never really listened or gave crap about anything but playing pool and making trouble. One night a guy drove his bike right through the front door and parked it inside after a few deafening blips of the throttle. The urinals would be broken...literally broken, not just not working. Toilets leaking or overflowing and the place was a wreck. They closed and remodeled and opened with nicer furniture, different clientele, better overall atmosphere that did not cater to "trouble" and it started being packed every night.

The "regulars" that went to Win Place or Show may have allowed them to stay open on a "night by night" basis, but the bigger picture required the big changes and a different clientele that wants mixed drinks and not cheap beer. Women are the KEY to a bar's success. You get the women to like it, you'll get the guys to pay their way. I can't speak for all of them, but the women I know tend to migrate away from bikers. Not bike enthusiasts, but dangerous bikers.

I disagree that all they got was a paint job. I thought the place looked noticably better....the crowd did not.

[kingpin]

The first place I worked at as a doorman(I was 17) just had a professional make-over type thing. Not on TV but from a company. Went from a name called "The Eagles Nest" to a "Mark & Larry's".

It was a Hells Angels bar pretty much every night.
Part of our job at the door once the makeover happened was to turn away the bikers in any way we could. Whether it was for having caps on their boots or wearing their colours they weren't allowed in.
To my surprise 95% of them had no issue and would walk away. The other 5% well I have scars to prove that point.