When I bought the bar,
I ran into all kinds of problems.
[dramatic music]
So, uh, I'm still having problems.
Narrator: For over 30 years,
Jon Taffer has traveled the country,
saving hundreds of bars from failure and ruin.
The past few years had been harder on our country
than I've ever seen before.
But now, in a post-pandemic world,
restaurants and bars are seeing
a massive surge in business.
Yeah.
And a customer base
that has a much higher expectation
for quality food and drinks.
Not a huge fan of this.
So I'm on a mission to save bars that had been struggling
to keep up with the new landscape of our industry.
[cheers and applause]
[narrator] So, now, Jon is back out on the road
and heading to Hickory, North Carolina
to rescue Corner Pocket II.
This is a new era for our country,
so we need to raise the bar and rise to these challenges.
Narrator: In 2009, former college football player,
Carlos Walker, bought Corner Pocket.
When I bought the bar, it was a wreck.
I went in.
It took me two weeks to clean it up.
I got it back going,
but I ran into all kind of problems
on the property.
The roof was leaking.
Problem after problem.
I'm a single father.
I have five kids and seven grandkids,
so I'm not able to go to the bar a lot.
When I'm there, I go in, I check on paperwork,
I sign checks, and I'm gone.
Narrator: As a mostly absent owner,
Carlos brought in former school teacher, Candy,
to manage the bar.
Welcome to our bar.
[laughter]
I went from education up to the bar,
so I don't know which end is better,
the adult babies or the younger ones.
All right, Ash.
I need you to go ahead and ring an 8-ball combo.
Whose tab is this going on?
I hired her as a manager
because she has some manager experience
at other jobs.
She used to be a school teacher.
Vodka, gin, rum.
Um, does it have peach in there?
I thought she would be good for this job
but I should've took out time to train her.
Narrator: Despite having a willing manager,
the bar makes little money and is falling apart.
Everything is broken in here.
Our dishwashers broke.
The plumbing and everything is really bad through here.
Our flat top, I think both sides don't work.
Our draft system, it pours really weird.
And I've asked people to fix it but it doesn't get done.
I have to solve the newest problems.
But, you know, I'm only there
two or three days out of the week.
Sometimes I can solve the problem
on the phone, but it's frustrating.
Narrator: The equipment is not the only thing
that needs improvement
as the staff is in desperate need of proper training.
Oh.
No one at Corner Pocket II
really has been properly trained.
Narrator: Carlos now finds himself
losing $5,000 a month
and is $150,000 in debt.
It's stress me out to have that much of my money
and someone else's money in--invested into this bar.
Narrator: Before the Corner Pocket II sinks too,
Carlos has made the decision to pull back the doors,
bust open the books,
and make a call for help to "Bar Rescue".
Owning a bar is hard.
It's very hard.
[sighs] Hey, guys.
Nick.
-Jon. -Victor.
Jon, how are you, man?
Good, my brothers.
Narrator: For the bar, Jon brings in Nick Ortega.
With over 20 years' experience
in the food and beverage industry,
Nick is consulted for some of the largest
spirit brands in the country
and created cocktails
for major entertainment awards shows and events.
For the kitchen, Jon brings in Vic Vegas,
an executive chef with over 25 years' experience.
Vic has worked with major food distributors,
while also owning and operating his own successful restaurants.
Well, guys, here we are in Hickory, North Carolina.
So we're about 60 miles northwest of Charlotte.
The median household income in this area
is about $35,000 a year.
So about half the national median.
Here it is, guys. Look at it.
Corner Pocket II.
Three years ago,
a gentleman by the name of Carlos bought it
and it was called then Corner Pockets.
Now, Carlos is a former Auburn football player.
Was great in his days, I'm told.
He could afford to buy the bar
but he couldn't afford a new sign.
So he put Corner Pockets II.
So you think about it, right out of the gate,
the guy buys a bar
but he doesn't have enough money to change the sign,
does he have enough money to run the bar?
So he goes to work in security to pay to support this bar.
Makes about $400 a week. That's his total income.
Bar is losing about $4,000 a month.
He comes here like twice a year, I'm told, Carlos.
He's gonna be here tomorrow.
But he has Candy, there's Candy, as his manager.
Just always make sure you're double-checking
-your orders, okay? -All right.
And Candy's daughter, Ashton, is the bartender.
There's Sisalynn, another bartender.
I'm going to go wash these.
There's Crystal, another bartender.
How you been doing, Billy?
Good?
And there's Tammie that-- she's the cook.
I didn't see it till now.
Vic, what about that grill?
That's the darkest grill I've seen to date.
Like it's never been cleaned since the day they got it.
You got any trouble with Crystal?
She's blaming me for you yelling at her.
I was like, "I didn't do anything."
What then?
You can literally see some flies flying around.
There are flies there.
There absolutely are flies there.
I mean, fruit flies are the bar's enemy
and it is a constant battle,
but that's something you have to be diligent
about every single day.
And that's right in front of the guests.
So the bar is disgusting with fruit flies.
Vic, look at those plastic containers.
-Look at that. -Ooh.
You got crust all around the containers.
What is that? Buffalo sauce or something?
That's disgusting.
Look at that cockroach. See that?
Walking right across the counter there.
In the kitchen.
So we have a fly-infested bar
and we have a cockroach-infested kitchen.
As business is usual, right through it.
Ugh.
Vic, we gotta go in there.
You gotta go in the kitchen
and see where these cockroaches are.
What's going on? I'm gonna hit the bar.
Nick, stay here and watch everything
on the monitors in case we missed anything.
I'll follow you, Jon. I'll follow you. Let's go.
And I'm not gonna let anybody eat in this place.
[dramatic music]
I'm like a little sort of freaked out here for a second
'cause we saw cockroaches walk by in the kitchen.
-Hello. -Hello.
-How are you, ma'am? -I'm doing good.
-How are you doing? -[sighs] Could be better.
Do we have fruit flies back here?
Something is very wrong here.
Cockroaches walking right by the counters
where those wings were made, guys.
Literally, inches away from your chicken wings.
You put that down, didn't you?
You wanna eat it now?
But she had no problem selling it to you.
Do you know there's cockroaches in your kitchen?
-Yeah. -You know that, right?
Is there a chance that they're in their food?
Is that possible?
I would hope not but it's possible.
So she sold you food,
knowing that it's possible there's cockroaches in there.
I can't believe this conversation.
And I haven't even got in the kitchen yet.
Ma'am, I don't mean to come in and intrude on you.
No disrespect but it's my job
to protect those people out there.
-Yes, sir. -Tammie, what is this?
Look at the top of that.
Moldy cheese.
How long have you been here?
I've been a manager a year.
A year?
Has anybody ever taught you how to manage a place?
-No. -What did you do before this?
I was in education.
How did you wind up being here as a--running a bar?
I started barbacking.
And you went from barback to manager?
Uh-hmm.
What was one of the things that a barback does?
-Clean, right? -Right.
So when you became a manager, did the cleaning stop?
I mean, is this the way your house looks?
Look at these freaking things.
Look at this, man.
Look at that.
Look at this [bleep] place.
There is junk, food.
How do you have the audacity to serve somebody here?
Answer me.
I don't--I don't know. I don't know.
Does it ever bother you?
It bothers me every day.
Did you ever walk in the kitchen and say,
"Oh, my God, there's cockroaches,"?
-Every day. -What do you do about it?
That's beyond my control.
-Whose control is that? -The owners.
So the owner says, "You know what?
Don't clean it. Don't fumigate it.
Serve the food with cockroaches,"?
No, they're just never here. They don't care.
So they don't care so then you don't care?
I do, but I'm-- I only have control of so much
so--yeah, it's my fault.
Let's go in the kitchen.
What's going on, Vic?
Bingo.
Why isn't it dated?
I'm not the kitchen manager but I guess I should--
You're the general manager.
Why isn't it dated?
Are you ignorant or lazy? Which is it?
I guess ignorant--I don't...
Why don't you care enough to serve somebody something
that won't kill them?
Because I'm not the one that's in here running.
I'm not the kitchen manager.
They put me in front of the bar and I'm running the bar.
The kitchen manager did not show up.
So the kitchen manager didn't show up.
So you don't look in any of the refrigerators?
You don't check anything for cleanliness.
I should now, because--
but that's what his job is to do.
Jon. Jon. Jon.
This right here says the whole story, okay?
-Oh, my God. -We got movement.
We got movement.
Live infestation in here.
[dramatic music]
Live infestation in here.
[tense music]
How dare you put food out and not date anything?
How dare you serve food with cockroaches walking around?
Should you be running this place?
You're gonna kill somebody.
Candy, this is the worst kitchen I think I have ever been in
and you might be the most irresponsible manager
I have ever dealt with.
You gotta prove me wrong.
Clean this freaking place tonight
and I'll get exterminators out here
and I'll make it right.
But you gotta start.
Are you prepared to clean this tonight?
-Yes, sir. -Okay. Make this right.
Get your bartenders cleaning the bar.
You guys clean in the kitchen.
New oil in the fryers. Clean the grill.
Get it as clean as you can.
But you gotta own this.
The level of neglect
and irresponsibility is outrageous.
Not only shouldn't anybody eat there,
I don't even wanna be in that room.
I'm going to take a shower.
Now make it right.
Let's get out of here. This place is disgusting.
[dramatic music]
Wow. It's gotta be my fault. Nobody else is here.
So I've got to--I've got to take responsibility for it,
I guess.
Stop everything.
We can't serve anything else out of here.
[dramatic music]
Thanks.
Go ahead and shut it down.
We're just gonna gut this whole place.
The owners aren't here.
The kitchen managers aren't here.
So let's--we'll--that's okay. We'll do it, girls.
Let's--we've been left with this place.
Well, it might've came from the back but...
[dramatic music]
I feel like everybody's at fault
for the cockroaches and the cleaning.
We all work here on a day-to-day basis.
We all can do better and clean.
It's like they set you up to fail.
Well, it is what it is.
But I'm here to help you make it right, Candy,
-'cause, you know-- -I don't know.
Exactly why the [bleep] owners need to be in here doing this.
I'm disgusted with myself.
Why?
Because always, I've failed.
[dramatic music]
[country music]
Let's just hope it's worth it
and we can get this bar moving forward
and doing the right thing.
[sighs] The meeting with Jon and Carlos,
I don't--I don't know how it's gonna go.
We don't ever see Carlos.
So Jon is gonna see more of Carlos
than we have in quite some time.
We busted our butts off last night.
We, hopefully, did the right thing
to get this thing moving forward.
I'm on the road a lot
because I have to be on the road with my son.
I get that, but we're--we need some--
I need some extra help in here.
I mean, I do need help.
I was so angry when I left this bar yesterday.
Today, I'm calming down
and I'm gonna walk in with an open attitude
and hope they clean the place to make it presentable.
I don't know where to go to take it forward.
Yeah.
Carlos has a lot of money invested in this place.
Today, he's gonna learn what happened last night
'cause he wasn't here
and I hope I get some support from him.
This is his business.
He has to help me make it better
or I can't succeed.
Hello.
-Hello. -Hi.
Carlos. How you doing? I'm Jon.
-Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you too.
Come one, everybody. Let's all talk here.
[dramatic music]
Auburn guy, huh?
Yeah.
You play ball there, huh?
So you always wanted to own your own bar?
Yes.
So, as I understand, that you went out,
found an investor, and bought this place.
So how much money do you and the investor
have invested in this place, about?
[sighs]
Probably right at $150,000.
Hundred and fifty grand? That's a lot of money, isn't it?
Yes.
-Are you--are you losing money? -Yeah.
So could you lose $3,000 in a month?
-Yes. -$4,000?
-Possibly. -How much more can you go?
I can't go long.
You've put everything you have into this?
Yes.
-What's your name? -Ashton.
How long you been here, Ashton?
-Five years. -Five years?
-And is Candy your mom? -Yes, sir.
So that's the connection.
-What's your name? -Crystal.
How long you been here, Crystal?
-One year. -One year?
And you stand bar? Is that what you do?
-Yes. -Okay.
-Hi. What's your name? -Hello.
Sisalynn.
And how long you been here, Sisalynn?
-A year on October. -A year as well?
And how long you been here?
Since March. So March, I'll be a year.
-What's your name? -Tammie.
-Tammie? -Yes, sir.
Okay.
So when was the last time you saw Carlos, Crystal?
I don't remember the last time.
So I walked in here last night
to the worst run operation I have ever seen in my life.
Carlos, it was incredible.
I had cheese with mold on it in the kitchen.
You can kill somebody.
I had cockroaches walking in food product, flour.
I had products undated.
I opened a cabinet. It's filled with rat droppings.
And I have never walked in a bar with a staff
that cared less than this one.
Carlos, I've never seen anything like it in my life.
If you were here and saw that,
the veins would have come out of your neck.
It is so disrespectful to do it to that level.
I'm gonna be honest, it's just the same thing as saying,
"[bleep] Carlos, [bleep] Carlos' money.
We don't need to clean. We don't need to do anything."
That's what I walked into last night.
This was a shithole.
I didn't really know my bar was in that bad of a shape.
How does it get this bad?
Well, she has hired people.
They're coming in for a day, don't show back up.
Coming here for half a day.
Some just don't show up at all.
Who the hell wants to work for her?
She doesn't know a thing.
She can't train them to make a drink.
She can't train them to make a food item.
There's no growth if you work here.
Have you guys grown? Have you learned anything?
Can you make something you didn't before?
Are you better at what you do?
Is there any reason at all to work here?
So you've got a major issue here.
You have a manager who either doesn't care
or doesn't have the inclination to do anything about it.
So you gotta deal with why she's acting this way.
'Cause when I look in your eyes, you know better, Candy.
So do you have no motivation?
Has he let you down?
Tell me what caused what I saw last night.
I honestly don't. [sighs]
It's not that I don't care about this place
but, I mean, I just--I need the help.
I need the guidance. And I'm not getting it.
Maybe I'm not the right person for it.
I'm trying what I can
and, obviously, I failed everybody doing it.
I'm throwing my arms up. I don't know what to do.
[dramatic music]
[upbeat music]
Somehow, we have to get capable management in this building,
which means I gotta work with you like crazy
the next few days to get you confident
or we gotta get somebody to work with Candy
on an ongoing basis to grow,
because when I look in her face
and I see the tears in her eyes,
it's obvious to me you care.
You're not here to be a slouch, are you?
Uh-uh.
You strike me as a proud person.
So would you like to be proud when you came here?
Absolutely.
How, how often are you here, buddy?
Uh, at the most, maybe twice,
twice a week.
If you don't put time into this and fix this,
I would tell you to close it.
Uh, I'm willing to learn and keep this place going.
-Is that what you wanna do? -Yes.
Okay. Candy, what do you think?
I feel like I've let everybody down.
Here's your chance to fix all that, isn't it?
Waiting to come through for all of them.
Okay. Let me get my experts in here.
We've got a lot of work to do. Come on in, guys.
I want my place to be a whole lot better than what it is,
if I want this to be my future.
The way things look now, it is not a future.
Vic understands how to give food personality.
We need something that's ours, something we can get known for.
Vic is gonna do that for us.
And Nick Ortega is one of my favorite
mixologists in the country.
I've asked Nick to come help us put together
a great cocktail program.
So we got a lot of work to do, guys, okay?
Okay. Let's go to work.
[upbeat music]
-How you guys doing? -Good. How about you?
Look, I know last night was tough,
and I know that a cocktail program
isn't what is gonna keep your regulars here
but that's how you capture new regulars, right?
And we need new regulars.
So we're gonna start with a Figurita.
So it is gonna be a margarita with fig puree.
I'm gonna start with a Collins glass
that has a blueberry, sugar, sea-salted rim.
So set that to the side.
Three ounces of Figurita-margarita mix,
half ounce triple sec,
one-and-a-half ounce tequila,
and shake vigorously.
We are gonna pour over new ice
and we are gonna garnish with a lime wheel.
And this is your Figurita.
Excited to try that one?
It's not overwhelming. It's the right blend.
So, Crystal, I think I'd like to get you back here
and try making one of these drinks.
We're gonna have you make the Figurita.
-Okay. -The way you're gonna rim it
is just where you're gonna put...
-Down the side? -Yeah. Exactly.
Okay.
Training with Nick today was wonderful.
These new cocktails, they're very eye-catching
and something, something that,
that our crowd never seen before.
The one that stuck out the most was the Figurita.
The flavor was great.
I love tequila.
It's something that I think is gonna be a great seller here.
Very good. Come up a little bit.
Show a little showmanship and kill it.
Yeah! Nice.
Thank you so much. Give her a round of applause.
-[cheers and applause] -She's working her butt off.
All right. Kitchen's looking good.
So, Candy, how are you feeling today?
Better than what I was last night
and I'm excited to see all these new stuff coming in.
Let's get into food, 'cause Jon wants local food.
He wants something that people
will automatically love down here.
We're gonna do a Southern hot chicken sandwich.
Something a little different that your neighbors don't have.
All right.
Going right in the fryer.
While the chicken's going, I got you a nice,
soft brioche bun.
Now, I'm gonna drop some tots as well.
So here's the great part here.
We're gonna go Southern-style on the chicken.
Now, a little bit of that pimiento spread,
the dusted chicken, sweet bread and butter pickles.
Top it with some purple slaw.
Other bun on top.
We have the Southern hot chicken sandwich.
What do you think?
Awesome.
I give it a thumbs up.
All right. Yes, ma'am.
I learned a lot today.
I wish I had been taught better to start with.
And, and I'm gonna do better now because it's gave me
a motivation that I'm ready for a new Tammie,
I'm ready for tonight. Let's get this thing started.
We got stress test coming up.
Major focus, okay? Let's get this done.
[dramatic music]
Come on over. Let's all talk for a minute.
So, tonight, I want you to play owner.
And I wanna see her run this place tonight.
Ticket times in the kitchen
should be about 10 to 12 minutes, Tammie.
-Does that sound reasonable? -Yes, sir.
If you fall in the weeds, call out to Carlos,
he's here tonight, and he'll help you.
-Absolutely. -All right.
-Makes sense, Carlos? -Yeah.
Now, we only have three drinks tonight, right?
-Yes. -We're not trying to bury
you guys with 20 drinks, right?
So just focus on those three drinks, okay?
-Okay, guys. -All right, girls.
I feel like I have a lot to prove
and I just hope that I don't fail again
for the girls and for Jon and everybody else.
-Team on three. -One, two, three.
-all: Team! -Okay. All right.
Come on in, everybody.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Hey, how are you?
How are you, guys?
Just that menu only tonight, guys.
So with our Hickory Sour Shot,
a beer comes with it.
The Hickory Sour and The Big Dog? Okay.
Can I do the Figurita and the Charlotte cheesesteak?
And then what would you like to eat?
The Charlotte cheesesteak.
The cheesesteak? Okay.
There you go, guys.
And what can I get for y'all to eat?
Let's do the cheesesteak.
I grab my ticket.
We'll put your [indistinct] here.
So it's say I've got sixteen wings.
I messed up last night.
I'm not doing that again tonight.
-Okay, Tammie. -All right.
-Tammie, you good? -Yes, ma'am.
Okay.
Come on, guys. Move faster.
-Let's try that again. -Okay.
That one down.
Sorry. That's one down, Jon.
You can see the color is wrong, right?
-Yeah. Yeah. -It's too dark.
I need two Big Dogs, two Figs.
-One Fig with no salt. -Two Big Dogs? Okay.
Candy already is stepping up.
She's out taking orders at tables.
She's helping in the bar. She's really trying.
And you can see there's an energy in her eyes.
Go drop that napkin over there.
Let's see now if production can keep up
and if they can get these guests served.
-Okay, Tammie. -All right. Talk to me.
-How we doing? -Everything coming in
at the same time but Tammie's got everything cooking.
How many tickets we got?
-We've got three. -I don't see them up there.
No, 'cause they're down here.
Okay. Tammie, always put your tickets up on the racks
-so you stay organized, okay? -Yes, sir.
You've got enough in here to make almost another one.
So, unfortunately, you're gonna have to wait
a little bit longer, friend.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
That's another one down.
So you guys got off easy
'cause you got the shots and the beer, right?
You breezed right through this.
Not so much, right?
And it was two feet away, that drink, was it?
It was almost in your hand.
That's right. I could reach for it.
And then he dumped it down the drain.
Here's the hot wings with the--
-Looking gorgeous. ---with the cheesesteak.
Oops. Sorry. Sorry, boss. Okay.
I have a ranch.
I got a chicken sandwich right here.
There you go. Bar one, okay?
Mom, where did those three Figs go that I got for you?
They're--all tickets are lined up right there.
They got numbers on the tickets.
We need a cheesesteak with these hot wings.
Do we got cheesesteak coming with the hot wings?
Do you know where these go, Ashton?
These--I'm reading right now.
Figs.
She doesn't have a table number on there.
Candy, you might need to help in front for a minute
-when you have a second. -Okay.
Okay. I'll be right there.
They don't know where these drinks go.
Okay. This is table six.
All right. I'll take this.
That's two of the drinks. They got three more coming.
Okay.
There you go. So two of them.
-What are those? -These are the Big Dog.
Oh, man.
How do I fix this?
-You don't. -So--okay. You don't.
You gotta start over.
Guys, every table out there has half the drinks.
If there's four people, they have two drinks.
We can't do this this way.
Everybody needs to be served.
We need to do this by the ticket.
What table did you say this went?
-Five. -Got you.
Hi. How are y'all doing?
-Good. -Okay, the Hickory shot.
-Wrong table, baby. -Wrong table, girl.
Oh, really? Are you serious?
It's not me. It's her.
-Sis, um... -What?
It wasn't five.
What do you mean?
Sorry.
Two goes to five.
They said it's not theirs.
-Sis, um... -What?
It wasn't five.
Two goes to five.
We're gonna take--we got to-- they said it's not theirs.
Which table did you take it to?
Table five.
Did you take one to table four?
Hold on. Let me go over here and ask.
Hey, Hickory shot?
-Yeah. -Hell yeah.
Yay!
-You see that empty glass? -Yes.
We should be on to second and third drinks by now.
We're still struggling for first drinks,
so we got to be faster than this, guys.
These mild wings, Tammie, as soon as you get those,
I can take those out.
Here's our problem right here.
Going from raw, 15-minute wing, slowing everything down.
So it's your wings that are actually slowing down
some of these other orders,
'cause they take so long to cook.
Who doesn't have food?
Not one table has food.
Only the bar has five plates of food, 40 minutes into this.
I'm gonna put them out of their misery.
We're never gonna dig out.
Okay, Candy, I've seen what I wanna see.
You were unbelievable tonight.
I mean, I could not have asked more out of you tonight.
So I want you to feel terrific.
Your team needs some more training.
Absolutely. Yeah.
So let's go out, apologize to everybody.
Tell them we're gonna close down.
Invite them back in two days--
Two days?
--so they could see us in our best.
Okay. Okay?
-All right. -Let's do it.
All right, guys.
We're not to where we need to be.
I'm sorry.
I really do apologize
but we've gotta shut it down tonight.
I want you guys to come back in two days.
I promise you it would be a lot better.
[upbeat music]
Come on in, guys.
I got us out here with the construction
because they're still cleaning up in there
and I wanted to talk as soon as we could.
So here's what's interesting about this market, guys.
Median household income here is about $35,000 a year.
That's 50% of the national average.
So we do have limited disposable income in this market.
But it's a really interesting market.
It's in Hickory and it's a historic market.
And they call it the gateway to northern North Carolina.
So it's sort of a famous kind of a place
and has sort of the unique history to it.
And then look at the amount of competitive bars we've got.
We're right here.
Even right near us, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
So it's incredibly competitive
and everybody's fighting for the limited dollars.
So, Nick, we need a cocktail program that has value.
We can't go into super premium brands.
We can't get into really expensive mixes.
We gotta figure out how to cost-effectively
create perceived quality.
So I gotta really leverage your genius to make this happen.
We can elevate.
I'm with you guys. So that's the approach.
Value and simplicity.
If we pull that off
and if I can figure out some way
to connect the concept to the history,
we can do this.
-I know we could. -Looking forward to it.
Good morning, team.
Good morning.
How we feeling today after the stress test?
Candy, tell me.
I found out what we need to do
and where we need to fix some things.
Last night, I went in a little pessimistic,
but I saw some glimmers of hope along the way.
There's some key things
that I really want the staff to work on today,
getting those 101 steps
can really help them be successful for the relaunch.
We really just need to get cohesive.
That being said, let's jump into these drinks today.
We are gonna do a riff on a Manhattan,
which is a bourbon-based drink.
We're gonna start with three-quarters of an ounce
of apple simple syrup,
three dashes of orange bitters,
two ounces of bourbon,
and stir.
This will be served in a martini glass...
and garnished with a dehydrated apple chip.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is your Carolina Manhattan.
Now, remember, it's a sipping cocktail
so it's not gonna be overly sweet.
Candy, what are your thoughts?
Well, the bourbon hits first.
Oh, but, actually, it tastes really good.
[upbeat music]
Today, I need to talk to Carlos about supporting Candy
and Candy about continuing her growth
so she can really take care of this business.
Rough couple of days, huh?
Yes.
You impressed the heck out of me the other night.
Thank you.
I've gotta tell you, she was unbelievable.
So what'd you learn this week?
I learned that I have to be here more.
I have to give her more support than I've been giving her.
I threw her into the fire.
How are you feeling hearing him say that?
[chuckles] Relief, I guess.
Yeah. Are you feeling confident?
A lot more confident than the start of it, yes.
So think about it,
because you're working in a place
you weren't so proud to be at--
-Uh-hmm. ---right?
There wasn't a lot of feeling and--of energy and enthusiasm.
Now, you're sitting here proud.
Uh-hmm.
You got a bar you can be proud of.
Uh-hmm. Yeah.
Owner you can be proud of.
-Staff you can be proud of. -I'm ready to go and do it.
And you're looking forward to it, aren't you?
-Uh-hmm. -You got this.
Yeah?
Thank you.
Carlos, was this what you expected?
It's more than what I expected.
And, Candy, I-- I didn't train you properly,
so I'm taking the blame for everything.
I didn't tell you what I wanted
and showed you what I wanted,
so you didn't know what to show everyone else.
So I'm--I'm--I'm here-- I'm here now
to take some of this heat off of you.
You know, at the end of the day, it's not about the bar.
It's about you.
It's about the bar giving you a better life.
Money to take care and do things for your son.
Money in your pocket, pride.
That's the best part of this business.
You're one of the greatest turnarounds
I've ever seen in all the episodes I've done.
So I am really impressed
and I hope you're proud of yourself.
-You deserve this. -Thank you.
Yeah.
-You good, buddy? -Yeah, I'm good.
All righty. Let me get back to work, okay?
-Okay. -Okay.
-I'll see you guys tonight. -All right. Thank you.
Jon saying that he was impressed with me was awesome.
And it helps me know that I can do it.
It's a real confidence boost to me coming into relaunch.
I've got people on my side now
and it--and it does help with confidence.
It helps with morale and everything.
So I'm excited.
[dramatic music]
[cheers and applause]
-Hey, everybody! -[cheering]
When I heard your story, Auburn guy,
I had to come out here and rescue you.
Probably one of the best fathers I've ever met,
who's dedicated his entire life to his son.
First night was ugly, wasn't it, Candy?
Absolutely.
[chuckles] It was horrible.
But you showed a lot of character.
-You--are you proud of her? -Yes.
Carlos, what do you think of the team?
I'm proud of them and I hope we could keep the--
this good spirits up and keep a good job.
Well, guys, there's only one thing left to do.
-You ready to see it? -Yup.
-Should I show it to them? -[cheering]
All righty. Here we go, guys.
One, two, three.
[upbeat music]
Oh! [laughs]
You ready? One, two, three.
Oh!
Oh, yeah! [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
What do you think?
I love it. It's great.
There's some fun history in this town.
I wanted the Gateway Bar to be a testimonial to Hickory.
So when you go inside, you're gonna see
that it connects to the history of the community.
That's what we wanted.
And, of course, a new sign. And look at that one.
When you bought this place,
you didn't have the money to change the sign, did you?
Nope.
You got a fresh beginning, Carlos.
-Is this feeling good? -Yeah. It's great.
All right, guys. You ready to see it?
-Yeah. -All right. Go ahead.
Oh, my God. Let's go.
[upbeat music]
You ready, Carlos.
Oh, my gosh. Oh, wow!
[upbeat music]
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God. Look at this!
Look at these tables.
Oh, my God. It looks fantastic.
It's clean.
The, the matching tables and chairs,
just--the new barstools
that people can sit at comfortably.
It is so cool. Look at this.
I love it.
Wow.
Man, this is nice.
It, it has some character to it.
I, I can't-- I can't be more pleased.
Oh, actual menu. So look.
Oh, wow! A menu!
-[laughs] -We got a menu!
The Gateway Pub & Grill compared to Corner Pocket
is a lot better-looking.
This is more homey, isn't it?
-Yeah. -It's more cozy.
It looks like a pub now.
-You like? -Yeah.
Absolutely.
Look at this.
These are called snugs.
And they come from the history of pubs.
So all different types of people
could come and sit in their own snug.
And then take a look. All new tables and chairs.
But there's a lot I got to show you,
so grab a seat at the bar, okay?
Okay, guys. Let's start in the back.
Now, you got a double station.
So we have doubled up your production capacity here.
Then I got you SkyTab units,
so you don't have to come back here to put it in the POS.
You can put it in right at the table.
I got Bluezone to give you an air purification system.
And also, for safety,
I got you guys one of my favorite things, a PathSpot.
After you wash your hands, you put them under here.
And it either gives you a green light or a red light.
And then I got A1 Pest Control to come in here,
do a complete spray and service,
and they're gonna come and do a monthly check for you.
Then I got BarProducts.com to load you guys up
with everything.
And I got you Partender.
Partender is an inventory system
and you can do it in a matter of minutes, Candy.
So you are my hero this week.
Oh!
Tammie! Tammie! Tammie!
Yay! Yeah.
The chef coat, it made my night.
-Oh. -Oh, wow, Tammie.
Tammie.
Okay. We open in about 15 minutes.
You saw those people out there.
We got a kitchen to get ready, a bar to get ready.
Let's go do it.
-Congratulations. -Thank you.
-Congratulations. -Thanks.
My pleasure.
[upbeat music]
-Everyone, come in. -[cheering]
Oh, change. I don't have any quarters.
Welcome to The Gateway Pub & Grill.
[indistinct chatter]
Hi, guys!
-Hey! -Hi, guys!
There we go. Take a seat right up there.
I feel refreshed and I'm ready.
The training was worth every minute of it,
from the 3:00 AM scrub-in all the way up until now.
So one more Big Dog and two Carolinas.
-How we doing? -We're moving. We're moving.
-Yeah? -Get a couple drinks
done at a time.
The bartenders are actually doing pretty well.
It shows that they care.
It shows that they're willing to learn.
What we did in there is gonna stick.
-Much better. -Much better?
-Yeah, much better. -Okay.
So am I to understand you got your drinks two minutes?
-We did. -After we spoke?
-Yeah. -A minute twenty? Unbelievable.
Right.
The bartenders are pulling this off.
-Here's the proof. -Delicious.
-Thank you. -Come on, guys.
We gotta get some food out of here.
We got a lot of tables waiting.
Two more items. Complete the two tickets.
Jon, you know, they're learning the new system.
Look at this.
Tammie's in the middle of expediting.
Tammie's getting our food done.
We're getting out about seven,
eight minute ticket times.
Right. That right here, my friend.
We're really getting into a system
and it's paying off.
Okay. Let's get these out. Come on, guys. Let's go.
We almost have the room served.
You're about five minutes from serving everybody.
Let's go. We're almost there.
-You got your food? -It was worth the wait.
Was it worth the wait? Really good?
-Yes. -Yeah.
-So do you live in the area? -Yeah, we do.
-Would you come back? -Absolutely.
-Definitely. -It's feels like
you can hang out here. I wouldn't hang out here before.
So when it all comes together,
food out quick, drinks out quick,
everything tasty, this would have never happened
three days ago, believe me.
We nailed it. Thanks.
-Thank you. -Candy, do you need anything?
Yeah? Um, uh, have you checked tables or anything?
Oh, it's a lot of energy.
It's, it's the most energy I've seen here in a long time.
My staff is working together. They're communicating.
They're pitching in to help each other.
So, you know, even I had to go into the back
and wash the dishes.
And I see how much they appreciate me
being here with them.
Now, just keep up the good work.
If you all need anything, just let me know.
-Okay. -We got you.
Candy is doing a wonderful job right now.
She's all over the place.
I love it. It's, it's fun now.
It's actually fun to be here. [chuckles]
And Carlos being here, helping us,
being present and everything, that's what we needed.
He's here.
He's showing us that he does care and
he wants to be with us, so absolutely fantastic.
So when he said he had your back,
I didn't expect him to be washing dishes.
[laughs] Thank you, Carlos.
What a great week this has been.
You know, you're terrific.
So are you, buddy.
Look at your bar.
In like 20 minutes,
we served the entire room, Candy.
She's the center of the wheel with these folks around her.
I couldn't be more proud of you.
Thank you.
-My work's done. -Yup.
-Yeah. -How about a hug?
Thank you. [chuckles]
Thank you.
Congratulations.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
Okay? You're gonna make him very proud.
I hope so.
-Goodnight, guys. -Thanks.
[upbeat music]
[narrator] Promotional consideration provided by
Partender, PathSpot, SkyTab POS,
Lowery Brothers Plumbing, Bar Products,
The Ice Trade, A1 Pest Control,
Bluezone, Denver Equipment Company,
Orange Door, Club Cannon, CBG Draft Services,
Apex Building Solutions, Hart & Soul Cafe,
One Stone, and ESRI.