Sometimes, the ice scooper gets buried in the ice.
-And-- -Oh, my God.
-Yeah. It's not great. -Hold on, honey.
-Yeah, it's bad. -This is disgusting.
Oh, it's chunky.
[grunts]
Narrator: For over 30 years,
Jon Taffer has traveled the country,
saving hundreds of bars from failure and ruin.
The past few years have 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.
Hey. 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.
Yay.
Narrator: So now, Jon is back out on the road
and heading to Denver, North Carolina,
to rescue Latitudes Bar & Grill.
This is a new era for our country,
so we need to raise the bar and rise to these challenges.
[upbeat music]
Narrator: In 2019, Patti and Steve Merkel
opened Latitudes Bar & Grill in Denver, North Carolina.
I started in the, um, bar and restaurant business
at a very young age.
My great grandfather owned bars and so...
it's always been in my blood, I guess.
Steve is my husband, my business partner.
My business background is I started a cookie company
with my brother back in 1984,
and 21 years later we sold to a major cookie competitor.
I had the ability to retire at that time.
Narrator: Wanting to help his wife,
Steve funded Patti's dream business,
but remained hands off in the day to day operations.
I've learned the hard way that it's not something
that you just dip your foot in the water
and you come on Monday and that's it.
You're usually either in all or you're out.
So, I try to remain out.
I go to bed at 9:30. This is gonna be late.
And I'm--I'm gonna take an extra nap.
Narrator: But Steve and Patti quickly realized
that the demands of the bar were more than
either of them anticipated.
Right now, I'm working, um, seven days a week.
As much as I love it, I'm--I'm tired.
In the beginning, it was fine. It's getting a little old.
We've been trying to find somebody
to take over the restaurant.
Narrator: So they brought on their son, Travis,
to help manage the bar and ease their burden.
I, kind of, do a little bit of everything.
I--I cook, clean, I bartend, I serve.
We kind of buttheads.
You don't listen to me anymore because you...
All right. I listen to you--
I listen to you more than anything.
Because you tell them one thing and I'd tell them another thing.
You know, he--he'll wanna do something one way,
I wanna do it another way.
Working with my mom is, it's a little stressful.
I mean, I think if anybody works for their parents
for an extended period of time, it's--it's a lot.
I think Travis can improve as a manager
if he would listen to me.
There's no axe throwing [indistinct]
Okay. Well, we've been talking to somebody
over in East Lincoln, but okay.
But I would love to have Travis take this up.
-That would be great. -Narrator: But Patti
still finds herself spending all of her time at the bar.
She likes to be in control of...
everything that's happening.
Narrator: While draining Steve's bank account.
I have put into Latitudes
probably about $275,000.
Right now, we're currently losing about $3,500 a month.
I have come to the point where it's basically,
"You guys got to figure out how to make money here."
I'm cut off.
Um, you got all my money.
Don't look at me. I just work here.
Steve does not like putting money into Latitudes,
and sometimes it causes a strain in our relationship.
It's--it's a little bit of a challenge when you got, uh,
your spouse just put her whole heart and soul in it.
Why don't we just close the doors?
You said that many times.
I can't accept failure.
I've got too much blood, sweat, and tears
in this business to--to just walk away.
I don't know. I mean,
I--I just--it's-- it's--it's a tough one.
Narrator: So Steve and Patti have made the decision
to pull back the doors, bust open the books,
and make a call for help to "Bar Rescue".
We got a challenge.
-This is a family-owned bar. -Whoa.
It's an interesting story.
Steve, the dad, is a cookie master.
He sold the recipe to a major cookie company
-for a lot of money. -Wow.
So he's a very successful cookie chef.
So he took this money,
and they moved from up north in New York,
down here to Denver, North Carolina,
a little bit outside of Charlotte,
and opened this bar.
Before they opened the bar,
they went to Jamaica.
They had a wonderful time.
They fell in love with Caribbean culture.
So they came back here to Denver, North Carolina,
with all the cookie money and this great idea,
opened up Latitudes Bar & Grill.
When you see a pink sign Latitudes,
what do you start to think is inside?
Well, I would hope to see some type of Caribbean cuisine,
tropical flavors, something with a lot of flavor,
and spice, and, freshness.
-Yeah, Caribbean. -Yeah. Yeah.
Narrator: For the kitchen,
Jon brings in Chef Jennifer Murphy,
a 15-year veteran of Las Vegas fine dining
who is overseeing kitchens at the Bellagio,
MGM Grand, and Caesars Palace.
What would you expect to see inside?
Oh, I want a rum bar. I want everything tiki.
I want umbrellas, over the top, crazy colors.
Narrator: For the bar, Jon brings in Mia Mastroianni,
a legendary bartender at Soho House, Los Angeles.
Mia has served Hollywood elite while also creating
cocktail menus and programs for bars across the country.
-To describe Jamaica-- -Yeah.
--they wanted to build Jamaica.
Let's see what they did inside.
The entire room is beige.
No. They missed the mark on the ambiance,
-that's for sure. -Yeah.
So it doesn't look like a Caribbean bar at all, right?
Hardly looks like a bar.
So there's Steve, the dad. There he is.
You're gonna need all this bread?
Patti, the mom.
You got bowties on? Okay.
-Got it, mother. -Got it.
-Thank you, son. -You got it.
And there's Travis, their son.
Oh, it just keeps getting better.
There's our cook, Angie.
Jenny, tell them we don't have, um, cheddar.
They can't use another kind of cheese.
There's our bartender Shonnel.
Do we have any other questions about the menu?
There's our other bartender, Amber.
And here's what's interesting.
If we look at the menu,
Pizza Lobs.
[chuckles] Oh, no.
Thai chili.
I didn't know that Thailand was in the Caribbean.
That's news to me.
So I look at this poor family,
they've got $275,000 into this thing.
-Oh. -They--they're losing
$3,500 a month, I'm told,
and they have enough money to make it a couple more months.
And look at this.
Okay. So [indistinct]
I got Miguel Fuller,
and his producer, Kelbin Ramirez.
They have a radio show on Hits 96.1 radio here
-that's extremely popular. -Okay.
All right, my dears. What are we drinking?
Unfortunately, I don't have a drink menu laid out for you.
-No drink menu? Okay. -No, not a great deal.
Um, I'm gonna do a Mai Tai, can you do that?
I don't have dark rum.
Got you. So can you make, like, a Cuba Libre.
Cuba Libre capped with coke?
-Absolutely. -Okay.
-Uh-hmm. -Absolutely.
Uh, I'll do a whiskey sour.
-Whisky sour? Okay. -Uh-hmm.
Got it.
She brings the glass to the--
To--to the ingredients and not the other way around.
Rather than the other way around.
Everything should be right within arm's reach.
Everything should be in her--her speed route.
-Um, thank you very much. -Thank you.
-You're very, very welcome. -That's neon.
Uh, that's the first tropical color I've seen in this place.
Well, let's try. Cheers?
-Cheers, girl. -A long day.
-I know that's right. -Yeah.
[suspense music]
-all: Oh. -That's not a good reaction.
How are the drinks? Is there something
that we don't specifically like?
So the sour might be kind of sour
-because I don't make sour-- -So it's like real sour.
-Real sour? -I'm like, "Ooh."
So do you like a little less sour?
Yes. Can we start with that and see?
-Yeah, absolutely. -Because it's a little--
-Yeah, of course. -It's a little tarty.
Okay. We got another drink happening here.
One, two, three.
Oh, okay. Screwing me-- that--what is that?
-[indistinct] -What is that?
That's not a-- that's not a shake.
-That was a [indistinct] -That's not a stir.
That was just a "I'm gonna dump it in here
and put it in the glass."
Yeah. Whenever you like to [indistinct]
Is that--are you sure? Don't lie to me.
It's, um--
That sour mix of sour, isn't it?
Yeah.
I feel stressed.
[laughter]
-You're thinking some food? -Yes.
-What are we thinking? -Um,
I'm gonna do some fried pickles.
What's your opinion on the Thai Chili shrimp?
-[nods in agreement] -They're good?
-I love Thai chili so-- -It sounds so good. Yes.
-Okay. Nope. Absolutely -Yup. Got it.
We have, uh, fried pickles and a shrimp.
-A good--oh, look at that. -Oh, wow.
There's a fire hazard.
-Definitely. -That's a fire hazard.
If anything happens in that kitchen,
this whole kitchen will go up in smoke in no time.
So, that shrimp went right into that sauce.
I don't know. This doesn't look very appetizing to me.
It's, uh, an illegal [indistinct]
Fried pickles?
-Yes. Yes. -It's an illegal thing.
-It's not a good thing. -Thai Chili chips?
-Thai Chili. Yup. -There we go.
-[indistinct] down first. -So--
Not to be mean. I'm not trying to be mean.
I got to already tell you, bro, this ain't it.
-If this isn't... -They're pulling it apart.
Girl, this is gonna look like [indistinct]
Looks like the breading is just falling off--
-Yeah. ---of those pickles.
[laughter]
That fryer probably wasn't hot enough,
and they weren't cooked long enough.
So it just absorbed all that oil.
And you can see the breading just falling off.
Oh, that does not look appetizing at all.
-No. -It's such a simple dish.
How do you mess it up?
You know what I'm gonna do, guys?
Normally, I'd go in by myself,
and you guys would come in tomorrow,
let's go in together.
So I'm gonna go in. I'm gonna go up to Miguel and Kelbin.
I'm gonna talk to the owners.
Why don't you hit the bar, Mia, do your thing. Hit the kitchen.
Let's show them what reality is all about.
Let's show them what they're doing wrong.
Let's hit him in the face with it.
-Okay. -So tomorrow we can get
-a head start on fixing it. -Okay.
-Let's do it. -Sounds good.
[suspense music]
[indistinct chatter]
All right. You wanna get the kitchen?
-Yup. -You get the bar.
When Jon shows up, you know,
I'm a little shocked that he's doing it.
I mean, it is scary because I'm a little protective.
I'm kind of a mama bear with my employees.
-Where's Steve? -Right here.
Nice to meet you.
Hey, Jon. How you doing? Nice to meet you.
Good. Come on over for just a second.
Oh, my God. That is--okay.
You shouldn't even be using this.
This isn't within code, right?
Because this is not under the, uh...
Yeah, nope. No sign.
I mean, look at--look at all this rice that you left here.
[indistinct]
No one in here should be drinking anything,
including water right now,
because the ice machine
has clearly not been cleaned.
Stop drinking if it's not in a bottle.
You're getting people sick.
Patti, would you come over?
You're serving people mold because you never looked.
You have no standards. You have no systems.
You ordered one drink, a sour,
they poured five and they still didn't get it right.
You lost money,
then your food cooks so greasy
that they wouldn't even eat it.
So this is a zero for zero.
What are you doing? Where's Travis?
Get out here, Travis. [bleep].
what's your role here?
Whatever is needed of me.
Who taught you to cook those recipes in the kitchen tonight?
Um, I just kind of picked it up
as I learned.
You don't even have a recipe
and you have a husband
who's made his fortune with recipes.
I think you're lazy.
Sure, you walk around all day, you look busy,
but you don't do anything.
No training, no elevation,
no growth. Look at your son.
He's been here a year and a half, doesn't know shit.
You don't like this, do you, Patti?
No.
You had a chance to really come through, and you didn't.
And this is on you.
So what do you do now, Patti? Do you change?
Do you put them in control. What do you do?
Change.
I'd start by apologizing to both of them.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
It's hugely disappointing to see a manager
let employees down to that level.
A manager to let customers down to that level.
But when that manager's a mom
and she's letting her own husband
and her own son down, that's outrageous to me.
Patti has caused a failure in this bar.
She's prevented her son, Travis, from growing
and she's prevented the business from being successful.
It's all on Patti. And tomorrow, I've got a lot of work to do.
[dramatic music]
I feel like shit about myself.
I feel like he has some valid points,
but I'm not lazy.
Call me anything but don't call me lazy.
[sobbing]
What a night, huh?
Angie said to me earlier outside, she said,
"Where'd you go?
Where did Hot Headed Patti go?"
Well, I may come out today because I'm pissed.
Yeah, I'm pissed, too, and she knows.
Well, let's see what's going on,
you know--you know my temper. I don't know.
I don't promise nothing.
I'm with you. I'm with you.
Last night, I saw a staff that failed
at even the most basic recipes and protocols.
But that's not on them, that's on Patti.
This bar clearly needs some guidance
and I need to see if Patti has what it takes
to properly lead this place.
-Hello. both: Hey.
-Welcome. -We've got a lot of work
-to do, don't we? -Uh-hmm.
-You guys ready to do it? -both: Yeah.
Come on over. Let's all talk.
When I saw Jon again today,
I felt a little tension in the room for sure.
I knew that Patti was still pretty upset,
and I just--I wasn't sure how that was gonna go.
I was tough on you last night, wasn't I?
-Yup. -How'd you feel
-when you went home? -Shitty.
I'm pretty aggressive, aren't I?
You know why?
He's in a whole $275,000.
So understand, we are in a situation right now
where he's losing $3,500 a month,
and he's only gonna write a few more checks, right, Steve?
-If--if that. If that. -If that.
And we're done. Done, finished!
Angie, you left here at one point, didn't you?
-Yes. -How long have you worked here?
-From the beginning? -Yes, maybe three years.
And why did you leave?
Because I'm tired.
-Of what? -Of all this bullshit.
And we don't have a staff.
So we--we have a real serious employee problem?
-Yeah. -Yes.
Okay. Let me tell you what I do.
It's really competitive out there now, right?
There's a lot of people looking for employees out there.
I use ZipRecruiter.
I go online, they actually match me
with candidates so they pop up by--I'm not wasting my time
with candidates that don't match with what we're looking for.
And it works pretty well for me,
and I've done it now for a couple of years.
-It's worth a try. -Right.
Because it's worked for me so maybe we can find a couple
of people that way, and I'll help you do that,
so we can get some bodies in here.
-So, question. -Yes, sir.
Why do you think we're failing?
Truthfully, I--there's--there's no--
there's no, like, system to anything.
And we don't even have a drink list.
We have, like, cheat sheets for people that don't know
what the drink is, and then half the drinks
of the cheat seats, we don't have the ingredients for.
-What's your name? -Amber.
Amber, how long have you been here?
I've been here right about a year.
About a year? If you made a margarita for me,
and you made a margarita for me, would that be the same recipe?
Probably not.
You see why I'm angry?
So her lack of ability last night
is a direct result of your decisions
not to train her.
It's interesting to me and here's why
I said that you're lazy.
When people don't do something,
it's either because they're ignorant,
they don't care, or they're lazy.
You guys haven't been trained,
but yet your past job was a corporate trainer
for a chain restaurant company.
-Uh-hmm. -I can't say she's ignorant.
I can't say she doesn't care.
Lazy! Where else can I land?
Am I crazy, Travis?
Um, not--
no, not entirely but, um--
Well, she's here. She works, she cleans,
she picks up. She does things.
But she didn't try hard enough to train. Why not?
Sometimes, I just don't have the time, Jon.
-Uh, I'm not making excuses. -No. That's bullshit.
-You didn't make the time. -I didn't make the time.
-Uh, you know, we've-- -You didn't make--
Our turnover is 130%.
How, how am I supposed to have the time?
Well, if you train people,
your turnover wouldn't be 130%.
I can't even get people to come through the door
for more than a day [indistinct]
You can't keep the ones that you have.
Yeah.
Because this place is an operational mess.
There's no training.
Would you wanna work here, Travis,
if your mother didn't own it?
Uh...
Would you wanna work here, Travis,
-if your mother didn't own it? -Uh...
no, probably not.
People work where they're comfortable.
They work where they feel they are a valued.
When you're trained well, you feel better.
You don't wanna leave a job like that.
So is it fair, then, if you guys say
that you disagree with me saying that Patti's lazy?
Then is it reasonable for me to say
that she's got to work smarter?
-Yes. -Yeah.
That she's got to be more effective, more effectual?
Right? Was that a fair statement?
-Absolutely. -Yes.
Would you like to see more leadership?
-Yes. -Uh-hmm.
Okay. We got a lot of work to do, guys. You agree?
Okay. Let me bring my experts in. Let's go to work.
You know, I have never really had any type of training.
I just have, kind of, been trying to learn
what I can along the way.
So, I'm excited about getting some of the tools
and, uh, just getting everybody more organized,
getting some recipes that really can help us.
So this is a product called Partender, which I use.
And what they do is they come in and they weigh
every liquor bottle behind the bar,
and we see what was consumed versus what was sold.
-You with me, Travis? -Yup.
So when we take a look at the last few days,
you poured $1,820 worth of product.
That's at retail value.
But yet you sold $950.
-Geez. Oh, my God. -all: Guys.
Uh-hmm.
Now, what does that equal?
$870 a weekend,
$13,000 a month, how much a year, Steve?
$156,000.
-$156,000. -Wow.
When I saw the Partender number,
um, yeah, oh, it made me sick to my stomach.
I mean, I could've gotten Steve paid back in--
in two years' time with just the alcohol sales.
So, yeah, I'm disappointed in myself
and everybody else here,
because it's important for me to pay Steve back.
-Okay, guys, you ready? -Yeah.
Okay. Let's go do it.
[upbeat music]
-Hi, guys. -both: Hi.
How we doing? Welcome to Bar Training.
Going into today's bar training,
I really need to teach the staff
about the importance of accuracy
and consistency in their cocktails.
I'm gonna teach you basic bar counts
and how it's standard across the board.
Not to pick on you, but last night, Shonnel,
you struggled with the margarita.
Half an ounce, two counts.
One, two. Okay.
Now, we're going to be doing a margarita
but on brand for this theme,
here is your tiki-esque corn pineapple margarita.
Half an ounce of lime juice.
Three quarters of an ounce agave nectar,
and fresh pineapple juice.
And then we're doing an ounce and a half of corn juice.
What?
And an ounce and a half of tequila.
Easy.
[upbeat music]
Pour over the fresh ice.
And this is your corn pineapple margarita.
[upbeat music]
Well, that one I like.
These guys can't even make a rum and coke.
-How are they gonna do that? -I'm going to train them.
Shonnel, join me, won't you?
So, why don't you start
with a half an ounce of lime juice?
Yes.
One, two.
Oh, okay.
Well, bar training was interesting.
I mean, I've never had that type of training.
It really opened my eyes.
But honestly, I do not feel prepared
going into the Stress Test.
More prepared than I was, yes, but not prepared.
-See, that is delightful. -Team Latitudes,
the first dish I'm gonna start off with is the Rasta Pasta.
This is a Caribbean take on a pasta dish
similar to what you have on your current menu,
but it's gonna be a little bit quicker
and easier to execute.
Olive oil, one ounce of each
red and yellow bell peppers,
and just a pinch
of the deseeded jalapeno peppers.
Thinly shaved Shallot.
We also have a little bit of blackened seasoning.
I'm going to add the crawfish.
I'm gonna deglaze with a little bit of white wine.
Six ounces of this white cheddar cheese sauce.
Three ounces of--no,
I'm gonna add my Cavatappi pasta.
This is eight ounces.
I'm going to add a generous handful
of, uh, julienned scallions,
and that's just gonna go straight into the bowl.
Seasoned garlic bread crumbs.
Top it off.
Put some more scallions.
So here, we have the Rasta Pasta.
-I love the colors. -Right?
-Really pretty. Yeah. -Yes.
I like the smell.
It's good with the creamy and, uh,
the crunchy breadcrumbs on top.
So going in tonight's Stress Test,
I'm gonna be looking for three things, okay?
Communication, technique, and lastly, is organization.
-Good luck tonight. -Thank you.
-both: Thank you. -See you there.
[upbeat music]
Okay. So I just wanna go over this with you.
Who takes the orders on the floor?
[indistinct] she's gonna take the orders on the floor.
So you're gonna be taking the floor or no?
Are you gonna come back
and make your own drinks for the floor?
I don't know. We haven't really--
I think you need to make them
while I'm getting orders, drink.
I can, but I don't know what the setup is.
I don't--I didn't have any practice.
I don't either.
This is not gonna go well.
-No. -I mean, it's just not.
Stress test is definitely gonna a storm and a struggle.
Guys, you wanna talk for a minute?
It'll be a shit show.
Um, yeah, not exciting.
Anything you wanna say to them stations,
where you want them to work, anything like that?
Yeah, we've come to figure that out already.
-We're good. -You think you're okay?
-Yup. Oh, yup. -Okay.
[chuckles]
No, we're not okay.
We're not prepared for tonight.
-You're gonna serve tables? -Yeah, I think we have to.
You have to. Yeah.
-Of course. Great. -We don't have a choice.
Double check your stations.
Make sure you got enough of everything, guys.
Get yourselves set.
We open in just a couple of minutes.
Hello, welcome to Latitudes.
Come on in.
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat music]
-All right. -Hi.
Hey, how are we doing today?
Good. All right.
Here, take a look at the menu and let me know what you like
and I'll get started on that for you.
Whoa! Game on.
He says take that food order also.
-Could you that? -Uh, yeah. Uh-hmm.
Okay. So, do you want me to put them in or you got it?
-Just go ahead. -So--but--
I'm gonna just greet everybody.
Hi. How are you today, ladies?
Any orders? Here we go.
-Oh, boy. All right. -Okay.
What do we got?
One, two, three, four,
four Latitude Pastas and one Rasta Pasta.
Okay.
Nice.
Beautiful. Perfect.
All right. Here we go.
We're already taking drink and food orders, Jon.
Excellent. Look at that pour.
Nice, beautiful [indistinct]
Perfect. Beautiful.
All right. You said both Twice Baked Potatoes
-and a Latitude Pasta? -Yes!
Got it. All right. For you?
Talk to me, Jen, what do you think?
Uh, we're off to a little rough start here, Jon.
Uh, got bombarded with pastas here,
and now we're kind of just very frantic at the moment.
I think it just comes down to
we didn't have all of our mise en place ready.
Okay. So, Travis, when you have seconds,
-start to prep ahead. -What now?
If you have any time, cut ahead,
much [indistinct] and get us ahead.
Quick prep if you can.
Yup. Okay.
If you can jump in in this [indistinct]
I don't know--I don't-- I don't know them.
Well, you should. We did the training.
Right. But I don't know.
I know you didn't get-- well, um, do your best.
Well, I've told them to be accurate.
See what you can do, I'm behind you.
This chicken's overcooking and drying out.
[bleep] that [bleep]
[bleep] that shit.
[bleep] disaster.
Just a [bleep] disaster.
What do you need?
I don't know.
What are you making?
All of these.
All of them. Like...
All right. Let's do the sweet potato cocktail first.
-Okay. -That goes in the coop.
-In the who? -The coop.
I don't know what that is.
You didn't tell us that in training.
You didn't--that's the step-- that is the coop.
Yes. Okay.
Okay.
Just [bleep] do it our own way.
-Travis. -[bleep] it! Shit! Shit!
-Travis! -[bleep] shit!
On the bar top, and that's not the way you hold the bottle.
-Okay. -Not--that's not a 12 count.
That's what I said, I don't know these drinks.
So would you like to help me here
or can I have the recipe?
I'm not allowed to help you.
-She doesn't [indistinct] -Then why are you back here?
Why are you back here?
To help us how to make drinks, so--
Because she will tell you what to do
and you have to do it.
Let's go.
[bleep]
-Calm down. -No. No.
We are failing the stress test right now.
Jesus [bleep] Christ.
This is a goddamn nightmare.
-Calm down. -No. No.
I'm not gonna [bleep] calm down.
Come on now. You gotta-- you keep your composure.
You gotta keep your cool. You're the manager.
You're the leader here, right?
Are you taking any food orders?
-Is that 12? I--I'm not sure. -Were you counting?
No, because I don't know what I put in there the first time.
Well, then why don't you dump it out and start over?
Dump it out.
Where?
Six tequila.
Look, you did it.
Is that it?
I can't. I can't.
Nobody listens anyway.
It doesn't matter.
-Take a deep breath. -I can't. I can't.
Keep you cool, buddy. Take a deep breath.
-I can't. -Look me in the eyes.
You got this. Thirty minutes.
You tough this out and think how good
you're gonna feel when it's over.
I know.
I want you to have that pride when this is over.
-You hear me, buddy? -Yeah.
Hang in there for yourself.
-Yeah. -Okay?
All the way around?
-No. That's fine. -That's good?
Great. And she's gonna back you up
as soon as she caught up.
She's not gonna be caught up.
-Excuse me, babe. -I mean...
Well, we can't with that attitude.
Okay. So now what?
You're not even trying. I don't know.
What else do you need to make?
I can't take--every-- all these drinks.
-All of them. -Well, then start making them.
I don't know how to.
-I don't know how to make-- -You made that drink
because she told you what to do.
Yes. Correct.
Are you gonna learn if you don't do it?
I learn by doing, so next time I'll probably...
-Great. -...know how to do that.
So why don't you continue to do it
and she'll continue to coach you
and you all continue to learn.
She's not a good coach though.
-Oh, she's a very good coach. -Okay.
Your attitude stinks, to be honest with you.
You're right, it does.
Try a little harder and maybe you'll succeed.
Give it a shot. What do you say?
No, I'm good. I'm good.
She's not gonna give it a shot?
-No. -So this is your team.
She's not even gonna try. Look at her, our hero.
-Let her be the hero. -Right? Right?
-She has a wonderful attitude. -Yup.
-There you go. -Her attitude stinks.
-[applause] -Let her be the hero.
So it's not us, it's her.
I'm the problem? I'm the problem here?
Sure. You are.
So get your attitude together or leave.
Bye-bye.
She's been miserable all day.
[bleep] bullshit, man.
[bleep] shit.
[bell dings]
I need the [bleep] waitress here and take this order.
So we're in trouble.
We were short-staffed to begin with,
but we're not gonna catch up.
We don't have the production capacity
to produce the drinks and get the food out quick enough.
As hard as they're trying, we're sinking.
Holy shit.
Don't take any pictures. Okay. Good deal.
We got [indistinct] pasta three times.
-Patti? -Yeah.
-Talk to me for a second. -Yeah.
Amber's left.
-You're running around crazy. -Uh-hmm.
You don't have the staff to do this.
-Right. -The kitchen is starting
to crash and burn.
It's gonna take them a half hour, 45 minutes
to work that tickets up.
I've seen what I need to see.
Why don't we close it down?
Let's get everybody out of their misery
and then we can go to work fixing it.
Okay. Hey, folks.
I'm sorry but we're gonna close it down for the night.
Come back on Friday and see the new Latitudes.
Thank you for coming.
[upbeat music]
Last night's stress test was an absolute disaster.
It usually is, but this team really went down in flames.
-Hi, team. -Hi.
-Hello. -How you doing?
-How are we doing today? -Good.
-Perfect. -We're okay.
This is shocking. All right.
I mean, coming out of a stress test,
I didn't necessarily anticipate that positive response.
It's not uncommon to see a staff very defeated
after the stress test.
However, this group was kind of optimistic,
which was really nice.
So I think we can agree that we have hit the mark
of where we're going with this menu.
Oh, hey, fun garnishes, fresh citrus,
delicate cocktail umbrella.
It's all going along with our tropical island theme.
And now we're going to show you the Risk It For The Hibiscus.
Add dash of aromatic bitters,
dash of simple syrup, one ounce fresh lemon juice,
one ounce hibiscus syrup,
one and a half ounce rum.
Add ice and shake.
Strain into a hibiscus salt-rimmed Collins glass.
Top with soda water.
Garnish with a lemon wheel.
This is Risk It For The Hibiscus.
[dramatic music]
Last night's stress test
was revealing just as it should be.
Amber walked out 'cause she couldn't handle it.
Shonnel stepped up 'cause she could.
Travis worries me.
He was ready to walk out last night.
And that's not walking out of a job.
That's walking out on your family.
Two really powerful things happened last night to me.
Amber walked out on you.
Left you with your pants down, per se.
You didn't panic. You took a deep breath.
But you were ready to walk out, weren't you?
-I thought about it, yeah. -Yup.
He was ready to walk out.
-You didn't see it... -Oh, boy.
...'cause you were up front. And you didn't see it.
He was--he was done.
He was ready to quit.
And I had to pull you aside,
put my hand on your shoulder,
and tell you if you did that, you'd regret it.
Stay. Tough this out. It'll be over in an hour.
When you're done, you'll be proud of yourself.
-Yup. -And he stayed.
But my point is, at the moment you were saying that to me,
he was your ticket out and he was ready to walk.
Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
That scares the hell out of me, Patti.
It scares me.
With a family business,
there's no walking out.
Right.
That possibility doesn't exist.
It doesn't, no.
-$275,000 in this business. -Yeah.
Are you gonna walk out on this money?
No. No.
He's been amazingly good to you, hasn't he?
Yes. Yes.
He deserves your support, correct?
One hundred percent.
Promise him you're not gonna do it.
I'm not going anywhere or walking out.
Okay.
You're gonna keep that attitude together?
-Of course. -Okay.
Your mom needs to hear that. Say it.
Yeah. I'm not going anywhere.
-Thank you. -Of course.
And we'll help you as much as we can.
Jon is helping you. Your mom will help you.
So you, you got a good support staff.
I am very proud of you.
I think you've grown just in a few days.
I can see change.
-Help him be successful now. -I will.
Be that leader to him. Give him that knowledge
that's in your head that he doesn't have.
Teach him those details.
He's gotta--he's got to accept it though.
You got to accept it.
He doesn't like to accept my advice always.
Always listen, buddy.
You don't have to do everything your mom says.
I certainly don't do everything my mom said.
But I'll tell you what, I always respected her
by listening and respect the knowledge that she had
and the love she had for me,
and the fact that your biggest fan in this world
-will always be who? -Her.
-That's right. -Yup.
Listen, guys, I gotta get back to work, okay?
My suggestion is get a good night's rest.
-You're gonna need it. -Okay.
-Okay? -We're ready. Thank you.
-All right. I'll see you later. -Thank you.
-Okay. Bye. - I'm committed to,
to getting this business to where it needs to be
and I'm not going anywhere until it is to that point.
[upbeat music]
[applause]
Hello.
-Hey. -Hello.
-What do you think, Patti? -Excited.
-You're excited? -I am.
It was a tough week for the three of you, wasn't it?
A brutal week.
What do you think of Travis this week, Patti?
-I'm very proud of him. -Yeah.
-He really stepped up too. -He stepped up. Yup.
Did you learn a lot this week, Travis?
I did learn a good bit.
Yeah. It was tough
but you came out the other side, buddy.
So are you guys ready to see it?
-Yeah. -All right. Here we go.
One, two, three!
-Oh, my God! -Yay!
[cheers and applause]
One, two, three!
[cheers and applause]
Oh, my God!
Oh, my gosh.
Look at the sign.
Yes.
Look at the windows.
Oh, my gosh.
I didn't wanna change your vision, Patti.
I mean, you and your husband traveled.
This meant something to you.
I wanted to take it to the next level.
An island bar and grill.
-Great. That's good. -Nice call to actions in front.
Nice seating, plants.
It looks very inviting.
So this sign was designed by Signs Design,
the local company.
Has a clean, finished,
detailed kind of look, doesn't it?
-Classy. -Yes.
-You like it? -Yes.
-Very good. -Everybody ready to see it?
-Yes. -I know you are.
-Go ahead. -Oh, Lord.
-Shut up. -Oh, my.
Oh! No...
[laughs] No way!
Oh, it's beautiful.
Oh, my God. Look at...
-Oh, my God! -Look at everything.
It's very--it's very beautiful.
-Look at that. -Oh, my.
Look at the TV. It works.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm impressed. I'm impressed.
It's clean. It's neat, classy.
This is a bar now.
There's a service bowl. We got a menu.
There's a service bowl.
So?
-Are you happy? -Yes, I am.
You hit it out of the park.
It's got personality, doesn't it?
Yes.
So why don't you guys come around?
Grab a seat at the bar. Meet me back there.
-I'll show you everything. -Okay. Okay.
So you got two work stations back here now.
Nicely separated.
Each with its own POS system.
-And I got you SkyTabs. -[gasps]
Any order goes right in here,
comes up in the kitchen, comes up behind the bard.
This will save you a lot of steps.
Remember that Partender?
-Remember those number... -Oh, yeah.
...I showed you that really bummed you guys out?
-Yeah. Yeah. -Well, I got you
a lifetime subscription of Partender.
And then I got BarProducts.com
to give you guys all the supplies
that you could possibly need.
-Remember that ice machine? -Yeah.
Sort of beat you up on the ice machine.
I got a brand-new Manitowoc ice machine.
Next, I got you PathSpot.
And it scans your hands.
If there's zero bacterial or viral matter on your hands,
you got a green light. You go to work.
-Real nice. -Same with air.
So in the back corner there, you'll see that white box
is a Bluezone air purifier from Middleby.
That scrubs 99.7%
of all viral and bacterial matter from the air.
Okay. Next, if you go back in the kitchen,
I solved that problem.
Middleby's Perfect Fry
is a hoodless frying system
that has its own built-in fire control system
all contained within it.
The kitchen won't get greasy,
it's safe, and it's not a fire hazard anymore.
And it works really good. And then...
[gasps]
-Angie. -No.
Angie.
You get a shirt coat!
-Don't make me cry now. -[chuckles]
When he gave me the coat, I start crying, you know,
because for me, it's so important to be here.
It's like my family.
I believe in all of you. I know you're gonna do great.
-Thank you. -I know you're gonna do great.
-So thank you. -Thank you.
Thank you.
Hello. Welcome.
Welcome to Latitudes.
Come on in.
All right. We're up and running.
-We're up and running. -All right, ladies,
take a look at the menu.
Tell me what you think looks good.
Did you order a drink yet?
Cherry Bomb and Shells?
Got it. Okay. Perfect.
Are you ready for some good drinks?
Okay.
Nice.
Let's get these food orders in.
[indistinct]
Okay. I have a Rasta pasta,
Caribbean sea food puree, and a homemade chicken pot pie.
A Jamaican jerk pot pie.
Thank you.
Here we go. I can't believe this, Mia.
She's doing great, Jon.
And look at this. The whole bar is served.
And-and we have drinks at tables over there.
The bar business is so much about attitude.
Shonnel had an amazing attitude
from the moment I got here and look at her.
She's learned everything there is to learn.
She's better mechanically.
She knows what she's doing.
And even under pressure, she still smiles
because that attitude is what makes her successful.
-[laughs] -Yay, Shonnel!
They're doing an amazing job, communicating with one another.
We have systems in place. We're putting plates
so that we know what we're working on.
-It's going great. -Excellent.
-Really proud of this team. -Excellent.
Two nights ago when I went in this kitchen,
it felt chaotic.
Now it feels incredibly calm in here,
I gotta tell you guys.
And now thanks to ZipRecruiter,
they can get the staff that they need.
Ticket times are running about nine minutes.
They love the food.
The plates are looking great.
We're nailing it.
We accomplished a lot in just a few days, didn't we?
-We did. -Yeah.
-We did. -Now this is yours, baby.
Take this and run with it, okay?
-I'm trying to. I'm trying to. -Okay, man.
Great job, guys.
I hope I opened up a door to help Travis grow too.
Yes. Yes.
And a new level of communication for you and him...
-Uh-hmm. -...to help him find
the success that you want him to find.
-You did. -That was important to me.
That was the most important thing.
That was--for us to get to where we need to go,
-that needed to happen. -Of course.
You did that. You did that.
And we-- I can't thank you enough.
-I can't thank you enough. -Oh.
Boy, this feels really good.
Not only did I rescue a bar, I helped a family.
And those rescues are always the best.
Sweet potato juice? Absolutely.
The difference between stress test
and tonight is remarkable.
Patti is remarkable.
Steve is a great guy.
They got a great bar and it's working.
I'm proud of the whole team.
[upbeat music]
Narrator: Promotional consideration provided by
Partender, PathSpot, SkyTab POS,
Lowery Brothers Plumbing, Bar Products,
Manitowoc, The Ice Trade, Mr. Appliance,
Middleby, Bluezone, Chillfire Bar & Grill,
One Stone, ZipRecruiter, and ESRI.