PRODUCER: Kaycie, what is it like working with your mom?
- Working with my mom is a pain in the ass.
- [laughs]
NARRATOR: For over 30 years,
Jon Taffer has traveled the country saving hundreds of bars
from failure and ruin.
- I started rescuing
bars decades ago because they're part
of the backbone of America.
Let's go.
We're doing it.
But as the industry continues to explode,
the amount of failing bars is increasing at an alarming rate.
When do I have you say, that's not going to work?
So I'm on a mission to save as many bars as possible
and give worthy owners a second chance at success.
I'm gaining more respect for you by the minute.
NARRATOR: Now, Jon's heading to Gilbert, Arizona
to rescue Skip and Jan's Sports Bar.
- We are determined to raise the bar
and rise to the occasion.
NARRATOR: In 2007, Natalie Phyllis received the news
that Skip and Jan's, the bar she had
been working at for the previous 12 years, was about to close.
- The owners told me that they did not want
to own Skip and Jan's anymore.
So my husband at the time thought
it would be a great idea if we bought it, so we did it.
NARRATOR: With the support of her husband,
Natalie was all in, and things started
off smooth and successful.
- Seltzer for the birthday girl.
[cheers] Everybody's friends here.
Everybody's like family.
NARRATOR: However, the unexpected challenges
and stress of running a bar took their toll
on Natalie and her marriage.
I was constantly at the bar.
We had just recently bought it.
I was trying to make things work,
and I had four babies all under the age of 6.
NARRATOR: And as a result, Natalie
found herself divorced and forced
to step away from the bar.
- I had to take a personal loan
and a lot of my savings just to keep Skip and Jan's afloat.
It was just too much.
NARRATOR: With Natalie's focus away from the bar,
her lack of ability to manage her staff and hold
them accountable has meant mounting
problems for Skip and Jan's.
- I should probably measure.
I was just using the rest of this.
- You're good.
- It's very incohesive.
Everyone makes everything different.
There's no training.
Girls could be overpowering for certain customers.
It's a [bleep] free-for-all.
- And then, the kitchen is disgusting.
- It's just--
it looks kind of caca nasty.
NARRATOR: To help get her Skip and Jan's
back under control, Natalie enlisted
the help of her son, Kaycie.
- My mom's owned it since I was four years old.
I used to always come in whenever
she would work her shifts.
I grew up watching football here, eating wings here.
- Aw.
I love you, too.
- You know, as a kid, I
would hear my mom on the phone crying because she wouldn't
be able to pay the electricity bill, or the water,
or do payroll.
We need to raise the prices of both alcohol and food.
People just aren't paying enough for it, and--
- If I do that, and I make a big mistake
and I lose all these customers, I don't know how
I could possibly keep going.
- The employees take advantage of her.
She doesn't really track how much people are pouring.
The materials that we utilize have not been taken care of,
and there's no organization at all.
- That really is a terrible system,
but it's a filing system that I understand.
NARRATOR: Despite Natalie and her son's best efforts,
Skip and Jan's is still on the verge of closing.
- I've given Skip and Jan's
my whole heart and soul, and I don't know
what I would do without it.
I've worked here for 28 years.
I've had it more than half my life.
And I just want this place to work more than anything.
NARRATOR: With everything on the line for her family,
Natalie has agreed to pull back the doors, bust open the books,
and make a call for help to Bar Rescue.
This, I think, is gonna be a tough one.
NARRATOR: For the kitchen, Jon
brings in Jason Santos, one of Boston's most
creative and charismatic chefs.
Chef Santos is a published cookbook author, as well as
owner and operator of five successful restaurants in
the greater New England area.
- This bar was opened by Natalie.
That's Natalie right there.
- Hi.
- She's been working
in this bar half of her life.
- Wow.
- She and her first husband bought this bar.
- OK.
- They worked in it together.
They got in debt about $450,000.
Between raising her kids and running the bar,
they got divorced.
She got the bar in the divorce decree and the debt.
- With the debt.
Right.
Of course.
- She's losing $18,000 a month,
and she has enough money to make it a few months.
She's sinking and sinking fast.
- Hey, can you go see if there's
any food up in the back?
- Yeah.
- There's Kaycie.
That's Natalie's son.
He helps in the kitchen.
- How are we doing, boss?
- Good.
You need anything?
- And there's Julio,
main cook in the kitchen. (ON) JASON SANTOS: Got it.
- Julio's been here about seven years.
- OK, so, I'm out of pint glasses.
You guys want to do the plastic ones, or you want to do short?
- There's Kyerstin.
She's a bartender.
- Are we ready?
Hurry up.
I got shit to do.
JON TAFFER: There's Melissa.
She's a bartender.
- Does anybody else want food over here?
- And there's Kenzie.
She's a bartender.
So for recon, I got two friends, Matt McConnell and Tyson Nash.
Both are announcers for the Arizona Coyotes.
They're hockey guys.
As a matter of fact, Tyson used to play.
So they go to sports bars all the time, so they'll give
us a good scope on this bar.
- What can I get you guys?
- How are ya?
- Good.
- I'll have a lemon drop, please.
- I will do a Long Island, if you don't mind.
- A lemon drop.
Will you make a Long Island in that one?
JON TAFFER: So they're all working out of one well?
Look at those pours.
She has absolutely no control.
And she's still pouring.
That's way too much alcohol.
That is a completely unbalanced cocktail.
- Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
- Let's see how he reacts to this.
- You got a shot, not a drink.
- I don't know.
Oh, god.
- Look at the look on their faces.
- Yeah. (ON) TYLER: [coughs]
[chatter]
Paint thinner.
- Oh, God.
- This is painful.
- They're not drinking those drinks.
- No. I mean, it's horrible.
You can see it from here how bad they are.
- Could we order some food too, please.
MELISSA: You guys ready?
- I'm going to get maybe the Philly cheese steak.
- And I will do the chili cheeseburger.
MELISSA: You got it.
- See how the food's doing, chef.
What do you see?
JASON SANTOS: I mean, I see just a general fill.
That fryer's smoking.
- So whenever there's
smoke coming up out of the fryer like that,
it's always dirt in the oil. (OFF) JASON SANTOS: Always.
JON TAFFER: Because oil doesn't smoke.
JASON SANTOS: Right.
- The debris in the oil is--
- It's burning at the bottom.
- That's right.
NARRATOR: If food particles are left in the fryer
after cooking, those particles will
continue to cook with each subsequent basket of food.
As those particles continue to cook,
they will eventually burn, causing black smoke to rise.
A clean fryer with clean oil heated
to the proper temperature should create no smoke at all.
- Disgusting.
And this carbon build up on this grill, that's
a fire hazard right there.
Oh, my God.
JON TAFFER: Look at the disgusting grill.
JASON SANTOS: It's just jet black.
JON TAFFER: I've never seen it so dirty, actually.
JASON SANTOS: I mean, that's crazy.
JON TAFFER: Look at that salamander.
- How do you come here day after day
and do nothing about it?
JON TAFFER: That sauce jar.
Look at that jar.
Oh, God.
Unbelievable.
This might be one of the worst kitchens we've seen together.
JASON SANTOS: This can't be real.
JON TAFFER: I'm in shock.
- I mean, I've just never seen
anybody cook in such filth.
- And you wonder how many people walk by that
and don't do anything about it, particularly Natalie.
NATALIE: Julio, how's it going?
- That's the worst I have ever seen.
Look at the cutting board.
- Gnarly.
JON TAFFER: So that's Kaycie.
He's actually trying to clean a little bit.
JASON SANTOS: He is.
JON TAFFER: Look at the dirty rag.
He's obviously never been trained.
- No, it's clear.
JON TAFFER: He doesn't seem lazy, though.
The kid seems to be working.
JASON SANTOS: He's doing his best.
He just doesn't know any better.
The kitchen manager should be training him
or keeping the standards up.
But look at that.
JON TAFFER: But this isn't all on them.
Natalie is responsible for this failure, too.
A freaking cockroach walking across the kitchen.
OK, we've seen it all, food mishandling, filth, now,
we've seen cockroaches.
They can't eat this food.
JASON SANTOS: No way.
JON TAFFER: So we have to get in there.
- Yeah. Absolutely not.
- I think you should go ahead in.
- OK. (ON) JON TAFFER: Stop them.
- All right.
- Nobody should eat this damn food.
And I'll come in a few minutes after you.
I want to see how they react.
[music playing]
- Hey.
I'm Jon's expert.
Stop.
You cannot cook in this kitchen, dude.
How dirty is this kitchen?
You got to be kidding me.
The fryers-- look at this place.
You don't care?
You just don't care, right?
[bleep] it.
We'll just cook in filth, and that's it?
Yeah?
Dude, you guys are cooking in this kitchen
in this [bleep] level of filth.
Look at this, man.
Look at that.
- I see it. (ON) JASON SANTOS: So, what?
Just [bleep] it?
- It's up to him.
- They're not even taking this seriously.
I'm going to get Natalie.
Now, we're going to take this seriously!
- Look how dirty this is, man.
Look at that.
You have nothing to say?
You just don't care?
You either don't care you don't know any better,
and both of them are absolutely ridiculous.
NATALIE: Oh, there's Jon Taffer.
Jon Taffer's here.
- Look at that!
You're proud of it?
- Natalie. (ON) NATALIE: Jon.
- How are you? (ON) NATALIE: I'm good.
- Nice to meet you.
- Take me to your kitchen for a minute.
- OK.
JASON SANTOS: Give me something.
This is absolutely ridiculous.
- I was outside watching
this place with Jason Santos.
Jason is one of the finest chefs in America.
We're looking at the filth in this kitchen.
Come with me, Natalie.
I want you to learn.
First of all, look at this.
Nothing is ever cleaned here.
Look at this grill.
It's supposed to be silver, not black.
Does that look clean to you, Kaycie?
KAYCIE: No.
- It's disgusting, correct?
KAYCIE: Correct.
- Let's keep going.
Let's move down the line.
How about the grease over here?
You got black smoke coming out of the oil.
Do you know what that smoke comes from?
NATALIE: I don't.
- Not the oil.
It comes from the filth within the oil.
Then, look at this.
Look at the fat dripping from up here.
Look at this.
This is your kitchen, Julio.
This is your life.
Look at this.
How about this?
You're giving this to your customers.
Would you give this to your children?
- No.
- How dare you give it to your customers.
This is you?
Are you [bleep] crazy?
Julio, say something.
Do you care?
You don't care?
- He does care.
- Is this caring?
- I don't think he cares.
NATALIE: I think he can be turned around.
- He leaves the bacon sitting
out every shift, all night, not at the right temperature.
It's been like this the whole time.
Since I've worked here, this kitchen's never been cleaned.
- Julio, you have the most disgusting
kitchen I've ever seen.
Everything in this place is fricking disgusting!
I even saw cockroaches in here.
You're gonna kill someone.
kitchen I've ever seen.
Everything in this place is fricking disgusting!
You're gonna kill someone.
So your mom has how much money invested in here?
- A lot.
JON TAFFER: Almost $200,000, correct?
- Yeah.
- How much more money do
you have before we have to end? (ON) NATALIE: None, really.
- You're losing everything, correct?
- Yeah.
- That's why I'm here, because she's
losing everything.
And this guy doesn't even clean up!
She's sinking, and you don't give a shit!
We can't serve people out of this kitchen, can we?
- No.
- And you don't want to serve people
out of this kitchen, correct? (ON) NATALIE: I don't.
Correct.
- So what are we going to do?
Can he be turned around, or does he
have to get the hell out of this building and not come back?
Which is it?
Because I got a great chef here.
We can train him, but he's got to care.
- Julio, do you care?
We have Jon Taffer here to help us fix it.
Can we fix it?
Because if not, I'm going to lose everything.
- Yes.
- Can we [bleep] fix it for real?
- Yes.
- So I'm going to ask you again, do you care?
- I care.
- Do you want to come through for her?
- Yeah.
- Because she's counting on you now.
You can't let her down.
- Sure.
- Look her in the eyes and promise her.
- I promise, Natalie, yeah.
- You promise?
- Yeah.
- Do you believe him?
- I do.
- Kaycie, you don't, do you?
- No.
- Well, I hope she's right and you're wrong,
but we won't know until it happens, will we?
Well, we got to shut everything down.
You guys got to clean this kitchen.
So, Julio, you're going to be here for a while.
Show her that you care.
- OK.
Let's go out to the bar.
You have one workstation behind this bar.
- Yes.
- What is that?
- Well, the actual drain broke off,
so now we have to have it drip in something.
So that's what we have there for the water that drips.
- So this is the drain from the ice bin.
It's supposed to be a sealed pipe that goes up to the floor
drain there, and then it's supposed
to dump in the floor drain. (OFF) NATALIE: Correct.
JON TAFFER: It's not supposed to be exposed.
You know that? (ON) NATALIE: Yes.
- So this is incredibly illegal.
And look at this.
[dramatic music]
PATRON: Ewe!
- You know what this is?
This is a bacteria colony right here.
And this would probably kill us if you consumed it.
I'm going to close this bar now, because I'm worried
somebody's going to get sick.
Is that reasonable?
Don't drink any more.
Let's call it a night.
I got to go to work.
- I am pissed.
I'm very pissed.
I'm pissed.
I'm disappointed because my kitchen is disgusting.
Oh, my God!
Oh!
I can't.
And it was so [bleep] embarrassing.
- Jesus Christ.
It's terrible.
- He's my kitchen manager,
and I pay him a lot of money to do apparently [bleep] nothing.
What can I do to help?
Obviously, this is disgusting, and he's
not going to help us unless we get this part [bleep] cleaned.
I do want to believe in Julio, but if he doesn't do a 360
in about five seconds, then I'm done with Julio completely.
[music playing]
- Last night was very upsetting.
And that kitchen was disgusting, and Julio didn't give a damn.
Well, the good news is the kitchen is clean.
Come on over, everybody.
The bad news, Natalie is in debt $130,000.
She's losing $15,000 a month.
She needs to stop being a dummy and start
being a smart businesswoman.
I started a little loud last night.
Come here, Natalie.
I want you to understand how severe this situation is
for her.
How much money are you losing a month?
- Between $15,000 and $18,000.
JON TAFFER: Between $15,000 and $18,000.
And how far in debt are you?
- About $150,000.
- If you close this bar tomorrow,
you take that debt with you, don't you?
- 100%.
- Imagine the pressure.
How many years have you been here?
NATALIE: Total Skip and Jan's, 28.
- This is your life.
- I know.
- Think of the situation that she is in.
She's losing $15,000 to $18,000 a month.
She can't pay her bills.
She's struggling to survive.
She's losing more and more every month.
The business is turning into a shithole.
And there's only one way I can dig her out.
That's with you.
I'm looking at your face, Kaycie.
Can you imagine what your mom's going through every day?
- I've lived it with her.
- And then, Julio, I walk into a kitchen
last night, knowing her situation,
and I see a cook who doesn't care, in a filthy place,
and she's losing more and more every day.
Can you understand why I got angry?
- I understand, sir.
- I'm fighting for her life for her.
And, Natalie, come on, the blame is on you too.
You didn't set him up for success either.
Thank you.
How did those numbers make you feel, Kaycie?
- Like shit.
It hurts to see.
My mom struggled with this business my entire life.
Whether it's finances, or hearing her cry on the phone
in the middle of the night trying to keep
the electricity on, it's hard.
- How do you feel when I say this?
- It's sad.
JON TAFFER: You feel you want to fix it, don't you?
- Yeah. I feel guilty.
JON TAFFER: She doesn't deserve this, does she?
- No.
- How do you feel, Melissa?
- I feel awful.
Like, I'm sorry, Natalie.
She knows that I love her, and that, of course, I would--
- If you love her, fight for her.
Don't bankrupt her.
Because if we don't respect the business
and respect her wallet and her standards,
then you can't be here, right?
There's a couple of things that I
want to show you guys that is very, very
important that we talk about.
OK, let me get my experts in here.
Let's do this.
NARRATOR: For the bar, Jon brings in Tassia Lacerda.
With 20 years experience in the food and beverage industry
and owner of Creme De La Creme Mobile Bartenders,
Tassia specializes in high-profit social media
buzzworthy cocktail programs and training.
- These are two great experts.
Tassia is a great mixologist.
Jason owns five restaurants in Boston.
But we looked at the prices of all the competitive bars
and restaurants, and we found that your prices are
40% below all the competition.
Did you know that? (ON) NATALIE: No.
We actually just raised our menu prices,
so that's pretty embarrassing.
- Do you know what your food cost is?
- It's about 30%, last time I talked to Zadoc.
- No.
I asked Jason, who's one of the best chefs in the country,
to run the numbers for me.
So tell her what you did.
- So every time you sell a burger,
you lose $2.50.
Every single time you sell wings, you lose $1.50.
So I pulled the numbers from January 1 till now.
You've lost over $10,000 just in burgers and wings.
Didn't even get to the rest of the menu.
- Can I see Partender?
You might want to put your seat belt on.
This is Partender, a program and a system that we use.
We come in here and we weigh every liquor
bottle in the building, then we let you operate for a few days.
Then we come back and we weigh everything in the building
and then look at the cash register,
see how many ounces you should have sold,
how many ounces you did sell.
Over the past several days, you guys poured
$15,800 worth of alcohol.
You took in only $12,300.
Over those three to four days, you lost $3,500.
OK, now, put your seat belt on.
Kaycie, how much was it in a month?
- $26,000.
- How much is it in a year, Natalie?
- $312,000.
- That's just alcohol.
- Wow.
- You guys poured her life down the drain.
So you're making your tip because you
over pour, and she pays the $15,000
at the end of the month.
You [bleep] her.
That's just alcohol.
So you're making your tip because you
over pour, and she pays the $15,000
at the end of the month.
You [bleep] her.
- When I saw the numbers showing that I was
losing $312,000 a year, it literally
felt like my heart stopped.
(EMOTIONALLY) Sorry.
- There's nothing that you're
doing that makes money.
- I need you to help me, Jon.
Can you fix it?
Because I feel like I kind of screwed
myself and I need to unscrew myself real quick.
- I can fix the bar.
The question is, can I fix you?
- 100%. I'm ready.
- Guys, are you ready?
All right, let's go to work.
[music playing]
- As we all know,
overpouring has been a really big issue for the bar.
So we're going to work on that.
And for me to be able to help, I need to see where
your bartending skills stand.
So, Kenzie, make me an old fashioned, please.
Do what you can do.
Let's see.
- Um.
- Set?
Taste it.
- What the--
that's straight bourbon. (ON) TASSIA LACERDA: Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah.
All right.
Take a taste.
- No-- oh, no.
NATALIE: Grow some hair on her chest right now.
- I'm so embarrassed.
- Oh, god.
Help.
- It's OK. [sobbing]
- You did really good for not knowing it.
- I'm past the point of overwhelmed,
just seeing how naive I am to all this bartending.
- It's actually a really good
sign that you care this much.
So don't be so hard on yourself.
- There's a lot more for me to learn,
so it's only up from here.
- All right, ladies,
we'll work on your guys's count for a Long Island,
making sure we don't over pour.
It's a high-ticket item.
It's got a lot of liquor in it, so we can have a high price
point on it, and it's super easy to bang it out really quickly
and get it to your guest.
1 ounce of sweet sour mix, do an ounce of triple sec.
Equal pours of all the other spirits--
tequila and gin, rum and vodka.
We're going to add ice after everything is in the cup.
Top it with cola.
Carbonated things always go in last.
Garnish.
There you have it, your Long Island iced tea.
I'm sure everyone's had a Long Island before.
- That is probably one of the best
Long Island's I've ever had. (ON) TASSIA LACERDA: Awesome.
All right, stress test tonight.
Let's kill it.
JASON SANTOS: I got to be honest,
I saw a kitchen last night, top three gnarliest kitchens I've
ever been in my 30-year career.
Julio, you can't be OK with that.
Guys, like, I mean, it's crazy.
So this is the beginning of a new start, OK?
Right now.
We are going to make money once and [bleep] for all.
So the first dish I'm going to show you
is a spicy Sonoran burger, OK?
Salt and pepper on the griddle.
A little bit of lime mayo there, caramelized onions.
Top it with a bacon jam.
And then I have, basically, a pineapple salsa.
Very spicy, so we're just going to use a little bit on top.
We're going to garnish it with a little fresh cilantro,
some French fries.
Take a bite.
Tell me what you think.
- So good. (ON) KAYCIE: Really good.
- And not only do
we have delicious, fresh, beautiful burger,
we're making our cost because we made things.
When you buy this jarred crap, it costs
double the price to make it.
So, Julio, what do you think?
- It's very good.
- Are you a little bit
more excited than yesterday?
- Yes.
- Yeah.
- All right, guys,
so stress test is tonight.
Let's get set up, game face on, and let's get going, OK?
- Thank you, Jason.
- Thank you.
- So we saw in the Partender report
that Natalie lost $300,000 because of pouring.
So every time we dump stuff down the drain,
throw out food, make a mistake, I'm
dropping one of these bills.
So this is how we'll measure our success tonight.
All right, you guys, let's go to it.
- All right, that's good.
- All right, guys.
Welcome in.
Hello, hello.
- All right, here we go.
- Hi, guys.
- This is our menu for the evening.
Three Long Islands.
Four Long Islands.
How about you guys?
CUSTOMER: I want a Long Island.
- You want to do our Long Island?
- You're going to get a lot of tickets.
Just keep your composure.
- Do you have provolone for the Philly?
- Frozen
- You freeze the cheese, dude?
- Do you have a cell phone with you?
- I do.
- Can you put your stopwatch on for me?
I want to see how long it takes you guys to get a drink.
- Yes, sir.
- Oh, biscuits.
- Have you guys gotten any orders yet?
- Nope. (ON) NATALIE: Oh, my God.
- All right, ladies, 80%
of the bar still has no drinks.
- Well, 100% of this well is filled up.
- Whatever drink this
is for, it's not going to work.
It's full of water now. (ON) KENZIE: No.
I literally don't know how to make anything.
I'm freaking out.
- The waitresses
are going around taking orders and then coming behind the bar,
having to make their own drinks.
- Natalie, we have four bartenders back here.
It's a complete mess.
And we don't have any food orders
coming in from the tables.
Does that make sense? (ON) NATALIE: Melissa.
- Yes?
- You're going to be the bartender.
Kyerstin, you're in the well. Period.
End of conversation.
- This represents all
the money Natalie has lost in this bar this year. $300,000.
So every time these bartenders in the kitchen makes a mistake,
I'm going to throw some of this money down on this table,
and I'm going to keep throwing the dollars
until we get this right, OK?
Thank you.
Let's do this. (ON) TASSIA LACERDA: Triple sec.
Stop. (ON) KYERSTIN: Oh.
Shit.
[bleep].
- You have to start over now.
- Hey, girls, I mean,
we're going to have to make them good versus too many, OK?
So I'm just going to make them right,
and you guys are going to get them when you get them.
- Order of wings.
- Guys, if I were you,
I would just try to do ticket by ticket.
It's already like, a mess out here,
and we haven't even done anything.
[glass shattering]
- Oh, shit. (ON) KYERSTIN: It's OK.
- Sorry.
Sorry. [bleep]
- Tastes like shit.
- Does it?
- Yeah, do it again.
Too heavy on the vermouth.
- OK, who's gotten drinks?
You guys have.
I should ask, who hasn't gotten drinks?
Look at this, guys.
Come on, we got to move faster.
We got to get some organization here.
- There's food up and no tickets.
- Julio, where are the tickets for this?
OK, I'm going to take this one.
- One plate at a time?
- When they sit like this,
I have to dump it.
Too long.
JON TAFFER: So you got none of your drinks?
So you didn't order a drink?
- I didn't even order a drink and I got one.
- You see, you made a mistake.
You shouldn't have ordered a drink.
You'd have one right now.
How do we run a business like this that not one
table got everything they need?
Make sure that the tickets come out whole.
Fix this.
There's not one system, one procedure, one recipe.
There is nothing that anybody can rely
on to get anything done at all.
22 minutes you've been sitting here,
and that's when you ordered.
So we're losing money by the minute
because they're not thinking.
They're not planning.
And Natalie's not being a leader.
- I've never heard such
a quiet kitchen in my life.
- What's going on?
- Nothing.
They're just-- they're working over each other.
There's nobody talking.
We got sandwiches up, no French fries.
It's silent in this kitchen, and there should
be so much more communication.
- So he's working and Julio stands and watches?
- Stands there. Yeah.
It's like, just useless.
- So you guys having a problem communicating?
- Yeah.
He doesn't talk.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to talk to him.
He's not going to respond to me ever.
- This is instrumental to the problem.
- Yeah, I mean, it just doesn't make sense.
- He has to go.
- 100%.
- I'm waiting on all my drinks.
There's nothing I can do.
- Nobody knows how to make the flower drinks?
Like, this isn't coming out right.
- I've literally been
asking for the last 10 minutes.
- I'm making them right this minute.
Like, I'm trying.
- What is the holdup?
What is going on?
- Because they're dumping our drinks
out if our pours aren't right.
- Well, then, why aren't you pouring them right?
- Table 5, four people.
- Because we're trying
to make 10 drinks at once.
- Table 3, four people.
- Slow down and do it one at a time.
- That's what I'm saying,
but then you come up rushing us.
- That table, five people.
- If I need another bartender, I'll get one
and you don't have to do it anymore.
- Then slow down and do it one at a time.
- That's what I'm saying,
but then you come up rushing us.
- If I need another bartender, I'll get one
and you don't have to do it anymore.
- Excuse me. (ON) NATALIE: Excuse you.
You have something to say and you can't
do it, Kyerstin, I'll do it.
- I just said, let us get it done
and we'll get it done.
- You need to calm down.
- We will get it done.
- If you can't figure it out,
you're not going to disrespect me.
- OK, that's it.
Frickin' give up, guys.
They can't do this.
Not everybody is going to get their food.
If you do, I'm not sure it's going to be cooked properly.
I don't think you guys are ever going to get all your drinks.
We can't make this work.
So rather than make you sit here for two hours,
I need to go to work.
So I'm going to ask you to finish up what you've got,
and then I'm going to ask everybody
to come back in two nights and we'll
show you how to do it right.
Natalie, apologize.
- I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Give us a chance.
We'll be back and we'll be better.
JON TAFFER: Stress test was a failure.
But Natalie showed me that she does have the goods
to run this place effectively.
She held her bartenders accountable.
- This is such a failure.
JON TAFFER: But now, I need her to take the next steps
and get rid of the people here who are holding her back.
- I need to talk to you.
Kaycie, come with me, please.
- Tonight was a complete, total shit show.
- Can Julio be saved?
- No. It's useless.
The guy doesn't talk.
He doesn't work.
He looks the other way.
He's absolutely useless, and he's
a detriment to your kitchen.
- I don't want Jason
spending his time on Julio.
I want Jason spending his time on him.
That's where the payoff is.
You with me?
I want him working with you to get the kitchen set up
and the system set up.
That's how I can make you successful.
You leave that cancer in the kitchen,
it'll destroy his opportunity to be successful.
NATALIE: OK. (ON) JON TAFFER: OK?
I'm not doing it for you.
He's not doing it for you.
You're doing it. (ON) NATALIE: OK.
- You're the leader.
- All right.
Julio, do you have anything to say?
- He won't [bleep] talk.
He didn't talk to me that whole time.
- I don't know what happened tonight.
You've been with me a long time, and tonight was a big letdown.
You know that, right?
- No problem.
- OK.
Goodbye.
Do you have anything to say?
I was excited about tonight, and I thought Julio was too.
And then he just absolutely left me hanging.
He didn't say a word for the last couple of days.
Tonight, he couldn't produce.
He just stood there like he's never cooked
before, totally unorganized.
And so I had to let him go.
I didn't have a choice.
And he didn't give two [bleep] shits.
So now I got to figure out how Kaycie
and I are going to make that kitchen do what it needs to do.
- Adios.
[music playing]
- How are we feeling about the way
things went for stress tests?
- The fact that we only had three drinks
and we didn't do better than we did is shocking to me,
because I know that we're better than that.
- Agreed. Agreed.
I noticed last night during the stress test
that servers were actually having
to go to all their tables in a huge establishment,
take orders, then get behind a bar
and fight for space behind one well
with two bartenders that are attending to a humongous bar.
Obviously, having one well for four bartenders to work out of
is not cohesive.
It's not effective.
So today, we have a few more drinks.
And we're going to start with one that's a tequila base.
It's called the Rosado.
In a mixing glass, add an ounce of Twisted Alchemy
grapefruit juice, 3/4 of an ounce of rosemary simple syrup,
half an ounce of Twisted Alchemy lime juice,
and 1.5 ounces of Silver Tequila.
Add our ice.
Shake and strain over fresh ice in a Collins glass.
Garnish with a sugar-coated grapefruit slice
and a fresh rosemary sprig.
This is a Rosado.
Let me know what you think.
- I got a big one.
- It's nice.
- Little twist on a margarita.
Something a little different. (ON) KYERSTIN: Yeah, for sure.
- Fresh ingredients.
- I like the rosemary, little kick to it.
It kind of balanced it out and it was super refreshing.
- All right, team, so now,
it's time to get to work.
I want to have some of you come back here
and make some of these cocktails so we can be ready.
For this menu, Jon and I want to create
something that's going to be appealing to men and women.
We want to keep the sports bar theme and vibe,
but we still want to give women a reason to come into the bar.
We still have a lot of work to do for tomorrow's relaunch,
but I'm feeling really good about it.
How are you feeling? (ON) NATALIE: Great.
- Good stuff. Good work.
- All right, guys,
last night was one of the most stressful stress tests
I've ever had, but you did the right thing.
And I think you're only going to go up from here.
Now, we believe that your menu is far
too big for a place like this.
Like, who's going to come into a billiards hall, have a beer,
and have a BLT?
Nobody.
So what we decided is you sell wings, you sell burgers.
Cost is a big issue in this kitchen,
so we took that all into consideration.
Smaller menu means more volume.
So you're buying at a higher stake
so you can get it for a better price,
and you're going through your inventory quicker.
- OK.
- So with that said,
we're going to go into our first dish, a delicious ranch burger.
Salt and pepper right on the griddle, garlic butter
on the bun.
Freshly fried potato chips.
We'll put them on the bottom bun.
We'll take our burger right here on top.
Cabbage mix.
Homemade buttermilk ranch.
And then, we have this beautiful pepper relish.
Take our pickle, take our French fries,
and that is your brand new delicious ranch burger.
NATALIE: So good. (OFF) KAYCIE: It's really good.
- And it's special.
You can't get it anyplace else.
It's something proprietary to here, something
to be proud of, something that you guys can build on.
- I think this will bring customers in.
They'll like it a lot. (ON) JASON SANTOS: Awesome.
All right, guys, so relaunch is tomorrow night.
I know you can do it, man, I know you can.
But you obviously can't do it alone.
So you guys need to find some kitchen crew.
So make some phone calls, get them in here,
let's get up to speed, OK?
- Thank you, chef.
KAYCIE: Thank you, chef.
[music playing]
[cheers, applause]
- Hello.
What was the name of this bar before?
- Skip and Jan's.
- Where's Skip?
- I have no idea. (ON) JON TAFFER: Where's Jan?
- I have no idea.
- Exactly.
So this bar isn't about them anymore.
NATALIE: Right.
- It's about you guys.
Picking the name of this bar was a very careful thing for me.
I had to pick a name that represented
its future, not its past.
You guys ready to see it? (ON) GROUP: Yes.
- OK, here we go.
1, 2, 3.
[cheers, applause]
[music playing]
- Thank you.
(SOBBING) I don't even know what to say.
- That's your future.
So the perfect name for this bar.
Do you guys agree?
[cheers, applause]
So everybody who drives by, who knows you from 28 years,
they're going to connect Natalie, aren't they?
And they're going to come back here because of you.
This is just tip of the iceberg.
Wait till you see the inside of your bar.
You ready?
Are we ready? (ON) NATALIE: I can't wait!
- All right, go ahead.
[chatter]
- Oh, my God.
Holy shit.
- Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
- Holy shit.
- This is beautiful.
- Oh, my God!
All the names I can think of that it would be,
I never dreamed that.
To walk into this place, and to see Natalie's back there.
Look at the lights.
Look at that.
KYERSTIN: Is this even Skip's?
- I know. (ON) KYERSTIN: It's not Skip's.
- Oh, my God. (ON) KYERSTIN: It's Natalie's.
- I'm proud of this place right now.
Jon gave me the fire back that I was missing.
- Well, what do you think?
NATALIE: Jon.
- It's beautiful.
- Jon, I can't even.
- So there's a lot to show you.
Go, grab a seat, guys.
Let's go through this.
- Oh, my God.
- We got to have a great bar
for this all to work, so it starts
with a whole other workstation.
Two solid workstations now.
So we've doubled your production ability.
Next, I wanted our transactions to be
better and faster, so I got you the best
POS system in the world.
Brand new SkyTab.
So SkyTab makes your transactions faster.
You can take orders anywhere with this.
Next, remember this?
Remember those terrible numbers we looked at?
So I got you a subscription to Partender.
If the costs are high, talk to them.
They'll fix it.
Next, I got barproducts.com to give you guys
all new caddies, glassware, mixing cups, strainers, all the
tools we need to be successful.
NATALIE: So awesome.
JON TAFFER: Anything you want to say to your team?
- I'm so proud of all you guys.
And, Jon, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
JON TAFFER: You're welcome.
- I really think you've
changed all of our lives.
I appreciate it.
JON TAFFER: You deserve this.
- Thank you.
- Make this bar the joy
that you wanted it to be, OK? (OFF) NATALIE: I will.
- All right, guys.
We got about 60 people out there, all right?
We got a kitchen to set up.
We got a bar to set up, some uniforms to put on.
Let's go to work. (ON) NATALIE: All right.
Thank you.
All right, everybody.
Welcome to Natalie's.
- Hi, how are you doing.
Good to see you.
- How are you?
- Are you guys interested in any drinks
right now?
OK, what are you thinking?
OK.
- So the menu over here,
Jason Santos came up with these so you
can get them any way, a hamburger wing or a hot dog,
any one of those styles.
And they're delicious.
I've tried them all.
- OK, first order in.
Buffalo wing, two times, OK?
That's perfect. (ON) JON TAFFER: How we doing?
It seems cooler and calmer in here already.
- We have staff,
and we have staff that cares, for sure.
We're organized. We're set up.
We got this guy behind the line.
I mean, we're set up for success.
- In the beginning, I definitely
was not taken as serious as I am now, as kitchen manager.
With Julio out of my way, the staff,
they definitely have more respect for me and the team.
- You know when, you think about where we were four
days ago, I mean, we looked at each other,
we weren't sure if we could pull it off.
But it goes to show they love Natalie.
(OFF) TASSIA LACERDA: Absolutely.
JON TAFFER: And they cared enough--
- So much.
- --that with your guidance,
every one of them stepped up.
- Makes my heart happy.
- It sure does. These are good people.
They deserve this success. (ON) TASSIA LACERDA: Absolutely.
You want to see them win.
- These rescues are particularly
rewarding because Natalie is so loved by everyone,
including her own employees.
How do you feel?
- I feel great.
I feel great.
This is much better than the stress test.
- Kitchen did well, didn't it?
- Kitchen did well. Kitchen was amazing.
- Bar did well, didn't it?
- Bar did well.
- I can see the weight lifting off.
My work is done.
Now, it's up to you.
- OK.
I promise, I won't let you down. (ON) JON TAFFER: OK.
- Thank you.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- By giving her the systems,
by training her staff, and giving her
the assets she needed to be successful,
her personality shines.
She connects with her customers, and this place is working.
[music playing]
ANNOUNCER: Promotional consideration provided
by SkyTab POS, Partender, barproducts.com,
Twisted Alchemy, Lawson Plumbing,
Twenty Three 01 Bar and Nightclub,
Signature Graphics, and ESRI.