- Owning a bar, I wouldn't trade
it for anything in the world.
- I mean, I can't say the same.
[music playing]
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.
[breaking glass]
When will I have you say, that's not gonna work?
But I can't be everywhere at once.
So I've handpicked some of the nation's
top hospitality experts--
- You got to interact with guests.
- --to help me lead the charge.
- You don't have a [bleep] clue
on how to run a bar, do you?
NARRATOR: Now, Jon is sending legendary mixologist,
Phil Wills, to Oxnard, California,
to rescue the Thirsty Ox.
JON TAFFER: We are determined to raise the bar
and rise to the occasion.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: In 2021, construction worker Rony Ortega
and his newlywed wife, Gaby, bought
the Thirsty Ox to fulfill Rony's lifelong dream
of running a bar.
- When I first came into this bar,
it needed a lot of work.
But I saw a lot of potential.
And this has always been a dream to me.
My parents owned several bars growing up.
So I've been around bars my whole life.
And I felt like someone else's trash was my treasure,
and I could turn this place around.
- When I first walked in this building,
it was ugly.
It literally looked like it was abandoned.
I didn't have bartending experience
prior to owning the bar.
But my career background has always been
focused on customer service.
I thought, as long as you're treating the customers right,
everything is just gonna fall into place.
Doing OK so far?
NARRATOR: But after realizing that the bar's income
would not be enough to quit his day job,
Rony was forced to put his dreams of revitalization
on hold and hand over the day-to-day operations
to his wife, Gaby.
- Aw!
RONY ORTEGA: Gaby gave up her job to work here full time.
And she's been holding it down pretty much by herself.
I know that it's not easy for her.
Our clientele is mainly our regulars.
But I always wanted a new crowd in here.
- Barkeep, another round of shots.
[music playing]
- The people are like [bleep] cartoon
characters, dude.
It's like something you would draw on the back
of, like, your test.
- Hi, guys. (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Hi, babe.
- Hi bud. How are you?
- How are you.
- Yeah, the party just started.
- The customers are savages.
NARRATOR: Now, the Thirsty Ox is losing up to $4,000
a month, with Rony and Gaby sinking into almost $50,000
worth of debt.
- We got to wait till after this weekend, Monday
or Tuesday, so we can get our deposits in there.
And we'll be able to pay our rent.
NARRATOR: And the financial stress
is pushing the newlyweds' relationship
to the breaking point.
- I love my husband.
And I feel like it's my job to stand
behind him, no matter what.
But this was Rony's idea.
One dream that we had together is making a family.
And then both of us, we agreed, like, let's
not even try anymore.
- It's just kind of hard
when you can't provide for one.
We lost about $4,000 in sales.
- Plus what we owe to the distributors.
OK.
- If the Thirsty Ox closes,
we would lose everything.
- It breaks my heart.
NARRATOR: With just six months left before closing
and the dream of starting a family on the line,
Rony and Gaby have decided to pull back the doors,
bust open the books, and make a call for help to Bar Rescue.
- They're really nice people.
They really are.
They just don't know how to run a bar.
- For this rescue,
I've asked one of my long-time experts, Phil Wills,
to lead the charge.
I wanted Phil to lead this rescue
because as a bar with no food program,
drinks are the primary focus.
And who better to rescue this bar than one of the best
mixologists in the country?
- Welcome. (ON) MARIA MENUONOS: Hi.
- Thank you guys for coming.
- Thanks for having us.
- Yeah.
- Excited to be here.
We're going to crush.
We're going to shut it down.
[laughs]
JON TAFFER: I've asked my good friends,
Marina Menounos and Keven Undergaro
to join Phil for recon.
They've helped me uncover the root issues of failing
bars many times in the past.
- Well, look, guys, we're
here in Oxnard, California.
And this place is called the Thirsty Ox.
It's pretty uninviting.
It doesn't really pull your attention in there at all.
- Thirsty Ox is thirsty for some decor.
- Yeah. (ON) MARIA MENUONOS: [laughs]
- This place is owned
by husband and wife duo, Rony--
- Can you make a KC tea?
- KC tea? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Behind you.
- I can't, but the bartenders probably can.
MARIA MENUONOS: That's Rony.
PHIL WILLS: And then Gaby, right there.
So they bought this bar in 2021, and it's been Rony's kind
of lifelong dream to own a bar.
And he brought his wife along for the ride.
- How long have they been married?
PHIL WILLS: For just a year.
Currently, they're losing $4,000 a month.
- Wow.
- And if they continue at this rate,
they're going to close down in probably six months.
- Wow.
- This is yours? (ON) MARIA MENUONOS: Oh, my god.
There's a knight in the bar. (ON) PHIL WILLS: What is that?
I don't even know what it's supposed to represent.
The place is called the Thirsty Ox,
and they have a huge medieval knight standing right
there at you enter the door.
MARIA MENUONOS: We need to know.
- Stupid.
- I can see 100 fruit flies.
MARIA MENUONOS: It looks pretty
filthy in there, actually.
PHIL WILLS: Yeah, maybe it should be the Filthy Ox.
MARIA MENUONOS: Oh, gosh.
I am scared.
I've had a lot of disgusting moments on this show.
- Yeah, you have.
- You're joining us, shot.
[cheering]
- Strawberry daiquiri?
- So can you delegate that to Kayla
to make for you, please?
- I'm observing Rony.
And he's either petrified or has no idea how this bar is run.
Like, he's just pacing.
He's not doing anything.
OFF KEVEN UNDERGARO: And wife looks like she's
really putting the time in.
- Yeah.
- Oh, we don't have Model on draft?
- No. (ON) RONY ORTEGA: No.
- Sorry, we're out.
You never want to see those signs.
- And that's why I need
you guys to get in there, OK?
They're known for their micheladas,
so I'd love for you guys to order a michelada.
And I'd really like to see an old fashioned,
because so many bars that don't have the proper training
and make the old fashioned wrong.
- OK. We'll see you in a bit.
- I'll be out here, watching you.
- OK.
- Hey, hey.
- Thank you for coming down.
- I'm glad to be here.
- While Maria and Keven are in the bar,
I'm going to evaluate their experience with my bar
expert and friend, Rob Floyd.
NARRATOR: For the bar, Jon brings in Rob Floyd.
From being a cocktail ambassador with Princess Cruises
to a cocktail director with Bai Resorts,
Rob has influenced the culture of mixology across the country,
with his dynamic approach to recipes
and customer interaction.
- So we have Maria
and Keven as our recon spies.
ROB FLOYD: OK. (ON) BARTENDER: Welcome in.
MARIA MENOUNOS: Hi. (ON) BARTENDER: How are you?
- Thank you.
This place [bleep] smells so disgusting.
It's the smelliest bar I've ever been in in my life.
Imagine filthy, barred-out rug scent just everywhere.
- Out of all the ones you've ever done?
- Honey, none of them have smelled like this.
- And, you know, I get it dive bar,
there's some nostalgia to that.
However, you still got to keep your fricking bar clean.
ROB FLOYD: Absolutely.
- What can I get for you guys?
- I've just heard about michel-- what
is it? michelada? (ON) BARTENDER: A micheladas?
And for you, hun?
- Old fashioned, please.
- OK.
Sir, no sleeping at the bar, please.
MAN: What?
- No sleeping.
MAN: I'm not.
- OK, OK, OK.
There's some tissues for you, OK?
MAN: She's kinda smoking hot.
She's beautiful.
She's sexy.
- My friend is why they have no women here.
Take a look to the right.
- How many did you serve him?
- Two.
GABY ORTEGA: Two long Long Islands?
BARTENDER: Two Long Islands.
GABY ORTEGA: Are you good, sir?
What are we waiting for?
- I'm waiting for a Long Island iced tea and uhh--
- If Jon was here,
I think he'd lift him and haul him out himself.
Jon would go like this, whoop, phh.
- We're not going to serve
you any more Long Islands.
- Good job, Gaby.
You can see Gaby there is attacking the situation.
- Yeah.
- Rony, he's just kind of walking by.
He needs to know what to do in these situations.
- I'm going to hold off on that Long
Island for you, but I would say, take
your time on this Budweiser. (ON) PATRON: Kiss my ass, then.
- The door's right there, sir.
MAN: I know.
- You can see your way out you.
- You can kiss my ass.
- You know, what?
That's not-- (ON) GABY ORTEGA: It's OK, sir.
It's OK. I got it, I got it.
Thank you, though. (ON) PHIL WILLS: Come on, Rony.
What are you doing?
You should be doing this.
- [muted] [muted]. (ON) KEVEN UNDERGARO: Whoa.
What? Hey, whoa, whoa.
- No, no, no. That's the last of my problems.
RONY ORTEGA: Do you guys want to close out?
- Oh, no.
Yeah, I'm closing him out, for sure.
PHIL WILLS: She's doing a great job
of handling this situation.
I wish Rony was doing it.
The best thing to do is get that person out of the bar.
- You're the worst [bleep]----
- It's all good. (OFF) MAN: You guys suck!
- He can't be sitting at the bar top,
still causing commotion, and they're
allowing that to happen.
RONY ORTEGA: Yeah, It's time to go.
The Thirsty Ox would like to thank you for your patronage.
- It's kind of cool.
KEVEN UNDERGARO: Yeah? (ON) MARIA MENUONOS: It's good.
GABY ORTEGA: It's good.
PHIL WILLS: She likes it, but we've been sitting here
for almost 20 minutes, and she hasn't even
finished Keven's old fashioned.
What is happening right now?
Well, I know that she put the whiskey in first.
ROB FLOYD: The alcohol never goes first.
If you mess up, that's OK.
If alcohol is not first, you don't lose any money.
- Cheers. (ON) KEVEN UNDERGARO: Cheers.
- Sorry I drank before you,
but it was getting warm.
BARTENDER: Yeah, you don't want to drink a hot michelada,
that's for sure. (ON) MARIA MENUONOS: Mm-mmm.
- I made it a little sweet, not too much.
- It's fine. (OFF) BARTENDER: Perfect?
- Yeah.
- It's because he's so damn thirsty.
He waited for so long, he's like, I'll
have anything at this point.
What's with the--
MARIA MENOUNOS: Yeah, what's with the knight?
- The knight?
It was inherited.
- It was there before?
GABY ORTEGA: Mm-hmm.
He's everybody's favorite guy.
The girls are just all over him.
They want to take pictures with him.
- Rob, I mean, look at this bar.
It's just a chaos.
Just clutter all over the place.
ROB FLOYD: It looks completely
unclean and unhealthy.
- You can have a great local dive bar.
ROB FLOYD: Yup.
- It doesn't have to be dirty.
It doesn't have to be disgusting.
It doesn't have to be a fricking mess like this place is.
But you know what really pisses me off,
is that Gaby's running around this whole bar,
and Rony is sitting there, doing nothing.
This is his bar this is his legacy.
I need to go in there and find out what
the hell is going on with Rony.
- The one thing
that stood out to us is the knight,
and they think that's their best asset.
- Because it is.
That's the problem.
- [laughs]
- Cheers to the michelada.
- Cheers. (OFF) PHIL WILLS: How you doing?
You Rony? (ON) RONY ORTEGA: Good.
How are you? (ON) PHIL WILLS: I'm Phil Wills.
- Phil? (ON) PHIL WILLS: Yeah.
- Rony.
- Rony, nice to meet you.
Jon sent us here to save your ass, man.
I want to have a conversation with you and Gaby, though.
RONY ORTEGA: Gaby.
- Hi, Gaby. (OFF) GABY ORTEGA: Hi.
- I'm Phil Wills.
GABY ORTEGA: Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you as well.
I sent Keven and Maria in here to kind
of hang out, do a little recon to see what business was like.
What happens if this place shuts down?
- This has always been my dream,
and all our savings are in here right now.
So if this fails for us, we're going to be screwed.
- It's not an easy business.
You never actually ran a bar, right?
- Right.
- I mean, that shows,
if you look at this place.
It smells like shit in here.
It's not very inviting.
And Gaby, you look like you're doing all the work here.
So what do you do, then?
- I'm hardly here.
I'm only here on the weekends, mainly,
because of my construction job.
- So Gaby is handling your dream?
RONY ORTEGA: She is.
- She's running your dream.
RONY ORTEGA: Yeah.
- One thing that I saw that really got
under my skin was that you guys had a drunk guest at the bar
top today, right? (ON) RONY ORTEGA: Yeah.
- It wasn't until Gaby stepped
in that anything happened.
How could you see somebody that's bothering your guest
and not handle that situation, just as a man?
What the [bleep]?
How could you rely on your wife to handle
that situation, just as a man?
What the [bleep]?
You should be able to step in there,
and you should be able to handle that situation
and remove that cancer out of your bar.
- Yeah, I know.
I should have stepped it up right there.
- I need you to figure out
how you're going to step up to the plate a little bit more,
because if I'm going to save your ass,
I need you to do something as well.
Get some rest tonight, and really think hard
about it, because this wife right here of yours,
she's a freaking queen, man.
You're going to lose her if you don't [bleep] step up
to the plate, bro, seriously.
- I don't want to lose her.
PHIL WILLS: Right? (OFF) RONY ORTEGA: OK.
- Tomorrow I'll see you guys.
RONY ORTEGA: Thank you.
- I can see how Phil
probably felt uncomfortable when I had to step in.
Maybe Rony could have stepped in, because he was right here,
and he also heard what the guy was saying so.
I do feel like the challenge that he
gave to Rony, which was, like, step in
and show that you're here.
I agree with that.
Dude, that was a little intense, huh?
- Yeah.
[music playing]
- After recon last night,
we uncovered a lot of issues at this bar is having.
Rony clearly lacks any type of ownership skill
or any bar management skill.
And this bar is disgusting.
It's dirty.
The bartenders don't clean.
There's no systems in place.
So today, I need to go in and talk to the staff,
find out how they feel about the bar
that they're working in currently
and how they view Rony and Gaby as owners and as managers.
What's up, guys? (OFF) RONY ORTEGA: Hey, Phil.
- Phil, welcome back.
- Why don't you guys come around?
Let's have a talk.
How are we doing today? (ON) RONY ORTEGA: Good.
- Great.
- For those of you that don't know me,
I'm Phil Wills.
I've opened up over 200 different restaurants, either
designed, trained, developed.
So I kind of know what I'm talking about here, all right?
Now, I know I met Gaby and Rony last night.
I haven't met you guys, so who are you?
What's your name? (ON) REGGIE: Oh, I'm Reggie.
- Then, what do you do here?
- I bartend. (ON) PHIL WILLS: You bartend?
- I've been here for, like, a year.
- And you are?
- My name is Casey.
I'm the bar back here.
PHIL WILLS: And who are you?
- I'm Garet.
I'm a bartender.
PHIL WILLS: How do you like it?
- I like it.
It's pretty wild sometimes.
- Let me ask you, Garet, what do you see as,
like, any types of issues that may be going on in this bar?
- The clientele, for sure,
doesn't make it, like, easy.
I mean, that's pretty hard to control.
- You kind of attract the clientele
that you guys are getting, because this place is isn't
place that's respected in town. (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Yeah.
- We're not doing well here.
These guys are losing about $4,000 a month.
- It's probably even more than that.
- More than that? (OFF) RONY ORTEGA: Yeah.
- shit, man.
- How much longer do you have
before you close the doors?
- We have maybe six months, if that.
- It's pretty wild.
I thought the owners were making money.
I didn't think they were making, like, a lot of money,
but I had no idea.
And Rony's, like, a pretty nice guy,
so it was kind of hard to hear, but I guess that's just kind
of opened up our eyes.
- What I saw last night was I
just saw a clueless owner walking around here,
not really knowing what to do.
You had somebody that was sitting at the bar, that
was clearly intoxicated, that was
making a scene in front of my friends that I brought in here.
And Gaby had to step in and handle that situation, which
really kind of pissed me off, because you
walked by him two or three times,
and you didn't do anything about it.
And when you finally did say anything,
it was after Gaby had already started talking.
- As soon as I heard him,
I should have, maybe, confronted him right there and then
and, maybe, help escort him out.
- There's no maybe.
- Yeah.
- There's no "maybe" in the bar business.
You have to make clear, precise decisions and stick with them.
Do you think if you didn't have Gaby,
would you guys be succeeding at all?
- Definitely not.
- If it was just running this bar,
do you think you would be succeeding at all?
- No.
- So I see that you are a huge problem,
because you're leading on your queen
to pull you out every single time,
to make your dream a reality.
I'm just going to let my wife run it,
and hopefully we do all right. (ON) RONY ORTEGA: That's not--
PHIL WILLS: You're not stepping up to the plate.
- That wasn't the plan in the beginning.
- Now, I don't care what
the plan was in the beginning.
This is what brought me here right now,
and you are not performing whatsoever.
It's time to make a plan now and to execute the plan
and do something.
You need to wake the [bleep] up, man, you really do,
because you're just lost in this cloud
of a dream of owning a bar.
And you have hope that it's going to do better.
Hope is not a great solution for anything in life.
You have to execute, make a plan, and make shit happen.
You know what I'm saying? (ON) RONY ORTEGA: Yes, I do.
- Because there's no way
that I'm going to stick around in this bar with you
unless you step up to the plate.
Let me ask you something.
Do you guys not smell how bad it smells in here?
- I think we got immune to it.
- It's disgusting, all right?
When new people come in here, which is what you guys need
in order to be successful-- these old regulars
that are coming in here they're not making you guys successful.
You guys need new bodies in here.
We brought new bodies in here last night,
and they said they would never come back,
because the first thing that they noticed
was how disgusting it was and how fricking smelly
it was in here.
So that's an issue.
I'm wondering where that smell is coming from.
I'm going to bring in my expert to see what he thinks.
Rob.
- Hey, hey.
- Thank you for coming down, man.
- Thank you. It's good seeing you.
- This is Rob Floyd.
He is the perfect person to have in here.
I want you to do me a favor, Rob.
I want you to go check behind the bar.
If there's a smell in here, it's got
to be coming from somewhere. (ON) ROB FLOYD: All right.
Let's take a look behind the bar.
All right, so there's an attempt at cleaning behind here.
First, I see your guns aren't wrapped.
Normally, you can pull them apart.
PHIL WILLS: Oh, don't you tell me.
- So this, you can see the grime.
Every time you serve a drink, this shit is
getting in everybody's drink.
The inside is white.
White fuzzy says it's mildew.
- Ugh.
- You've got mildew right in here,
because it's not being cleaned out properly.
Who cleaned the bar last night?
RONY ORTEGA: We all closed together yesterday.
- So if it's nobody's job,
it's nobody's job.
And that's why you have some little flies flying
around here, which is not a good sign
if you're looking at the fly--
These are [bleep] sticky.
- Look at the inside of this.
ROB FLOYD: Absolutely sticky.
They are gross.
- Did you guys clean this last night?
Obviously not, right?
GABY ORTEGA: No.
- Who's cleaned the back bar lately?
GABY ORTEGA: I think we all just kind of take a look.
ROB FLOYD: We all just kind of?
Check this out.
This is your back bar.
PHIL WILLS: Come on, guys.
GABY ORTEGA: Dirty.
- Dirty.
So you have a whole bunch of dead flies, just
a whole bunch of shit up there.
It's crazy.
Every bit of this is gross.
- All right, so this is disgusting.
Your guns are disgusting.
Oh, this is disgusting.
Guys, you say that you cleaned the bar.
You wiped the bar down in a couple of spots, maybe.
And you guys like to work back here?
Do you not smell this?
You guys are immune to it? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: I smell it.
- You guys see the flies that are flying
around my head right now?
- Yes, it's disgusting.
- OK, Gaby, I got somebody that's
telling me the truth here. (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Yes.
It smells. There's gnats.
It's sticky.
I can't do it all.
- No, you didn't.
We got a floater.
PHIL WILLS: Ugh. (ON) RONY ORTEGA: See that guy?
GABY ORTEGA: Oh, I see the floater from here.
- You guys got flies in your bottles.
What is this?
A $40, $50 bottle of whiskey?
You're still going to serve that to your guests here, Rony?
- We can't let it go to waste.
- You can't let it go to waste?
So you're OK with serving bugs to your guests, is
what you're telling me?
- We could filter it.
- We can filter it?
You don't have a [bleep] clue on how to run a bar, do you?
You don't.
You don't filter out bugs out of your alcohol bottles.
You know what you do? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Right.
- You don't let the bugs get in there.
You clean your bars so that they aren't here.
Bar flies, they make nests.
They feed off of yeast.
So if you're not constantly cleaning,
every single day and every single night,
you're not going to get rid of these flies.
They're going to get into your bottles,
and you're not going to filter the [bleep] bottle
and still serve the liquor to your guest.
You will not do that.
Do you understand that?
RONY ORTEGA: I understand.
- I'll tell you what, we have a lot of work
to do.
We're going to have a stress test tonight.
We're going to attack this place with clientele
that expects a clean bar and high-end cocktails.
This is the crowd you need to succeed,
but I will not let any guests come into this bar
unless you get back there, you pull every single bottle down,
you wipe everything down, you make sure there's
no bugs in those bottles.
You clean this frickin' bar up.
We'll come back in here, Rob will train you for tonight,
and we can get this train moving.
- OK. (OFF) PHIL WILLS: Got it?
- Got it.
- Let's get out of here.
Rony clearly lacks any type of ownership skill
or any bar management skill.
We have a lot of work to do.
Maybe, if they get that bar clean,
we'll come back and do that work.
RONY ORTEGA: I don't think we ever
cleaned the shelves before.
- I don't think I've ever cleaned those.
- I just cleaned them, like, a month ago.
- Oh, you did?
[laughs]
- I was a little bit frustrated,
because he was calling us out on our cleanliness,
saying that we're not being clean.
And I feel like our customers, they do like the filth.
People like it, like, the way it is.
It's a dive bar.
What does he expect?
- Hey, hey, how are we?
- Hi. (ON) CASEY: I feel excited
- It's a lot cleaner in here.
Smells better, right?
You can tell the difference.
- Like a fresh forest.
All right, we got a lot of work to do.
One of the big things that we noticed was we
were really slow.
In fact, we were about 15, 16 minutes for two drinks.
You can't have that happen.
So one of the things that we're going to work with,
a little speed test here, because I
want to see how you move and how comfortable
you are behind the bar.
I want to see them make a margarita, a Moscow
mule, and an old fashioned.
Garet, let's go.
Let's give him a big hand. Come on.
They should be able to do these drinks
in about a minute and a half.
And go.
Yep.
- Let's go, Garet.
Come on.
ROB FLOYD: And what is he doing first?
- He's doing the alcohol.
ROB FLOYD: I just can't even do it.
Start again.
You can't pour the alcohol first.
You mess up, you lose money.
No!
- Ah, Garet.
Alcohol does not go first.
- Wait, what?
- Always citrus first.
Always the simple first, never the alcohol first.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Come on.
We're at 40 seconds.
We haven't made a drink.
GABY ORTEGA: It's OK, it's OK.
You can still make it.
- Let's go, let's go, let's go.
GABY ORTEGA: No! (ON) GARET: What?
Oh, [bleep].
- You gotta yell at him.
It's your bar.
Tell him, no alcohol first.
- No alcohol.
- We're closing in on three minutes.
- What was it?
GABY ORTEGA: Old fashioned.
- Old fashioned. Let's do this.
- You got this, Garet.
ROB FLOYD: There you go.
- Don't put the liquor first.
You're doing good, though, Garet.
Come on.
- Ahh!
No liquor first!
GABY ORTEGA: Come on, move it, though.
Move it, move it, move it. (ON) ROB FLOYD: No!
We can't shake an old fashioned.
It's OK, it's OK.
We are past the three-minute point.
It's OK, listen, we all fail.
I'm serious.
I have screwed up more times than I can ever tell
y'all, but I had somebody to put their foot in my ass,
to make sure that I didn't keep doing it.
You just got to work through it. Give him a hand.
- Yeah, good job, Garet.
- Behind the bar, you're only
as good as your weakest link.
You are a team.
So I'm really worried for the stress test,
but we got to get to these new drinks.
We've got to get them ready to open.
All right, so we're going to do a little magic behind the bar.
We're going to do something that's
actually going to change color.
We're going to start off with one and a half ounce butterfly
pea flower-infused vodka, one and a half ounce
of twisted alchemy lemon sour.
And we're going to see that color start to change.
Ice this up, martini glass that is nice and iced.
See that color?
It is just beautiful.
Finish it off with this prosecco.
Then, for the final coup de grace,
garnish with a lemon wheel, sprinkle
with dried flower petals.
This is the floral lemon drop.
This makes you look awesome behind the bar.
You're creating a moment, you're creating a reaction,
but, most importantly, it's three steps.
And you all can rock it out and rock it very fast.
[music playing]
- Hey, guys.
What's up?
All right, we're going to pack this place tonight, OK, guys?
It's very important that you guys are
consistent with everything, OK?
We're going to put a little bucket out here.
And every drink that is wrong, we are not going to let go out
over that bar top, because consistency
is what drives your business.
Gaby, how are you feeling? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: I'm nervous.
PHIL WILLS: You are? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: I'm nervous.
- Yeah, I can see it in your eyes.
- Yeah. (ON) PHIL WILLS: Yeah.
- But I honestly just
want it to start, I want to see them in action,
I want to be able to correct things,
I want Rony to correct things.
I think this is good for us.
- Rony, how are you feeling, man?
- I'm feeling good.
I'm going to try my best to step it up to the plate.
- OK.
Gaby, tonight, it's all about your husband's dream.
So Rony, you're going to be the one running this bar.
Gaby, I don't want you doing anything tonight.
- No.
- Nothing.
I know it's going to drive you crazy,
but this is the point where we have to start
letting your husband take over.
- Rony, I really need you to step up.
I need you take this and, like, do it.
And that's what you have your team for.
So, like, they're not doing something right, let them know.
I really wish I could be a part of this,
but I appreciate what you're saying.
I'm on the same boat as you guys.
I'm sorry I'm getting emotional, but I
just want you guys to do good.
- Rony, you see the emotion that your wife has?
- Yeah, I do.
- That's how much she
cares about this place, man.
- Yeah.
- I want to see that from you, all right?
She can't be the only one making your dreams come true.
It's time for you to step up and be the man.
- All right, everyone.
Welcome in.
How are you guys? (OFF) MAN: Good.
How are you?
RONY ORTEGA: Welcome, guys.
Hey. (ON) CASEY: How are you?
RONY ORTEGA: Nice to see you.
Welcome to the Ox.
- Can I get a valencia orange margarita?
- Valencia orange margarita?
Gotcha.
- Valencia orange margarita?
MAN: Two of those, please. (ON) RONY ORTEGA: Two of those?
Got them.
- Come on.
Here we go, here we go.
Why are these different?
They all got to be about the same.
Start over.
They should all be the exact same.
RONY ORTEGA: Does anybody want a michelada?
I know how to make micheladas.
1, 2, 3, 4.
I got four michis.
- Quicker.
You got to move fast.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Good, good, good.
Here we go.
- So we just opened the doors.
This place is packed right now, and these bartenders
haven't even served one drink.
There's no way we're going to get
these guys served if these guys don't pick it up quick.
- Come on, let's go.
We don't have any drinks out. Come on.
These glasses need to be chilled.
These need to have ice in them.
Nope.
Remember, after we shake, we have to shake this way.
Let's go.
Moving through, moving through.
Come on.
Faster, faster, faster.
We got to move a lot faster.
We still don't have a drink out.
Reggie, come on.
- You guys look thirsty over here.
- Very, yes.
- Does the Thirsty Ox
mean that when you come here, you just stay thirsty?
- Yes.
- Why are these different sizes?
Let's go. They've all got to be equal.
They've all got to be consistent.
- What are you seeing, Gaby?
- They're just messing it all up.
They're not being consistent.
They're not doing what we were taught.
Like, what are they doing wrong?
PHIL WILLS: What could Rony be doing right now?
- He needs to get in there and correct them.
It can't Rob, because Rob is not going to be here
with us the whole [bleep] time. (ON) PHIL WILLS: You're right.
Just keep watching. Take your notes.
Make sure you tell Rony everything you told me.
- Those two are all right.
This isn't.
Coming through.
- What are you doing right now?
- I'm making a drink.
- OK, what I want you to do is focus on being
an owner, being a manager.
You have a bunch of people that are just waiting for something.
Make your rounds. (ON) RONY ORTEGA: OK.
- You got to interact with guests.
Does anybody have a drink in this bar?
- No!
PHIL WILLS: It's been up for 15 minutes.
You know where all the drinks are?
They're all right here. (OFF) ROB FLOYD: Come on.
Let's do this, let's do this.
Come on.
- Focus.
RONY ORTEGA: Micheladas? (ON) ROB FLOYD: That's right.
That's great.
- You wanted one?
- Oh, nice, Garet.
Nice, nice.
- How are you ladies doing?
- Good.
WOMAN: Can we get two lemon drops?
RONY ORTEGA: Two lemon drops?
- And a valencia orange margarita, please?
RONY ORTEGA: OK.
We'll be right with you guys.
- Good job, Rony.
ROB FLOYD: Come on, guys.
Let's do this.
RONY ORTEGA: So you guys said you guys wanted
some margaritas over here? (ON) PATRON: Yeah.
- Garet, I'm still dying on this drink,
and it's three minutes.
Let's go.
- We need, like, 18 margaritas right now.
- 18? [chuckles]
ROB FLOYD: Come on, Garet. Faster.
Let's do this.
Come on.
You got-- no, not shaken like that.
- I don't know, dude.
GABY ORTEGA: Come on, Garet.
- I just don't think
this is going to work out, man.
- [bleep].
ROB FLOYD: Let's go.
Come on, guys.
- Where are we at with this?
How many buckets have we dumped already?
ROB FLOYD: This is the second.
PHIL WILLS: Two gallons of booze
we've dumped down the drain, because they're
making drinks wrong.
All right, listen up, guys.
Who did not get a drink tonight?
[patrons call out]
That's unacceptable.
We've been open for almost 40 minutes.
There's no way we're going to pull out of this tonight.
We're going to show these bartenders how to pick up
the speed and show this management what
it's like to run a real bar. (ON) PATRON: That's right.
[cheering]
- All right, Rony,
we're going to lock it up, man.
It's time to shut it down.
- I know I got to step it up.
I felt like I did better.
I still got work to go.
- Sorry, guys.
- I probably got, like, five
or six drinks out there, but I probably got,
like, 20, 25 pulled.
Honestly, throughout that whole thing, I hated Rob.
I feel like he was on my ass the entire time.
I'm so glad that stress test is over.
- Stress test is over,
and it was an absolute disaster.
I'm going to check in with Jon and let
him know what's going on here.
JON TAFFER: Hey, Phil, how did stress test go?
- Man, let me tell you, Jon,
it was so stressful.
I mean, those bartenders need so much more training.
And Rob threw out literally 90% of all of their cocktails.
Rony was just like a deer in the headlights, too.
I literally had to grab him by the hand
and show him how to manage his own bar.
- If this is really Rony's dream,
then he can't rely on a dirty dive bar
and older male customers to keep this bar afloat.
That doesn't work.
You know, they have a great opportunity
to corner the market.
And we could really set Rony up for success,
especially if we pivot to a theme and cocktail
menu that targets women.
- Yeah.
This place has to be more female friendly.
And nothing about this bar speaks to females.
- You know, this area is 55% single
and has a median age of 33.
And we have to convince him to embrace these demographics.
- Yeah, I'll really dig in with Rony
and get him to understand how important it
is for him to have the systems in place
and make that bar run smooth.
Whether it's him or whether it's Gaby running the bar,
they have to have the systems in place.
- Thanks, Phil. Talk to you later.
- Absolutely, Jon.
I appreciate you.
I'll make you proud.
[music playing]
- How we feeling?
All right, so I know last night was tough,
but I think that as we start to build,
we start to work with these new cocktails,
that you're going to really be able to get
out of those trouble spots.
I think you guys are going to be blown away by this.
So let's just jump right in.
We have our first diamond sphere.
Look at that.
GABY ORTEGA: What?
ROB FLOYD: In a single old fashioned glass with a rocks
cube, half ounce of our twisted alchemy
cinnamon-infused simple syrup, one
and a half ounces of whiskey, three dashes cherry bitters.
But this isn't the rock star cocktail that we need.
Wait till you see this.
This is amazing.
GABY ORTEGA: No way.
- Oh, yeah.
So this is the Studenglass gravity smoke infuser.
Our diamond fashion, right here.
Now, watch this.
RONY ORTEGA: Oh, yeah.
ROB FLOYD: Abracadabra.
RONY ORTEGA: Wow.
- That's a game changer.
I love the smoke.
I love the drink.
I love the whiskey.
I'm like, God bless America.
I'm like, let's do this, man.
Hell, yeah.
- Well, it's easy to sell, too.
It's that excitement.
It's that wow moment that people take a picture
and they Instagram about.
PHIL WILLS: It's good to see you guys.
- Nice to see you, too.
- Yeah.
How are you guys feeling after stress tests?
- Better.
We did get beat up, but we're here now.
And I think we're ready to move forward.
- Yeah? (ON) RONY ORTEGA: Yeah.
- With the stress that you've had these past two
years, from owning this bar, what
has that done for your future plans
of possibly having a child?
- I don't want to be pregnant or raise a child
in the environment that I am now,
mentally, because a lot of my days
are just filled with stress.
Stress is definitely from the bar.
- Right. You guys are in a tough spot.
You know, you're working a full-time job.
You're trying to run the bar on your own, obviously.
You're not taking any money home.
So it's just like a spiral that keeps going downhill.
People don't understand that running a bar
is just having those systems and making sure
that everybody follows them.
And that's how you guys can, for one, pull out of this debt
that you guys are in.
Your dream is going to start to become more of, like, the dream
that you envisioned.
- Yeah, a reality.
- And then you're going
to be able to go off on your own and start
to work on your family, start to work
on other things that make you happy,
making other people happy.
She doesn't have what she wants yet, all right?
- Yeah.
- Moving forward into the relaunch,
I need you to step up, all right?
- Yeah.
PHIL WILLS: It's time for you
to make your dream a reality. (OFF) RONY ORTEGA: I'm going to.
Today, I'm going to prove to you guys
and I'm to prove to my wife as well that I
can run this bar by myself.
I'm ready to step it up.
- I didn't believe
you when you told me that before, but I believe you now.
- I know you can do it, babe.
- Finally, I broke through to Rony.
And I can see that he has some passion inside,
and that's a good sign.
Bro, that's the realist smile I've seen all week, man.
I'm happy to see that.
- It was great knowing
that someone understands what I'm going through.
And it was really clear to Rony that he needs to step up.
- I love you.
- These are tears of happiness.
I love you too, babe.
I'm feeling confident that Rony is going to be able to help
me make my dreams come true.
And thank you, Phil--
- Thank you, Phil.
--for taking the time to train us and show us these things.
It's very valuable.
- Absolutely, brother.
- I want to prove
to Gaby that I can run this bar and she can count on me.
I also want to prove to Phil that I'm the man
and that I got what it takes to get this bar running
and make it a successful bar.
- Yeah, yeah.
Appreciate you.
[music playing]
[cheering]
- How are you guys feeling?
- Feeling great. (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Very good.
PHIL WILLS: Nervous? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Yeah.
REGGIE: Excited. (OFF) PHIL WILLS: Excited.
It's been a rough ride, hasn't it?
- Yeah.
- What do you think the biggest thing
that you learned this week was?
- Being able to carry my team
and being there for them and showing
my wife that I can do this. (ON) PHIL WILLS: Love that.
You guys ready to see your bar? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Yes.
Yes. (ON) PHIL WILLS: You guys ready?
[cheering]
1, 2, 3.
Turn around.
You guys ready to see your bar? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Yes.
Yes.
- 1, 2, 3.
Turn around.
[cheering]
RONY ORTEGA: Thank you, brother.
GABY ORTEGA: We made it.
- We had to change
the branding of your bar.
The Thirsty Ox wasn't known for great drinks.
It wasn't an inviting place for people.
And if we kept that name, then people would just think,
oh, it's the same type of place.
This whole sign right here, that's
by a company called Signfastic, and they
worked round the clock to get that sign
up there for you guys.
What do you guys think?
RONY ORTEGA: It looks good.
- It looks great. (ON) PHIL WILLS: Yeah?
You love it? (ON) RONY ORTEGA: We love it.
- All right, you're
going to love it even more when you guys go inside, OK?
Go ahead.
[cheering]
RONY ORTEGA: Hell, yeah.
- [gasps] Oh, my gosh.
So cute!
RONY ORTEGA: Wow. No way.
Oh, my gosh.
GABY ORTEGA: I love it.
Oh, wow.
- What can I say?
This is a dream come true.
I love everything about the bar.
GABY ORTEGA: Rony, look at the ceiling.
- I feel like now we can get out of the hole
and make something out of this.
- Congratulations, bro.
- God, what a damn good-looking bar, huh?
GABY ORTEGA: Cool.
- What do you guys think?
RONY ORTEGA: Oh, we love it.
GABY ORTEGA: It looks so gorgeous.
RONY ORTEGA: Love it, man. (OFF) PHIL WILLS: Hey, guys.
Check it out.
We did a lot in here.
Look at the tile in the front of the bar.
Look at how beautiful that is.
Do you guys see that tile up there?
GABY ORTEGA: Yes, I noticed it.
PHIL WILLS: Decorative Ceiling Tiles
did all of that tile up there for you guys.
Now, those new guests and those new customers
that come in here, automatically,
they're going to love this place just by looking at it.
We also have Sky Tab PO System by Shift4.
We also have all your glassware from barproducts.com.
So you know that really cool signature michelada glass?
Look at your logo.
Look what the Foxy Ox is holding.
GABY ORTEGA: Yeah, I saw that.
PHIL WILLS: Your signature michelada.
Guys, I know that we're struggling with finances
and money and everything.
So Jon's like, let's go ahead and give him a years'
subscription to Partender.
Partender is a barware inventory software.
You can do your inventory in 15 minutes or less.
- Cool.
- This, Rony, this is the dream
that you were looking for. (ON) RONY ORTEGA: It is.
- When I looked at my husband,
he just had the biggest smile on his face,
so that made me feel really good.
- Now, let's rock this tonight.
Yeah! (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Yeah.
- All right, let's do it.
GABY ORTEGA: Thank you. Thank you guys.
All right, everyone.
Welcome to the Foxy Ox. (OFF) RONY ORTEGA: Welcome.
GABY ORTEGA: Welcome in, guys.
RONY ORTEGA: Hey, welcome back.
- Woo!
REGGIE: All right, who wants a margarita?
Does anyone want to try a margarita right now?
- Are we thirsty? Let's go, girl.
Let's go. (ON) PHIL WILLS: How we doing?
We getting some drinks out?
- We're doing good, baby.
Yes, we are. (OFF) PHIL WILLS: OK.
I want to see more drinks out.
- Here you go, and then your margarita's
coming right up, sweetie.
- All right, guys,
let's pick it up, all right? Let's get these drinks out, OK?
- Yeah. (ON) PHIL WILLS: We're good?
- Yeah, we're good.
- Yeah? You have a plan?
- Yeah, yeah.
I'm waiting on their drink, and I'm just going
to take care of them right now. (ON) PHIL WILLS: All right.
Let's move as we wait, remember? (OFF) RONY ORTEGA: OK, yeah.
- Show me everything you learned.
KEVEN UNDERGARO: Wow.
I'm, like, super impressed.
- I'll be right with you guys.
I'll get you guys with your shots right now.
- Look at the ceiling tiles.
Remember the old dollar bills?
PHIL WILLS: What are you guys thinking?
- Oh, my god.
You deserve, like, an award.
This is freaking unbelievable.
- So different, right?
- How? How?
- Well, I'll tell,
you we sit up all night working on this place, that's how.
- I love it.
- Let's get a drink.
- I'm going for a michelada.
- OK.
- Thank you for waiting so much.
You guys want to leave it open?
- Is that a michelada?
- Yes, girl.
- Wow.
What is this?
RONY ORTEGA: I'm glad you like it.
- This is insane.
- Don't let me down, Garet.
Don't let me down.
Up top. (OFF) ROB FLOYD: Doing good?
- Money, baby, money.
- Have you ordered another drink yet?
- No, I'm good. (ON) ROB FLOYD: It's amazing.
It's night and day.
PHIL WILLS: Rony and Gaby are working like a team.
ROB FLOYD: Yeah.
PHIL WILLS: Gaby's not just running everything.
Rony actually has stepped up, and he's
doing a really good job.
RONY ORTEGA: Thank you guys for making it out.
GABY ORTEGA: Yeah, they're edible.
[laughter]
- Guys, come over here.
How are you guys feeling?
- Oh, I feel great.
- Now it's time for you guys
to take this gem that you guys have, make
the city of Oxnard proud, but, more importantly,
make each other proud, OK? (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Yeah.
PHIL WILLS: I see a smile on your face.
I see a smile on your face.
I think that babies are in the future for you guys.
Now family's going to grow I think
we're going to start tonight.
[laughter]
- Man, I'm so proud of you, brother.
- Thank you, bro.
- Good job, man. Good job.
- Aw, thank you, Phil.
- Good job. (ON) RONY ORTEGA: Appreciate it.
- You guys are all set, OK?
My work is done. (ON) GABY ORTEGA: Thanks, Phil.
- Rony was like a deer in headlights.
He didn't know what he was doing.
And, quite frankly, he wasn't even an owner.
We were able to dive in deep, bring some new cocktails
to this bar, bring some life to the city of Oxnard,
and rebrand this whole place to be a place that people
actually want to come to.
And I really do believe that Rony and Gaby are going
to be successful here, and the dream is going
to finally come true for Rony.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: Promotional consideration
provided by Skytab POS, Partender, Signfastic,
barproducts.com, Twisted Alchemy, Stundenglas,
the Twist on Main, Bombay Bar and Grill,
Decorative Ceiling Tiles, Summers Plumbing, and ESRI.