- Not making excuses.
I'm just saying it doesn't look that bad.
- What about the roach?
- It's a sewer roach coming up from the sewer
is not-- it's not a cockroach.
They come, but not very often.
NARRATOR: For over 30 years,
Jon Taffer has traveled the country saving hundreds of bars
from failure and ruin.
JON TAFFER: 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 is heading to Tucson, Arizona,
to attempt to rescue High 5 Grille.
- We are determined to raise the bar
and rise to the occasion.
NARRATOR: 2019, former IT project manager, Cathy Whaley,
bought the High 5 Grille with her retirement fund.
- I've always wanted to own my own business,
and I was dating a man at the time that convinced
me that he could run it.
I don't think I probably would have bought a bar if it
wasn't for my ex-boyfriend.
NARRATOR: When her relationship ended,
Cathy was left alone with a business to run
and no experience or knowledge of how to do so.
- Being in this position
is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be.
It's a lot of hours, a lot of work.
I don't know how to fix it.
Restart it.
See what happens.
Right now, we don't have any draft.
We got rid of all of our kegs.
I know books, but I never really ran a bar or a restaurant
before, so I had no idea how much work it would be.
NARRATOR: And her unsupported staff
was left to function without training or supplies.
- All I have is bottled beer on ice.
CATHY WHALEY: The walk-in broke about a month ago,
and I just haven't been able to afford to fix it.
- I'm hoping that y'all can
get some draft beer in here again so we could all be happy.
- A lot of regulars have stopped coming back in.
It makes me want to start looking for another job.
Ever since the walk-in cooler has been down,
we've had issues, obviously, with storing food.
- If they're not moldy, they're good.
- At any given time, there
can be 10, 11, 12 different things that we're out of
stock on.
- 86-ing chicken breast.
- No, we're 86, like 3/4 of our menu right now.
It gets frustrating.
It's embarrassing as a cook.
- The biggest problem with High 5, I think,
is it's just another bar.
There's nothing that makes us stand out from anyone else.
- So the atmosphere, to me,
is very aggressive and outdated.
It's not a good look.
CODY: It looks like Ronald McDonald threw up.
- Yeah, just leave it until the end,
and we'll figure it out later.
- This just doesn't seem
like she's fully here anymore.
I think as more and more things have gone the wrong way,
it's just kind of demoralized her,
and she's let it kind of slip away from her.
NARRATOR: Now, High 5 Grille is losing up to $8,000
a month, with Cathy sinking into almost $350,000 worth of debt.
- Right now, I'm not paying rent,
because if I pay rent, then I won't
be able to pay my employees.
I have no retirement left, and I'm living on credit cards.
I don't know what to do.
- I think Cathy needs that kick in the ass
to get her mindset back on track to try to make
this place successful again. (OFF) CUSTOMER: Nobody here.
You know?
- Everything that I've done in my life,
I've been successful at, so I thought
I could be successful at this, and I'm not.
NARRATOR: With just one month left before closing,
Cathy has decided to pull back the doors, bust open the books,
and make a call for help--
to Bar Rescue.
- Mia, Jen, always great to be
working with you again.
- Hello, sir.
- We got a real challenge this week.
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.
For the kitchen, Jon brings in chef, Jennifer Murphy,
a 15-year veteran of Las Vegas fine dining,
who has overseen kitchens at the Bellagio,
MGM Grand, and Caesars Palace.
- So this bar is called High 5 Grille.
This bar was opened four years ago by a woman named Cathy.
She was an IT person.
Her boyfriend talked her into opening this bar.
- Oh, great idea.
- So she put her life savings in,
opened the bar, the boyfriend left.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Now, she's stuck running the bar.
Here's the real issue.
She's in debt over $300,000.
She has no more money.
She's done.
If we don't turn this bar around like immediately,
she's not going to make it the next month.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Oh jeez.
- Everything is on the line for her.
Look at this place.
We have a little U-shaped bar in the middle of the room,
and there's the kitchen right to the left of it
with a green curtain.
That separates the kitchen, Jen.
The environment makes no sense.
Then the market area that they're in,
the median household income in this area is about $67,000
a year.
- That's not bad.
- Median for America is now $63,000,
so there is some disposable income in this community,
but look at this place.
MIA MASTROIANNI: It is not represented
in this dining room.
I mean, this almost resembles a cafeteria.
JON TAFFER: It does.
It's awful.
- Oh, how are you?
- Oh.
- There's Cathy, the owner.
There's Thomas.
He's one of the bartenders.
- Happy Tuesday.
It's Tuesday, right?
JON TAFFER: There's Erin.
She's another bartender.
Cody, kitchen manager.
Look at the kitchen.
- Oh, this is bad.
(OFF) JENNIFER MURPHY: It's filthy.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Oh, gosh.
JON TAFFER: Oh.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Oh.
JENNIFER MURPHY: That's just gross.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Everything
is coated with grease.
Oh, woo.
JON TAFFER: There's a cockroach.
MIA MASTROIANNI: That is enormous.
(ON) JENNIFER MURPHY:
Oh, he-- oh.
Oh, my god.
JON TAFFER: Now, he's going to spread
it all over the kitchen.
JENNIFER MURPHY: No way. (OFF) MIA MASTROIANNI: No.
JON TAFFER: He doesn't even know it's there.
(ON) JENNIFER MURPHY: Oh, my god.
- So we're watching
now one of the dirtiest kitchens I think we've
seen in a long, long time now.
- This is absolutely disgusting.
- We have a bucket for that right side,
so the beers can cool down.
- The ice machine is not working.
- Yeah, we can't use any of this.
Too warm in there.
CODY: It's too warm? (OFF) THOMAS: Yeah.
CODY: Damn.
Yeah, go ahead and mark down on the waste log.
[bleep], why did it get so warm?
- So they have this big walk-in
behind the bar.
The cooler doesn't work.
I'm told it's about 85 degrees in there.
- Stop.
- And they have beer in there,
and they have some food product in there.
- Why are they storing stuff in there
if it's 85 degrees.
- Yeah, it's not cold enough.
- Well, I can't have nice things, people.
- Well, one of two things, either Cathy
doesn't care, or Cathy is incredibly ignorant.
If she doesn't care, she's doomed.
She's not going to make it to next month, and it's over.
If she does care, we should be able to teach her.
Here's what I'm going to do, I have two great recon guys
from ESPN Radio.
These guys do remotes in sports bars all the time.
They live in sports bars, so I thought
they were great recon guys to come in, give us
an overall scope of the place. (OFF) MIA MASTROIANNI: Sure.
- I'm going to have them come in,
but I'm not going to let them eat that food.
I'll go in before they eat it, because I think we agree Jen,
they cannot eat that food.
- Absolutely not.
- Where do you want to sit?
Right here? Let's go.
- Are we ready to get some drinks started, guys?
- Yeah. So what do you got on draft?
- We have no draft tonight.
It's just me bottled.
- No draft?
Why not?
- Our walk-in has been down for a little bit,
so we can't serve drafts.
CUSTOMER: How long has it been down?
- A month.
- A month?
- A month.
I'm just the bartender.
JON TAFFER: No draft beer?
That's because of the walk-in issue again.
How is that acceptable to Cathy?
CUSTOMER: You have like a specialty cocktail?
- Prickly pear is pretty good.
I'd say the Caramel White Russian
is also popular if you like-- (ON) CUSTOMER: Yeah.
Can I try the Caramel White Russian?
ERIN: Yeah, of course.
- I'm going to do a Spicy Martini.
CUSTOMER: Yeah, I like that.
- Oh, here we go.
Oh.
This entire glass is cream.
No.
M-mmm.
- Amazing.
Thank you.
Oh, baby.
It's a cup of vermouth.
- I'm going to get the blue cheeseburger
with no mayo. (OFF) ERIN: Absolutely.
How do you want it cooked?
- Medium, please.
- Get it going.
JON TAFFER: Look at that burger.
- Ew!
JENNIFER MURPHY: It's not the right color.
JON TAFFER: Oh, my god.
MIA MASTROIANNI: This kitchen is a disaster.
I'm terrified to see the bar.
- What is he doing?
He's putting a meat thermometer in a hamburger.
I've never seen that in my life, Chef.
- It's pointless.
The bottom of his probe is touching the hot grill.
- The grill, of course.
- So he's not getting
an accurate temperature on it.
JON TAFFER: What's with that cheese?
Oh, is that all dry and hard?
- Yeah, it has a structure.
- Has that cover ever been washed--
ever?
JON TAFFER: OK, we got some fries.
JENNIFER MURPHY: In that filthy basket,
in that disgusting oil.
- Even I know that oil
is not the right color.
- There's nothing about this place
that isn't disgusting.
- Right.
JON TAFFER: This is unbelievable.
This should be shut down.
This should not be operating this way.
Chef, can we let a customer eat that?
JENNIFER MURPHY: Absolutely not.
MIA MASTROIANNI: They're going to make people sick.
- We have to go in there.
- We do. Let's do it.
We'll see you later.
- All right.
Good luck.
CUSTOMER: What are you drinking?
- This is the Caramel White Russian.
- Why would you order a Caramel White Russian?
- Howdy. How are you, sir?
- I want to see your meat, guys.
- Yes, sir.
- Take a look, Jen.
- Jon, I mean, even on the inside,
it's all the way through.
When were these made?
- Ah.
- Does this look good to you?
Would you want to eat that? (ON) CODY: Personally, no, sir.
- But you're serving it to people.
Where's Cathy?
Cathy!
Hello, I'm Jon.
- Hi.
- I'm here to save you.
This is Jen, one of the best chefs in America,
has worked with me a long time.
We're outside watching them cook burgers.
Those burgers are going to go to your guests right now.
Look at this.
This is what you're serving people?
What the hell is wrong with you guys?
Would you eat it?
What else do we have going on here, guys?
JENNIFER MURPHY: Check this out.
CATHY WHALEY: Yeah.
JENNIFER MURPHY: Not acceptable.
- What else do we have, Jen?
- We have brown lettuce.
- We don't have a walk-in to hold anything.
Everything has been frozen.
When I pull it out and defrost, it just crumbles apart.
JON TAFFER: It shouldn't be frozen.
Well, come on, guys, does anybody
know what they're doing?
Does anyone?
You're serving people!
You're going to kill somebody!
Should you be in a food business?
JENNIFER MURPHY: Not with that food.
- Here's the one that really got me.
Where is it?
As you're cooking, that cockroach
is walking across the floor.
Guys, this place is disgusting.
The Health Department should shut you down.
You shouldn't be serving food to anybody!
I want to see you walk-in.
Where's your walk-in?
- It's not working.
This walk-in hasn't worked for a month.
- But you have food in here.
Would you want to eat those?
CATHY WHALEY: That should have been thrown away.
- Guys, I need you to shut this place down.
They need to throw everything away in this kitchen,
every [bleep] thing in here!
It's a shameful embarrassment, and it's on you.
How dare you do this to your customers,
people who entrusted you!
How dare you?
people who entrusted you!
How dare you?
If you're willing to do this, I'm not sure I can help you.
Because you're one of two things,
Cathy, either you're incredibly ignorant,
or you're incredibly lazy.
- I'm not lazy.
- How long have you been running this place?
- Almost five years.
- Five years.
You don't know this isn't edible?
Five years, you don't know that.
What the hell have you done in five
years other than lose $300,000, because you
don't know anything?
And it's not just back here.
The bar is a total mess too.
You guys weren't trained, I don't blame you,
but this has to change right away.
Throw everything away, and clean this kitchen,
and then maybe Jen will come back and train you guys.
That's the deal.
You got this, Cathy?
If not, I might just walk out of here.
Don't eat anything, folks.
- He made me look like an idiot,
and I'm not that much of an idiot.
My cooks are supposed to know when to throw
the brown guacamole away.
I just haven't been in the kitchen.
CODY: I'm hoping that we're
not getting yelled at again.
- Yeah.
I'm not feeling that great today.
I thought yesterday went really bad.
Yeah, I mean, we got most of the cleaning done last night,
so we shouldn't have to worry about that.
We just concentrate on customers and teamwork and make sure
everything goes smoothly.
We did cleaning last night.
We were here for a long time, so I hope that things
will be better today.
- Scrubbed it out and soaked and good to go.
We're all here till the end.
- Hey, everybody.
- Hey, Jon.
- I really don't
know what to expect from Jon.
- Cathy, I'd like to talk
to you a little bit before we talk to everybody, OK.
Guys, give us a little space, if you don't mind.
- Sure.
- I hope he doesn't yell some more.
- Last night was pretty intense for you,
I would imagine.
- Yeah, very.
- I want to look you in the eyes
and try to understand what happened
here so I can really help you.
So you opened this bar four years ago, five years ago?
- It will be almost--
it's almost five years. (ON) JON TAFFER: Gotcha.
So you had never done anything like this before.
- No.
- Well, why did you open it?
- I wanted to be a business owner,
and the guy I was with at the time
told me that he could run it.
- So based upon his advice and your desires,
you wound up opening the bar? (ON) CATHY WHALEY: Right.
- Is he still around?
- No.
- So you got stuck with the bar?
- Yep.
- When did that happen?
How many years ago?
- He was only here for nine months.
- So you've been dealing with this
for four years on your own.
- Yep.
- How much money have you put into this?
- I'm in debt $350,000.
- Debt.
- M-hm.
- How much money do you have to continue?
- None (ON) JON TAFFER: None.
So this is it.
- M-hm.
- Do you have any family here in town?
- Yeah, my mother.
- Your mom.
So is she a support for you?
- Yeah, she is.
- This is not easy to go through alone.
There's a lot of pressure in this.
I understand that.
So I'm going to come at you pretty aggressively
the next few days to teach you everything that I can.
I want you to remember something.
I'm not fighting with you, I'm fighting for you.
OK? (ON) CATHY WHALEY: OK.
- OK, let's go to work.
- OK.
- All right, everybody,
let's get together here.
These two are warriors to me.
Jen has not only run restaurants--
how many restaurants have you supervised at the same time?
- 14.
This is a great chef.
Cathy understands systems, procedures,
how to make the business work for you,
because she can't be in 14 of them at the same time, can she?
So she has to put the systems in to make them successful.
That's why I have Jen here.
Mia Mastroianni has been-- we've been working together
probably about 10 years now.
- Yeah, I think so.
- And Mia also, unbelievable bartender.
One of the fastest I've ever seen in the country.
Won speedwell competitions, but Mia has a great sensitivity.
She knows how to create cocktail programs that women are
comfortable with, that a wife looks at her husband and says,
yeah, take me to that bar that has sports.
What's your name? (ON) THOMAS: Thomas.
- Thomas, nice to meet you.
How long have you been here?
- Just over 2 years, about 2 and 1/2 years.
- How come you think we're failing, Thomas?
- I think as things have progressed
and things started failing behind the bar
and in the kitchen that we all kind of started checking out
a little bit and not really keeping our focus
on what the ultimate goal was, which was
to make this place successful.
- The place is a shit hole.
You agree? (ON) THOMAS: Yeah.
It's gotten bad, yeah.
- Yeah, really bad.
Cody, how long have you been here?
- I've been here about a year and a half,
a little a year and a half. (ON) JON TAFFER: Yeah.
I was pretty rough last night. (ON) CODY: Yes, sir.
- But I respect you for standing here.
Let's fix this together, OK? (OFF) CODY: Yeah, of course.
I appreciate it.
- What did you see last night, Chef?
- The level of neglect was unbelievable.
As food and beverage operators, you have an obligation
to serve your guests safely, and you
served meat that was no good.
And you knew it, right?
- Yes ma'am.
- Where's your integrity?
- I don't have a walk-in.
I know I can't keep nothing fresh.
I can't keep nothing going.
Like, everything is going bad before I
can get it out, get it even prepped and out the window.
- So we shouldn't be selling it then.
Right, Cody?
If we can't be safe, then we can't do it.
- Yes, sir. I completely agree.
- Yeah.
I mean, everything here has a feeling of filth to it.
There's not one surface in this room that
doesn't seem disgusting to me, in the kitchen
or behind the bar.
And Cathy, that's on you.
This is your business.
You need to walk in and see these things and react to them.
Hi, what's your name? (ON) PATRICIA: Patricia.
JON TAFFER: Patricia, how long have you been here?
- Just almost a year.
- Almost a year?
Was the last place you worked at a little cleaner, not as clean?
- Probably. (ON) JON TAFFER: Probably.
Was it a little more organized? (ON) PATRICIA: Yeah.
- Yeah.
Pretty disorganized, pretty filthy environment, isn't it?
- Yeah.
Erin, how long have you been here?
- 2 and 1/2 years.
Is what I'm saying fair?
- Very fair.
- Yeah.
If you don't care enough to look and clean it, why should they?
Fair?
- Very fair.
- So let me explain how dire this
is so you guys understand it.
You're in debt, how much, Cath?
They need to hear this?
- $350,000.
If we don't turn this around quickly, she's done.
she's done.
So we have to change, don't we?
And we need to create integrity here,
where you have integrity as a chef,
you have integrity as an owner, and all of us
are proud of what we do.
There's no pride in this room.
None.
Well, the first thing we need to do is be professional, correct?
OK.
First thing to do when I'm professional
is to get a shower curtain off the frickin' kitchen.
Look at this, guys.
Really?
The days of making decisions-- like the walls,
like the shower curtain, like the kitchen,
Cathy, that has to end today!
Right? (ON) CATHY WHALEY: Yes.
- OK, let's go to work, guys.
We got a lot of work to do.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Hey, team.
ALL: Hello.
THOMAS: How are you doing?
- How are you guys doing?
- Great.
- Erin. Hi, Honey.
- Hi.
- So last night, Jon
had some friends come in to do recon,
and they ordered a White Russian.
I would love for you to join me back here
and make me what you made for them last night.
- OK.
- Since I didn't
get to see a lot behind the bar last night,
I'm very anxious to get back there
today and assess the bar staff to see where their skills lie.
Were you jiggering last night? (ON) ERIN: I was.
- All right.
From there, I'll be able to figure out what we need to do
to train them moving forward.
- Ta-da.
OK.
You started by putting ice in your glass.
We don't do that.
And the reason why we don't do that is when you're
pouring warmer liquid over ice, it
already starts to water down.
So when you're building a cocktail in the glass,
so we're going to do 2 ounces of our caramel vodka--
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
1 ounce of our coffee liqueur--
1, 2, 3, 4.
We add our ice.
All we need to do with the heavy cream is 1/2 an ounce--
1, 2.
Great.
The thing with heavy cream, we're going to shake it.
Don't need ice.
We're just going to give it a little whip.
Float it across the top.
Taste both.
OK, don't be shy. What are we getting?
- It definitely has a much more complex flavor
on that with the caramel.
- So we have a lot of work
to do in preparation for tonight.
Gonna really focus on our pour counts.
We're going to focus on balanced cocktails
going out behind the bar tonight.
It's going to be really busy, so let's get to work.
- Jon laid into you guys pretty good.
- Yes, ma'am. (ON) CATHY WHALEY: Yeah, he did.
- Here's the thing, Jon
and I are both professionals, and when
we see that level of neglect and carelessness,
we take it personal.
Before we move forward with saving this bar,
we demanded that they throw away everything, all the food
product in that kitchen, because we just
did not feel safe about it.
For today's training, I want to gauge
where Cody's skill set is at.
So I'm going to have him make me a burger,
just to see how he does.
You just cross-contaminated everything
you touch because you handled that raw patty.
- Yes, ma'am. OK, I didn't think about that.
Sorry about that.
- Cross contaminating
his hands with raw meat and touching a fresh bun,
that's a big no, no.
So you say this is a medium.
It's pretty much medium rare in the middle.
We're going to show Cody the fundamentals.
We place our patty in the oil.
Because I'm not confident in his skill set just yet.
We're going to address those food safety
issues and the basic skill set.
We will lightly butter that bun and place it
on a part of the grill that's not too hot, right, because we
want it nice and golden brown.
We want to get the food out in an expedited manner.
We're going to drop the french fries.
My bun is nice and toasted, so I will put that in my basket.
Then I have a jalapeno ranch that we're going to put
on both sides of the bun.
I have some roasted pasilla and Anaheim chilies.
I'm going to take about 1 ounce, and I'm just going to warm
it up right beside my burger.
I have some Monterey Jack cheese.
What I'm looking for is to create a little texture.
My burger is ready.
That's going to get landed right on top instead of just
the regular, boring tomato and onion, our pico de gallo.
That complements all the flavors we have going on here,
so there's your green chili burger, guys.
It's really simple, really easy.
- That burger that she made
today is definitely next level.
I mean, she brings out different flavors,
so many different ideas.
That's delicious. It was interesting.
It was definitely informative.
Hopefully, we can keep up with it and knock it out tonight.
- tonight is stress test,
and it will be stressful.
Cathy, I want you topping in the kitchen.
I want you checking on Cody.
- I'm a little anxious.
I think we'll do OK, but I know everybody
is going to come in all at once, so it's going to be tough.
- We're going to go through it
again and again and again.
Drill into it until it becomes second nature.
- All right, here we go.
- Welcome to the High 5 Grille.
Come on in.
Go ahead.
Sit anywhere.
- How are you guys doing today?
CUSTOMER: Good. How are you?
- Good.
- What will you have?
White Russian?
CUSTOMER: White Russian, and the burger.
- White Russian and a burger?
- Now, I'm making drinks, yes.
- I'm getting it. Thomas, I need you in your well.
- Getting there. Getting there.
I've got burgers coming in.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Good. Bring that food.
- OK, first order, walking in.
What have you got? (ON) CODY: Walking in.
We got four Southwest burgers, an order of deep fried guac.
Oh, damn.
Dropped the burger.
- That's food cost right there, bud.
- I know. Hell.
JENNIFER MURPHY: What's your big plan with it?
You gotta have somewhere to land that first.
Yeah, you just juggling--
now, you're contaminating everything.
- See what you got, Thomas.
Let's see what you got, buddy.
- Bang 'em out, honey.
Bang 'em out.
- Put your stopwatch on for me.
Thank you.
I want to see how long it takes you to get a drink, OK?
- Yes, two hands.
Nice.
1, 2, 3.
Hit me with your bourbon.
Get that shake.
Yes way.
- Two burgers. (ON) CUSTOMER: All righty.
- All righty. (ON) CUSTOMER: Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- I'll do the burger.
- OK, so these are--
- We have somebody.
Yeah. Do we have somebody--
- That is going to be Thomas.
Thomas.
Gonna need you in service well, pal.
- Got it. (ON) MIA MASTROIANNI: Great.
- Can I get the Southwest burger, please?
- Seasoning burgers now.
- Listen, food safety,
number one priority.
Your hands touched those raw patties.
Now, you're handling the bottle, so what's happening?
- Cross contamination.
- Contamination, right?
- Yeah.
- I'm not going to let you
do anything if it's not safe. (ON) CODY: Yeah.
No, I appreciate it.
Yeah, I appreciate you catching me.
I really do.
- So now, you've
got to sanitize that bottle.
We gotta get going because every mistake you make
is making you fall behind.
- Ah, upside down.
Glass on top. Thank you.
- I'm gonna do two cheeseburgers.
- Two burgers, gotcha.
- Love it.
Oh, a strainer. And used for the first time.
THOMAS: Yeah, I know.
- Let's bring in some more food.
- What's the next step
after you drop the patties?
- Get the side down, then get the buns working,
get the plates working.
JENNIFER MURPHY: Yes, more tickets coming in.
- Two more Southwest burgers.
I got 10 burgers and four salsas.
JENNIFER MURPHY: They ring in 10 burgers?
CODY: Yeah.
- How are those drinks looking, Mia?
- They're looking good.
I watched him execute this entire.
He got four out fairly quickly, but really concentrating
on those four counts. (ON) JON TAFFER: Shows promise.
- Yes, he does.
His technique is actually quite good.
- Excellent.
- Let me just try that.
These look beautiful.
Nice job!
- Did you have the port and tequila?
No?
Did you have the port and tequila?
CUSTOMER: Yes.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Where are my burgers?
CODY: Coming out right now.
- You're cooking.
He's doing the best he can.
But he's completely overwhelmed, and you're nowhere to be found.
- Well, they're needing drinks up there too.
(ON) JENNIFER MURPHY: No excuses.
We need help. (ON) CODY: Open window.
Open window. (ON) JENNIFER MURPHY: Let's go.
- You're doing everything I taught you.
Oh, those are great, honey.
Does anyone have food yet?
- Who's running this food?
- Yep, I'm going to do it right now.
Burgers?
CUSTOMER: Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
- Oh, there's food coming
out of the kitchen, guys.
Hey, we don't know if it's cooked all right yet.
Don't go clapping yet.
- Congratulations, you
got your very first check out.
Now, you only have 13 more to go.
- The drinks are coming out consistently.
The pour counts are good.
The quality is there.
They just need to be faster.
We also need a second well, and we need another POS
on that side of the bar.
It's a blind spot.
You can't see that half of the room.
CUSTOMER: Yeah.
We're a little unsure about this one, actually.
- Oh, OK.
I think it's moo-ing.
- It's a little scary.
- Well, what are we going to do about that?
THOMAS: I can get a rerun going on that plate.
- OK, please and thank you.
The burger is undercooked, Jon.
- Let me take that back.
I want to show them because I'm training them.
Let me get another burger on the fly.
This is one of the first sports raw.
- Did you temp the burger, Cody?
- No.
- Well, let's get one out to him on the fly.
- Yeah, I got you, Chef.
Give me one second, Chef.
- Look at this.
You dug yourself out of the service well.
This is amazing.
This never happens with the stress test.
There's actually a lot of people here.
- Taking my way.
- So what do you think?
- We're just not set up for success.
The organization isn't here.
They're running into each other like bumper cars.
He's completely overwhelmed.
They'll never dig themselves out of this hole.
- Yeah, we just got one order for 10 burgers,
and it just bogged us down.
Yeah.
- Well, I've seen what I need to see.
So if you want to go out there and tell everybody
we're going to close now?
- We are?
- Yep.
- Can I have your attention, everyone?
Appreciate everybody coming in, but we are
going to have to close down.
I appreciate you being here, and I hope that you will come back
on Friday and see all our improvements
and all of our successes.
Thank you so much.
I don't consider tonight a failure.
It showed us that, yes, we have some issues in the kitchen.
- So where is Chef at?
CATHY WHALEY: But it's very humbling
to know that myself and my staff are
capable and are willing to do what we need to do.
And we found our problems where we can improve.
- Last night, during stress test, both
Thomas and Patricia showed me that they are both capable
of building a more complex cocktail.
Jon and I really wanted to integrate
fresh flavors, fresh citrus.
We are giving them a very diversified
cocktail program moving forward, so
there's something for everyone.
Good morning, team. (ON) THOMAS: Yeah.
- Good morning. (OFF) ERIN: Hello.
- My bartenders,
you had no right to be as good as you were last night.
You knew your pour counts, you knew the ingredients,
and you were sharing a very confined space in that well.
Moving forward, signature cocktails that Jon and I have
crafted for your bar, they are more interesting and
complex ingredients.
We're going to start with 1/2 an ounce
of Twisted Alchemy lime juice, 1 ounce vanilla syrup,
2 ounces of fresh Twisted Alchemy passionfruit juice,
2 ounces of blanco tequila.
Ice your glassware.
Ice your mixing glass all the way to the top.
Starter sip with a dehydrated lime wheel.
This is your Passionfruit & Tequila.
We design these cocktails to be complimentary and pairing
well with chef's food.
Cathy, how do you feel about this program moving forward?
- I'm excited.
Those are drinks that our customers would really enjoy.
- I think everyone can actually
appreciate the care and the craft that goes into cocktails
like this, that are really going to set
you apart from any other business in this area.
JENNIFER MURPHY: How are we doing today?
- Another day in paradise.
(ON) JENNIFER MURPHY: Listen, Cody,
I was really disappointed to see you
make those same mistakes with all the food safety issues.
- I'm going to try to get better on it.
- There's no excuse to not
follow those protocols, right?
Are we understood. (ON) CODY: Yeah.
- OK.
There's another aspect that you need to work on
and that's systems and organization.
You're moving, but you're not doing anything meaningful.
So we're going to focus on those things as well.
- OK.
- So today I'm going to train
you on steak taco salad.
First step, gotta grill the steak.
I have some marinated strip loin.
While that's cooking, I'm going to prepare the salad, OK?
We're going to dress some Romaine.
This is a creamy cilantro dressing.
Gently toss the salad with my hands.
Once that's done, I go straight onto the plate.
We have some really fun toppings-- fresh roasted corn,
pico de gallo, black beans.
Next step, Monterey Jack cheese, also,
cross utilized from other menu items.
All right.
My steak is rested, ready to slice it.
Drop it over the top.
And the final touch, the fried tortilla.
That, my friends, steak taco salad.
Guys, tomorrow's relaunch, we have a lot of work to do.
I want you to really focus and remember those things
that we talked about, OK?
- I need to work on my cleanliness
and definitely, my food safety hazard.
And now, I kind of have some motivation
to do better and get better, it's definitely going to help.
- Some rescues can be very difficult.
As you can hear from my voice, this one wasn't easy.
But last night, I saw some light at the end of the tunnel.
There's opportunity for Cathy to really step up and take control
of this business now, and that's what I need
to talk to her about today.
How are you feeling?
- Better.
Better than Tuesday, that's for sure.
- We made a lot of progress, didn't we?
- Yeah.
- I think you lost the fire
in your belly a little bit.
- I did.
I know I did.
- You've been beat to hell.
I get that.
Leave you winding up with a bar that you
never thought you'd run, COVID, but this
is a new beginning for you. (ON) CATHY WHALEY: Yep.
- Do you feel some of the pressure lifting?
- I mean, I'm hoping
for something great to come out of this, and I think it will.
- You know, when we sat and talked,
when I asked you if you had any family here and said,
yeah, my mom is here. (ON) CATHY WHALEY: Yeah.
- And then I asked you
if your mom knew what you were going through,
and you said, yes.
Tomorrow night, I want her to be so proud of you.
- She's going to be there.
- I want her to feel
that you have this chance now.
Nothing worse than worrying about your little girl.
And you're still her little girl, aren't you?
- Yeah. (ON) JON TAFFER: Yeah.
So if you saw your bar now, you'd be in tears.
It's ripped to shreds.
So I got about 24 hours to put it together now, so I'm
going to go back to work.
You Get some rest, OK?
- OK. All right.
Thank you.
I think I did lose my fire, my interest for a long time
just because I didn't have what I needed to keep moving.
And I think Jon has helped reignite that in me.
I think with him moving us forward,
there's something to look forward to again.
[cheers]
- Hello, everybody.
This week, was it good for you, Cathy?
- It was.
- What'd you learn this week?
- That I can do it.
- You can.
You just needed a little more tools and a little training
to get there.
What do you think, Cody?
- It's been a rough one, but we got through it.
- Yeah, you sure did, didn't you?
You showed a lot of character this week.
You should be proud of yourself. (ON) CODY: Thank you, sir.
- I always think to myself, what can be unique?
What name connects all of us to this bar in the future?
I think I came up with a simple one that works.
You guys ready to see it? (ON) THOMAS: Yep.
- Yep.
- 1, 2, 3.
[cheers]
- Wow.
- I wanted people to see
a new color, a new sign, a new logo, because this is really
a fresh beginning, isn't it? (ON) CODY: Oh, yeah.
- How popular is cantina food
in this part of the country?
- Yeah.
- So we're matching the bar
to the marketplace, and we added Cinco as a nod
to the number in the original name.
All right, you ready to see the inside?
- Yes. (ON) JON TAFFER: All right.
Go ahead.
- All right.
[cheers]
- Oh, wow.
- Wow.
THOMAS: Wow.
So much different. (OFF) CATHY WHALEY: Oh, wow.
Yeah, it does. (ON) THOMAS: That's nice.
CATHY WHALEY: I like the colors.
- Yay. (OFF) CATHY WHALEY: The lights.
- I like the tables.
ERIN: Nice tables.
CATHY WHALEY: New stools.
They're not ripped.
PATRICIA: I really like that.
THOMAS: It's so much cleaner in here.
Completely. (OFF) ERIN: It's wonderful.
- It's different.
- Do me a favorite, Thomas,
stick your hand in that door for me, would you?
ERIN: It's cold?
- Oh, it's cold.
- Feels good, huh?
- It's awesome.
I love the colors.
I love the cantina.
I'm very happy.
- All righty, so there's a lot of things
that we did.
I mean, that wide kitchen door, look how we narrowed that.
Now, you're not staring in the kitchen from the dining room,
are you?
We got you SkyTab POS, which is the best in the world, guys.
And we gave you three terminals, two tablets, and a display
monitor in the kitchen.
We've set up the second workstation now.
Then I got you a subscription to Partender.
You can do inventory management with it,
literally, in 15 minutes.
I got barproducts.com to give you
guys everything, from caddies, to mixing cups, to glassware.
And then I got B & J Refrigeration,
a great local company, worked here all night long,
and that cooler is exactly 34 degrees,
just what it should be.
And then...
Here you go buddy.
That's for you Cody.
I think I've set you up with a lot of tools.
What do you think?
- Yeah, I think so.
JON TAFFER: Feel good? (ON) CATHY WHALEY: Yeah.
I love it. (OFF) ERIN: We're ready to go.
- I'm ready.
- All right, guys, let's go to work.
THOMAS: All right. (OFF) CODY: Yeah.
- Hello, everybody.
Thanks for coming.
Welcome to the new Cinco Cantina.
Come on in.
- Welcome to Cinco Cantina.
What are we drinking?
- I'm going to have the watermelon.
- OK.
You want to start with any appetizers?
Chips and salsa.
THOMAS: What can I get you guys
started off with over here?
- I'm gonna have a Sunset, a Watermelon
Crush and a Bandito.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Oh, my stars.
(OFF) JENNIFER MURPHY: It's showtime.
We got our first ticket in-- one burger, one steak.
- First up.
- Two Banditos coming right up.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Look at you go.
Where's your garnish? Where's your garnish?
- It's right here.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Thank you.
- Where it belongs, in the cup.
- You already got all your orders, right?
- Yes. (ON) CATHY WHALEY: OK.
Right.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Look at this.
JON TAFFER: Double shake.
Let's go, Thomas.
MIA MASTROIANNI: Yes, Thomas.
- Flip those burgers.
Let's go.
They're rolling in now, so we got to push a little bit.
- OK.
JENNIFER MURPHY: Nice job.
Look at that.
Wonderful.
Right after that, give me two chili burgers, OK?
MIA MASTROIANNI: Good.
You're doing a great job.
- How are we doing?
- Jon, I'm blown away.
Thomas is totally crushing service well.
Everyone at the bar already has drinks.
- Wow.
- And here's the Bandito for you.
- We've only been open about 15 minutes,
half the dining room is already served.
Food is coming out of the kitchen.
I gotta tell you, this is really a completely new business.
How are we doing, Chef?
- Jon, it's a huge improvement, really.
Cody is doing a great job with ticket times.
He's very efficient.
Proper technique.
Proper sanitation.
- Feeling good, Cody?
- Oh, we're getting it. It's going good right now.
We're running smooth.
- Are you, Irene?
- I am.
- I can see the resemblance.
- Yes.
- You have a wonderful daughter,
but you know that, don't you?
- I know that, yes.
- I'm glad you're here,
and I think you're going to see that the weight is
lifted off her shoulders now. (ON) IRENE WHALEY: I hope so.
- Hopefully, this is a nice fresh beginning.
- She's stressed tonight,
but maybe she can sleep tomorrow.
- Yeah, I hope so.
- I'll take the chips and the taquitos.
You get the burger and the guacamole.
- Cathy knows how to run this bar.
She's actually good at it.
- Two Tucson Sunsets.
- But she lost her fire.
By building a new bar, getting her energetic,
her skills came back.
She's running this place great.
It's a very successful opening.
- I just heard perfectly cooked.
Pink in the middle.
- Hey, way to go, Cody.
Nice job.
- Appreciate it.
JON TAFFER: Cathy is tough,
but she's been through hell.
Now, with the systems in place, the training in place,
and some fire in her belly, I really sense that she's
going to make it a success.
- Promotional consideration
provided by SkyTab, Partender, barproducts.com, Twisted
Alchemy, Lawson Plumbing, Commoner & Co, B & J
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