I am Jon Taffer, host of Bar Rescue and entrepreneur - AMA

John, can you please yell at me?

Go fuck yourself! :)

If Obama asked you to rescue Congress. What would the game plan be? They already SHUT IT DOWN. So, what's your next move?

If I was president, I would get in a car, I would drive to the Capitol breaking all precedent, I would walk up the steps, walk into a conference room, and sit leadership down. And I wouldn't leave until the deal was done. Rather than posturing and excuses, I would find a solution.

Do you ever blink?

If you're speaking physically, yes. If you're speaking mentally, no.

Jon,

Is Big Cat from Barstool Sports the best guy you have ever met?

He's a great guy. He is a great guy. I must say that I was told (and I believe it) that he had never seen Bar Rescue before he met me that day.

And I must admit, when I cut loose on him, there were moments I thought he was genuinely pissed... still might be.

Hey Jon big fan, who would be the first person you would like to encounter in a butt funnel?

A butt funnel is something I invented about 25 years ago. And it's one of the greatest tools of nightclub interaction I've ever done. It's a narrow entryway to a dance floor. It's wide enough to cause 2 people to go through it at the same time, but it's narrow enough that it causes the two people to have to turn sideways to get through it. So to answer the dance floor, the two of you are staring at each other in the face about 18 inches apart, stimulating interaction and eye contact. First it's the butt funnel, next it's a drink, then it's breakfast.

My wife! ONLY my wife. I've been with Nicole for 16 years and I would still be excited to go through a butt funnel with her.

What Bar Rescue are you most proud of either in terms of the changes you made to the bar or the changes you made in the owner's life?

Well I think the one I'm most proud of for both would be Spirits On Bourbon in New Orleans. I looked at one of the owners, and called him a failure, twice. Now, their revenues are up $100,000 dollars a month. The barbershop chair is one of the most photographed attractions on Bourbon Street. And lastly, Steve and Brad (the two owners) just bought a warehouse to stock all their souvenir cups. And people should check out their Facebook page, which is fun: https://www.facebook.com/SpirtsOnBourbon

Hi Jon, I’m a big fan of your show and I thank you for doing this AMA. These days, with all the reality shows on air, it’s hard to distinguish which segments are scripted and which are not. Can you give us some insight as to how much of the show is legitimate? Are the owners/employees of the bars really that stupid/ignorant or is it just an act? Also, when and how do you install those hidden cameras so that the staff is unaware? Thanks!

Well I will answer in the order it happens.

The cameras are installed a day to 1.5 days before I get there. Yes, everybody knows the cameras are there. But amazingly, after a day, they just start to forget and people start acting normal again.

Next, Bar Rescue is shot in real time. Day one is my recon, Day two is training and stress test, day three is training and tasting, day four is remodel (actually 36 hours so I can put that to rest) and then day five is when I reveal and we open.

None of Bar Rescue is scripted, ever. We create situations like the stress test, a staff meeting, a meeting with the owners, and those situations of course I work into my thing, but nothing is scripted, ever.

As far as how do we find this people? Somebody says "yes, Mr Taffer" for 45 minutes, that's not going to make great tv, so if that's the bar I chose I would be a fool.

We have over 1,000 bars submit to be rescued. We look at them all, and we pick what we think will be compelling. We pick what we feel will be compelling stories, interesting people, interesting scenarios... In the end, the Bar Rescue is more about people and storytelling than it is about bars.

Jon Taffer! My friend and I are huge fans. Our Sundays consist of switching between football games and bar rescue!

Our question is: Which bar rescue was the most difficult one for you? Also, what is your drink of choice?

PS: Your AMA started late. SHUT IT DOWN!!!

Two. Three, actually.

Pirates comes to mind because it was so bizarre, and uncomfortable every minute I was there. I can't really say this about any other bar that I've rescued, but I did not like those people, candidly. And I did not enjoy one minute that I was there. It was my most difficult in that regard.

The other one was Headhunters, where the owner did not pay the employees and was such a joke that I wound up rescuing the bar for the employees, not him. I gave the employees a choice, if I would rescue the bar or get them jobs down the street. And had they chosen the second option, I would have walked out of there, I was prepared to do that.

The third was Zanzabar in Denver. That was an Israeli military owner that I got in a physical altercation with. He called my chef "fat boy." And I went at him and we had a fight. And Ami was one tough cookie. Four days later, he called me an angel and hugged me when I left. And that's the beauty of Bar Rescue.

Hi Jon!

Thank you so much for doing this AMA today. Let me start by saying that you have inspired me with your “embrace solutions rather than excuses” approach to professionalism. You have helped motivate me to do my best in everything I do.

Questions:
• What is your favorite drink?
• What was your favorite bar to rescue and why?
• Can you discuss some of the off-screen interactions you have had with bar owners who were ungrateful for the work you did for them?
• Do you ever return to any bars you have rescued?

My friends and I have been planning to do a Bar Rescue bar tour once we graduate next year, and we would love to see you at one of them! Thanks again for the AMA.

Drink: I bounce around a lot. I'm not a big drinker. I like scotch, fine scotches, and I will mix those around. I also drink a Godfather, which is Scotch with a little bit of Amaretto in it. However I must confess that I will have a fruity, foo foo-y kind of drink once in a while. And when I do that, I always make sure there are no cameras around when I do that.

Favorite bar to rescue: Already answered. Spirits of Bourbon was one of my favorites in regards to results, but favorite bar based on individuals, I would choose the Alexander Family, which owned Characters which became Moonrunners. And that was the episode where the brother used to beat the hell out of the sister (mentally) and the sister was always crying and the family dynamic was a nightmare, and we changed the entire family dynamic, and it was a very powerful, emotional things to see. It was one of my personal favorite episodes because I felt really bad for the younger sister. But changing a dysfunctional family into one that loved each other was one of my greatest accomplishments, I think.

Off-screen interactions: The thing about Bar Rescue is it's absolutely real. Not one word is scripted. So if there's no camera present, I don't talk to anyone. None of the employees or owners have any contact with me off-camera. Nothing happens off camera, and nothing is scripted. Period, END OF DISCUSSION. What you see is what you get in Bar Rescue.

Do I ever return: Sure. I will pop in one or two to say hello when I am in those towns. As intense as Bar Rescue gets, with the exception of one or two times, it almost always ends positively where I have a great relationship with the owners and employees. In fact, I'm talking to the network about doing a "back to the bar" kind of show where I go back and visit with cameras.

Hey Jon, thanks for doing this AMA! I'm a huge fan of Bar Rescue. I was lucky enough to meet you back in July at On The Rocks Las Vegas. (Such an amazing event!)

I mentioned a startup company I recently founded called BreathAdvisor. In an effort to break away from the hokey breathalyzer machine reputation, we have created the world's most accurate breathalyzer kiosk designed to save lives.

We cap the readings to deter people from using BreathAdvisor as a game, and users can even request a cab directly from the kiosk. (We’ve already seen this save bar staff time.)

We've had great feedback so far, but I was wondering… As a bar owner, would you have any concerns that we haven’t addressed?

EDIT: Found a picture of us in Vegas! http://i.imgur.com/tB4c0Wt.png

I think I remember meeting you! You really should come to the Nightclub & Bar Convention in Las Vegas, from March 24-26. http://www.ncbshow.com

And you can get the opinions of thousands of operators.

But here's my concern. Sometimes these devices are used as contests to stimulate drinking, not to keep it responsible. In essence, who can fail quicker amongst friends. That's concerning to me. Also, the ultimate responsibility lies with the employees and management, not with a device. I would be concerned that the presence of that device moves responsibility away from the people. Thirdly, if somebody fails on that device and does not get in a cab and drives home and gets hurt, and in theory, somebody from the bar should have known that, the bar would be more liable with the machine than with not since the customer was proven drunk before they left. So I have a bunch of concerns. But even though I think I'm always right, there are one or two times when I haven't been.

Love your show. My family owns an Italian restaurant/catering business in Cleveland. I will probably inherit more and more responsibility/ownership as I get older. Any tips for the future? We had to close a location recently but still have 2 catering locations and 1 restaurant up and running.

You have the responsibility to keep a family legacy going, not just a business. It's always managing costs that will keep the business going. My suggestion is, don't change what your family has done, just make it better, make it deeper, make it more relevant. Also, one more suggestion: go to work for a chain restaurant for a couple of months. The problem with a lot of family businesses is that the only experience they have is within that one business. Go to a chain who's really good at systems, procedures, controls, get exposed to it for a few months. Then go back to your family business and you will see so many opportunities to make it better.

Jon,

I'm always amazed by the bar owners that refuse to budge from what's obviously been a losing strategy for a long time. They are deep in debt and on the verge of closing, yet refuse to change the business name or image. Surely these people have seen the show in past seasons and see that what you do does work. Why are they so resistant to change?

Some people are not the brightest bulbs in the box, candidly. And they make thousands of bad decisions that got me there that day. And they knew they were failing before I got there, and knew there were failing when I got there, and sometimes I can inspire them and get them to change. But on some occasions, I can't.

Jon,

I was proud that your show did a gay bar, are you going to do any in the future, were you worried about any controversy?

No I wasn't worried about any controversy. The gay community is a very big part of the bar and hospitality industry. To me a gay bar is no different than walking into a rock n' roll bar or a hip hop bar. Like any bar, I need to be tough, and show the staff that I respect them and that in fact, I am fighting for them. I respect and fight just as hard whether they are gay or straight, I didn't feel any different, and if you watch the episode, I certainly didn't act any different.

One of the most appalling things on the show is how dirty and unsafe the conditions in most of the kitchens are. Without actually going into the kitchen what are some things customers should look for which can indicate clean and safe food preparation?

It's funny that you would ask this question, because on 10/7 I am doing a guest spot on the Rachael Ray show and she asked me that very same question. And I answer it in detail there, but the fact of the matter is there three or four things you can look at when you go through the front door.

• Is the back bar clean and organized? Does it look like it's detailed?
• Are the furniture, carpets and tabletops clean and detailed?
• When you look at a menu, is it clean, professional and detailed?
  

Here's the premise: a restaurant with a dirty dining room will NEVER have a clean kitchen.

A bar where the back bar is a mess will never have a clean, organized kitchen. So scope in the front, and you'll know what you got in the back.

Hey Jon just wanted to say you're awesome and you have a great show!

Thank you! Comments like that mean more to me than people think. The fact that you take your time to come watch my show every week is like a hug. And from my heart, I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

Is it weird that I love your show even though I don't drink?

A sober mind is our most inquiring viewer.

Obviously, this was on Gordon Ramsay's turf, but if you had to walk into Amy's Baking Company, do you think you could have rescued them?

I love Gordon. He led the way for creating the format and style of the show that myself and Chef Robert Irvine (who's a dear friend of mine by the way) followed. But there's a big difference between them and me. I'm not a chef, I'm a businessman. I go out to businesses and ownership in a different way because I'm coming from a different place than they do. I'm in awe of the work that Gordon and Robert both do, as I know they respect mine. That said, I believe I can fix anything. And if I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be who I am.

what was it like working with the Barstool Sports guys? That video is one of my favorites

They are great guys! I did not meet them ever, or speak to them before that day. My only contact with them had been through Twitter. And I met them that day, we did a brief interview, and then I heard about their bro-affair with Justin Bieber and the rest is history. And there's a link to watching that at barstool sports, check it out: http://chicago.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/on-the-season-premiere-of-blog-rescue/

Hi Jon,

Big fan. How many of the bars that you turned around ended up closing down anyway later down the road?

I actually start shooting my 50th episode in a few days which is quite a milestone. As I understand it, and I don't track it full time so I may be off by one, maybe two, we've done 49 episodes and I believe 5 have closed. And I might add in every case the owner told the camera that they were going to run out of money in a month or two.

When there is the recap after the show, and it says that sales went up by say 15%, while it was better than it was previously, how can that possibly be a big enough change given the amount of debt?

A big fan. Watched since episode one, and also follow on twitter! :)

What the show doesn't say, because we don't provide so many details so it's boring, sales could be up by 15%, beverage costs could be DOWN by 50%, or the food costs DOWN by 50%. So it's the increase in revenue and the lowering in costs that allows them to stay open. Also, that update is typically only a few weeks after we left. Their business tends to keep growing after that update.

Jon you are legend. I heard you had a role in developing NFL Sunday Ticket? To what extent is this true?

Loved your video on barstool last week. Viva.

This is a long story so I'm going to try to tell it short. In the mid-90s I was hired by a satellite company that wanted to buy sports programming from the NFL and sell it in other cities. It was called "out of market sports programming." My company was hired to put together the business plan, financial models, and programming model for the bar industry. The satellite company went to the NFL to license the rights, the NFL chose to do it themselves, and put me on the advisory board of NFL enterprises. I then worked with the NFL to finalize, create and roll out what is now known as Sunday Ticket. So I did not invent Sunday ticket. The idea pre-existed me. I was a creator of the Sunday Ticket product.

Have you ever seen a bar that was unable to be rescued? Due to location, popularity, and other circumstances?

I can rescue ANY BAR. I can't rescue any person. From a professional psychologist standpoint, changing human behavior takes 21 cycles. Quitting smoking takes 21 days, changing something at work takes 21 shifts, learning to exercise takes 21 visits. That is the science of human behavior. In Bar Rescue, I have 5 days. Steve, the owner of Headhunters, by the middle of day two I knew he could not be rescued. I was prepared to walk out. The staff asked me to stay. If that guy stays in business, then it makes no sense to me, the only reason is because of Bar Rescue because he does not care about people.

First, Thanks for doing this AMA! Me and my dad are big fans of the show.

Second, I have a question.

What was the experience like when you first started helping bars get back on their feet (not the first episode of Bar Rescue, but in your career)?

The greatest thing about resuscitating bars is that it makes people smile. The customers smile, the owners smile, it's a really positive and exciting thing when it happens. And it's very motivating. When I do my job well, it makes people smile. And that's pretty cool.

Jon, huge fan. Two questions:
1) Have you ever considered taking a protege under your wing? If so, let me know how to apply. I'm 100% serious.
2) If congress was under a stress test right now, how many rolls of stickers do you think would have been put on the congressmen?

You're the man. Thanks for doing this.

1) You know, I have, and we do bring interns in. As a matter of fact we are looking at starting an intern program in Las Vegas. People can send resumes to us to [email protected] and we often can't respond to everyone but we certainly look. We are not actively hiring, but there are projects where we do involve interns and students and people like that. I see it as a personal responsibility to pass my knowledge down, so doing things like that is very important.

2) I think I would have gotten past the stickers at this point! I thinK I would have fired them all. If you watch Bar Rescue, you know I'm not into posturing or ego. I would have shot them down individually, not the government. And candidly, I don't know why it's wrong to call a politician an ass on national tv. Or a liar. I don't understand why it's politically incorrect if they are. I would call them out. And I think they would think twice if they knew they were going to be called out in embarrassing ways.

What is the weirdest theme or gimmick that you've ever seen in a bar?

If that's not clear, maybe an example would help. An Irish Pub would be an example of a theme or type that is fairly normal. What is a super-weird one that you've seen?

Well I can to speak to one that I created many years ago. Midget tossing as a bar promotion. That was pretty darn strange. I've also given away breast enlargements in nightclubs. We hung the "before" and "after" brassieres in the men's room. The girls that lost got "booby" prizes.

Has the show ever considered showing the construction process? I'd love to see how the actual bar is flipped and turned into the final product

We're doing more and more of that now in each episode, where we are showing time-lapse of the actual work being done, and you'll see a lot of that in the Hurricane Sandy episode.

Jon, I love your show. I know my father and I never miss an episode of Bar Rescue. I have two questions:

1. What is the best advice to someone who wants to open up a bar?

2. It seems like the commonality behind every failing bar is a failing owner. Have you ever been to a bar where that has not been the case?

1) First have a cool dad like you. Next, money money money. Opening a bar is tough. The business is NOT inherently profitable. You have to make it profitable. First-time bar owners sometimes run out of money before they learn how to make it profitable. If you had the money to make it through your mistakes, you have a much better chance of finding your profitability. Football coaches say they never lose a football game they only run out of time. Bars don't fail, they just run out of money.

2) Yes. Absolutely. And I can't wait for everybody to see it: on October 27 is our very special episode, the Hurricane Sandy episode of Bar Rescue. The episode is called "Hurricane Jon versus Hurricane Sandy." In this episode, I take winner owners who had a very successful business that was robbed from them by Superstorm Sandy, and we do our most aggressive, most complete, biggest bar rescue EVER. And if anybody misses it, they are going to hear from me.

Jon, I know you have been adamant about changing bars around the United States, but have you thought about coming into Canada, perhaps even the more populated parts of Southern Ontario? Just curious because the work you do with some of the bars you work with is really top class. Have you ever thought about taking the show to Canada for an episode or two, and if so, which place(s) did you have in mind?

Actually we have talked about going there with Bar Rescue, so all my Canadian friends know I've worked up in Canada for the past 20 years quite significantly. I've worked with the Roadhouse in Calgary, I've worked in Toronto at Prince George, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Monkton, and many other places. And I look forward to getting up there with Bar Rescue cameras one of these days.

Reddit and Jon Taffer, what a beautiful combo.
Who was the most entertaining owner to work with? Do you keep in touch with any owners long after the shows?

My Sundays would be incomplete without Bar Rescue!

That's a good question. There is no question that Paul at Gypsy was one colorful dude. But going back to season one, Pauly the baseball player from The Canyon Inn was also quite a challenge.

It's up to them as to whether we keep in touch. Everybody knows where they can find me. I've developed very good friendships with some of them. With the exception of Pirates, I've left everyone in a good relationship. Bar Rescue is very intense for me. I build very close relationships with all of these people while I am there. I have very personal discussions with these people. This past week I had a waitress crying to me when she didn't have money to buy baby formula because the bar I was rescuing was such a failure. That makes this personal to me. I can't let these people down. Many times, they are what inspires me. Feeling bad for them inspires me. If you watch carefully, I tear up pretty often. If it's intense and powerful for you guys to watch it, it's much more intense for me to have lived it. I want to share that with everybody. When you are living it, it's even MORE powerful.

Thanks for doing AMA Mr Taffer. I've always wondered what is the most disgusting thing you have found in a bar?

The first thing that comes to mind is rat shit in chicken. Raw chicken being served to my daughter was in one of the episodes, which was about as disgusting as you can get. In Headhunters, I found about 50 cockroaches in a bottle of whiskey. I'm not sure it gets much grosser than that. I went to Headhunters with my wife and a cockroach walked across her foot.

When/ How did you figure out that the bar business is one of your passions?

I didn't plan it this way. I went to college for political science, I was a musician when I was young and played the drums. I loved music, and I got a bartending job when I was starting college, and one thing led to another, and I got hooked. I wound up staying in bars, and I stayed in the industry. What people don't know about me is that I've opened many restaurants, not just bars, I've been a food and beverage director at a resort, and a hotel general manager. So I actually have a broader hospitality background than what is seen on Bar Rescue.

Hi John! HUUUGEEEE fan! I have been working for a pub for four years now and have worked my way up from bussing to management. Now that I am managing, I have found out that it is all quite dysfunctional. The managing partner works two shifts a week and i usually end up working one of those, my bar manager is kind of full of himself and is running away all of the good servers in order to give the prettier servers more shifts, and I feel like it's just myself and another manager trying to right a falling ship. We haven't had a work meeting let alone a manager meeting since i started managing in January. What should i do?

Get 10 customers to agree to come to a "Focus group meeting" at your restaurant while it's closed. Only yourself and the managing partner should be there, no other management or employees. Pick those 10 carefully. When an owner hears it from the customers that the bar manager is chasing people out, etc etc it becomes far more meaningful than hearing it from you.

They will always question your motive and whether you'd throw someone under the bus. They will always think of it as being an opinion. When a customer says it, it's a fact.

If you could re-do, or change, any of the Bar Rescues that you've already done, which would it be? Big fan from Ottawa!

I'm proud of the work that i've done in every case. People might nitpick that they might not want that name, but these are businesses, not children, and the people are what matters. In every case I am proud of the direction that we've done, the people that we've worked with. And with very few exceptions, we've left people in a very much better place.

What advice would you give someone who wants to open thier own bar one day?

Work in one!

Don't open a bar if you like hanging out in bars. Open a bar because you want the business. Counting the bottles, building the space, keeping it clean, making the customer smile. If you are doing it because you like hanging out in a bar, build one in your basement, it's a lot cheaper.

What is one of your favorite cities to visit?

I moved there! About a year ago. Las Vegas. And I love Las Vegas because I call it an LBE - location-based entertainment business. That's what I'm really in. Whether it's a live venue, a dance club, a comedy venue, a bar where people read poetry. Where there's a location based business, that's my business. And Las Vegas is the center of the Universe for that, so I find it a very exciting place to live.

Hey Jon! Big fan of the show. Does your practice of "Breaking an owner down" so to speak (by pointing out all the shortcomings and such) work all the time? Or do you sometimes have to use other tactics to get your point across?

Also, even though I don't own a bar (I'm a computer programmer), I'm planning on buying your book because you're just that dang interesting. Thanks!

Aw thanks for buying the book! And its whole purpose is to inspire you, so put on your seatbelt and have a good read.

Your question is a great one, and the answer is yes. Sometimes I look in their eyes and motivate them through compassion. You've seen it on Bar Rescue. Sometimes I appeal to their pride by mentioning their family, wives, families. Sometimes I play to their fear by asking them where they're going to live when a place closes, what they're going to do. And sometimes I play to their own personal ambitions if it's there.

So yes, my job is to change the way they think and I use many different approaches, confrontation being one of my more effective ones.

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People might think that my most fun scene is when I reveal the bar, and it is (I guess). I get to see the looks on everyone's faces, there's not denying that doesn't get old. But actually, to me the moments that feel the best are sometimes the ugliest. I use confrontation as a tool. It doesn't scare me. I have five days to change the way somebody thinks. My greatest moments of moving their brain are my loudest. I always scream for a reason. I always use confrontation in a very purposeful and deliberate way. I act mad, but I'm not. I am consciously forcing someone to hear me because they never heard anyone else before me.

Many times, I'm saying things to people that other people have said to them, but when I say it, I'm going to MAKE THEM HEAR IT.

And we will make an announcement: we are looking to do events in NY, NJ and a few others. Watch my Facebook page and Twitter feed, we will be updating that in the next few days.

Good morning Jon and thank you for being so humble to find time out of your busy days to answer questions from normal people. here are my questions:

• how do you suggest to advertise itself to a food and beverage consultant that it is starting to consult after years of battles behind bars in different parts of the world?

in other more particular words.. - how would you convince an unknown restaurant or bar owner (that is not necessarily failing, but that indeed jumps to the eye that, that place could be making way but way more profit) that he/she needs a consultant , that there are mistakes that he/she is not seeing ?

Many folks don't want to get out their comfort zone and just don't admit or either care they are using just the 20% of the potential (per say)...plenty of them don't admit so cause they think they are right and there is no other way. Thank you very much indeed for your time reading this , I hope I will get an answer and I can wait for the mail man to deliver my copy of your book ! Antonio

First, thanks for buying the book Antonio. I know you're going to love it.

Next, you're right! Many independent owners 'Know it all.' And don't want advice from anyone. Even while they're going down the tubes of bankruptcy. A small group of independent owners do have independent minds and you need to read them out. When I started out, the first few projects I did I did for pennies or I did for free, for the purpose of establishing a track record. When you have three names of owners who you've impacted your business, then you'll get your fourth for REAL money.

What tips and thoughts do you have ft hosts of bar trivia? Any great promotions, insight, etc?

Bar Trivia is a lot of fun because it's interactive. The problem with Bar Trivia is that it can lower the energy of a room, rather than raise it. So it's not about the trivia, it's about the presentation of the trivia. It's got to be fast-moving, it's got to be funny, and I would never allow the music to stop for more than 2 minutes. Any more than 2 minutes of trivia, you rob the guts out of your nightclub. Have a music program with trivia inserts, NOT the other way around.

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College town bars are great because there is a built-in audience depending on what university (for example, I just did a rescue you'll see this season where 41% of the campus was over 21, which is pretty good, but it could have been 20% which could not be so good). The problem with college bars is discounting. College kids go where the drinks are cheap and the beer is very cheap.

College towns are all about building them inexpensively and keeping costs low so you can sell cheap. Personally, I'd rather go to places where I can sell at higher prices. I will receive far more income with higher prices for all the money I've invested.