Been watching Spike's "Bar Rescue"....

[NightShiftCharlie]

Spike has a marathon of it today and just about every other week, with new episodes tonight. To me, it's kind of like watching those "secrets of Vegas" docs, but with our kinda habit. Any other opinions?

[Wingman]

i can't watch it, but only because it makes me so depressed about how much better i could run a bar than those folks. not a bad show for the genre.

[binary]

Checking it out now. Although I can't stand the usual reality show format where everything is overhyped and there's like 15 minutes of actual footage in the whole episode.

[Jiggers McCoy]

I just don't find the main guy to be that compelling. He tries to be creatively mean, ala Gordon Ramsay, but mostly just comes off as bored and maybe he needs to take a shit.

Also, I will rescue your bar from its crippling bourbon inventories.

[binary]

Yeah I watched a few, was better than I expected but definitely agree that he's pushing the whole "mean makeover" thing just to jump off Ramsay's success.

Some of the stuff is pretty interesting, but honestly I wouldn't go to any of the bars I saw him redo. They all ended up being mass-market nightclubs or chain-style bars. I'd rather have one bar with personality and 4 failed ones than 5 generic ones.

[NightShiftCharlie]

Actually, most of the redos worked for me, with a couple of exceptions. The first was when he turned that Irish bar on the beach into just another beach themed bar. If it was me who redid the place, I'd still use a lot of the decor John did, but instead of replacing the name, I'd modify the name to say, "Kilkenny's at the beach," and have more Irish surfing photos. I'd also add stuff like bacon cheeseburgers with Irish "rasher" bacon and/or "Irish nachos."
The other place I had an issue with was when he changed that pirate themed bar (it might have worked somewhat if it was say, at the waterfront, but in downtown?). I liked the decor and gadgets, but to me, he phoned in the name of of the place. "The Corporate Bar And Grill"? To me, if anything, I'd think that the wage slaves would go to it more if it a name like "Unwind, Inc." or "Relax and Co.," you get the drift. You could even modify the logo somewhat and change it to someone loosening his tie.

[Aloysius_of_Tahiti]

That dude with the thinning hair that keeps it slicked back just seems like a douchebag. Here's how it would go down in my bar:
Me: This is where we do food prep.
Thin hair dude: Are you kidding me? Are you ******* kidding me? This place is a disaster. Look at this **** behind the grill.
Me: Whoa, what's with the cursing? I treat you like a gentleman, I expect the same.
Thin hair dude: That's about to change. Your kitchen is ******* horrific. You need to clean it, top to bottom.
Me: Actually, how about this...get the **** out of my kitchen. How dare you came into my establishment and use such filthy language. This is a family bar and grill. You crossed a line with your foul mouth.
Thin hair dude: Look at the ******* grill. It's caked in grease.
Me: I warned you. You're out. Take your filthy Guido accent and get the **** out of my restaurant. And I never want to see you or your fairy camera team in here again. Understand>

[Palinka (RIP)]

Bollocks! I thought that this thread was about Milligan...