(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: December 8, 2013
The Bar's Original Name Was: Longshots Sports Bar
Badlands Country Nightclub Address: 112 SW Old US 40 Grain Valley, MO 64029
Episode Recap
Longshots Sports Bar, later renamed Badlands Country Nightclub, was a Grain Valley, Missouri bar that was featured on Season 3 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Badlands Bar Rescue episode aired in December 2013, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 3 Episode 29 and the episode name was “Brawlin’ Babes”.
Note – if you’re looking for the update for the Las Vegas gay bar that was featured on Season 8 of Bar Rescue, check out our separate Badlands Saloon Las Vegas update.
Longshots Sports Bar is located in Grain Valley, Missouri.
Grain City is a small city with a population of just around 12,000 people.
However, it’s located just outside Kansas City, MO to the east, so there’s the potential to attract people from the city.
The owner is Mark Wilson.
Since he had prior restaurant experience, he thought he could turn around the failing bar.
The Bar Rescue producers kind of understate is experience, as he actually owns a few other bars in the area.
The bartenders were all attractive women at first to bring in crowds.
The fighting between staff members caused the patrons to visit the only other bar in town, Whiskey Tango.
These types of issues are why the Longshots Bar Rescue episode exists.
Elayne Duff joins Jon Taffer to help save the bar, and they both agree that the bar looks boring.
The bar is too large and has no TVs to show sports, which is odd for a bar that’s supposedly a sports bar.
Jesse and Keller, the bartenders, are introduced, as is Taylor, the server.
Jon and Elayne watch footage of Taylor and Keller fighting previously while on the clock.
After that incident, Elayne is surprised to see that the two still have their jobs.
A hypnotist then gets on stage to perform.
Jon Taffer enters the bar and stops the show.
Jon sits down with Mark, who tells him Keller is the most popular staff member.
Keller and Jesse used to date, but now Jesse is dating Taylor. Is this a bar or a reality TV dating show? C’mon!
Jon leaves to get a reaction from Mark.
Mark believes Jon has left and will not help him and asks the staff what they did to drive Jon away.
Jon returns the next day, which is a relief for Mark.
Mark refuses to do anything significant with advertising as he doesn’t believe it will work.
Taylor is told to stop messing around with the staff.
The girls, Keller and Taylor, are shown their video and apologize.
Brandy Starr, a hospitality expert, joins Elayne Duffy to recon the bar.
The alcohol is not stored correctly, and the sanitation practices aren’t up to code.
Brandy shows the staff how to talk to customers, and Elayne helps them learn how to prep drinks.
The stress test starts poorly. The customers are waiting too long for drinks that aren’t made well.
The customers start leaving to go to Whiskey Tango.
Jesse does excellent, but Mark becomes overwhelmed. Taylor wants to cry.
The following day Taylor doesn’t show up to work and doesn’t call in for her shift, so she is fired over the phone.
Jon says the theme will be changed to a country nightclub since country music is the most popular music played at the bar.
Elayne shows the bartender new signature drinks.
Jon uses the website Angie’s List to hire local contractors for the renovations.
As part of the changes, the bar is renamed from Longshots Sports Bar to Badlands Country Nightclub.
The inside had a more contemporary feel. There is also new lighting.
Let’s move to the relaunch night…
At first, things are going well, but soon customers are waiting almost ten minutes for a drink.
Mark steps up as a leader and helps out where he is needed. Jesse is very confident.
They had over three hundred customers join them.
So was the Longshots Sports Bar Rescue episode a long-term success?
Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this Missouri bar is still open in 2024.
Badlands Country Nightclub Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Badlands Bar Rescue visit, let’s talk about what happened to this bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left Grain Valley, MO.
Things seemed to start off well.
At the normal six-week Bar Rescue check-in, we learn that sales at Badlands Country Nightclub were up by 30%.
However, this one never really got off the ground…
Is Badlands from Bar Rescue still open?
Badlands Country Nightclub closed shortly after filming the Badlands Bar Rescue episode.
The bar closed so that the owner could focus on running his other bars in the area.
If you look at the Badlands Country Nightclub Facebook page, you’ll see that it’s mainly used to promote the owner’s other bars, such as the Vertigo Sports Bar:
Overall, that makes this a pretty anticlimactic update.
Fun note – Mark Wilson, the Longshots owner, actually made another appearance on Bar Rescue in Season 6 when Jon Taffer visited Mark’s other bar, Edge of Town.
Check that out in our Edge of Town / Water’s Edge update.
For a time, the old Badlands Grain Valley, MO location was occupied by a new bar called CW’s Saloon.
However, that bar is also closed as of 2023.
As far as I can tell, the location isn’t currently occupied by any bar or business.
If you want to see some other Missouri Bar Rescue episodes that have more interesting updates, you can check out these posts:
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/badlands-country-night-club-grain-valleyhttps://www.facebook.com/longshots.grainvalley/
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Last updated: 2023-03-11 06:44
That owner didn’t deserve the help. It was clear he was checked out and with his focus after being on his other locations it’s no wonder why he never seemed to be fully invested in training or anything.
I agree! It’s so unfair to use Clout from the show to promote his other bars and only to need Bar Rescue to return and help him out another bind! What a Loser!
Disappointed to see Jon Taffer used in this way. He is a creative genius IMO and a change management guru. I am learning by watching his dedication to innovation and attention to detail. I also admire his use of data. This owner took advantage of him.
I so agree. This owner took advantage of Jon Taffer. Then he had the nerve to call him again to rescue a bar his girlfriend was running! I believe that one closed shortly after the rescue, too. Gorgeous brand new bars and they close without effort to make them work. I don’t get it!
Guys the reason why the bars is closed soon after is because the owners are a bunch of lowlifes who probably wait until their bar which is worth nothing, get rescued and then sell these bars to make a profit. Not just using John’s good heart but also spitting in his face after all the work that has been done so they can promote their bar as a rescue bar and then sell it. These owners are the scum of the earth in my opinion and deserve no help at all.
I completely agree with you 💯 %
I don’t understand why Taffer went and helped this couple again at another bar of theirs when they let Badlands close. John seemed very smitten with Ozzie and Mark as if they were super close friends. He also wanted to see them finally get married with the success of their 2nd bar rescue. I don’t get it?!
As per Season 6, Back to the Bar: Tough Love, the owner said he was unable to buy the building Badlands was located in (the building owner decided to open their own bar), so Vertigo was a lot of items cannibalized from Badlands. Not 100% fair to say that he was more focused elsewhere
That Brandy Starr was my private groups server at XS in 2010, 95% sure it’s her, she was a total pro. Everyone there was. In another part a dumbass patron puked and it looked like a swat/seal team 6 crew that cordoned it off and cleaned it up in 90 seconds. Haha impressive
The actual building where Badlands was has been occupied by a non-bar since before the pandemic. Yelp’s address is not correct.
Can you please share the correct address?
Mark really did scan bar rescue, made profit for other bars, used all the knowledge still, but goes as loss for bar rescue? Bar rescue did job, trained, fixed problems and left better than when came! A free $100,000+ renovation, training, publicity… I mean it’s unfair to say bar rescue isn’t 100%, with all the scams by owners and landlords, licencing, permits, violence, ordinances, murders even… Goes as fail to bar rescue, Jon? Bar rescue even went back to help Mark because he made his other bars successful with what learned! I’ve worked on 3 and it’s a shit show, just how can say bar rescue failed on any episode provided what job was? Ty