(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 2 | View All Season 2 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: July 29, 2012
The Bar's Original Name Was: Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar
Bamboo Beach Club Address: 4040 Galt Ocean Dr Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310

Episode Recap
Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar, later renamed Bamboo Beach Club, was a Fort Lauderdale, Florida bar featured on Season 2 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Bamboo Beach Club Bar Rescue episode aired in July 2012, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 2 Episode 2 and the episode name was “Tiki Curse”
Located in Fort Lauderdale, the Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar is owned by Frank.
Frank bought a hotel along with the poolside bar.
Fun fact, the hotel where the bar is located would later be featured on Hotel Impossible, though that hadn’t happened at the time of the Bar Rescue episode.
He used a loophole to be one out of three beach bars in the city.
In the beginning, the bar was very successful, but decay in the building drove the profits down.
John does recon with Chef Josh Capon and mixologist Terrelle Treco.
Terrelle goes into the restaurant as a spy.
She orders a pina colada, and the bartender suggests a fried fish meal to eat.
The fried fish is rubbery, and there is blonde hair in Terrelle’s food.
Jon walks in and gives Frank feedback, but he gets defensive.
The bar floor is uneven and wet because of poor drainage.
The drinks are cloudy, and fruit flies swarm the bar.
Frank calls Jon overbearing. I guess there’s some truth to that, but Jon has to play it up for the TV cameras and he only has the bar’s best interest in his heart.
There are no covers on the sauces or food in the fridge, which is hazardous.
The staff stays to clean the bar overnight.
Jon calls the staff together for a meeting, and staff member Mia is running late.
Alyssa, the head bartender, has been there the longest.
Mia is often late and was late the day before.
Jon believes Frank keeps the girls on the payroll because they’re pretty.
I mean, it is a beach bar, so there is some advantage to that. Leave a comment if you disagree.
Mia arrives, but she is four hours late. Frank fires Mia but says she think she will be back.
Frank lays down new rules for the staff.
Chef Josh trains the staff on seafood recipes that will appear on the new menu.
Terrelle trains the bar on mixologist techniques they could apply when serving drinks.
She also teaches them some new signature drinks that will be served at the bar.
The locals all gather together for the stress test.
The bar staff can’t keep up with all of the drink and food orders coming in.
One of the staff members, Abbie, becomes so overwhelmed she runs off crying.
Barry, another team member, has a temper, and Jon tries to calm him down.
Abbie finally returns to the bar, and Jon says he is happy she came back.
Terrelle keeps working on training the staff so that they can work faster without sacrificing standards.
Abbie does well making the new drinks, so things start looking up later in the stress test.
Now, it’s time for the Bar Rescue renovations.
Here, there’s a bit of drama because Frank does not want to change the bar’s name.
The staff tries to convince him to change it and eventually gets the ok (though, spoiler alert, he wouldn’t keep the name for long).
The bar is going to need extensive work during the makeover.
Beyond the physical work, Jon renames the bar Bamboo Beach Club.
Inside, the bar is clean and bright.
There is also a new four-compartment sink in the kitchen.
The staff is very happy and more confident.
So was the Bamboo Beach Bar Rescue episode a long-term success? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if the bar is still open in 2025 and beyond.
Bamboo Beach Club Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Bamboo Tiki Bar Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left Fort Lauderdale Florida.
One month after Jon Taffer’s visit, the bar is doing great!
Mia did come and ask for her job back, but she was not rehired.
Alyssa is still the bar manager and seems to be doing a great job.
So – has the bar managed to survive the decade since its Bar Rescue appearance, including the Covid-19 pandemic?
Here’s the question you’ve been dying to get answered…
Is Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar from Bar Rescue still open?
As of 2023, Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar is still open and serving customers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
However, they have continued using their original name, rather than the new name that Jon Taffer gave the bar.
The bar is quite active on Facebook, regularly posting events and specials.
For example, Bamboo Beach is having a Halloween costume contest to celebrate Halloween 2022:
The bar’s Facebook tagline also gives you a good idea of what they’re aiming for now:
Fall in love with the biggest and funnest Tiki Bar on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Put a drink in your hand and your toes in the sand!
Reviews are solid but not amazing:
- Yelp – 3.5 stars
- TripAdvisor – 4 stars
- Facebook – 4.4 stars
- Google Reviews – 4.3 stars
Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
5 star review from November 2020:
We we’re on our honeymoon and we saw this place on bar rescue which is one of our favorite shows.
The place looks exactly the same!
It’s been almost 10 years since it aired and we were so impressed.
Jade our bartender was awesome!
We only had a couple appetizers and the crab cakes are some of the best I’ve had.
Highly recommend this place if you’re staying at the resort or in Ft Lauderdale.
4 star review from July 2022:
Saw the Transformation on “Bar Rescue”, and had to try it.
Atmosphere was Fantastic (Ocean View).
Nice Breeze.
Umbrella Drinks were Good and Fairly Priced.
Staff was Friendly.
Would definitely go back.
1 star review from July 2015:
The best thing about this place is the location.
You can walk up from the beach if you like and grab a (lukewarm) draft beer.
The bartender was nice, but there is nothing extraordinary about this place.
We were seated in between two chain smokers at the bar who had a bottomless pack of cigarettes.
We were there on an evening, and the area around the bar looked like it hadn’t been swept all day.
Sadly, this bar has not maintained the “new image” created by Bar Rescue.
3 star review from June 2013:
Great view, good food and tasty drinks.
Everytime I’m in the area, I always make a point to stop by.
Originally saw this place on the TV show ‘Bar Rescue’.
It’s a relaxing and casual spot.
It does not disappoint.
Overall, the Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar Bar Rescue episode was a success given that the bar is still open more than a decade after Jon Taffer visited it.
If you want to see some other nearby South Florida Bar Rescue episodes, you can check out my updates for Ele Lounge / Heat Restaurant in Hollywood, Bonny and Read’s / Toucan’s in Hollywood, and Sandbar / Hot Rock in Coconut Grove.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bamboo-beach-tiki-bar-and-cafe-fort-lauderdalehttps://www.facebook.com/BambooBeachTikiBar/
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Last updated: 2023-03-06 06:42
Glad to see Frank got his head out of his ass and took what John was teaching him to heart. But I’m a former truck driver and started going to bar rescue bars after seeing the show, now I know why the cab driver wasn’t familiar with the bamboo beach club because Frank changed the name! Amazing how 1 little thing like changing the name back cost them a customer!!! He worried to much about the local business gotta wonder how many people tried to find this place while on vacation and couldn’t find it because they didn’t know the name change! Good thing I found a fantastic bar the cab driver recommended and when in the area I always go there! Out of respect to John Taffer I won’t give the name of the other bar I found!
I think it was a mistake to change the name back. The old name is synonymous with poor food and drink. Bad Yelp reviews are associated with old name.
The new name says, the place is new, things have changed, the food/drinks are better. Maybe new owner/manager. Also, yelp reviews will be in new name, and won’t be confused with the crappy place.
That is a very good point when bar rescue changes the name, and the owner changes the bar name back to the old name so goes all the bad reviews. Leave the new name, and the new changes. The old bad reviews will die with the old name. Owners sometimes think they know best. However, when these same owners are so deep in debt who do they call? Then these same owners get so huffy. It is Jon’s money and crew who give them a new start. Again, I say his job is in many cases a thankless effort.
I believe the owners of a failing business should follow the advise of an expert. Unfortunately, most of them don’t and that’s why they end up OB! They should have kept the new name. The old name was associated with bad food, bad service and crappy drinks. The new name was not only better, it brought change, which provided a second chance to win back customers they lost. Hopefully they are at least keeping the place clean and didn’t go back to the way it was like they did with the name. I for one wouldn’t bother to go there.
That Mia’s looks is what kept her job desire poor performance, makes me question my optometrist’s competency
Tiki bar is older wiser who cares Jon Taffer is miss know all your crew do not torture frank and his staff respect
Oh my. You shouldn’t post when you’re tipsy… or illiterate.
Most of these comments are moronic.
Maybe I misses it, but how do they protect the bar from theft overnight? Are the walls completely open with no way to lock it up?
It is fascinating how attached to a name the owners are – I can’t really fathom it. I think if it was me I’d change the name in a heartbeat if it meant bringing in new business.
That said maybe if Jon took less of a “my way or the highway” approach and engaged the owner in coming up with a new name instead of saving it for the reveal and shoving it down their throats they would be more open to keeping the name.
I’m also not really fond of Jon firing people without giving them a chance. The fact is their behavior is reflective of poor management and the expectations set. I think a better approach would be to make it clear that things that were permissible no longer are, set the new expectation, and this is their chance and there won’t be another one for anyone caught breaking the rule or not meeting expectations. I guarantee somebody is going to test or screw up and you can make your example then.
Respectfully, the only places that have to worry about staffing are unsuccessful ones. They may not be in the red every week type unsuccessful, but they aren’t printing money. Every bartender in town wants to work at a bar that makes good money.
It’s that cold for the employee that gets the boot? Maybe. Are they probably compensated for it by the show? Almost certainly.
Abbie “but I’m pretyyyyyyy, I shouldn’t have to be competent at anything, ever”
Not even gonna lie, kinda fell in love with that Kenzi girl 😍
This owner looks very familiar. Was he on Hotel Impossible?
I googled. Frank was on Hotel Impossible for his Ocean Manor Resort. Sad he puts money into things, has no clue what he’s doing and when things fail he calls in experts to get money in his pocket.
It’s not a bad way to go when you can get stuff for free 🤷♀️