BARcode Bar Rescue Update (R.G.’s Lounge) – Still Open in 2024?

Is BARcode still open today?

Status: >> CLOSED <<
(keep reading to learn what happened)

Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: December 15, 2013
The Bar's Original Name Was: R.G.'s Lounge
BARcode Address: 9100 E 35th St Independence, MO 64052

BARcode Bar Rescue Update (R.G.'s Lounge)

Episode Recap

R.G.’s Lounge, later renamed BARcode, was an Independence, Missouri bar that was featured on Season 3 of Bar Rescue.

Though the BARcode Bar Rescue episode aired in December 2013, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that in early 2013.

It was Season 3 Episode 30 and the episode name was “Twin vs. Twin”.

In this episode, Jon Taffer visits R.G.’s Lounge, which is in Independence, Missouri.

If you’re not familiar with Missouri geography, Independence is a suburb of Kansas City, MO, so the bar is near a large metropolitan area.

Rick and Randy, two twin brothers, own the lounge.

Yup – they’re twins! That’s definitely not something you see on every Bar Rescue episode.

RG's Lounge twin owners

Rick was a bartender at the bar for years before it was bought.

Rick still had a day job, so that left Randy to manage the day-to-day aspects of the bar.

At first, the bar thrived due to the twin’s personalities, but soon their competitive natures got the better of them.

They now make the customers uncomfortable because of their fighting. 

They have neglected the bar, and it has fallen into disrepair, which is why the R.G.’s Lounge Bar Rescue episode exists.

The clientele is also very old, which fits with the twin’s ages I guess.

At the time of the visit from Jon Taffer, the brothers are now losing $5,000 per month and are in severe debt.

To help the bar, Jon brings in expert chef Celina Tio and mixologist Mia Mastroianni.

He also talks with Tyler, who is Ricks’s son.

Jon Taffer in car RGs Lounge

Tyler lets Jon know how the twin brothers are always fighting, and the decor is outdated.

Rachel, a local, comes in as Jon’s spy. 

Rachel is left waiting at the bar for 10 minutes until she is served.

The first drink she orders is too sweet, and the served beer is too warm.

The food is cooked on a dirty and grimy stove.

The sandwich that Rachel ordered is soggy.

Soon a drunk patron is making a scene in the bar, yet the drunk woman is still served more alcohol. 

Jon is concerned about the patron’s safety, so he goes in to confront Rick.

Randy is also confronted because this is irresponsible behavior.

The patron is found outside and is eventually arrested by the police.

R.G.'s lounge on Bar Rescue

Jon leaves and comes back the next day to meet with the staff.

The staff has complaints about the age of the clientele and the fighting between the twin brothers.

Jon sits with the brothers individually to figure out what the problem is.

They say the problems began with their mother’s inheritance and how she left everything to Rick.

That obviously led to some resentment with Randy, which I can understand.

The experts inspect the bar after the meeting with the owners. 

There is a dirty drain, fruit flies, and grease all over the stove.

The cook refuses to clean; he claims the kitchen is immaculate.

Jon Taffer and the cook almost get into a physical confrontation.

The cook gives into cleaning because he wants to keep his job. 

Jon brings in three new bartenders who will compete against the staff for their jobs.

Mia conducts a contest between the two sets of bartenders to make simple cocktails.

Celine trains the cook on a proper French dip sandwich as well. 

The competition with the bartenders goes into the stress test.

The tickets are all handwritten, and soon everyone is overwhelmed.

The bar staff steps up even though the new girls give them a run for their money.

The night ends, and Jon leaves the team with feedback.

Erica is made head bartender, and the new girls stay as well. 

The twins are admonished for fighting and bad-mouthing each other in front of customers.

Tyler meets with his dad and uncle and tells them how everyone is sick of their fighting.

They call a truce. The bar is renovated by Jon Taffer and his crew, and the staff gathers. 

As part of the renovations, the bar is renamed from R.G.’s Lounge to BARcode.

The interior is updated and more modern.

On relaunch, Randy manages well.

The kitchen does great and sends out delicious food. 

So – is the BARCode bar still open? Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and how the bar is doing in 2024 and beyond (including real customer reviews).

BARcode Update - What Happened Next?

So – was the BARcode Bar Rescue episode a success?

Let’s talk about what happened after Jon Taffer left Independence and gave the twins their independence to run the bar their own way.

Things started off well – six weeks after Taffer’s visit, the sales at the bar had increased.

What’s more, the twins were getting along much better and had stopped fighting so much.

However, while the Bar Rescue bump was nice, the reviews at the bar were generally poor.

Overall, the BARcode Yelp reviews had just two stars, though only on five reviews.

The Google Reviews were a little better, standing at 4.1, however.

One of the issues seem to be that food at the bar is spotty and some days the bar just wasn’t serving food.

Here’s a sampling of some of the reviews that were written for the BARcode concept after Jon Taffer’s visit…

2 star review from April 2016:

I went here with my wife because we watched it on Bar Rescue …

And we weren’t impressed.

The Bar virtually ignored the advice of Jon Taffer and stayed their course.

It is worth going to once, but not again.

3 star review from 2016:

No Food.

Dirty restrooms.

Bartender was friendly and beer was affordable.

Inconsistent on when you can buy food and days they will serve food.

There were some good reviews, though – it definitely wasn’t all bad.

5 star review from March 2015:

Live music, good beer, friendly staff.

Didn’t realize this was the bar from bar rescue until I got here, decided to go on a whim.

Everyone was friendly and there was no cover which was awesome since they had a live band. Good spot, will return.

5 star review from 2014:

I was at Independence, Missouri on a short visit a week ago, its not called RG Lounge, the Bar has a new name its called “Bar Code”..

My friends & i went there for a few drink’s and a bite to eat.

I had a very good time, the bartenders and waitresses did an outstanding job and got tipped well for it.

The owners came by our table to see if we were comfortable.

I did a doubletake like i was seeing double, the owners are twin brothers and they were very nice to us.

I’ll definitely will return when i visit again its a great place to socialize with people,

I Loved it alot and i know Bars i’m from New York City where there are thousands of Bars and this place rates right up there with the Bars of New York City. Thank You!!!!!!

Unfortunately, it’s probably not a surprise what happened next…

Is BARcode from Bar Rescue still open?

BARcode closed for good in September 2016, a little less than two years after the BARcode Bar Rescue episode aired on TV.

As of 2023, the old BARcode Independence, Missouri location is occupied by a new bar called Score Sport’s Bar and Grill, which seems to have generally great reviews.

Overall, the new bar has a 4.5 star rating on its Yelp page, which is quite good.

So, it seems like Independence, MO got an upgrade in the bar department.

Here’s a Google Maps street view shot that shows Score in the old BARcode Kansas City location:

Old BARcode Kansas City location

I’m not sure why BARcode closed, as the twins didn’t talk with the local media and the bar doesn’t have a Facebook page.

That wraps up my BARcode update!

If you want to see some other nearby Missouri Bar Rescue episodes, you can check out my updates for Stix and Stones / The Pit Stop in Sugar Creek, Johnson County Line / KC’s Bar in Shawnee, Thunderbolt Bar / Thunderbird KSC in Pleasant Valley, and Badlands Country Nightclub / Longshots in Grain Valley.

Thanks for reading!


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/barcode-sports-bar-independence



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Last updated: 2023-02-14 06:37

12 thoughts on “BARcode Bar Rescue Update (R.G.’s Lounge) – Still Open in 2024?”

All comments are the sole opinion of the commenter and are not endorsed by RealityTVUpdates.

  1. I would like to know why the business closed or if it’s still open and is the same staff still there. We see that the change makes it so the business be able to make it then to find out it’s closed but never know what happened.

    Reply
    • I try to add why the business closed whenever possible. Sometimes I just can’t find that information, though, as the owner will just close the business without any announcement or explanation.

      Reply
  2. Im surprised they had closed! I really had a ” thing” for Randy, one of the twins! I like bigger guys so it was a nice surprise for me to see him on the show

    Reply
  3. I was surprised this is the first bar rescue that I’ve seen where Jon actually brought in bartenders to compete for jobs with the old bartenders. Lots of times we’ve watch shows were bartenders, were drunk or in adequate to get the job done, and they kept their jobs.
    I wonder why Jon hasn’t done this more often
    To bad bar closed seemed like it was on the right track

    Reply
    • Agreed. I think a new model could be bringing in a bunch of new people to sort of “compete”. Not challenge/ reality-show compete, but just to see how the business can be improved. The problem is, after Covid, it’s really hard to find workers/employees.

      Reply
      • Kind of tells us a lot about people doesn’t it? I am not talking about older seniors, disabled or mentally changed.

        Reply
  4. Makes no sense, those brothers working together. I moved 1000 mi away, occasional superficial niceness, problem solved. If dysfunction can’t be solved w face to face mature communication. Then it’s time to test “distance makes the heart grow fonder.” I’ll never understand why dysfunctional, bitter, back-stabby families stay so closely in each other’s lives.

    Reply
    • I agree w- you on that one. When there’s that much dysfunction why would you stay so close to it?
      Not sure if I’d move 100’s of miles away, but it would seem like it bc I definitely wouldn’t be around them.
      This one was a hard watch as far as family drama goes. Usually Twins, a lot of times
      will have a closer bond than many siblings. Randy & Rick are identical twins, which makes this story even sadder.
      I just can’t imagine Why he felt it necessary to tell his brother that their Mother didn’t love him. Come on now. That’s some messed up stuff.

      Reply

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