(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 6 | View All Season 6 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: April 14, 2019
The Bar's Original Name Was: The Recovery Room Bar
Baseline Bar Address: 1139 Harry Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78209
Episode Recap
The Recovery Room Bar, later renamed to The Baseline (AKA The Base Line), was a San Antonio, Texas bar that was featured on Season 6 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Recovery Room Bar Rescue episode aired in April 2019, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place earlier.
It was Season 6 Episode 31 and the episode name was “Tanked and Toasty”.
Note – there were two Bar Rescue bars that went by “Baseline” at one point. To see, go to my Brick and Barley / Baseline Sports Bar update.
Located in San Antonio, Texas, the Recovery Room Bar is owned by Heather Stich.
In 2013 Heather bought the bar with her life savings, so she has a lot riding on it.
The Recovery Room Bar started off well and was successful.
But, given that the Recovery Room Bar Rescue episode exists, you can probably guess that things started going down hill.
The owner, Heather, is now the main problem.
More specifically, she parties too much.
Heather’s husband, Howard, has to step in, but it is fruitless.
Their marriage is now falling apart and the bar desperately needs some help from Jon Taffer (and not via Jon Taffer’s Marriage Rescue).
Jim and Max, who have a Bar Rescue podcast, go to the Recovery Room Bar to do recon.
The exterior is very dark, and the inside is painted an ugly shade of green.
There is a lot of empty space inside the bar.
Heather is at the bar drinking with her friends.
Heather and her friends do not pay for their drinks, so this is basically pouring money down the sink.
Howard is annoyed with Heather.
He is usually sober and has to deal with her drunken antics.
Heather buys a round of shots for the entire bar.
That’s even more money going down the sink, right?
Jon comes in and makes Heather get behind the bar and make fifteen margaritas.
Three other bartenders, Dee, Victoria, and Devon, watch Heather.
She swears she is sober, but she drunkenly messes up the drinks.
Jon Taffer leaves, fed up with her behavior.
Jon joins the next day’s meeting, and Heather is sober.
Over the weekend, the bar gave away $984 in drinks, which explains a lot of why it’s failing.
Jon shows footage of Heather drinking at the bar instead of working.
Howard is not an official owner, but he funds the majority of the bar.
Heather gives her husband 50% of the bar and makes him a partner.
Phil Wills trains the staff on a whiskey-based cocktail.
The stress test is about to begin, and Heather and the bartenders are putting in all of their efforts.
Drinks are served, but there has been no payment taken.
Howard and Heather meet with Jon and say they need his help and support.
After the stress test at The Recovery Room, Jon then reveals the newly renovated bar.
The name has been changed to The Base Line bar and the bar is more colorful and brighter.
I also see a lot of people spell it as The Baseline Bar.
As with many other Bar Rescue episodes, the new Base Line bar got a ton of free equipment as part of Jon Taffer’s renovation.
Arctic Concepts installed a new draft system for the newly renovated bar.
There are also now two workstations, which should help the bartenders work more efficiently.
Heather receives a Bevinco subscription for a lifetime supply of inventory.
Heather and Howard love the new decorations.
There is a new pizza oven, and the customers love it.
Jon Taffer times the staff, and they are able to make fifteen drinks in four minutes.
So was The Base Line Bar Rescue episode a long-term success?
Keep reading the update to learn what happened next and if the renamed The Recovery Room Bar is still open in 2024.
Baseline Bar Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Baseline Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened after Jon Taffer and his crew left San Antonio, TX.
Things seemed to start off quite well for the bar.
Six weeks later the sales are up 20%.
Heather was stepping up and decided to keep the new name of The Base Line.
In general, reviews of The Base Line are positive. The customers love their drinks and atmosphere.
I’ll share some real examples of reviews below, but first let’s talk about the most important question on your mind…
Is The Baseline Bar still open after Bar Rescue?
As of 2023, The Base Line Bar is still open and serving customers in San Antonio, Texas.
The bar has an excellent 4.5 star rating on Yelp, which is one of the better ratings that you’ll see for any bar from Bar Rescue.
The reviews are also great on other platforms, with a 4.4 rating on Google Reviews and a 4.9 rating on Facebook.
The bar is active on Facebook, regularly posting about events and specials.
This includes all the “normal” bar stuff, such as sports, karaoke, trivia, and so on.
On Yelp, Heather describes The Base Line bar as follows:
The Base Line Bar, HOME of the “Transfusion Shot”, is a friendly, neighborhood bar conveniently located within one mile of Fort Sam Houston, The University of the Incarnate Word ,the San Antonio Country Club and 10 minutes from downtown.
We have one of a kind cocktails, beer, and shot specials from open to close.
Be ready for that alarm to go off and get that Ritual Transfusion Shot.
Home of the best pizza in town, by Donna Italia, imported from Italy.
In addition to great drinks and diverse staff, we always have your favorite football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey games on our high-definition televisions.
Stop by today and make The Base Line your neighborhood bar!
There’s also an official The Baseline Bar San Antonio website that includes details about the bar, including the menu.
Here’s an example of part of the Base Line Bar menu to give you an idea of the prices:
And then here’s what the Base Line San Antonio location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view – you can see the Base Line tucked right in the back next to the barber shop:
The Base Line reviews after Bar Rescue
As I mentioned above, The Base Line seems to have quite good reviews, with a 4.5 star rating on its Yelp page.
A lot of people seem to compliment Heather as an owner, saying she’s very friendly and always remembers her customers.
Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
5 star Yelp review from March 2020:
Found this place by chance and it’s off the beaten path.
First of all.
I knew nothing about this bar but apparently I know more than ever now.
It’s out of the way but trust me it’s so worth it.
The drinks are on point and Heather is a GEM.
I’ve been here a few times and every single time I’m glad I came.
If your looking for a place you can unwind and relax with a stiff drink.
This. Is. Your. Place.
I read the other reviews and trust me. You won’t regret it.
5 star Yelp review from July 2019:
What can I say this place is a refreshing local bar that reminds me of neighborhood bars you see on TV.
The owner Heather is a crazy fun experienced bartender with a hell of a memory.
If you sit at the bar for a while you will be surprised how many people she knows by name.
Her staff is friendly and treats you as a friend of the family.
5 star Google review from August 2022:
Awesome place to go for a drink the bartender very nice and professional.
I think her name was Michelle served my drink with a smile also very good conversations with her.
Place just was,like a military icon with all it’s war lingo on the walls and the decor I liked it laid back and very comfortable
1 star Yelp review from July 2019:
A promising bar that’s been featured on Bar Rescue, it falls very short of the expectations.
The DJ. Let’s start here. All he plays is hip-hop from the early 2000s.
He tries to mix and cross fade but he can’t match the beat so every time he does, it’s an absolute train wreck.
The bar has a sign that says “best pizza in town” so I thought I’d order something to eat.
The only have frozen Walmart pizza, and a countertop pizza oven.
And all the had was a margarita pizza. So I ordered dominoes and had it delivered.
I be honest, they don’t need a DJ at all.
They have a TouchTunes mounted on the wall and would do better running that on WiFi so customers could pay to play music, allowing the bar tender to control the volume. .
It’s a dimly lit bar, and he has the most obnoxious lights flashing, and two speakers on stands.
… (review continues)
Overall, The Recovery Room Bar Rescue episode seems like a success so far and the new Base Line Bar is going strong as of 2023.
If you want to see some other nearby Bar Rescue San Antonio Texas episodes, you can also check out my updates for Country Nights / Madame Dalia’s Country Bar in San Antonio, Tipsy Bull / China Grove Trading Post in China Grove, and The Morgue / Kiva Lounge in San Marcos.
Or, you can check out my full list of all 15+ Texas Bar Rescue episodes as of 2024, including each bar’s current status.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-base-line-san-antoniohttps://www.facebook.com/TheBaseLineSA
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Last updated: 2023-04-03 05:30
We really enjoyed this episode, Jon has helped many businesses stay afloat..
I went to this place about a month after the episode aired. It’s a bit out of my way, on the other side of town but I really wanted to see what it was like after the rescue. I went about 7pm on a Friday night. Really dead. There were only 4 people in there; 2 were soldiers still in their fatigues. Everything still looked pretty good from the rescue but it was empty. I tried one of the new drinks that they implemented: the 68 Whiskey. Which was pretty good even though I’m not a Whiskey person. The bartender was really nice but there was no energy here. Now in all fairness, Fiesta just started and she did point this out as a reason why it was so dead. I never went back; not because it was bad but because it’s just way out of my way. Because of the location, this is a bar really for the Fort Sam Houston crowd.
Thanks for sharing! Seems pretty dead for a Friday night. I assume it’s picked up a bit since the bar is still open for now.
MAY 7,2023
STILL CLOSED.
SEEMS PERMANENT
Don’t forget me man, they locked me in basement before closing and I only have 33 days of food and booze remaining. I’ve started digging a tunnel in case nobody comes, but it’s mega labor intensive, c’mon!! Anyone? At least resupply me if u won’t let me out. If the wifi, sattelite tv and power goes, I’m screwed. Can you even hear me?
Taffer shows up, takes a disliking to the wife and 24 hrs later strongarms her into handing over half ownership to the husband. The husband looks like “yeah, sure, why not. You nothing about the real backstory and details but after beating her down publicly surely she won’t have the remaining strength to say no to THE Jon Taffer. I hope that part was as fake as many such abrupt power plays on BR are. His misogyny was showing a bit much on this epi. I know Taffer claims to be this progressive, friend to all female-kind, but I also know it’s total BS. ThTs the kinda crap that drives a wedge and destroys a marriage he knows Jack shite about in real life, idk, I’m really not a fan of his Dr Phil/Oprah power plays that always create a hero and villain, and if you do any research online, it’s often dead wrong. Meaning, The roles he crowns, white hat, black hat, but the fallout is very real in peoples lives and marriages.
I was glad this bar had done success, covid hit it hard, I’ve worked on bar rescue many times, Jon is genuine! Its very shirt time edited for TV. Only promise bar rescue offers is publicity, training, $100,000 average remodel, more publicity.. delivers everytime. If I helped my wife get a bar, watched failing, paid$2,000a month, even if 25 months, I’d think I’m partner, also inherited half the debt! The show is based on simple psychological approaches, it’s not as seems. The human behavior, filth and any previous legal, licencing, landlord issues ECT, are real. I do wish got back here but couldn’t, I live in new England lol. Don’t just look at open/closed if bars, look at why failed! Think of what is promised by bar rescue, Jon, it’s a lot of work, and Jon really is very compassionate but it’s edited. Really wish got back there before closed tho.
You don’t know Jack Schiff about alcoholism. The wife was partying like 1999 while the husband paid the bills. In a way, he was ALREADY a silent partner without any benefits. Strong armed her? No, gave her a taste of reality, did a complete makeover, and kept them BOTH in business. I don’t know about you, but if my wife tweaked another guy in a bar in front of me she’d get dropped faster than a used corndog!!!
Heather failed herself at every opportunity to turn Baseline around. She still owns the bar, but relocated to Missouri with Howard many years ago and is now a bartender at Dicks Halfway Inn in MO. The Baseline has been up for sale since before Bar Rescue and remains up for sale. Nobody will pay the $200k+ Heather THINKS the bar is worth. The public sales and tax reporting do not support her sale price, which is why the bar hasn’t sold. Further, there is only 1 main bartender that works almost every shift day and night shift. That is Aly. Aly started off as a great addition, but is in a dysfunctional relationship that carries over to the bar with no oversight from Heather. Heather made Aly manager, initially to relief by the die-hard regulars that believed Aly would do best by the bar with a very absent bar owner. Yet Aly’s controlling boyfriend now shadows every shift Aly works and they have gained the nickname, “cocaine cowboys” due to their blatant use of cocaine during Aly’s shifts and within the bar. Not only a bad word and look for the bar, but actually terrifying that the owner is out of state with a once promising bartender/manager that is now dragging the bar down with their own habits. Not to mention Baseline has already been blacklisted by BAMC (the neighboring military post and main customer base) once due to drug use tied to the Baseline. Having the blacklist lifted was a monumental effort by Heather and would happen again if the military finds issue with any current or ongoing drug use tied to the bar and the soldiers in it. To put the final nail in the coffin that has been slowly closing for a decade is there is now an American Legion post now open directly next door in direct competition to Baseline that opens earlier, with better drink prices and drawing much of the same military crowd that Baseline draws/drew. The few times a year Heather is in town, the bar is still used as her personal party place. None of the drinks or systems from the rescue remained in place for any length of time. The pizza oven was a great idea, but kept overheating and blowing fuses due to the power it was drawing and an aging building. The old pizza oven is back in use selling generic grocery store pizzas. There often isn’t appropriate alcohol stock to make the most basic of drinks, and periodically out of popular bottle beer. The draft system didn’t last 6 months past the relaunch. The bar won’t be sold at this point. The Kim’s, owners of the entire strip center, are looking to sell the property and Baseline has been on a month-to-month lease for some time. No smart person would buy the liquor license with zero guarantee of a continuing lease and business space, much less in direct competition to a bar that has taken a large space as their next door neighbor. Sad, but that has been, and continues to be, the Baseline reality due to Heather’s willful neglect of a once promising bar.