(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 4 | View All Season 4 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: February 22, 2015
The Bar's Original Name Was: Toucans Oceanside Bar & Grill
Bonny and Read’s Address: 500 N Broadwalk Hollywood, FL 33019
Episode Recap
Toucans Oceanside Bar & Grill, later renamed Bonny and Read’s, was a Hollywood, Florida bar that was featured on Season 4 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Bonny and Read’s Bar Rescue episode aired in February 2015, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 4 Episode 13 and the episode name was “Beach Rats”.
Toucans Oceanside bar and Grill is located in Hollywood, Florida.
The bar is right on the beach and you can actually see the ocean from a lot of the tables.
The location is a huge advantage, so the bar should be able to be successful with the right strategy.
The owners of the bar and grill are Jamie Hawkes and Jon Franke.
The duo has been best friends for over fifteen years and opened the bar together.
The bar was affected by Hurricane Katrina, but before that, they were thriving.
One of Jamie’s children passed, and he hasn’t been the same since.
Jon and Jamie barely speak to each other now, which puts a strain on the entire business and the staff morale.
It’s a really sad situation and I feel for Jamie.
The staff drink at the bar, the bar is in disrepair, and the customers have stopped coming in.
The bar is in debt and less than five months away from closing for good, which is why the Toucans Bar Rescue episode exists.
To help Toucans Oceanside Bar, Jon brings in expert chef Nick Liberato and mixologist Kyle Mercado.
Jon Taffer and the experts enter the bar.
The experts and Jon order one of every drink on the menu.
Jon and Jamie admit that the bar has caused them to get divorced.
There is no one in the bar, so Jon brings in sixty people to see how the staff respond.
As you’d expect, the bar staff is overwhelmed by the number of people in the bar.
Someone notices bugs in the liquor bottles, which is super gross.
Kalie, a bartender, gives away free drinks and takes drinks herself.
The cook leaves and quits in the middle of working in the dirty kitchen.
To add on to the classic “gross bar things”, there are also rats in the kitchen.
Jon says they need to deep clean the establishment before he returns to help them.
The bar is shut down for the night.
Jon returns to the bar the following day.
He says if the bar is cleaned, he will help them.
Jon tells Jamie to step up and fire Kalie if she does one more thing wrong.
Last night the bar staff were so overwhelmed they gave away many free drinks.
Chef Nick tells the staff the amount of grease in the kitchen was unacceptable.
To get things at Toucans Oceanside Bar back on track, the experts begin training the staff.
Kyle shows the bartenders how to make a Zombie.
In the kitchen, they are taught how to make oysters.
Jon Taffer tells the team that during the stress test, he is going to slam them with customers.
Jamie is working in the kitchen, and Jon Franke is in charge of the bar for the stress test.
Jon Taffer wants money taken for every drink served.
He doesn’t want any more giveaways.
During the stress test, there is no communication, and customers are waiting long for their drinks.
Kalie is messing up on every drink she makes.
The bar is then shut down for the night after a second unsuccessful day serving customers.
Jon Taffer has a sit down with Jon Franke and Jamie.
While that’s happening, an exterminator is brought in to ride the building of rats.
Jon tells Jamie to step up in honor of his son’s memory.
Chef Nick works with the staff, as does Kyle.
After the Bar Rescue crew has finished renovating the bar, Jon brings the team back to show them the renovations.
As part of the changes, he renamed the bar from Toucans Oceanside Bar to Bonny and Read’s, which is named after two female pirates.
Note – the correct spelling is Bonny and Read’s – not Bonny and Reeds.
They are given cocktail glasses that match the pirate theme.
There are two POS terminals and a handheld POS.
During the relaunch, the customers are happy with the food and décor.
So was the Bar Rescue Bonny and Reads visit a success?
Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if it’s still open in 2024.
Bonny and Read’s Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve covered what happened in the Bonny and Read’s Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened after Jon Taffer took off his swim trunks and left the Florida beaches.
Six weeks after Taffer’s visit, business is good at Bonnie and Read’s, Jamie is happier, and the staff are just generally getting along better.
They’ve also managed to eliminate the rats, so there will be no more rodent friends at the bar.
They’ve mostly kept Jon Taffer’s changes, but they did make a minor tweak to the bar’s name.
Instead of just calling it Bonny and Read’s, they added a bit to name the bar Bonny and Read’s Toucan Hideout.
This keeps Jon Taffer’s changes while also adding a call back to the original Toucans Oceanside Bar name.
Is Bonny and Reads still open after Bar Rescue?
As of 2023, Bonny and Read’s Toucan Hideout is still open and serving customers in Hollywood, Florida, which means that the bar has survived for over 7 years after Bar Rescue.
They’re still doing so under the name Bonny and Read’s Toucan Hideout.
Here’s a Google Maps street view shot so that you can see what the signage looks like (this is on the back side of the bar, though, as I can’t get a shot from the beach):
The reviews are generally ok, with a 3.5 star rating on Yelp and a 4 star rating on TripAdvisor.
A lot of reviewers obviously like the location and views, as it’s hard to beat an ocean view.
People also praise the friendly service and food (though there are obviously some small complaints, too).
Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
5 star Yelp review from March 2016:
We were walking down Hollywood Beach and decided to stop in for a drink.
Seeing it was featured on Bar Rescue confirmed it.
We came in and were warmly greeted by Renee at the bar.
She was so thoughtful and attentive.
We stayed much longer than expected.
Love the location in front of the ocean.
The place was packed with every table taken.
If you’re looking for a small place with great service, don’t hesitate to come in!
3 star Yelp review from September 2018;
Not bad, but not exciting.
Went here after watching their bar rescue and found it to be an average beach bar experience.
Margaritas were decent (well priced) and the conch fritters/onion rings delicious (conch dipping sauce is on point!).
Definitely a “locals spot” but everyone was friendly and welcoming.
Honestly their neighbors’ margaritas looked a lot more appealing, but the chill atmosphere overpowered next door’s hype.
3 star Yelp review from March 2015:
Decided to check this bar out after seeing it on the show “bar rescue” the place looked cool for a dive bar, but they need to fix a couple things.
We waited almost 45 minutes for onion rings and a sandwich.
Our fishbowl drink was really watered down and tasted like there was no alcohol in it.
The food tasted great after waiting so long for it.
Hopefully they will step it up
2 star Yelp review from May 2015:
They are no longer doing the awesome drinks from bar rescue.
I went there for a kiwi blue drink in a bowl that I have had many times before and was told, they no longer make those.
I was offered a Margarita instead.
I could have had a margarita anywhere else on the block.
Why go there?
I personally think they reverted back to how it was before bar rescue just kept the visual upgrades.
I could be wrong.
My judgement is based on my last visit.
The bar has also seemed to breeze through the Covid-19 pandemic, which took out some of the other bars on Bar Rescue.
The bar is also quite active on Facebook, regularly posting about events and specials.
They also posted about hiring staff in October 2022, so it appears like business is still going well.
YouTube interview with Bonny and Read’s owner
When I was searching YouTube about the Bonny and Read’s episode, I stumbled across this random YouTuber who did a segment on Bonny and Read’s, including an interview with Jamie Hawkes, one of the Bonny and Read’s owners.
It’s from the end of 2018 – you can check it out to see the interview with Jamie after Bar Rescue:
Overall, Bonny and Read’s is a definite Bar Rescue success story.
If anything changes with the bar, I’ll be sure to update this post.
If you want to see some other nearby Florida beach Bar Rescue episodes, you can check out my updates for Bamboo Beach Club / Tiki Bar in Fort Lauderdale, Hot Rock Bar / Sandbar Sports Grill in Coconut Grove, and Aura Nightclub / Mystique Lounge in West Palm Beach.
Or, you can also check out my full list of all 26+ Bar Rescue episodes in Florida as of 2024.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bonny-and-reads-toucan-hideout-hollywoodhttps://www.facebook.com/bonnyandreads
What did you think about the Bonny and Read’s Bar Rescue episode? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
You can also click the buttons below to share this post!
And don't forget to check out all of the other Bar Rescue updates.
Last updated: 2023-03-29 06:12
I was there in March 2022 I lost my keys and went back and the one guy not the owner was waisted and could care less the place really wasn’t clean kinda dirty staff was rude only went to see the remake of the bar other wise I wouldn’t of went
Thanks for sharing your experience! That kind of sounds like they didn’t fully learn from the Bar Rescue episode. Jon Taffer would never be cool with a staff member drinking on the job.
Wow, Taffer tearing up when Jamie was talking about letting his son’s death go. That was heavy.
Glad to see they are still in business but it doesn’t sound like they stuck with a lot of the stuff they learned.
Katie still work there?
I’m a regular here so I’m very bias. But I love the bar. It’s a great neighborhood place. There are tons of locals and tourists that come by constantly. All that said, it’s a real dive and it’s not as clean as it should be, but it’s a beach bar! Food is decent. Service is friendly and great but they have a issue retaining employees.
I was surprised to see what it looked like on the inside after Taffer’s visit because it looks nothing like that now.
Thanks for sharing your experience! What are the main differences in how it looks on the inside?
You can see the beach side of the building on Google street view, but the most recent images are from April 2018.
I go at least once a month since 2015. I live 600 miles away and it’s the main reason I visit Florida. They have the BEST WINGS!! I visited the top 6 winners of the 2022 National Buffalo Wing contest in Buffalo, NY and none compared to Bonny & Read’s. I traveled all over the country from AZ to NY to WY to SC to eat those winners wings. I still go to the Hollywood Broadwalk for the best wings. Sadly, the recent picture from Google Maps in your article is the back of the place, the alley with the trash cans. The front looks much better. The front is beachside so Google Maps can’t see that I guess. Anyway, I give Bonny & Read’s 5 stars for the wings and friendly service.
That’s high praise! Thanks for sharing your experience.