Britestar Tavern Bar Rescue Update – Still Open Today?

Episode Recap

Britestar Tavern was a Glendora, California bar featured on Season 6 of Bar Rescue.

Though the Britestar Tavern Bar Rescue episode aired in August 2018, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place a long before that at the beginning of 2017.

It was Season 6 Episode 23 and the episode name was “Star Lite, Star Not So Brite”.

In this episode, Jon Taffer and his crew are heading to California, which is by far the most popular state for Bar Rescue to visit.

More specifically, they’re headed to Glendora to rescue Britestar Tavern.

The bar is owned by Jim Reed, who purchased it around 2013, though the bar has been around for a long time before that.

This means that Jim has owned the bar for around five years before the Britestar Bar Rescue visit.

At Britestar Tavern, they only serve beer, which obviously limits potential sales without liquor.

The bar is located along historic Route 66 and opened all the way back in 1965.

It’s just a little bit outside Los Angeles.

The owner kept the name and changed little else.

Jim bought the bar because he visited the Britestar Tavern has a young man.

Prior to purchasing Britestar Tavern, Jim had owned another bar, so he did at least have some experience in the industry.

However, his takeover of Britestar Tavern didn’t seem to be going well.

He started holding open mic nights, but that just drove away patrons. 

Now, Britestar Tavern has faulty beer taps and is $500,000 dollars in debt.

A beer-only bar with bad beer taps? That’s not a good sign!

Beyond the massive debt, Britestar Tavern is now losing over $70,000 pear year, so Jim desperately needs the Britestar Tavern Bar Rescue episode to be a success if it’s going to survive.

Half a million in debt that’s being added to at that rate is a pretty deep hole to climb out of, so Jon Taffer definitely has his work cut out for him.

Jon Taffer brings in master mixologist Shawn Ford to help get things back on track.

When Jon starts the rescue, Jim is at the bar with his fiancé.

Chris is the bartender, and Kristen is the server.

Jon Taffer sends in two local brewers as spies to recon the bar and get a realistic experience.

There is an open mic night happening but no beer list.

There is also a gross residue in the glasses. 

Jon thinks the open mic night is a bad promotion, and it doesn’t bring in any customers.

To make matters worse, the tap breaks and sprays beer everywhere.

Kristen, the server, performs at the open mic night, but she is terrible.

Jim pours a foamy beer and admits to Jon he drinks bottled beer at his bar because it tastes better.

Again, this is super weird when you consider that the bar only sells beer.

You’d think they would have the beer nailed if that’s all that they do.

Jon tells Jim to clean out the tap and prove he is not lazy anymore.

He takes the feedback seriously and gets to work. 

Jon says the open mic night isn’t making any sales, which does seem to be the case.

Shawn shows the staff that the bar tap was at the wrong pressure, which is part of the reason the beer tasted so bad.

Shawn calls out Jim for using old-fashioned goblets to serve beer.

During the stress test, only eight taps are working. 

The Brewed Bloody, a bloody mary drink with beer, is a hit during the stress test.

Shawn has to dump multiple pitchers of beer because of too much foam.

Jim keeps overfilling drinks, and Chris is not friendly to any customers.

Jon even says that Chris’s attitude is bringing the bar downhill. 

The bar brings in $700 during the test, making it the best night since Jim bought it.

Jon Taffer then takes the staff to a local brewing company while remodeling the bar.

Jon wants the team to learn about beer and sell and upsell it.

However, Chris is a no-show at the brewery. 

Jon and Jim meet to discuss the bar, and Jim decides to fire Chris.

Lisa is the bartender who replaces Chris.

After the Bar Rescue renovation, the front of the bar looks modern.

There is a new electric sign, but Jon decided to keep the original Britestar Tavern name because the bar has so much history.

The new design aesthetic has kept the retro look, but it doesn’t feel quite as retro as it did before.

They’ve added a bunch of TVs to the bar, along with a new tap system (super important for a bar that focuses on beer).

To add some food options, they also get some food trucks into the parking lot.

Jon helped to keep the bar’s history and thinks it has a ‘bright’ future. 

So was the Britestar Tavern Bar Rescue episode a long-term success?

Keep reading my update to learn what happened next and if this Glendora bar is still open in 2024.