(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: October 27, 2013
The Bar's Original Name Was: Bungalow Bar
Bungalow Bar Address: 377 Beach 92nd St Rockaway Beach, NY 11693
Episode Recap
Bungalow Bar was a Rockaway Beach, New York bar that was featured on Season 3 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Bungalow Bar Bar Rescue episode aired in October 2013, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 3 Episode 24 and the episode name was “Hurricane Jon vs. Hurricane Sandy” .
Jon visits the Bungalow Bar, located in Rockaway Beach, New York.
It’s located literally right on Rockaway Beach and near the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, which leads to some pretty nice sunset pictures.
The bar has been open for over thirty years.
The bar is owned by Dee and Terrance Tubridy, who took it over from their dad.
They have brought in childhood friends Sean, Martin, and Ryan to help with the bar.
Despite the long friendship, the group argues a lot.
The bar is located very close to the beach, and they were making over $100k per week at first.
So business was definitely good.
Sadly, the bar was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.
This is why the Bungalow Bar Bar Rescue episode exists and why the episode name is “Hurricane Jon vs. Hurricane Sandy”.
They have spent a lot of money trying to reopen the bar. Due to the damage caused by the storm, the bar was forced to remain closed for a long time.
To stay open, they need to open their doors before Memorial Day.
This is a pretty unique situation as most of the bars on Bar Rescue are failures.
Bungalow Bar, however, was a successful bar – it just got in the way of a natural disaster.
Sal Ferro, a construction expert, joins Jon to help rescue Bungalow Bar.
They explore the area surrounding the bar.
Jon watches footage of the owners arguing and goes in to meet them.
The draft beer system is destroyed, the back deck is gone, and the walk-in fridge is gone.
The damage was so severe in the kitchen that nothing was usable.
The appliances were underwater for several days, and it began to rust and rot.
Jon wants to go beyond just fixing things, though – he also wants to improve Bungalow Bar.
As part of this, Jon mentions the need for signature cups to boost their sales.
However, the first night in the bar is spent deep cleaning.
Jon meets the owners the following day and tells them about his plans for the bar.
The owners do not like Jon’s ideas, but eventually, they come together and decide on a concept.
The staff who were left unemployed due to the storm is called back.
Chef Nick Liberato and mixologist Elayne Duffy, and Peter O’Connor come in to help The Bungalow Bar.
They move the stress test to a Manhattan bar since The Bungalow Bar is still renovating.
The owners are given different responsibilities at the bar.
Ryan is making the drinks, but he is very slow.
Customers wait almost twenty minutes for one drink.
The stress test wasn’t a success because many of the staff were not used to working since they had been laid off since the storm.
The next day three new drinks are introduced and a new menu with improved fish tacos.
They miss the deadline to finish the bar because of heavy rainfall. Jon helps the construction team.
The next day the bar is revealed with a slight name change, The Bungalow Bar and Restaurant, to show they also offer food.
It’s pretty much the same as before – they just added the “restaurant part”.
The bar kept its nautical theme.
They have been given new kitchen equipment, a POS system, and a unique signature light-up cup like the one from Spirits on Bourbon, a New Orleans bar that Jon Taffer rescued in the first episode of Season 3.
The bar is packed with customers during the relaunch.
The new cups and food are a hit with the customers.
Jon is thrilled with the rescue and feels like the bar will succeed.
Bungalow Bar Update - What Happened Next?
So – was the Bungalow Bar Bar Rescue episode a success? Was Jon Taffer able to defeat the wreckage of Hurricane Sandy? Let’s talk about what happened after he left the building.
A month after, Bungalow Bar was not just open, but seeing a 20% increase in sales from even before Hurricane Sandy.
So far, that good run has shown no signs of slowing down.
Before we talk about where Bungalow Bar is now, let’s talk about the show’s second visit to the Bungalow Bar Queens location.
Bungalow Bar Back to the Bar in Season 4
In Season 4, Bungalow Bar was featured again on a Back to the Bar episode.
In the episode, Nicole Taffer, Jon’s wife, went back to Bungalow Bar to see how it was doing.
I can’t find a YouTube video of the full video, but I did find a two-minute video of Nicole’s visit.
In the visit, Jon Taffer wants her to order a Rockaway Resilience drink to make sure they can still make it.
Then, the Bungalow Bar owners come talk to Nicole Taffer a bit.
They say that the bar is still seeing a 20-30% increase in sales.
You can see the clip below:
I also found another clip of a Hurricane Sandy rescue retrospective, though I’m not sure if this comes from the Back to the Bar episode.
It also features some thoughts from the owners, as well as Jon Taffer’s thoughts on the rescue.
Jon Taffer also meets with the Bungalow Bar owners at the end of the clip.
Is Bungalow Bar from Bar Rescue still open?
As of 2023, Bungalow Bar is still open and serving customers in Rockaway Beach, New York.
Reviews are generally positive, with excellent ratings on Yelp, Facebook, Google Reviews, and other platforms.
With that being said, the Bungalow Bar did do a temporary closure in early 2023 from January 16 to the first week of March 2023.
After that, it will reopen again.
Here’s a Facebook post from the bar explaining the temporary closure.
Let’s get back to the Bungalow Bar reviews…
In general, people praise the bar’s location and views, as well as the quality of the food and beer list.
Reviewers also generally seem to praise Bungalow Bar’s service. It seems like an all-around great place.
Overall, it has a 4 star rating on over 600 Yelp reviews, which is quite good.
Here’s a sampling of a few Bungalow Bar reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
4 star Yelp review from May 2021:
We stopped in at Bungalow Bar due to its “Bar Rescue” fame for a quick drink and it served its purpose.
There is a restaurant portion separated from the bar portion which looked nice enough, but we only stopped for a drink.
They happened to have Labbatt Blue, which is pretty unusual to find in NYC (as far as mass produced beers go) so I liked that.
There is a decent view and a DJ on Saturdays, so I can see why people come.
I’m sure it gets packed in the summer though due to a lack of similar local spots, so I was happy to be there in May.
4 star Yelp review from July 2014:
Of course my fiancé and I came here after watching the bar rescue show and we were happy we did.
Although it was a little hard to find, when we got there it was quick seating, good service, and a beautiful view.
The food was great bar food.
The fish and coleslaw sandwich was spot on.
It had a nice crunch from the coleslaw and a toasted bun.
My fiancé had the penne all a vodka which she finished.
The server recommended the frozen lemonade which she loved.
We will head back when we are in queens again.
4 star Yelp review from May 2016:
First of all let me say I seen the episode of bar rescue that featured this place and it was great.
Oh by the way they weren’t on bar rescue bcuz of anything bad but their establishment was wrecked in hurricane sandy and bar rescue helped rebuild it.
Anyway this place is really cute !
I will definitely go back.
Food was good and the staff was good.
Here’s what the Bungalow Bar Rockaway Beach location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view…
If you want to make a visit or view the Bungalow Bar menu, you can head to the official Bungalow Bar website to learn more.
Overall, Bungalow Bar seems to be set up for long-term success, which means it will help Jon Taffer’s Bar Rescue success rate.
If you want to see some other nearby New York City Bar Rescue episodes, you also might want to check out my updates for Jack’s Fire Department in Queens, SoYo Craft Bar / Undisputed in Yonkers, Tres Cuartos / Laguna Lounge in Jersey City, and P’s and Q’s Autobody / Artful Dodger in Long Island.
Thanks for reading the post!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bungalow-bar-rockaway-beachhttps://www.facebook.com/bungalowbarny/
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Last updated: 2023-02-24 05:14
I’ve been there several times and have to say the food and the drinks are always on point. Occasionally the service could be a little slow, but that’s usually only when they are extremely busy. Can’t go wrong heading here.
Thanks for sharing your firsthand experience!
Anyone else notice the yelpers 4 star review that was clearly a 5 star review? I mean they pretty much said everything was perfect, the food was spot on so were the drinks and the service was great and got quick seating… THATS A 5 STAR REVIEW 🤦♂️
Some people just do that lol. I see it all the time when I’m reading reviews for bars. Like those college professors who tried not to give people an “A”.
Or they’ll be like “The food and drinks were perfect. The bathrooms were spotless clean. The servers were very friendly. But I didn’t like the look the bartender gave me so I’m only giving it 2 stars”.
I just recently seen this show. I think it looks amazing- definitely an establishment I would probably visit often if regular if I lived in the area.
I laughed when I read your comment about the review- “everything was Excellent, but the bartender ‘gave me a look’ so for that, they get less stars!”
And the professor giving ‘A’s… lol.
You’re not getting a Free Ride in MY CLASS— Life doesn’t give Free Rides neither will I!
Never thought about it, but maybe some people are using that type philosophy when they’re giving out Stars.
I attended a bridal shower at Bungalow Bar. The bartender never heard of or could serve a peach Bellini. Food was ok and there was no parking. My friend and I had to carry a toaster oven through the streets. Crazy.
“I asked for somwthing not on the menu then got mad when they didnt know what it was” yeah ok nan
True haha. I’ve never heard of a peach Bellini either.
Good beer bar for locals. Typical lousy food for a Rockaway bar,