(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: July 14, 2013
The Bar's Original Name Was: Cashmere
Dual Ultra Nightclub Address: 410 Glenwood Ave Raleigh, NC 27603
Episode Recap
Cashmere, later renamed Dual Ultra Nightclub, was a Raleigh, North Carolina bar that was featured on Season 3 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Cashmere Bar Rescue episode aired in July 2013, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 3 Episode 12 and the episode name was “Don’t Judge a Booze by Its Bottle” .
In this episode, Jon Taffer visits Cashmere in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Brandon, a landscaper, is the owner.
Cashmere was successful at first until more bars opened in the area.
To get things back on track, Brandon hired James as the manager/promoter.
James was hired to bring customers into the bar.
Instead, he focused on his DJing career and parties with their friends at the bar.
Jon brings in mixologist Joe Brooks and service expert Jessie Barnes to help him rescue the bar.
The club is inside an office building, so the exterior is bland. It’s definitely not an attractive building from the outside.
Spies are sent in, but the booths are all dirty.
The manager, James, is sitting at the bar drinking.
The spies order their drinks and are given a towel to wipe down the dirty booth.
Bartender Chelsie doesn’t do much except for her makeup in the closed kitchen.
James is booed as he takes the stage to DJ.
Jon comes in, and Brandon defends James as the two are friends.
Jon brings in expert chef Nick Liberato the next day.
The experts and Jon inspect the bar.
They find dust and mold in the bar area, and Jessie finds dirty display windows and furniture.
Things get even worse when Nick finds roaches in the kitchen.
Brandon calls back their former chef for the stress test. Jon sees scotch tape on the liquor bottles and knows they are refilling them.
They are putting cheap alcohol into expensive bottles and James is the one responsible.
The staff says he is not a good manager.
James promises Brandon he will change.
Joe calls the team to make drinks.
He wants them to make a simple martini, which they all mess up.
Chef Nick has created a simple menu of olives and cheese.
Jessie watches the serving staff and corrects them.
Jon notices there are still taped bottles during the stress test; he makes the staff get rid of them.
Joe has an airhorn he is setting off every time it takes more than 45 seconds to make a drink.
Chelsie is doing poorly at the bar, and the servers aren’t doing much better.
Drinks are taking almost 45 minutes to complete.
James tries to help but doesn’t know what to do.
Customers end up leaving the bar because they were never served.
The stress test is shut down, and many staff complains about James.
The next day James is nowhere to be found, so Brandon finally fires him and considers Rocky, a bartender, for a manager.
The bar staff is then trained on four easy-to-make drinks.
As part of the relaunch, the kitchen has been given all new appliances.
There is a panini press, food processor, and a convection oven.
Beyond the new equipment and layout, Jon Taffer has renamed the bar from Cashmere to Dual Ultra Nightclub.
There are new lights that can be seen through the windows.
The exterior has a new bright sign.
There are two DJ booths and artwork on the wall.
Thunder Group supplied them with unbreakable glassware.
Two famous DJs perform during the relaunch.
The staff is keeping up during the relaunch and things are going much better.
Chelsie shows real improvement.
Two people begin removing their clothes on the dancefloor, and Brandon steps in to kick them out.
So was the Cashmere Bar Rescue episode a long-term success?
Keep reading the update to learn what happened next and if it’s still open in 2025.
Dual Ultra Nightclub Update - What Happened Next?
So – was the Cashmere Bar Rescue episode a success? And what happened to the newly named Dual Ultra Nightclub?
Let’s talk about how things went after Jon Taffer left Raleigh.
At first, things seemed to be going well.
About a month after Taffer’s visit, the bar’s sales were up almost 25% and James stayed away from the business.
For a time, all was hunky dory…but it wouldn’t last.
But before that, let’s look at a few Dual Ultra Nightclub reviews from after the Bar Rescue visit.
Dual Ultra Nightclub reviews
Dual Ultra Nightclub only had 6 reviews on its Yelp page, so it’s had to get a good picture.
The overall rating was just 2.5 stars, though.
Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
2 star Yelp review from July 2013:
Really?
No one’s wrote a review on this place?
Well, let me tell you how it is.
Kitty cornered next to Sullivan’s.
It’s got a decent space on the dance floor, a well laid out bar with a minimal whiskey selection.
The DJ on Saturday was pretty unfortunate.
He had a group of girls doing their Zumba routine in sync while everyone else stood around confused and waiting for a change in music.
He did eventually change it up a little but by then most of the crowd had already decided to move on to another spot.
At least there was no cover. I asked for a whiskey neat and I got it loaded with ice, so I asked if he could take the ice cubes out.
He poured me another, which is a sign of a decent bartender- so I’ll give them that.
Get a better DJ and make more use of the dance floor.
1 star Yelp review from December 2013:
This place didn’t learn a thing from Bar Rescue.
I don’t know how they stay in business.
Zero stars.
And now they have derelicts holding the door open for people and making women feel uncomfortable.
Where is the REAL door man who is actually employed there to greet ladies ( with disposable income I should add)?
3 star Yelp review from September 2013:
Haven’t been to Dual since Bar Rescue came and made it over.
I went this past Saturday night and had an awesome time.
Music was really good, crowd was fun, bartenders were friendly.
Definitely going back with my girlfriends!!
Is Dual Ultra Nightclub from Bar Rescue still open?
Dual Ultra Nightclub closed for good in May 2014, which is less than a year after the Cashmere Bar Rescue episode aired on TV.
The bar left a cryptic “RIP” message on its Twitter account to mark the closure, but didn’t say why it closed.
As of 2023, the old Dual Ultra Nightclub / Cashmere Raleigh location is occupied by a new bar called Milk Bar.
Reviews for the new bar seem just ok, with a 3.9 star rating on its Google page.
If you want to learn more about the new bar that replaced Dual Ultra Nightclub, you can check out the official Milk Bar website.
You can also see the new tenant in the old Dual Nightclub Raleigh NC in this shot from Google Maps street view:
There are a lot of businesses in this building, but the Milk Bar suite number matches the old Cashmere suite number.
If you want to see some other Bar Rescue North Carolina episodes, you can check out my updates for MoonRunners Saloon / Character’s Quarters in Garner, The Gateway Pub / Corner Pocket II in Hickory, 22 Klicks / Cliques in Fayetteville, and Rio Ultra Lounge / 360 Lounge Reloaded in Charlotte.
And if you want to share your thoughts about the Dual Ultra Nightclub episode, you can use the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/dual-ultra-nightclub-raleighhttps://www.yelp.com/biz/cashmere-raleigh
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Last updated: 2023-04-22 07:31
Feel bad this place didn’t survive. The owner looked so much more alive after cutting the dead weight. Shame he didn’t fire his friend and that lame duck waitress sooner, could have saved his business.
This episode of Bar Rescue shows you why you never hire friends to run a business for you. “all in”
It’s unfortunate the place didn’t stay open. Bar Rescue did an amazing job with the place and the staff. I have to agree with the other comment – be very careful hiring friends.
Why are the owners reluctant to fire this goofy type of staff? The “manager” was a drunken fool. But his friend the owner of the establishment wouldn’t fire him! These are the worst Bar Rescue episodes, I’m loosing money but I don’t want to fire my friend! Not surprised it closed!
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the incredible amount of time & effort you put into this. I have watched most Bar Rescue episodes & honestly one of the best parts is being able to come here to get a real update. I know this is a lot of work & I for one am most grateful that you do this! Thank you very VERY VERY much!!!
Thanks for the kind words!
I second the complement. Same, I binge watch Bar Rescue and these updates are what makes the viewing experience complete. Particularly because so many bars fail *after* the rescue, some surprisingly are successes. The show only makes sense because we can follow their success or failure. I certainly wouldn’t enjoy the show without these updates!
I second that thanks. I’d seen maybe 7 or 8 BR episodes & was entertained but always felt lacking, like I’d missed something. I went on the googlemator & stumbled on your series. What a difference! My viewing experience is now complete. I seriously love the writing & the detail you write with, such as inclusion of the street views, years later.
I cannot watch an episode anymore without having the ‘guide’ to accompany it. Well done.
Agree with Peggy 100%! This is my go to site to find out what happened to the places that Jon tries to save. What’s amazing is how many of his places were turned around AND survived Covid. He must have done a good job for these places to get through the pandemic and not go out of business.
Ok, but duelling DJs? How would that ever work? I have a feeling that after that launch night they never had two DJs at the same time again making the concept for the bar pointless.
Not sure if anyone knows this or not, but “All in” James…
a.k.a DJ Blue Steel is Tony Danza’s cousin, and yes I’m talking about the Tony Danza from “Who’s the Boss. Brandon Klintworth and James Iadanza are best friends and have been for many years. They did Bar Rescue for media exposure and to pull in a little extra revenue from being on “Bar Rescue” before closing the place down. Brandon and James planned everything out before bringing Bar Resue in, and they had every intention on playing Jon Taffer like a fiddle. Also, some people have tried to state that they did it for selling purposes, but the owner Brandon only rented that spot and did not own that spot next to Sullivan’s. One person owns that entire building and all those spots are rented to all those businesses. The owner Brandon, has had several very successful bars in Raleigh, including Ess Bar, that was around for many years, so he was definitely not a stranger to the bar industry in Raleigh. He is also the owner of a successful landscaping company that has brought him the majority of his wealth. Cashmere/Dual bar was only a little chump change for him and something to cure his boredom. FYI, take it from someone that knows first hand and that has known both Brandon a d James for a long time.
Yeah, I know this area well and most of the many bars sell after a couple years whether they’re doing well or not. Many bar owners basically flip bars for a profit which is why so many from BR close soon after. There’s only a couple bars in this particular area that have had the same name for a long time.
My daughter used to work with the attractive girl that was bartending on this episode. Said she’s very nice.
All in on this episode
I’m going to guess that with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line on every episode & I don’t mean the 100k they put into a bar.
Doubtful to me that anyone ‘plays’ the producers. I’ve worked in entertainment industry for 40 years & they’d do background checks & research on every single ‘cast member’. Can you imagine them missing a domestic abuse on one of these people?
It’s reality tv, not reality. With two semi trailers, full of equipment, well over 40 people in production, not to mention hotel and craft services for the entire crew. It’s Well, beyond the 100 k they say is spent. From What I know, I’d say, From my experience on TV , one episode costs 750k minimum all things considered & not including the 100k they say they spend.
Confrontations are often staged.
You mean the huge Shoulder mounted cameras just happened to be there when the employees are acting badly?
There is always two and sometimes three filming all at once.
This is Actually, what makes the show happen, And what makes it entertaining and watchable.
A general thing to remember, when watching reality TV, is that you couldn’t see anything entertaining & watchable without multiple cameras constantly everywhere to capture what drama you see on the screen.
It’s a very well produced show in my fridge opinion, and would never have survived this long if it weren’t, because it’s all shot on location, having done it by the way, is a total Bitch to work on. Enjoy & hopefully understand a bit more What you were actually seeing. It’s tons of fun, recognizing where the cameras must be as you watch the ‘candid’ interactions.
How did a club with a “super butt funnel” not survive?
The exhaustimg search for answers to the unknown mysteries of these crazy times we live in are what keep us going sometimes brother! Lol. Great comment. I have to say though… ONLY a “super butt funnel” could salvage the dream of hope of a comeback after a bar struggles for so long under management from such a ridiculous moron the likes of “all in”. That dude was so far from what a club needs for leadership and he was totally oblivious to how horrible he really was. Not even touching the behind the scenes stuff of budgets, bookkeeping, promotions etc. Just his look, his skills, his crying, arrogance and annoying little big man syndrome alone is plenty to sink a nightclub before it even opens its doors for business. I can’t imagine that guy bounced back anywhere in this genre of occupation. Maybe an out of site dishwasher but more likely Mr. ALL IN” moved on to begging for a job from his same buddy only this time as “head lawn mower pusher” for his landscaping business.