Country Barn Bar Rescue Update (Corner Cafe) – Still Open Today?

Is The Country Barn still open today?

Status: >> OPEN <<
(keep reading to learn what happened)

Season: 8 | View All Season 8 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: May 14, 2023
The Bar's Original Name Was: Corner Cafe Bar and Grill
The Country Barn Address: 446 Hwy 55 Horseshoe Bend, ID 83629

Corner Cafe Bar Rescue update

Episode Recap

Corner Cafe Bar & Grill, later renamed to The Country Barn, was a Horseshoe Bend, Idaho bar that was featured on the third set of Season 8 of Bar Rescue.

Though the Country Barn Bar Rescue episode aired in May 2023, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place in late July / early August 2022.

It was Season 8 Episode 33 and the episode name was “Horseshoe Bend It Like “Bar Rescue””.

In this episode, Jon Taffer heads back to Idaho to visit the Corner Cafe Bar and Grill.

Corner Cafe is located in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, a city of just around 700 people.

However, Horseshoe Bend sits along the primary north-south highway out of Boise and is part of the great Boise metropolitan area, so there’s a bigger potential audience there for the bar.

The bar is located in a barn-style building, which will become more important later in the show – spoiler alert!

David Johan Corner Cafe owner on Bar Rescue

The bar has been owned by David Johan since July 2021, when he purchased the bar from the previous owner.

The bar has been around for a while before David purchasing the bar – since at least 2012 (and maybe before that).

That means David has been the owner for around two years at the time of the Corner Cafe Bar Rescue visit.

While David worked as a financial investor (mostly in real estate and finance), his parents owned a restaurant in France, so he does have some indirect experience in running a restaurant.

However, he was also buying the bar as a real estate investment in addition to the business, so it seems like he got a good price.

According to David, he was able to buy the bar for $450,000.

Because David wanted to be a hands-off owner, he hired LD to be the bar’s general manager.

LD Corner Cafe general manager on Bar Rescue

LD knows the town and David basically wanted her to run the bar for him.

However, while LD has a lot of local experience, she doesn’t have a lot of experience in managing a bar, which means she’s kind of learning on the job.

At first, business at the bar was quite good and things seemed to be going well.

However, things obviously started going downhill after that, which is why the Corner Cafe Bar Rescue episode exists.

Now, David is considering getting out of the bar business because it’s losing money.

At the time of the episode, David says he’s losing around $5,000 per month on the Corner Cafe Bar and Grill.

Corner Cafe Bar Rescue episode

In addition to the $450,000 that he invested to purchase the bar, David has had to put up another $75,000 just to keep the bar going.

David said that he only has six months left in running the bar unless something can change.

Overall, this one doesn’t seem as horrible as some of the bars that you see on the show, but Jon Taffer still has his work cut out for him if he wants to save the bar.

To recon the bar, Jon had help from Anthony Lamas, one of his expert chef’s.

When Anthony investigates the kitchen at the Corner Cafe, he finds rat poop on the floor, which leads to them immediately shutting down the kitchen.

LD tries to avoid blame by saying that the kitchen situation was worse before, but that’s not really a good excuse lol.

Anthony and Jon make the staff stay to clean the kitchen, which takes them all night.

After that, Anthony Lamas and Adam Rains get to work on improving the food and drinks at the bar, along with the training of the staff.

As part of the renovation, Jon Taffer changed the name from Corner Cafe Bar and Grill to The Country Barn.

Obviously, The Country Barn name fits well with the building that it’s housed in, as well as the community in which it’s located.

So was the Corner Cafe Bar Rescue episode a long-term success?

Keep reading my full update to learn what happened next and if this Horseshoe Bend, Idaho bar is still open in 2024.

The Country Barn Update - What Happened Next?

Now that we’ve recapped the Country Barn Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left Horseshoe Bend, Idaho.

First, let’s talk about the name.

In general, the owners seem to have kept The Country Barn name from Jon Taffer.

However, they also still seem to be hanging on to the Corner Cafe name as well, perhaps to avoid losing the brand recognition that they’ve built.

For example, on Facebook, the bar’s name is listed as Country Barn Corner Bar and Cafe.

If you look at the Facebook logo, you can also see both The Country Barn and Corner Cafe:

The Country Barn logo

You’ll also see them use this combined name in a lot of the Facebook posts, though I did see a few posts just using the Country Barn name.

While it’s a bit of a mouthful to say, I guess it does make sense to try to keep both names.

The bar also posted on its Facebook page in advance of the Country Barn Bar Rescue episode, which is usually a good sign that they had a fairly good experience.

Here’s the post from three days before the episode aired:

BAR RESCUE IS FINALLY HERE!!!

THIS SUNDAY…. HOWEVER…. That is the same day we are doting on the well deserved Mothers in our lives….. SAME DAY AS MOTHER’S DAY!!!!

Would anyone be interested in having a HSB SHOWING LATER IN THE WEEK AS A COMMUNITY?

It would mean a great deal to the Country Barn Corner Bar & Cafe family if we could all come together to watch it as one big HSB FAMILY!

Here’s a screenshot of the post:

Country Barn Bar Rescue Facebook post

Is The Country Barn still open after Bar Rescue?

As of my most recent check in 2024, The Country Barn is still open and serving customers in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho.

The bar has also kept the name and concept from Bar Rescue and is continuing to operate as The Country Barn.

The bar seems to host a wide variety of events according to its Facebook page.

In addition to regular food specials, The Country Barn also has live music, karaoke, standup comedy, and more.

For example, here’s a Facebook post about one of the bar’s comedy nights:

Country Barn comedy Facebook post

Here’s what the Country Barn Horseshoe Bend ID location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view…

It hasn’t been updated since August 2018, so it doesn’t include any of the changes from Bar Rescue.

I’m mainly including it so that you can explore the area around the bar, if you so desire.

The Country Barn reviews after Bar Rescue

Next, let’s take a look at some Country Barn reviews from after the show.

Overall, the bar has a 4.2 star rating on Google and a 3.5 star rating on Yelp.

Those ratings include reviews from both before and after the episode.

In general, reviews from after the Bar Rescue episode seem to be more positive.

I also saw some reviewers who visited before and after and said that the service has improved after the Corner Cafe Jon Taffer visit, which is great to see.

Some reviewers also talked positively about the Bar Rescue renovations.

Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…

4 star Google review from April 2023:

4 stars here is for the service lately!!

Last few times I have been in, the staff is so friendly, welcoming, and helpful!

Interior is nice too after their Bar Rescue remodel.

Went quite a few times before the show filmed and service was horrendous but since then food is still meh basic diner food… although the focaccia bread they have on the pioneer road sandwich is super yummy!!

At least their menu descriptions accurately represent the food you are being served which cannot be said about other diners in town!

Keep on improving Country Barn, I look forward to seeing this business continue to grow!

4 star Google review from April 2023:

Love the Big Dipper and Mac and cheese!

Everyone is so kind and welcoming.

It’s clean and huge portions!

Great for the whole family.

4 star Google review from April 2023:

The waitress made us feel welcomed the minute we walked in.

She kept our drinks full and brought her food up hot and she also made sure we were good through the whole meal.

Food was delicious and very large portions.

5 star Google review from March 2023:

This restaurant was wonderful!

The food portions were large.

The coffee was hot and yummy.

The food we ordered was homemade and very delicious!

EVERYTHING was hot and flavorful.

I was really impressed!

We will go back again!

5 star Google review from February 2023:

Great food!!!

Better than anything on the same level here in Nampa has to offer.

Great prices.

A must stop anytime we pass through again.

With that being said, the reviews aren’t perfect.

Here are a few examples of middle-of-the-road or negative reviews from after the Bar Rescue episode.

1 star Google review from March 2023:

I don’t remember the last time I walked out of a restaurant.

But I did today.

I could not get waited on.

They waited on multiple tables around me,it took 20 minutes to get a drink, and I had to go get my own menu.

I waited for about 15 minutes after getting my own menu and no one came to take my order.

I continued to make eye contact hoping someone would come.

Walked out without receiving any food and went down the street.

3 star Google review from December 2022:

Cute cafe, my family eats here occasionally.

The food is okay.

The breakfast sausage patty is extremely oily, even the kids won’t eat it.

Final thoughts on The Country Barn after Bar Rescue

Overall, the Country Barn seems to be doing pretty well so far.

It’s generally kept the name from Jon Taffer, though it still includes Corner Cafe as well.

The reviews from after Jon Taffer’s visit also seem to be more positive than before, with some reviewers noting an improvement in service.

Reviewers also seem to like the Bar Rescue renovations.

Overall, I could see them being successful for a long time if they can keep the local community happy – I wish them the best!

That wraps up my The Country Barn Bar Rescue update…

If you want to see another Idaho Bar Rescue episode, you can check out my update for The Hideaway in Meridian, ID, which Jon Taffer walked out on earlier in Season 8. Later episodes from Idaho include Dave’s Firehouse / Firehouse Sports Pub in Nampa and Bullseye Sports Bar / Strikers Lounge in Meridian.

Other nearby bars outside of the state include Linda Lou’s / Purser’s Bar in Utah, The Fifth in Utah, and Oak Tavern / The Bullpen in Nevada.

And if you want to share your thoughts on the Corner Cafe Bar Rescue episode, you can do so using the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/corner-cafe-bar-and-grill-horseshoe-bend
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084371582779


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Last updated: 2024-04-15 07:39

13 thoughts on “Country Barn Bar Rescue Update (Corner Cafe) – Still Open Today?”

All comments are the sole opinion of the commenter and are not endorsed by RealityTVUpdates.

  1. If you think they enjoyed their Bar Rescue experience, you should see the sign that they have posted in front of it now.

    I did like LD in the episode.

    Reply

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