Dave’s Firehouse Bar Rescue Update (Firehouse Sports) – Still Open Today?

Is Dave's Firehouse still open today?

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

Season: 8 | View All Season 8 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: June 4, 2023
The Bar's Original Name Was: Firehouse Sports Pub
Dave's Firehouse Address: 423 E Karcher Rd, Nampa, ID 83687

Firehouse Sports Pub Bar Rescue episode

Episode Recap

Firehouse Sports Pub, later renamed to Dave’s Firehouse: A Local’s Bar, was a Nampa, Idaho (Boise) bar that was featured on the third set of Season 8 of Bar Rescue.

Though the Dave’s Firehouse Bar Rescue episode aired in June 2023, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place almost a year earlier around July/August 2022.

It was Season 8 Episode 36 and the episode name was “Put This Fire Out”.

In this episode, Jon Taffer heads to Firehouse Sports Pub in Nampa, Idaho.

This episode marks Jon Taffer’s fourth visit to the great state Idaho, all of which have come in the third set of Season 8.

Nampa is the third most populous city in Idaho and it’s located just about 20 miles west of Boise, so it still counts as part of the greater Boise metropolitan area.

As the name suggests, Firehouse Sports Pub has a firehouse theme.

However, it’s not because the Firehouse Sports Pub Nampa ID location is in an old firehouse building (which is how a lot of bars work).

Rather, the owner’s brother is a fireman, which is where he got the idea from.

Dave Olsen Firehouse Sports Pub owner

The bar is owned by Dave Olsen, a former electrical technician.

Spoiler alert – Dave’s name will become important later in the episode when Jon Taffer renovates and rebrands the bar.

Dave opened Firehouse Sports Pub in 2008, investing his retirement savings into it.

The bar was originally at another location.

Dave then moved it to the location that you saw on Bar Rescue in 2017.

However, the bar is struggling (obviously!).

Even though he didn’t have any experience in owning a bar, Dave thought the bar would be printing money…

But Firehouse Sports Pub hasn’t ever made money, which is pretty rough when you consider it’s been open for ~15 years.

Firehouse Sports Pub staff

At the time of Jon Taffer’s visit, the bar is losing over $3,000 per month.

To make matters worse, Dave is down over $300,000 with Firehouse Sports Pub, which is a huge hole to climb out of.

Even if the Firehouse Sports Pub Bar Rescue visit goes perfectly, the bar still has an uphill battle ahead of it if it’s going to stay open.

Because of that, Dave had to go back into the construction business 

With Dave away from the business, the staff are untrained and don’t have a lot of direction.

In the episode, Jon Taffer calls it “about as bad a decision as anybody could make”, which is pretty scathing.

Dave pushes back with some excuses.

As you probably guess, Jon Taffer does not embrace those excuses.

Beyond the staff not having direction, the bar also doesn’t have direction.

While it does sort of have the firehouse theme, it seems more like a random collection of things thrown together than a coherent concept.

Firehouse Sports Pub decor

At the time of the Bar Rescue Firehouse Sports Pub visit, the bar is pretty much only relying on traffic from a few regulars.

If the business and money side of things weren’t enough, Dave has also been dealing with mental health issues, in part because of some tragic events in his family.

His depression forced him to further step away from the bar, which only compounded a lot of issues that already existed.

Overall, the bar supposedly only has two months left before closing unless Jon Taffer can turn things around.

As part of the visit and renovation, Jon Taffer tweaked the bar’s name and concept from Firehouse Sports Pub to Dave’s Firehouse: A Local’s Bar.

Dave's Firehouse Nampa Bar Rescue renovation

Fun fact: This isn’t the first time Jon has used the “A Local’s Bar” tagline – he also used it with The Bridge: A Local’s Bar in Tarpon Springs, FL from back in Season 4.

So was the Firehouse Sports Pub Bar Rescue episode a long-term success?

Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this Nampa, ID bar is still open in 2024.

Dave's Firehouse Update - What Happened Next?

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

First off, let’s start with whether or not the bar kept Jon Taffer’s name and concept.

Then, I’ll get to whether it’s still open and share some reviews from after Taffer’s visit.

As far as I can tell, the bar seems to still be using the Dave’s Firehouse name and concept from Jon Taffer.

I checked recent posts and all of them still use the Dave’s Firehouse: A Local’s Bar Name.

However, some of the bar’s profiles still use the old Firehouse Sports Pub name.

I don’t think this is a purposeful thing. Rather, Dave is just not very good with social media and doesn’t have a dedicated marketing person.

For example, consider this exchange from Dave’s personal Facebook page:

Dave's Firehouse no marketing

The bar would probably be better off if it had a more consistent online presence, but that’s just my opinion.

I kind of think Jon Taffer should include a digital renovation as part of the rescue, in addition to the physical renovation.

Overall, Dave and the bar seem to have been happy with the Bar Rescue experience.

The bar hosted a watch party to celebrate the episode airing, which is always a positive indicator in terms of them taking Jon Taffer’s advice.

Dave's Firehouse Bar Rescue watch party

Given that the bar is hosting a watch party for the Dave’s Firehouse Bar Rescue episode, you can probably guess the answer to the next question…

Is Dave’s Firehouse still open after Bar Rescue?

As of 2023, Dave’s Firehouse is still open and serving customers in Nampa, ID.

It is still using the name and concept from Jon Taffer, though you’ll still find it listed as Firehouse Sports Pub in a few places.

On Facebook, the bar regularly posts about specials – they have $2.5 tequila shots and $2 domestic drafts, which sounds good to me.

Beyond cheap drinks, Dave’s Firehouse hosts a weekly darts tournament every Saturday night.

The bar also offers free pool on Sundays.

Dave's Firehouse Nampa ID darts tournament

Beyond the “standard” bar stuff like drink specials and darts, Dave’s Firehouse also seems to host some unique events.

For example, in May 2023, the bar posted a “paint party”, where people could sip some drinks and paint something.

The event was run by an outside source (The Angry Easel Paint Parties) and seems to have generated a good number of positive reviews.

Dave's Firehouse Nampa ID painting party

I think that’s pretty cool, and a smart way to draw in a different type of crowd from the other events.

Here’s what the Dave’s Firehouse Nampa ID location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view…

The picture was from November 2022, so you can see the Dave’s Firehouse: A Local’s Bar signage up at the bar.

Dave’s Firehouse reviews after Bar Rescue

Next, let’s look at some reviews for Dave’s Firehouse to give you an idea of whether they’re doing well after Taffer’s visit.

On Yelp, the bar has an overall 2.5 star rating on 14+ reviews. However, almost all of those reviews are from before Jon Taffer’s visit, so it’s not a great source for learning how the bar is doing now.

The Yelp page still uses the Firehouse Sports Pub name, but the profile is unclaimed, so this is not a conscious decision by the bar.

Things are a bit better on Google, where the bar has an overall 4.2 star rating and lots of reviews from after Bar Rescue.

On Google, the profile is claimed and uses both names – it’s listed as “Firehouse Sports Pub AKA Daves Firehouse”.

Overall, it seems like reviews from after Bar Rescue are generally positive, but there are a couple of complaints about service, as well as one person complaining that the bar was randomly closed on a Saturday.

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

4 star Google review from March 2023:

This place is pretty big and open.

Pool tables, darts, painting classes on occasion.

The staff was pleasant and there is a taco truck outside which is always amazing.

Pretty neat place to go grab a drink.

4 star Google review from May 2023:

Good place to get beer at a good price.

Had the aces game on.

Good waitress.

Wish they had wings.

5 star Google review from February 2023:

It’s a nice little bar.

Very friendly.

5 star Google review from January 2023:

Haven’t been out in years and this was the place to go.

Very nice pool tables

1 star Google review from May 2023:

Saturday noon doors locked.

The establishment next door packed.

2nd time this place wasn’t open as advertised done trying.

1 star Google review from April 2023:

Bar tender we had, did nothing but complain about us wanting to watch a BSU game that they advertised would be on, on their Facebook page.

They were finally able to get it on one TV with no sound.

She then wouldn’t serve us anymore just because we told her that they shouldn’t have advertised it if they couldn’t show the game.

It is supposed to be a sports bar.

All the other customer’s that were there to watch the game were treated poorly also, she was very vocal and rude about it!

My wife and I got up and left to go somewhere else, and no reply from them from the review I left on their Facebook page.

Very unprofessional and won’t be back!

Final thoughts on Dave’s Firehouse / Fire House Sports Pub

Overall, Dave’s Firehouse seems to still be doing well after Jon Taffer’s visit.

As far as I can tell, they are continuing to use Jon Taffer’s Dave’s Firehouse name and concept, though a few of their online profiles still have the older Firehouse Sports Pub name on them.

The bar also has regular events and specials, which should hopefully be able to keep customers in the bar.

Dave seems like a nice guy for the most part, so I hope that he and the bar are able to create a long-term success story.

That wraps up my Dave’s Firehouse Bar Rescue update!

If you want to see some other Idaho Bar Rescue episodes, you can check out my updates for The Hideaway in Meridian, Bullseye Sports Bar / Strikers in Meridian, and Corner Cafe / Country Barn in Horseshoe Bend.

If you want to see another firehouse-themed Bar Rescue update, you can read my update for Jack’s Ale House / Fire Department in Sunnyside NY.

And if you want to share your thoughts on the Dave’s Firehouse Jon Taffer visit, you can do so using the comments section below.

As always – thanks for reading!


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/firehouse-sports-pub-nampa
https://www.facebook.com/firehousesportspub/


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Last updated: 2023-12-19 04:57

5 thoughts on “Dave’s Firehouse Bar Rescue Update (Firehouse Sports) – Still Open Today?”

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

  1. Dave did look a little bit like a rodeo clown…sorry. Maybe everyone in Idaho does dress that way.

    Rare episode with only 1 expert (with Derrick Turner featured in his third straight episode). In earlier seasons, when there was no food (typically nightclubs as opposed to the bar/grill model), there was often a hospitality consultant (Jesse Barnes) or adult-themed/stripper coach (where relevant).

    Only 1 episode left of this block left, and with Jon referring to a new season of BR set to start filming, this may be the end of season 8 coming up. I’m guessing it will be in California because it would have probably made the news if it was in North Carolina. Strangely, it seems like maybe the California episodes were filmed last even though they have earlier production codes. I’m not sure what to make of that.

    Reply
    • Yeah I haven’t been able to find any details on the finale episode yet. I’ll have to wait until the preview video on Friday.

      Reply
  2. The bar is open 1 pm to 1 am. What idiot was complaining it’s not open at noon?
    .
    And what BSU football game is being played in April?
    .
    Those negative reviews on Google are clear b.s.

    Reply

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