(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 5 | View All Season 5 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: April 2, 2017
The Bar's Original Name Was: Desi Romano’s Sports Bar and Grill
Desi Romano’s Sports Bar and Grill Address: 3809 Paris Rd, Chalmette, Lousiana 70043
Episode Recap
Desi Romano’s Sports Bar and Grill Update was a Chalmette, Louisiana bar that was featured on Season 5 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Desi Romanos Bar Rescue episode aired in April 2017, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 5 Episode 20 and the episode name was “Desi, You Got Some ‘Splainin’ To Do”.
In this episode, Jon Taffer and his crew head to Desi Romano’s Sports Bar & Grill, a struggling bar located in Chalmette, Louisiana.
If you’re not familiar with Louisiana geography, Chalmette is located just outside New Orleans proper.
Though Jon Taffer usually likes changing a bar’s name during its rescue, he actually made the decision to let Desi, the owner, keep the original name of Desi Romano’s Sports Bar & Grill.
That’s a bit of a spoiler – sorry!
This episode is unique in that many of the problems are caused by Desi having a stroke, which led him to be absent from managing the bar.
And as a result of that absence, the bar quickly went downhill.
With a lot of other bars on the show, the owners are just clueless or uncaring.
But with Desi, he seems like a successful businessman who just had a really unfortunate health issue.
This means that it’s easier to root for him to succeed, at least in my opinion.
Though Desi has returned from his health problems, he isn’t quite the same.
Now, he allows bartenders to run open tabs, which obviously isn’t great for business.
Desi has hired his daughter Lindsey Romano as manager and his niece Bethany as the cook.
Unfortunately, Desi suffered a stroke as I mentioned above, and Lindsey’s inexperience showed when he took time off to heal.
Customers stopped coming into Desi Romano’s Sports Bar and Grill.
Desi now spends most of his time drinking at the bar.
Expert mixologist Derrick Turner and Chef Tiffany Derry join Jon Taffer on the recon to see what’s going wrong at the bar.
The experts and Jon agree the outside of the bar is appealing, but the inside has no theme.
Jon tells Tiffany and Derrick the bar is in debt and losing money monthly.
The camera footage from the kitchen shows a stained cutting board and the bartenders drinking and smoking behind the bar.
Brad and Steve, Bar Rescue alumni, spy on the bar for Jon Taffer and the experts.
Brad owns Spirits on Bourbon in New Orleans, which Jon Taffer also rescued.
The spies ask for a drink menu, but the bar doesn’t have one.
Why not? Apparently they do not offer specialty drinks.
The bartender recommends a margarita instead.
When the bartender serves the drinks to the spies, she tells them it is on the owner’s tab.
The drinks taste foul, so the bartender makes another round but is making many mistakes.
Brad and Steve order mac and cheese from the kitchen.
They see Bethany, the cook at the bar, so the food is being prepped by someone else.
The mac and cheese is very soggy, and the spies do not like the taste either.
Spoiler alert – after the episode, people seem to love the mac and cheese according to the reviews.
Lindsey cuts off Desi’s drinking, but he becomes rude until she gives him more.
Jon Taffer enters the bar and stands behind a drunk Desi, who has no idea he is there.
Desi tells Jon the renovations have to begin the next day, but Jon tells him he will leave if they do not start now.
The bar is shut down for a meeting, and Desi continues to drink as Jon gets ready to go.
Finally, Lindsey and Bethany promise to keep Desi in line.
The next day Jon returns, and Desi is like a different person.
Desi can’t remember the day before, so Jon shows him footage of his drunken antics.
The staff members have outstanding tabs, with Bethany’s tab reaching an incredible $2000.
Jon gives the bar feedback about smoking behind the bar and the kitchen’s lack of organization.
Derrick trains the bartender on how to make a Louisiana favorite, the Hurricane.
Chef Tiffany shows the cooks how to make delicious and simple bar snacks in the kitchen.
The stress test begins, and Desi will greet the guests as Lindsey manages the bar.
The bartenders make many mistakes during the test, as does the kitchen.
After the kitchen wait times reach thirty minutes, Jon shuts down the bar.
After the stress test, Jon admonishes the kitchen and Lindsey but compliments the staff who stepped up.
Brad and Steve, the spies, return to tell the employees of Desi Romano’s how successful they have been since their episode of Bar Rescue was filmed.
Jon meets with Desi and Lindsey, and Desi promises to support and train his daughter on management skills.
As I mentioned earlier, Jon Taffer kept the bar’s original name for this rescue.
However, he did still make some improvements at the bar.
The bar’s theme is no longer confusing as it looks like a sports bar now.
There are three new POS systems as USB charging stations at the bar.
The bartenders are confident during the relaunch and make more than one drink at a time.
Bethany steps up and does a great job in the kitchen.
So, can the changes from Jon Taffer save Desi Romano’s Sports Bar & Grill?
Keep reading for an update on everything that’s happened since the Bar Rescue team shot the episode and if it’s still open in 2025 and beyond.
Desi Romano’s Sports Bar and Grill Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Desi Romanos Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left Chalmette, LA.
Things seemed to start off well after the episode.
At the normal six-week check-in with the Bar Rescue producers, we learn that sales at the bar are up by 12%.
Desi is also being a better manager and no longer giving out free drinks, though he’s still struggling with giving Lindsey more control.
Is Desi Romano’s from Bar Rescue still open?
As of my most recent check, Desi Romano’s Sports Bar & Grill is still open open and serving customers in Chalmette, LA.
The bar is active on Facebook, regularly posting about events and specials.
In 2024, a lot of these posts seem to focus on food specials, such as fried fish, gumbo, and so on.
They also have something called “The Steakout”, which sounds great.
They also seem to run $6 martini deals sometimes, as I see them posting about that a lot.
Here’s a screenshot of the Desi Romano’s menu for specials to give you an idea of what’s on offer and the current prices.
I’m not sure about any events at the bar, because they don’t really post about that.
Overall, kudos to Jon and Desi!
There aren’t many news articles detailed the owners reaction to Bar Rescue, so I’m not sure how Desi personally feels about Jon’s remodeling changes.
Lindsey Romano, Desi’s daughter and a bartender at the bar, did post a status on her Facebook saying,
Sooooo now that it is finally all over with I can say……
#BarRescue was quite an up and down (or down and up) very crazy experience!
(To say the least!)
😃😂Most of our #DESIS crew can say they learned something from this event and will completely turn this into a POSITIVE experience!
Hopefully we can use #JonTaffers start of a great foundation and make the absolute BEST of it!
Here’s a screenshot of Lindsey’s post in case it gets deleted:
Here’s an example of what the Desi Romano’s Chalmette location looks like as of April 2022:
In the more recent Google Maps street view update (March 2023), it seems to look exactly the same.
I’ll embed it below so that you can explore the area around the bar:
Desi Romano’s Sports Bar reviews after Bar Rescue
Recent reviews seem to be mostly positive, though there are a few negative reviews mixed in.
Overall, it has a 4 star rating on Yelp and a 4.5 star rating on Google Reviews, which is pretty good for a bar that appeared on Bar Rescue.
Here’s a sampling of reviews that were written after the Desi Romano’s Bar Rescue visit happened.
Positive Reviews of Desi Romano’s
5 star Yelp review from May 2022:
I love the hamburger, they do a spectacular job.
I also love the spinach salad is also delicious.
We have never been disappointed there. The staff is great.
5 star Google review from March 2022:
Look, just go in, I know the outside doesn’t look like much, but the food is AMAZING!
Look at the burger, look at it! Peanut butter bacon burger?
Yes! Don’t worry, they have normal burgers, and steak, and much more.
But if you want a cool unique burger, a cold beer, and good music, go to Desi’s, you won’t regret it!
Service is top notch as well!
Went several times during my stay, each time was delicious!
5 star Yelp review from January 2022:
Love the food,and the service!!!
The female who works the bar has thee best customer service ever.
The mac and cheese OMG AWESOME!!!!
5 star Yelp review from February 2021:
Crystal served us up the nest farm burger I’ve had in quite some time.
Grilled perfectly Med rare.
Love this place!
Been meaning to try it out.
A friend who grew up in “Da Parish” suggested we go.
I’ll definitely return to try some of the other burger options.
There are plenty!
French fries done perfectly, French Onion Soup amazing(not too salty) nice clean environment… definitely will return time and time again.
Portions are rather large, prices are fair, cocktails good pour. Yum!
4 star Yelp review from June 2020:
2 of us came in on a Tuesday in June.
Both our first time here.
Pretty cool atmosphere bar for the neighborhood.
Paper towels needed a refill and no silverware when food was brought out.
Cute, friendly server but I did have to get up to request ketchup, black pepper and another round of beers.
My companion enjoyed her chicken sandwich but since the server didn’t write anything down it was grilled instead of fried and wrongly included tomatoes.
Good, unique macaroni n cheese with added fried chicken on top.
The small bowl was plenty.
Prices here can be a few bucks high.
We will try them again when in the area.
Negative Reviews of Desi Romano’s
1 star Yelp review from March 2022:
Terrible experience just awful.
And that beast that is the manager is just the rudest ever!!!
Food came cold and half cooked after requesting it be extra cooked!
Was told it was not on the ticket and was still forced into a 20% tip that was supposed to 18%.
We was going there three times weekly and at least seven people each time but that won’t happen again!!!!! Lol
1 star Google review from March 2021:
Was there for 2 hours…. no refills at all.
Burger was wrong I told waitress “don’t worry about the burger can I just get a refill” she looked me dead in my face and said ok…
never got it.
No tip and wont be going back.
Brewsters it is next time.
Final thoughts on Desi Romano’s
Overall, it seems like Desi Romano’s is a real Bar Rescue success story so far.
It’s survived Covid-19 and still seems to be going strong!
Given that this episode originally aired all the way back in 2017, that means that Desi Romano’s has already survived for seven years.
And, based on the reviews that I see, I don’t see any reason to expect that to stop any time soon.
That wraps up my thoughts and update on this episode.
If you want to see some other Louisiana Bar Rescue episodes, check out these posts:
- Spirits on Bourbon / Turtle Bay update
- Big Mike’s Sports Bar update
- The Annex / TJ Quills update
- The Second Line Co / Speakeasy update
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Desi Romano’s Sports Bar episode, you can do so using the comments section below.
As always – thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/desi-romanos-sports-bar-and-grill-chalmettehttps://www.facebook.com/DesiRomanos/
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Last updated: 2024-03-25 08:04
Very descriptive post, I loved that bit. Will there be a part 2?
I truly hope you all succeed, and Desi is in good health!
Lindsey hope your doing well and your dad is doing great as well . I watched the bar rescue episode and wanted to tell you I think your gorgeous. You looked so beautiful on the show and hope your doing good running the place and wish you the best. Maybe one day I’ll get to come down from NY to visit .
I just got 2 say I just Luv Lyndsey I’ve watched show 10 times Lyndsey is just a sweetie.
I’d like to go to Desi Romano’s Sports Bar & Grill just to see Lyndsey because she’s so “GORGEOUS”!!!!
Hello Jon Taffer, we love your show. Please start your Bar Rescue show again.
Do you ever rescue apartMent houses?
I’m not Jon Taffer 🙂 Taffer is filming Season 9 already though so we will hopefully have new Bar Rescue episodes soon.
You erroneously said that LINDSEY had the bar tab of $2000, but it was actually Bethany, the kitchen manager/cook. Just watched the episode on Paramount Plus. LINDSEY is Desi’s daughter and is supposedly the manager, which Desi still won’t turn over control to her. If it weren’t for her, Desi’s would be closed and DESI would probably still come in to a closed restaurant and bar and finish off all the booze, sitting in the dark
“People are happy with just one more.”
Probably the best quote from Desi in this episode. He had me laughing on several occasions during his drunken antics at the start of the show. Happy to hear they are still doing well in 2024.
Lindsey is simply gorgeous and really made this whole thing happen. Hope she gets to run the show and bring the bar back to a successful business. Great woman great parents great staff!
You wrote:
“The staff members have outstanding tabs, with Lindsey’s tab reaching an incredible $2000. ”
It is Bethany, the niece who is the cook who has the $2,000 bar tab not the daughter Lindsey.
Thanks for pointing that out! Sometimes I mess things up because it’s been a while since I watched certain episodes.