JB Taco Bar Rescue Update (Harbor Point) – Still Open in 2025?

Is JB Taco still open today?

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

Season: 6 | View All Season 6 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: July 28, 2019
The Bar's Original Name Was: Harbor Point Club and Grill
JB Taco Address: 2121 Buckingham Rd Richardson, TX 75081

Harbor Point Bar Rescue Update (JB Taco)

Episode Recap

Harbor Point Club and Grill, later renamed to JB Taco, was a Richardson, Texas bar that was featured on Season 6 of Bar Rescue.

Though the Harbor Point Bar Rescue episode aired in July 2019, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place a few months earlier.

It was Season 6 Episode 40 and the episode name was “John and Bert Bought a Bar”.

Harbor Point Club and Grill is in Richardson, TX.

If you’re not familiar with Texas geography, Richardson is a suburb of Dallas that’s located to the northeast of the city.

The owners are John Willis and Bert Novey, which is why the episode name is “John and Bert Bought a Bar”.

Harbor Point owners

John Willis owned a swimming pool/hot tub business named Pool Experts, while Bert had a long career as a technical assistant at various companies.

To open the bar, John invested his money and cashed in his 401K.

Jon Taffer arrives at Harbor Point Bar and Grill with expert mixologist Phil Wills and Chef Ryan Scott.

However, Jon is concerned the owners have not told him the whole truth about the bar. 

The three men agree the exterior of the bar looks decent while the inside looks worn and old.

The hidden camera footage shows the manager, Nancy, Fefe, Steven, the bartenders, and Danny, the cook. 

The camera shows Fefe using canned soda which increases the bar’s costs.

Jon pretends to have his camera crew pack up and tells John and Bert he won’t rescue the bar.

Taffer runs this test because he wants to be sure that they’re genuine.

Harbor Point test

The owners go into the back office to discuss.

The men talk about how they are probably going to lose their homes.

Overhearing this, Jon reenters the bar and agrees to help. 

Bert and John drink at the bar as they tell Jon Taffer about their financial issues.

Jon tells them to clean the bar, and he will come back the next day.

The experts and Jon Taffer come into Harbor Point Club and Grill the following day.

The employees tell Jon that the owners once were invested in the bar but lost interest when they began losing money. 

John drinks alcohol at the bar daily – close to $200 worth a day, which is just an incredible amount.

The staff also confide in Jon that they become lazy and unsupportive when the owners drink.

All of these issues combine to explain why the Harbor Point Bar Rescue episode exists.

In working on the bar, Jon Taffer says that he wants drinks and beverages served within 15 minutes.

He orders various cocktails and meals.

The cocktails come on time but are too sugary and watery.

The stove is dirty, and a fire has started in the kitchen. 

Phil shows the staff how to make a peach tea cocktail which is well balanced.

After the stove is cleaned, Chef Ryan shows the kitchen staff how to make street tacos.

For the stress test, the employees who perform the worst and make mistakes will get a sticker put on their back by Phil.

Five stickers on their back mean they have to step back from the bar. 

The stress test goes about as well as you’d expect.

Danny is only making one order at a time in the kitchen.

Each bartender has four stickers on their back.

The owners must apologize to the patrons when Jon Taffer shuts down the stress test.

Jon Taffer starts explaining the new concept that he envisions.

He wants to make the bar known for its tacos.

Chef Ryan trains the kitchen staff on making three signature tacos called the Taffer Taco, Texan Taco, and Sweet Bliss taco.

The bar learns how to make spicy drinks. 

Bert says he now understands he needs to commit more to the business.

John also understands his drinking is affecting the bar.

As part of the renovations and the change to the new concept, Jon Taffer renames Harbor Point club to JB Taco (not JB Tacos).

The “JB” part of the name stands for “John” and “Bert”, the two Harbor Point owners names.

The bar’s menu now offers over 50 tacos.

Harbor Touch has gifted the bar four new POS systems.

There are also digital table tents with phone charging outlets. 

For the relaunch, the owners will work the kitchen and the front of the house.

Danny is keeping up with orders, and the staff is upselling tacos.

Customers are snapping pictures of their food and posting them on social media.

The owners do great during the relaunch and it seems like the JB Taco Bar Rescue changes will be a success.

Unfortunately, perceptions aren’t always reality…

JB Taco Update - What Happened Next?

Now that we’ve recapped the Harbor Point Bar Rescue visit, let’s talk about what happened after Jon Taffer and his crew left Richardson, TX.

First things first – John and Bert did not like the changes from Jon Taffer.

They ditched the new JB Tacos name pretty much as soon as the cameras stopped filming, so there’s really nothing to update with the JB Tacos concept.

However, they didn’t go back to the original Harbor Point Club name either.

Instead, they chose a completely new sports bar concept and named it Rockets Sports Bar and Grill.

It seems like maybe they should have stuck with Jon Taffer’s concept, however, as the new Rockets Sports Bar and Grill didn’t make it much longer.

Is JB Taco still open after Bar Rescue?

Harbor Point Club closed in March 2020, right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time of its closure, it was still doing business as Rockets Sports Bar and Grill instead of Harbor Point Club or JB Taco.

I’m not sure if the Covid-19 pandemic directly led to the closure or not. But even if it did, it seems like the bar was already on the brink since it closed right away.

At the time that it closed, there weren’t a lot of post-Bar Rescue reviews for the bar under any of its names.

The most reviews that I can find are the Rocket Sports Bar Google profile, which had a 4.4 star rating on just 7 reviews.

All of the Yelp reviews for the bar happened before Bar Rescue.

Here’s an example of one of the few Google Reviews that exist:

Great sports bars.

Climate adjusted properly, well stocked bar with anything you want, and an ATM.

There is a pinball machine, video games, foosball table, a few pool tables, dart boards, and shuffleboard.

Plenty of seating available.

Both bar and table seating.

Management, staff and bartender are friendly and courteous.

Plenty of televisions to watch the games and plenty of parking.

Nice karaoke station and stage for karaoke nights.

After Harbor Point Club closed, a new bar was slated to open in mid-September 2020 at the old Harbor Point Richardson, TX location.

The bar is called Good Vibes Bar and Grill and was opened by Jay Smith and Donna Townsend.

As of 2023, Good Vibes Bar & Grill is open and seems to have pretty good reviews.

If you’re in the Richardson, TX area and want to check it out, you can learn more at the Good Vibes Bar website.

You can read some background about the new bar in this article from The Dallas Morning News.

Here’s what the old JB Taco Richardson TX location looks like in the most recent Google Maps street view update – you can see the big Good Vibes Bar and Grill sign:

As of 2023, Bert Novey is retired after the JB Taco Bar Rescue episode.

I’m not sure what happened to John Willis as he hasn’t updated his LinkedIn page since Rockets Sports Bar and Grill closed.

If you want to see some other nearby Bar Rescue Texas episodes, you can check out my updates for Ace’s Sports Hangar in The Colony, The Brick Tavern / Char Bar in Sachse, and Drunken Donkey / Butcher and Brew in Lewisville.

Or, you can check out my full list of all Bar Rescue Texas episodes.

Thanks for reading!


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/harbor-point-club-and-grill-richardson



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Last updated: 2023-05-15 08:34

28 thoughts on “JB Taco Bar Rescue Update (Harbor Point) – Still Open in 2025?”

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

  1. I think Jon should have trusted his first intuition about those two clowns. Some people aren’t worth saving.

    Reply
    • My thoughts exactly! Goodness, they couldn’t be in a scene without blubbering. Not exactly leadership material.

      Reply
    • I just watch this episode. You are totally on point. Shame Mr. Taffer wasted his time, name and money.
      These guys played everyone with their crocodile tears.

      Reply
  2. Nothing in this episode rang true. Seemed to have a decent manager who was hindered by terrible owners. Jon asked her why she stayed and her response was something about loving the people she worked with and the customers. Well, none of the employees had even worked there for a year. The “cook” had only been there for 3 months! I would fall outta love real quick.

    Jon starts the episode suspecting these guys are frauds. What was the basis of that opinion? And, why rescue two cry babies who don’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain?

    I wish this show would focus on honest, hard-working bar owners who need real help with real issues like staffing issues post-COVID and ways to improve their business that they may not have thought of. Watching losers get rescued is just depressing.

    Reply
  3. I have to agree, those 2 clowns couldn’t manage their way out of a paper bag. Then to reject everything without giving it a chance? I wonder if they managed to keep their homes (and kids, his kids!)? The fact that another couple moved into the space and *kept it going thru CoVid* says all that needs to be said for that location.

    Reply
    • It also “says all that needs to be said” about these two jokers as owners….such lying ingrates, with total disrespect for their customers including the Jon and his staff…what a waste of time and money on these two aholes..

      After watching this episode and several other Rescue episodes… it is amazing how so many arrogant owners just don’t give a shit about their establishment.. while other owners, who are sincere and honest and in dire need of a facelift are so grateful that Taffer even stopped by ….

      Reply
    • I think they wanted the remodel to be able to sell the bar, pay off their losses, and retire. They were lazy! What an I sult to Jon Taffer and Bar Rescue and all of thr amazing g do actions the big companies made in remodeling this bar! And just how could the whining ow ers afford to change the name? What food did they offer at the sport bar? Just a disappointment!

      Reply
    • Yes pretty unique.
      Apparently they were just trying the say the right things when taping the show.
      I personally would have made sure that a simple excellent concept would stay and flourish.
      Great job, John tapper.
      Those two owners let their workers down that’s for sure.
      I was thinking of business that you own. You have to put a lot of your heart into it.

      Reply
    • I’m pretty sure he was just trolling them at that point so he could get a whole episode of TV out of it

      the cook who could barely steam a hot dog has to remember 50+ types of tacos?

      Reply
  4. Jon always does a fabulous job of rescues. Let’s face it~he’s formulaic, but never boring!

    He gets there gets the job done gets out, leaving them with a chance to make good ~there’s no doubt about that.

    Some things I noticed: I predicted they weren’t going to make it because you could tell they didn’t like the JBs Taco idea. Then I caught a look on the chef’s face (so called chef), and I knew he wasn’t in by his looking pretty overwhelmed—and that was just out in the parking lot!

    If you have employees who don’t know what they’re doing before the rescue and you keep them after the rescue, they’re going drag you down later because they probably are a big part of what dragged you down in the first place.

    So that’s my review.

    Lastly, on a personal note to Jon ~ please always leave the kids out of it.
    I had my face in my hands when Jon mentioned the kids and berated the two men for having cried; men are people too. They have emotions, and we must never mock anyone who has “opened the kimono”.Jon is not a mean man he’s got a huge heart, just old school perhaps when men were pretty buttoned up.

    I think things worked out beautifully by selling a terrific bar that was ready to hand off to a team coming in. That was well tuned and knew what they were doing with great employees. They’re gonna make money, and John and Brett had a chance to recover some of their tremendous losses so all in all, I would give the rescue 5 stars.
    👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

    Reply
    • I agree in regards to having the bar owners confide & then berating them; and then tossing food on the floor only for someone else to clean it up; NOT COOL ~ WTF!

      Reply
  5. My bet would be that they absolutely knew what they were doing. They wouldn’t have been able to sell the business in the condition it was in, pre-gaffer. Now they had a viable business to sell & make money (or at least pay off debt). Might not be as stupid as our first impression about them was.

    Reply
    • Agree, this was kind of scam bar rescue should’ve ran away, if bar rescue did work as interest free loan the owners would then be responsible!

      Reply
  6. I think the profit should have gone to the show at least some of the profit. John made it very clear before he agreed to rescuing this bar. I think it’s a shame and a shame that he fell for this. But he knows now and karma’s a b**** and she sees and hears everything just like God. Does you best better believe that yeah? They might have paid off their debt hopefully save their family if their family didn’t leave them. But at least the people who bought the business don’t have to go out of their way to refurbish the bar and can keep it as it is. Still they should have given some of the profit to bar rescue show or at least a percentage back to John taffer. That would be the moral thing to do.

    Reply
  7. You could tell from their faces in the parking lot that they hated it. Good riddance. They could have had something unique and what do they do? Open a sports bar and close it immediately. Dopes.

    Reply
  8. Everyone here in the comments talks about how bad the owners were – which may be true – but this concept was a BOMB.
    The whole 50 different tacos would be better for a food truck or taco stand – not a bar. The bar decor, the drinks etc were decent but the taco concept was stupid.
    Maybe Taffer was clowning them because he thought they were clowns. Who knows

    Reply
  9. the place was completely changed by the two owners that were on the show six weeks after John left, with a sports bar theme and the name was changed to Rocket’s Sports Bar & Grill. they closed at the beginning of 2020 because of COVID lockdown, and they sold it later in 2020 when bars were able to reopen to the current owners that still own and operate it…

    Reply
  10. I just watched this. I wish I could have chimed in sooner. Did anyone note that John, though we ‘heard’ him sobbing had no tears when Jon was talking to him? I think they played Jon because they knew the cameras were there and maybe they were ‘show’ material, I wasn’t impressed. As for the kids stuff and family. These guys brought it up, and not Jon so he was trying to make a point and they used the opportunity and ran with it. As for the Taco’s, let’s think about that whole episode for a second. Taffer would not have looked good selling 50 kinds of cereal there, which seems the ‘best’ of what could be brought out of that kitchen with the help that was there. So, using what Jon had, I think Taco’s was a great idea. Note, we never saw the family as we do with real hard-working owners because IF either of these two were married, that was long gone. What woman would stay with two guys like that unless they had a LOT of money, much less have kids with them? But, I digress. Jon Taffer is consulting for anyone wanting to listen, and offering no less than those on those stupid commercials for “paid” people to advertise for them as if their products are great. Jon advertises for all those companies he gets supplies from and tosses a huge amount of marketing for them their way. No matter how much they have, had or have now, just remembering them…..if I ever saw them on the street I’d just have to spit. Oh, and I do agree about what those said about Karma. God, can’t be up there just sitting around waiting for us to die without smiling that he gave us a brain, which is proven we only use 10% (okay, some less) and to quote another, some of us couldn’t find “the way out of a paper bag”. This was one episode that did not make a good show to watch. Bert & Ernie, I mean John were phony!!

    Reply

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