(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: August 25, 2013
The Bar's Original Name Was: Libad’s Bar and Grill
Libad’s Seaside Tavern Address: 578 Brock Ave New Bedford, MA 02744
Episode Recap
Libad’s Bar & Grill, later renamed to Libad’s Seaside Tavern, was a New Bedford, Massachusetts bar that was featured on Season 3 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Libads Bar Rescue episode aired in August 2013, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 3 Episode 18 and the episode name was “A Bar Full of Bull”.
Libad’s Bar and Grill is located in New Bedford, MA.
New Bedford is in the South Coast region, right on the ocean/bay.
As the name suggests, it’s on the south coast of Massachusetts.
Some nearby areas that you might know are Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, both of which are islands not too far from New Bedform.
Libad’s is owned by Jessica.
Jessica was given money by her father to purchase the bar in 2005 because she dreamed of owning a bar.
Jessica’s brother David is also her business partner.
The bar’s name comes from their father’s childhood nickname, Libad.
When Libad’s Bar and Grill first opened, they made $40,000 per month, which is nothing to sneeze at.
Lenny, the owner’s cousin, cooked and made tasty food in the kitchen.
Sadly, Lenny passed away after he took his own life.
After Lenny died, the kitchen was closed down, much to the dismay of customers.
Jessica and David hired other family members, but they took advantage of the owner by overpouring and behaving poorly.
Barry, Jessica’s father, meets with Jon Taffer and mixologist Peter O’Conner in the car to watch some hidden camera footage.
Chef Tony Gemignani and Brenna, a bar expert, spy on Libad’s for Jon Taffer.
The spies order a blue hurricane, turning green because the bartender has put too much whiskey.
There is a mechanical bull that Brenna decides she wants to ride, but the bull is torn apart and worn out.
When the spies ask for a food menu, the bartender tells them there is no food.
Eddie’s bartender is drinking behind the bar and is using his shoe for drinking.
It’s pretty disgusting, but I gotta give him props for the dedication lol…
Jessica sees this behavior but ignores it. Jon Taffer has seen enough and enters the bar with Barry.
David and Jessica have no answer when Jon asks them about the bar’s finances.
He also admonishes them for hiring friends instead of qualified employees.
The staff meets with Jon, and he tells them they all have done wrong as they drink behind the bar and overpour.
He also goes after Jessica for not disciplining her staff.
Peter has the bartenders pour into blacked-out glasses to test their pouring skills.
Jon tells the staff members they are losing money by overpouring and Shannon, a bartender and Jessica’s best friend, is the worst of them all.
The following day Peter returns and trains the bartender’s on rum-based cocktails since the town has a history in the rum business.
Jon and the owners meet in the kitchen.
He comforts David and Jessica over the loss of their cousin but also urges them to re-open the kitchen.
For the stress test, Jessica is going to manage the bar.
If a bartender makes any mistakes, Jon will place a sticker on their back.
After three stickers, they will have to leave the bar.
As soon as customers come into Libad’s, the bartenders receive stickers.
The wait for a drink is up to thirty minutes.
The bar doesn’t have an up-to-date POS system as they use an old cash register and post-it notes.
After the stress test, Jon gives feedback.
He tells Eddie, a bartender, that he performed poorly during the stress test.
Jon meets with Barry and the owners, and Jessica promises to step up as a leader.
The kitchen has been professionally cleaned, and Jon has brought in a pizza expert to train the staff on making pizzas.
Peter teaches the bartenders how to make a Bloody Mary that pairs well with pizzas.
A bourbon chicken pizza has been added to the menu to honor the owner’s deceased cousin.
As part of the renovations, Jon Taffer makes a slight tweak to the name, changing it from Libad’s Bar and Grill to Libad’s Seaside Tavern.
There are new glasses for the bar and two POS systems to replace the cash register.
The relaunch is a success.
The bartenders serve tasty drinks fast.
The kitchen falls behind, and Eddie is fired as he can’t keep up with the pizzas.
So was the Libad’s Bar Rescue episode a long-term success? Keep reading to find out…
Libad’s Seaside Tavern Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Libads Bar Rescue visit, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left New Bedford, MA.
Things seemed to start off very well for Libads…
At the standard check-in with the Bar Rescue producers, we learn that drink sales have shot up by 100%.
What’s more, food sales are netting the bar $4,500 per month.
However, Libads didn’t keep all of Jon’s changes – they went back to the original Libads Bar and Grill name instead of Libads Seaside Tavern.
In a fun bit of trivia, some scenes from the Jungleland movie (released in 2019) were shot at Libads.
Fun 107, a local radio station, has a post that details all of the Libads shots in the movie trailer.
Libad’s Bar and Grill Reviews
Reviews for the bar after the Libads Bar Rescue visit seemed to generally be positive.
It had a 4.5 star rating on Yelp and a 4.3 star rating on Google Reviews, which is quite good.
People seem to especially like the Libads pizza, as it got mentioned in a lot of positive reviews.
Here are examples of some reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
4 star Yelp review from July 2017:
Pizza
First off this place was featured in bar rescue it’s a true joint however the food is top notch for bar food.
Pizza is hand made and onion rings were so good we vaporized them.
Free drink came with the meal.
We both had dinner and drinks and app for less than $26 very friendly waitress/bar maid we had lots of laughs and good food. No doggie bags for us.
Tip:
Try the BLT pizza,delicious.
We will be back, thanks
5 star Yelp review from May 2014:
The pizza at Libads is absolutely amazing to say the least.
The staff is awesome and make you feel right at home.
The bar is frequented by regulars and they are great to converse with.
If you didn’t know, the bar was featured on Spikes Bar Rescue, the food staff and drinks are great.
If you’re looking for a spot to relax and enjoy great pizza and food this is it!!
4 star Yelp review from March 2014:
We were playing in New Bedford and decided to try out this neighborhood bar that was featured on Bar Rescue.
Gotta admit that when we drove up, we almost didn’t go in but we were up for an adventure.
When we walked in around 2:00 on a Saturday, there were a couple of regulars at the bar.
We sat at the other end.
The bartender was attentive and when he asked if we were local, we told him about the TV show drawing us in.
That got him started.
He told us all about the show, the competition to get on, the personalities, the works.
The beer was cold.
The pizza was awesome.
The stories were great.
We had a blast!
Can’t wait to go back with our sons.
5 star Yelp review from January 2014:
We went to Libads last night after seeing the episode of Bar Rescue.
I have to be honest…the food was SPECTACULAR.
We ordered the garlic knots and the Bourbon BBQ Pizza.
Both were absolutely spectacular.
They still have all of the cocktails that they featured on the show (we tried the one with Captain Morgan, and it was delicious), and the bartenders also recommended specific shots (the Breakfast shot and the Chocolate Covered Pretzel).
Both were, again, delicious.
…[long review continues]
Unfortunately, while the bar generally had good reviews, it would not last forever.
Is Libads from Bar Rescue still open?
Libads closed for good in early 2021, after having already seemed to be inactive since 2019.
Libads closed because it was sold to new ownership.
The bar was listed for sale with an asking price of $329,900, which included the liquor license, all stock/inventory, an off-street parking lot, as well as props from the Jungleland movie.
Here’s what Libads looked like at the time of its closure:
It eventually sold for $315,000 – you can see the listing from Coldwell Banker Realty here.
Here’s the description from the listing:
South End bar/restaurant on Clarks Point in New Bedford.
Chosen to be a location filmed for the movie “Jungleland”.
Some items filmed will be sold with business and real estate.
Full liquor license, stock and inventory to pass with sale.
Handicap accessible, off street parking with back lot.
The bar was on spike TV’s bar rescue… episode “a bar full of bull”.
Net operating income see Agent.
Despite that, Libads did have a long period of success after the Libads Bar Rescue episode, so I hesitate to call this one a “failure”.
The bar survived for almost eight full years after Jon Taffer’s visit, which is a solid run for any bar.
Overall, I still count this as a success for Jon Taffer, even though I do have to put it on the Bar Rescue closed list for consistency.
As of 2023, the old Libad’s New Bedford, MA location is occupied by a new bar named 3 C’s Bar and Grille.
I assume they were the ones who purchased Libad’s for $315,000.
If you want to see some other Massachusetts Bar Rescue episodes, check out these two updates:
Both of those bars are also closed, which means that all of the Massachusetts bars from Bar Rescue have closed as of 2024.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/libads-bar-and-grill-new-bedfordhttps://www.facebook.com/Libads-Bar-Grill-180556974800/
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Last updated: 2023-03-06 06:51
I don’t understand why Taffer complained so much about the mechanical Bull only to leave it there (but changed to a mechanical whale) after the remodel. His complaint was that it took up too much space, so what happened? Seems like at this point in the series they’re not really mentioning his thoughts on the remodel, which is lame.
I had the same thought but my guess is that it’d be pretty hard to just simply throw out an item that cost the bar $20k. I mean, it definitely was just taking up space looking as broken and disheveled as it did. I know I sure as hell would be quite hesitant to even attempt it. However, I did think the whale idea was a pretty cool refit.
I first want to start with that I didn’t even realize that Jon taffer rescue libads I noticed something was going on at the bar cause I live in New Bedford,Massachusetts I went in that bar once and never went back but I would of love to go in there after that remodel Jon taffer did to it!!!
This location is not even 3Cs anymore.. someone’s working on it becoming Lighthouse Tavern ..as of March 2024, it’s still not open and I can’t find a presence online.
I really wanted to work on this episode, place was a joke before rescue. I’m pretty local, in RI isn’t far! I’ve been few times before closing and was fine, always good stop for a beer and slice. Didn’t know how much missed it til saw rerun bar rescue. Did work one in mass, conn and RI. Used to be able to get stripped bass, lobsters and squid.. right down corner cheap and fresh lol. Now get in Narragansett RI, but this bar was always fun stop, still shocked gone. Too bad