(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 4 | View All Season 4 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: November 9, 2014
The Bar's Original Name Was: Lickety Split
2nd State Lounge Address: 401 S St Philadelphia, PA 19147
Episode Recap
Lickety Split, later renamed to 2nd State Lounge, was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania bar that was featured on Season 4 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Lickety Split Bar Rescue episode aired in November 2014, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 4 Episode 6 and the episode name was “To Protect and to (Over) Serve”.
Lickety Split is a bar located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is the 2nd state to join the union (USA), which will be important to know later in this post.
Former detective Tom Gaylord is the owner. No, I don’t think he’s related to Gaylord Focker from Meet the Parents.
The bar opened in 2003 and became a popular spot in Philadelphia.
However, Tom began drinking to cope with his trauma from being on the force, which started a downward slide for the bar.
Tom’s drinking gets him into trouble, says Coco, the bartender.
Jon Taffer brings in chef Frank Pinello and bartending expert Phil Wills to help with the Lickety Split Bar Rescue attempt.
The bar’s exterior is not inviting to patrons passing on the street.
Frank Pinello and a local named Dorothy will go in as Jon’s spies.
Laura, Tom’s daughter, joins Jon in the SUV to discuss her father.
She tells Jon that her father is in severe debt and that they only have enough money for the bar to stay open for a few more months.
There is a drink called Pink Vagina on the menu, and Jon promises that it will be the first thing to leave the menu.
Dorothy and Frank order a pizza, but it comes out too big and greasy.
They go upstairs to the bar where Tom is offending women.
He calls a bartender white trash.
Jon doesn’t waste any time and goes into the bar to confront Tom.
Ally, the bartender, tells Jon she is sick of being treated like this.
Jon promises to help Tom with the bar if he quits drinking.
He then orders the staff to shut down the bar for the evening.
The following day Jon and his experts meet the team and discover even more issues at Lickety Split.
The beer is not warm enough, and neither is the fridge.
They have to toss everything out that is in the refrigerator.
Frank trains the kitchen staff on the proper way to make pizza while Phil shows the team how to make their drinks better and drops them offensive names.
Phil thinks the staff may not have it together before the stress test.
To be honest, that’s the case for a lot of bars that appear on Bar Rescue.
The upstairs bar is empty, so Jon and the staff try and get customers to go up there.
They do not have a POS system, so their ticket system is confusing.
Sam, one of the bar staff gets anxious and leaves.
Tom wants a beer but instead chooses to drink water.
Jon shuts down the bar to discuss the night.
Jon commends Tom for staying sober through the stress test.
Dr. Eric Levin comes in the next day to talk to Tom about his PTSD.
Tom says he will call the doctor when he is ready to change.
Phil shows the staff new, appropriately named drinks that will be added to the menu, like the Pizza Mary (that is, the Pink Vagina is gone).
Frank leads the team on how to make a Philly cheesesteak sandwich, which is a must for a Philadelphia bar.
In a unique twist, Jon Taffer gave the bar two different names as part of the renovation.
The downstairs floor will be a pizza place named Alleged Bar and Pizza, while the upstairs will exclusively be a bar named 2nd State Lounge.
The old Lickety Split name is gone, though.
Coco is excited and believes they will make money now.
There is a new draft beer system and a much-needed POS machine.
During the relaunch, the customers enter the bar excitedly.
Tom is staying sober and leading his staff. The drinks and food are coming out tasty.
Jon and Tom hug as Jon leaves.
Tom is excited for the future and thankful to Jon and his daughter.
So would Jon Taffer’s changes bring long-term success to 2nd State Lounge and Alleged Bar and Pizza? Let’s talk about what happened next and if this Philly bar is still open in 2024.
2nd State Lounge Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the 2nd State Lounge Bar Rescue visit, let’s talk about what happened after Jon Taffer left Philadelphia.
First off, Tom didn’t seem very happy about his Lickety Split Bar Rescue experience.
He said that he was coached how to behave, which gave a false impression of what it’s like.
There’s a fine line between “reality TV producing” and “fakery”, so I’m not sure where that falls here.
He also didn’t like a lot of Jon Taffer’s changes, though he did keep a few of them.
Shortly after the visit, he ditched the whole Alleged Bar & Pizza name for the downstairs.
He did keep the 2nd State Lounge name, though, and the full bar went by that name after getting rid of Alleged Bar & Pizza.
He also got rid of the Alleged window decorations put back the TV with ESPN playing loudly.
Finally, Tom also brought back the live music and comedy shows.
In terms sales, I’m not sure what happened.
However, 2nd State Lounge didn’t seem to be doing so well, as you’ll see in a second.
Is 2nd State Lounge from Bar Rescue still open?
Lickety Split / 2nd State Lounge closed in the fall of 2015, which means it only survived for a little less than a year after the Bar Rescue episode aired.
Reviews were generally poor in that time, so it’s not a huge surprise.
2nd State Lounge had just a 3 star rating on its Yelp page.
Here’s a sampling of some reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
1 star review from July 2015:
This may be the worst spot on south street, even Taffer couldn’t save the wretchedness of this place.
I went before when it was lickity split during the summer and the ac was broken so that already made it miserable but I decided to still give it a chance.
My husband and I were served warm draft beer from a server who was more occupied on her cellphone than doing her job.
We got slices of pizza to go and decided to just have the one warm beer because she just did not care if we were there or not.
The pizza was mediocre at best.
For pizza, just walk one extra block down to Lorenzo and sons, there may be a line but you won’t regret it (unlike eating the crappy pizza here.)
Went back after reading about it being on Bar Rescue thinking that would be an improvement: wrong.
1 star review from June 2015:
What a dump, I don’t even know where to start.
Bar Rescue must have repossessed every single item they put in this place.
It was dirty, disgusting and the pizza was terrible.
There is a men’s room that was boarded shut and the “women’s room” was disgusting.
It had almost floor to ceiling mirrors on the walls and was the size of a closet.
What woman wants to stare at herself in a filthy mirror in a graffiti stained bathroom?
5 star review from May 2015:
We ate here in the downstairs pizza area.
It was delicious!
The pizza is fresh and as good, if not better than Lorenzo’s- plus, there are places to sit – and beer;)
The bartender was friendly too.
We’ll be back!
Personal note – I used to live in Philly and getting Lorenzo’s after a late night out was always a high point.
After the closure, the old 2nd State Lounge Philadelphia location was taken over by MilkBoy, which has average reviews.
You can check out its Yelp page here.
Here’s what the old Lickety Split Philadelphia building looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:
Overall, this one was a pretty unsatisfying ending.
The bar owner didn’t fully stick with the concept from Jon Taffer and it closed shortly thereafter.
Oh well…
If you want to see some other Philadelphia Bar Rescue updates, check out these episodes:
All of those bars are closed, so it seems like Jon Taffer doesn’t have a great record in the city of brotherly love!
Yup – Jon Taffer is 0 for 4 when it comes to saving Philadelphia bars.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
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Last updated: 2023-02-04 05:21
I find it hilarious that those who throw away Jon Taffers hard work, ideas, and renovations are the ones who close very quickly within the first few months to a year. Goes to show how big of a joke the owners of those bars really are. They are trash owners.
Totally agree, ex cop/owner should kept drinking! Double loser!
I totally agree…I watch alit of these and concluded that those that undo most of Jon’s hard work are the ones that end up closed
Spot on, these owners are in debt he makes big changes and then they revert back To their old ways! It’s NOT Jon Taffer fault it falls On the feet of the owner and employees!
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make ‘em drink. The ones who are majorly successful lead with the idea, keeps the standards. You have to really want to change. Most people don’t. Having Jon remake your bar is literally setting you up for life. Take it or don’t. 🤷🏽♀️
Tom your attitude is the reason you failed. Hope you are a better grandfather than a cop or bar owner.
Just saw this episode on bar rescue (Lickety split bar rescue)
It is October 3 /2022.
Very sad to see this place close down, really thought it would work.
I was thinking that Tom is an alcoholic,& needs a lot more than council.
Tom Neesds a treatment program & if it doesn’t work Tom keep going back,& never let anything overtake YOU!!!!
I’m hopeful he is still around enjoying his grandchild,life’s too short my friend!!!
Cuddles from Canada 🇨🇦 M
I could be wrong, but I could swear that when they showed the “reveal” from the outside, three of the windows on the second floor, reading left to right, said “TAFFER” “WAS” “HERE.” If I read that right, that was NOT Jon’s usual “calls to action” he always brags about putting in the windows! That was a bit off-putting for me.
You’re absolutely correct.
Left to right the windows say the following in vertical text:
Appetizers
Mixology
Taffer
Was
Here
Cocktails
Entertainment
Just wow…
I wouldn’t take a pizz on it if afire, pig owned joint, nein, nyet, nope. FTP
I dont know what these owners expect when they undo Jon’s work and puts back their bar the way it was when it was failing. Stupid owners
BoogieWoogit
You are what’s wrong with tg his country and why we need policemen.
I think one of the things they can’t accurately portray in the show is alcoholism. Alcohol cessation rates are only about 1/3 and those that recover do so on their own initiative. Jon can’t just waltz in and do that in a few days.
I guessed this one would be closed as soon as I saw the owner.