Piratz Tavern Bar Rescue Update (Corporate Bar/Grill) – Still Open?

Is Piratz Tavern still open today?

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

Season: 2 | View All Season 2 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: July 29, 2012
The Bar's Original Name Was: Piratz Tavern
Piratz Tavern Address: 8402 Georgia Ave Silver Spring, Maryland 20910


Episode Recap

Piratz Tavern, later renamed to Corporate Bar and Grill, was a Silver Spring, Maryland bar that was featured on Season 2 of Bar Rescue.

Though the Piratz Tavern Bar Rescue episode aired in July 2012, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.

It was Season 2 Episode 1 and the episode name was “Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Dumb”, AKA the Bar Rescue pirate bar episode.

Piratz Tavern was an oddly pirate themed bar opened by Tracy Rebelo in 2007.

Tracy Rebelo the Piratz Tavern owner

Located in Silver Spring, Maryland (near Washington DC), Piratz Tavern was filled with swashbuckling employees and patrons.

All the employees wore pirate costumes and spoke with cringey pirate lingo.

Why pirates? Tracy had a pirate-themed Halloween party and wanted to keep the party going forever.

Unfortunately, Tracy wasn’t quite at good at managing as she was theming, which is why Piratz Tavern was losing massive money when they called in Jon Taffer to help save the bar.

In fact, Tracy was dealing with almost a million dollars in debt – around $900,000. That’s a lot of treasure!

To make matters worse, Tracy has lost her house because of the debt at Piratz Tavern.

To recon the bar, Jon Taffer sends in his wife, Nicole Taffer.

In the tests, Nicole Taffer noticed revealing costumes and poor staff quality.

While the staff are friendly enough, they don’t seem to be very good at their jobs.

After Nicole left Piratz Tavern, Jon Taffer sent in another recon team because he figured out they recognized Nicole.

This second recon team had a much poorer experience because the staff didn’t realize they were anyone special.

The Piratz Tavern staff

When Jon met Tracy, he criticized the bar’s nearly inedible food and drinks, as well as the staff’s ridiculous costumes.

He calls her delusional for thinking that a pirate-themed bar could work in such a corporate, middle class area (Silver Spring).

Then, to help turn things around, Jon called in Josh Capon and Elayne Duke, as well as staff trainer Jessie Barnes.

Upon consultation, the experts decide that they basically need to start from scratch when it comes to the menus and staff training.

In addition to the experts, Jon also wanted to rip out the pirate theme and get the staff into regular clothes.

With that out of the way, Jon ran his trademark stress test…to very poor results.

Patrons were waiting 30+ minutes for drinks and the whole night was just generally a massive disaster.

After the stress test, the experts continue training the staff while Jon Taffer and his crew work on the renovations.

As part of the rebranding, Jon renamed Piratz Tavern to Corporate Bar and Grill which, if you think about is, is about as big of a change as he could’ve possible made.

Honestly, I always felt that the renovation was a bit spiteful because it’s so far away from what Tracy liked.

Still, who am I to argue with Jon Taffer – I’m sure he thought it made sense given the corporate nature of where the bar is located.

Not surprisingly, Tracy hated the rebranding and wanted nothing to do with it.

However, Jon Taffer convinced her to at least think on it for a few days.

At the relaunch, things seem to be looking up for the new Corporate Bar and Grill.

However, you probably won’t be surprised by what happens next…

So was the Piratz Tavern Bar Rescue visit a long-term success?

Keep reading the update to learn what happened next and if this pirate themed bar is still open in 2024.

Piratz Tavern Update - What Happened Next?

Now that we’ve recapped the Corporate Bar and Grill Bar Rescue visit, let’s talk about what happened after Jon Taffer and his crew left Silver Spring, Maryland, including clips from a Back to the Bar episode, a new bar in Florida, Piratz Tavern reviews, and more.

There’s a lot to cover, so keep on readin’!

A few weeks after Jon made his changes to the bar and changed the name to Corporate Bar and Grill, Tracy closed the bar, redecorated it, and reopened it as Piratz Tavern again.

This is probably no surprise given what you saw on the episode as Tracy clearly did not like Jon Taffer’s concept.

It’s not just that they ditched the concept – the staff went out of their way to get rid of all the changes that Jon made.

Even going as far as burning some of the decor added by the Bar Rescue team (hilarious!).

They even made a more hilarious Piratz Revenge music video that documents some of the burning (and also showcases them calling Jon Taffer a bastard lol).

Honestly, that’s pretty funny. If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it big.

Is Piratz Tavern still open in 2024?

Piratz Tavern operated under its original pirates branding until 2015, when it closed its doors for good on April 4th, 2015.

This means that it survived for around three years after Taffer’s visit, which is actually a lot longer than I thought it would last given the bar’s huge debt load.

In announcing the bar’s closure, Tracy posted a lengthy message on Facebook. Here’s an excerpt…

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Piratz Tavern will open it’s doors for the last time on Saturday April 4th.

Unfortunately the negative publicity, constant prank calls, vandalism and bogus reviews generated by our unfortunate participation on Bar Rescue have taken their toll.

To add insult to injury, late last year Taffer’s crew reached out to me again asking that we participate in a back to the bar episode.

They promised that it would be followed by a re-rescue and that they would right all the wrong’s committed during the first episode.

Obviously I don’t learn. I believed them

Here’s a screenshot of the full post in case it gets deleted:

Piratz Tavern closed after Bar Rescue Facebook message

As of 2023, the old Piratz Tavern / Corporate Bar and Grill Maryland location is occupied by a new restaurant called The Republic Garden.

Here’s what the old Piratz Tavern / Corporate Bar and Grill Silver Spring MD location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:

Piratz Tavern reviews after Bar Rescue

In the three years after appearing on Bar Rescue, the reviews were not very good.

Overall, it had just an overall 2.5 star rating on its Yelp page.

However, as Tracy mentioned in the post above, there were a lot of people leaving negative reviews who had never been to the bar and only watched the show (which isn’t a nice thing to do).

Here’s a quick sampling of some of the positive and negative genuine reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…

2 star review from November 2014:

Man oh Man… the Piratz Tavern… first of all I have been here both before and after the bar rescue show.

The only difference is after bar rescue (after they undid what bar rescue did), it was a lot nicer and brighter.

I get they want to keep this bar authentic, and the staff are really in character, but sometimes it’s a bit much.

I’ve definitely ordered food here, and they were simply “out of silverware”.

Excuse me?!?! I’m assuming this isn’t a rude pirate thing and there’s a back up in the kitchen, but still NO SILVERWARE!?!?

The grog…. ug… it tastes like heartburn. Whatever ginger extract they put in it is intense and not good.

The food is whatever, they get an E for effort for the food.

Definitely go and check it out, it’s a great place for a birthday or to bring out of towners to.

But i would just head there for a beer AFTER dinner somewhere else.

5 star review from August 2012:

Good food, good beers, good wine, fun staff.

The Bar Rescue thing was propaganda.

The organized campaign of vilification by people who live way-far-away claiming they visited right after the Bar Rescue show is terribly nasty and unfortunate.

I’m not a fan of mixed drinks in general and don’t care much for the grog here specifically, but many of my friends like them.

I think a good time to go is about 6-6:30 p.m on a Thursday evening to get some beers at Happy Hour prices and then Steak on a Stone, which goes on discount at 7.

Just as I did with the girlfriend this past Thursday night. Yum!

1 star review from August 2012:

I was in D.C. for a meeting and since I drove decided that I had to stop in after the Bar Rescue episode.

To keep it simple, Bar Rescue was 100% on target.

We went in with that in mind so expectations were very low.

We actually at a Macaroni Grille first since we were expecting the food to be subpar (MG is not our favorite but figured it was safe).

The theme is fairly ridiculous but that’s not for me to judge.

We ordered the spicy chicken and it was so spicy it was inedible, can’t describe the taste since the heat just over powers every other sense.

The coconut shrimp was fair.

I ordered a grog and could not believe how awful it really was.

They have embraced the joke they are by selling a T-Shirt with some of Juiciano’s famous lines included( Not kid safe).

It’s only a matter of time before this place has to close.

It can’t survive serving really bad food and terrible drinks.

Piratz Tavern Back to the Bar episode

Before its closure, Piratz Tavern was also featured on an episode of Back to the Bar, which are special episodes where Jon Taffer revisits bars that he rescued.

This was mentioned in the Facebook post that I showed you above.

I can’t find the full episode online, but here are a few clips from the Back to the Bar episode.

In this first clip, Tracy and Juciano discuss whether or not they should ask Jon Taffer to come back and rescue Piratz Tavern again:

In this second clip, Tracy talks about ditching the Corporate Bar and Grill theme ad going back to the old pirate theme.

It also shows some before/after clips:

In this last clip, Jon Taffer talks to Tracy and Juciano about opening their new bar in Florida (more on that next):

Tracy Rebelo opened a new bar in Florida

While Piratz Tavern in Maryland is no longer open, the Rebelos did move down to Melbourne, Florida where they opened a new bar named Bar Refuge.

Tracy went on record saying that Bar Refuge was named that way because it was their refuge from Bar Rescue.

It did not have the pirate bar concept – it was just a “normal” bar.

Bar Refuge had a solid run. It opened around 2016 and then Tracy and Juciano sold it in 2018 because they wanted to focus on pursuing “creating eclectic art, interior renovations, sculpture and murals”.

However, as of 2022, Bar Refuge is also officially closed (it seems like it closed around 2019).

It did have much better reviews than Piratz Tavern, though. At the time of its closure, it had a 4 star rating on its Yelp page.

So it seems that while Piratz Tavern was a failure, the Rebelos might’ve learned a thing or two about running a bar from Jon Taffer.

As of 2023, the old Bar Refuge Melbourne, FL location is occupied by a new bar/restaurant named Drews Brews and Grille.

Reviews of that place seem pretty good as it has a 4.7 star rating on Yelp.

Here’s what the old Bar Refuge Florida location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:

What are Tracy and Juciano doing after Bar Rescue?

As I mentioned above, Tracy and Juciano sold Bar Refuge so that they could focus on working with clients in their artistic careers.

As far as I can tell, they’re still doing that in 2023.

I wish them the best in their current and future endeavors.

Final thoughts on Piratz Tavern

Overall, the pirate bar Bar Rescue episode is probably one of the most famous from the show.

After Taffer did his 180 degree rebrand into Corporate Bar and Grill, Tracy and Juciano quickly ditched the new concept and went back to the pirate theme, even going as far as to burn the renovation stuff from Jon Taffer.

Piratz Tavern operated under the original pirate theme for around three years before it closed in 2015.

Jon Taffer and Bar Rescue also featured Piratz Tavern on a Back to the Bar episode in Season 4.

Nowadays, the old Piratz Tavern Silver Spring location is occupied by a much more traditional restaurant.

Tracy and Juciano then moved down to Florida and opened a new bar named Bar Refuge.

That bar seemed to be pretty successful until they sold it in 2018.

It then closed in 2019.

As of 2023, Tracy and Juciano seem to be focusing on their careers as creative artists.

That wraps things up!

If you want to see another Maryland Bar Rescue episode, you can check out my update for Murphy’s Law / JA Murphy’s in Baltimore.

And if you want to share your thoughts on the infamous Bar Rescue pirate episode, you can do so using the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!


More Information

https://www.yelp.com/biz/piratz-tavern-silver-spring
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-refuge-melbourne


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Last updated: 2023-09-19 06:49

85 thoughts on “Piratz Tavern Bar Rescue Update (Corporate Bar/Grill) – Still Open?”

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

  1. I feel the owner was a big kid that never grew up. And her childess husband was a big kid running around playing Pirate. They were on there way to make alot of money had they had grownup mentality. Sorry, but they needed to fail. That Pirate freak show was going under anyway.

    Reply
      • I agree, Tracy showed no interest in Jon Taffer ideas, or renovation; Sge should have told him, Rganjs, but No Thanks, and let him go help someone else.

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        • Watched in amazement at an immature lady who, although deep in debt, did not realize that sometimes you have to choose earning money. Husband not stable, but neither is she. Jon TAffer thunders over people with verbal rudeness because he makes TV. If you have such vague dreams, and you can’t make it in business, do what you can. She wanted Taffer to save her, but she didn’t want to save herself, then it ends soon. Mom!

          Admin note: The original comment was in Dutch. I translated it using Google Translate, which is why it sounds a bit weird.

          Reply
  2. Well I’m glad they finally started making money. If they didn’t do that STUPID pirate theme they’ll probably do alright. Hopefully, they left their creepy stupid staff back home.

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    • I vividly remember my first time at Piratz Tavern. It has just opened recently, and one of my friends invited me out for a birthday party there. I had a blast. What made it for me was the live Pirate Band that would roam around the restaurant area, closing out each set in the more open “Tavern area” in the back. Swinging mugs of far-too-boozy “grog” and belting out the easily pick-uppable choruses was a rollicking good time. It was also unequivocally “the nerd bar” in the area. If you wanted to chat about the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica, lament over George R.R. Martin’s publishing schedule, or debate the finer points of Star Wars or Star Trek canon, odds were the person next to you on the bar stool was probably game. They even had a Board Game Brunch every x Sunday, which packed the place out the couple times I swung through.

      But from my perspective, a couple of things really combined to seal the downfall. Tracy not managing the place well was a known issue and the biggest factor. The second-most significant, from my perspective, was somewhat intertwined and had to do with culture. Specifically, the bar’sc culture was extremely welcoming – if you found the concept entertaining and/or embraced the concept of “being a nerd.” But for those who wandered in out of curiosity, whose “look at these clowns dressed up like pirates, how funny is that?” attitude didn’t easily mesh with the “regular” crowd. And the regular crowd… and/or the wait staff, had a hair of making those folks feel unwelcome.

      If the fantastically devoted regulars could’ve kept the bar open with their patronage, they would have. But there simply weren’t enough of them to keep Tracy’s leaky tub afloat.

      Oh, and Bar Rescue did a bunch of shady things, including installing taps that required an expensive permit to run in the state of MD, and renting said taps for three months – not buying them for the bar. The theme change was such a wild swing of a gut-punch to the owner and staff that any goodwill Taffer and company might’ve fostered in their attempt to “fix it” was obliterated with the reveal. The bar retained the Corporate Bar and Grill theme for the minimum amount of time they were contractually obligated, and then a huge community effort resulted in the Tavern getting put back together.
      And the publicity drew tons of “looky-loo” walk-ins from folks who wanted to see the trainwreck – which kept the Tavern in customers for a while. If Tracy could’ve taken that opportunity and leveraged it to its potential, the Piratz Tavern may have still been with us today, but alas.

      RIP Piratz Tavern. You’re surely missed.

      Reply
      • She only kept it going for a short while, ungrateful,childish and ridiculous…..got everything they deserved…..

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      • None of the things you said were shady were shady. They gave them a free remodel and training. The idea was to get them up on a profit plane so they could afford the taps and permits and any extra expenses. Tapper and crew are experts with a proven track record. Tracy and her half her age husband were so hard headed they went out of business. I know the silver spring area. There is a huge business lunch crowd. There is so much night night life to choose from in the Md suburbs that locals go elsewhere at night as silver spring is dangerous after the sun goes down. If you wanna play pirate do kids birthday parties. This self indulgent loser of a business could have been a killer money maker at that spot. Instead everybody lost their jobs. Some people are just determined to fail.

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        • I agree she was foolish and they started her with the equipment and if she would’ve took more than one day at the concept she could’ve made some money. She didn’t even give it one day she was bad mouthing it before the TV show was even over and so was her husband who is going to kill somebody with his cooking. The one I truly feel sorry for is the daughter she’s never gonna be able to go to college she’s going to be living in her grandparents basement until she finally gets married and gets out. But without a college education what can she hope to get parents that are still living in the 1960’s. If I were her parents I would’ve kicked him out on the street a long time ago, I would’ve kept the granddaughter but I would’ve kicked them out.

          Reply
        • You’re right. They were unworthy of John Taffer’s help. Juciano especially. What a f….ing asswipe. Can’t call this a man. Too stupid to realize John’s experts were trying to help him and his wife. They deserve each other.

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  3. When these people don’t follow John’s advice, does he get some of his money back? He should make them sign a contract, and take back any equipment he put into their bar.!!!Vernon Lamica

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    • That’s what drugs do to you inconsistency and also childish manners her and her husband juicy I know husband juiciano want to play pirates when Mr. Taffer came in there and made it a respectable bar they’re idiots so that guy with the ponytail and the glasses whoever he was he was a moron as well so they went to Florida good I’m glad they did good they hadn’t made it that place there you know they wanna sleazy dive crap bar.

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    • He doesn’t pay for it. The show does. They just make it sou d like it’s his check book. It’s his budget from the show but not his bank account.

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  4. I can understand their frustration. I think Taffer dropped the ball on this one but nonetheless, his ideas were good based on the clientele area. Change is good usually but from pirates to corporate is just too big of a jump and people get enough of CORPORATIONS. Most people want to run the hell away from them and not have to deal with work when going out to eat.

    Reply
    • I agree 100%. It was unlikely that they were going to be able to make such a drastic change so quickly. The corporate logo and name were too on the nose for my taste as well.

      Corporate people don’t want to go to a corporate bar after work.

      I was hoping he would change the name to something related to fish, like “Swordfish Bar & Grill,” for instance. Seafood is sophisticated and also would have linked the staff to at least a shadow their pirate past.

      I found the “Corporate” logo very unnerving—a silhouette of a guy in a suit and tie? That’s not the kind of place I’d want to visit after a day wearing a suit and tie (which is how I spend my days, by the way).

      I think Taffer just couldn’t meet these guys anywhere near the middle. He did his best and it technically could have worked but realistically… no way.

      Reply
    • True that people want to forget about corporate. For dinner. For lunch where you have limited time you want something nearby that’s quick and good. Lunch is in the middle of the day when people are still in corporate made and business is frequently discussed over lunch.

      Reply
  5. Oh my god what can I say about the owner of piratz tavern/corporate bar. It was so obvious to me Tracy only wanted Jon to come in and give her a brand new bar. I knew by her behavior that once he left she was going to put everything back the way it was before. Failing was her only option because she refuses to grow up act like an adult and run her business as such. At her age living in her mothers basement broke and in major debt but still refuses to grasp on the reality. Very sad……

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    • I mean, Monty Python proves this. I think Tapper missed the opportunity to both appeal to the corporate gray man (and woman), but also give them the opportunity to not take themselves too seriously.

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  6. She belongs on some less than savory
    Beach in Florida
    I still feel sympathy n respect for Mike
    Wonder if he moved
    Put a Piratz bar in a place where Women and Men wear Suits? Not the right environment
    Who thinks of her daughter? Not her.
    Jon Taffer is all Class, he could have saved them from the basement wow we hat a choice selfish selfish

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  7. Guess she’s still in debt. She was 900k in debt. Her pirate bar closed and the bar they opened in Florida sold for 180k. She got exactly what she deserved. Grow up

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  8. Warren Brooks
    100% on the money which I think these people should have never opened any bar and all got job’s at Disney world!
    At least there she would have been able too pay her bills and maybe send her child to college. Stupid is as stupid does!

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  9. How come no one pointed out that Juciano wasn’t a cook; He wasn’t a Pirate; he wasn’t much of a husband. He’s a Catfish parasite that latched onto a spoiled brat who clearly married him for lustful reasons (as he has no redeeming qualities that I could see). And what kind of name is “Juciano”? it sounds made up. He proudly displays his limited vocabulary every time he opens his mouth as he sticks to his favorite four letter word. Since profanity IS the method that the feeble mind expresses itself, forcibly I expect nothing Less from this ameba.

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    • Exactly what i was thinking. He definatley was with her for the free drinks and shelter of her parents basement And they both look like their on drugs

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  10. One of my favorite episodes was this episode. If Tracy were any type of business person she would have left the bar as Jon had redesigned it and opened another bar to strategically fulfill her dreams.

    The hardest thing about opening a business is opening the business. Location and business strategy is important.

    Jon hit the redesign right on the head. The owner just couldnt ” grow up”

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  11. It’s rather appalling to hear these comments, as a professional pirate and business owner is ridiculous for anyone to wag their finger at someone else and say grow up. Many people loved walking through the doors at Piratz Taverrn, they came for an experience and that’s what they got. Escape the ordinary was the motto, the staff was always ready to help take your mind off your day to day worries.

    Bar Rescue is a great idea, however the propaganda and lies that were fed to the public by Taffer and his loyal groupies were numerous. They also didn’t do a full revamp of the tavern, they barely spent 1 night “making it over” to the point where tiles weren’t properly glued down, walls weren’t fully painted and all the tables and bar accoutrement were actually rented not bought by the show for the bar.

    Instead of berating the people who put their heart and souls into creating the experience, and often went without pay just to help keep the dream afloat, they deserve your adoration and understanding as food servers and bar tenders they dealt with more than they deserved too.
    Remember walk a mile in someone else’s shoes before you can understand the journey they’re taking.

    Reply
    • I think it’s easy for people to forget that there are real people behind the show and the producers get to take liberties to make things entertaining.

      I definitely would’ve went to Piratz Tavern. I always found it almost cruel how Jon rebranded it to such a generic renovation.

      Reply
    • In all fairness, the pirate themed bar is cool if the location is right, which it wasn’t. The owner made a mistake in planting it right in corporate area. True, tv shows don’t show all of the behind the scenes and most many renovations can often be quick and can’t cover the major issues behind every location. I don’t know if Taffer dropped the ball on this or not, I know that anyone getting some reasonable help in their bar would still be gratefull for the equipment and instead of burning it, taking it all down etc- Using what was given to atleast make their business more efficient and easier. I just think they wanted a bar to play out their own fantasy life vs do what many others do and play Live Action Roleplay, fairs and have your own set up at home. Plus the bar was just way to over the top in weird decor that would have worked in a swampy place of the south or Florida, not corporate Chicago.

      In fact- She could have kept it the way it was, created a home pirate bar for her friends or at another relocation, hired new staff and a manager to come in and work this one and actually turn a profit and not be in what she considered a miserable place. And you should probably watch a few episodes of the show before you agree to get help, so you know what kinda guy Taffer is. Best of luck to them all and finding a happy medium to their happiness and making some profit.

      Reply
    • Remember the owner was living in her mother’s basement with her husband and child.

      Remember they called bar rescue in the first place. Where would the owner be had Jon not come there at all?. Do you honestly think that suddenly Pirates was going to have regular and repeat business as it was? You say they came for an experience? Sure maybe but do they come back? Nope. The experience of false advertising on terrible food and drinks that were gross besides wasteful in liquor?

      The only thing the staff was dedicated in was pretending to be pirates. So while sure the pirate them could be successful somewhere ran by someone, it wasn’t and wouldn’t be successful ran by her and this staff in that location.

      Jon Taffer isn’t stupid he knew damn well not to drop thousands and thousands in equipment om a owner that was clearly trying to just get new hardware and maintenance done for free to turn around and keep her Pirates fantasy alive. She said it herself Pirates was the ultimate fantasy. Speaking as if the world agrees. It was her fantasy.

      Some share that kind of fantasy but not when it comes to making money. I guarantee you the only reason the owner was able to go to Florida and open a bar there was due to the money bar rescue drew to her place. The owner and employees making bonfires of bar rescue decor etc.

      People that came weren’t there to support Pirates, just came to witness the train wreck. All of the failing bars that didn’t follow Jon’s plans after he left failed. All of them. Pirates was on a sinking ship pun intended. Her fantasy was failing, it wasn’t going to suddenly succeed as is.

      Doors were going to close all by themselves and the owner would still be in moms basement. But instead she was given a golden chance she threw it over board and scrapped what she could from it and moved to Florida. One of the most popular and controversial episodes, To do what? Fail again. Bar Refuge failed, new owners took it over and have zero connection with Tracey. How’s her fantasy doing now?

      Reply
      • (clapping) I agree with you 100% this lady did not deserve a help, she was completely content with living in her mother’s basement with a sorry husband and a 17 year old… smh totally was disgusted with this lady.

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    • The dream was not a good one for Silver Spring, MD. It would not even work in Florida. And it didn’t even work there in whatever format that bar was.

      Maybe. Maybe it would have worked in Ocean City, MD or a cheesy beach town like that – but it was not right for the area. Know your area.

      The fact that you’re still defending a really stupid idea 7 years after the bar closed is interesting. But to each his/her own.

      Reply
      • Of course it takes true DC native to keep it real around here lol

        Everything DC Native said is right on the money. Taffer pointed it out excellently in three sentences in the episode:

        “The problem with this bar is the concept.
        It’s a Pirate Bar……………in Silver Spring Maryland!!!
        Corporate people don’t want to go have lunch and a Pirate

        And you totally nailed it about Ocean City. It might fly in maybe Daytona or Myrtle also, I dont know.

        But what I do most certainly know there’s not enough pirate clientele anywhere in the DMV to support a pirate-themed bar on a regular basis much less off of Georgia Avenue. Maybe a pirate night, and a regular bar gets well known from it, that I could see successful but they could not even imagine that compromise as a pathway out of serious financial problems.

        Fascinating episode. One can learn a lot from it and it’s aftermath. That “revenge ” video is quite revealing about character and why EXACTLY one may not want to take a client to that place for lunch even though it is right outside and across the street lol.

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    • I think the idea is he gets them up and going. They tell you up front they’re only doing a 36 hour remodel. What do you want? They got a free face-lift and free training and a good push in the right direction. Play pirate in your bedroom. Run the bar as if your employees livelihoods depend on it.

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    • This isn’t some beach side ren-fest turkey leg stand – This is an inner-city restaurant in the middle of a corporate district and Tracy was almost a million dollars in debt. Take care of the debt, get out of your mom’s basement, establish yourself and then revisit the pirate concept. Priorities!

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    • If people loved it so much then why did she need help in the first place? Obviously it wasn’t loved that much or she wouldn’t have been in debt. The show screwed her? OK so then why would she agree to come back on the show? Not once not twice but THREE times. She was on the show a recon spy for taffer at another bar. Then for again for a 3rd time claiming they were gonna make it all alright again? What she thought they were gonna re pirate her bar after blasting the show on social media, making a effigy out of temhe new sign, literally slamming the show to anyone who listen. But came back on again to spy for taffer and then a 3rd time. Pahlease. It sounds to me she is just as staged as she claims the show is. And I’m sure if she didn’t immdelit start ripping stuff down things may not have started falling down around her. If she would’ve had even a little respect I’m sure they would’ve fixed anything they caused even it came to the remodel. But no she ripped atudf down set them on fire and trashed the show all over the internet. But boo hoo poor Tracy. Rrrrrrrrrr

      Reply
  12. They never should have gone to “Bar Rescue”. Taffer is an idiot. Not everything can be repaired by rebranding. What these people needed was management training. The biggest failure of this particular episode was that Taffer rebranded the bar to be exactly like the workspace of their target clientele. People DO NOT go to a bar to feel like they are at work.

    Reply
    • Yeah I actually thought the pirate theme was cool. I would definitely rather go to a pirate bar than a “corporate bar”.

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      • A theme is one thing. But overloading their place with “stuff” and not keeping the place new and clean another. Obviously the food was awful so that had to be redone. Sometimes I think the show does go overboard with changing things completely. Maybe with keeping the theme without looking like a theme park would have been a better plan. Train staff. Redo the menu etc. clean the place up of course.

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    • He packed the bar with those office workers and everyone in there had a good time at relaunch. Location is everything and instead of making the most of those office workers for lunch and happy hour they’d rather cater to a handful of clowns who play pirate on weekends.

      Jon told them if they were anywhere else he could make a roadside destination out of it. But they were in the middle of corporate Maryland. They were so ineffective with their vision that even their “F U” bar they opened in Florida went under after two years.

      They were almost a million in debt and sold the bar in Florida for 180k in 2018. You can say what you want about Taffer but those two didn’t have a clue and should have just listened to the guy.

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    • Taffer Is an idiot? The man has owned over 600 places. Pulsation was one of the largest and hugely successful nightclubs in the Philadelphia region over 15 years. And that was back in 1982. While I agree Jon should’ve came up with something better than corporate theme he had the right idea. Tracey however didn’t. Her fantasy didn’t work there at all. This place needed more than management training. The staff was incompetent to say the least. No amount of training was saving her husband. No amount of rebranding or revamping of pirates was going to save them. Taffer isn’t stupid he knew damn well the owner was going go to go back No matter what he did. So he didn’t drop thousands and thousands in equipment she could sell off, he rented it and she could certainly have bought it. She screwed herself. She took was she could afterwards and went to Florida and opened Bar refuge and guess what? It failed. Pirates would’ve done better in Florida but she thought she was slick by calling it bar refuge linking herself to Taffer and bar rescue while claiming it was a refuge from the show. Ctfu. Fail!

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    • Well he continues to change peoples’ lives and she’s out of business so I kind of have to go with the numbers not the feelings

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  13. Honestly, I don’t think Jon “dropped the ball” with Corporate…
    It was the wrong area for a Pirate themed bar. Add on poor food and drinks, the bar was never going to work in that area and the owner should have known this.

    I mean, did the second location prove anything? Yeah it might be closed for good now, but it lasted a good while because of the location.
    Florida being home to several themed restaurants like diner and show locations like Capones or any of the Disney/Universal restaurants, a pirate themed bar would fit right in, but not in the first location.

    While yes, people might not want people to feel like their workplace, I also see an interest for it. Your in a office heavy area, if you want to play up that angle for a fun and exciting bar, you could of made Corporate work.
    But, that required commitments from the owner and staff that was never really there…
    So its no wonder why Pirates would rebrand again and attempt to ask Jon for another revisit before closing and attempting a relocation.
    The owner needed more experience handling a standard bar before going to a themed one and made sure the costs could be manageable without having to live in her parent’s basement.

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  14. Bar Refuge closed as well. New owners took it over in 2018 and they expanded the hours and revamped the menu. It’s now owned by Thomas and Laura Waters. So I guess even in Florida Tracy and Juciano couldn’t make their bar work.

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  15. I just started watching Bar Rescure this week and have enjoyed it overall, and thought Jon’s redesigns made a lot of sense.

    However, the concept of “Corproate Bar & Grill” is INSANE!

    What was Jon thinking!?

    I’m actually from the area went to Piratz Tavern, and thought it was ok, but could’ve been better. I remember it not seeming like a serious business, and kind of loose.

    But, my friends and I were blown away when we heard that it was reopened as a an office themed bar.

    Who in their right mind would go there after working in an office all day???

    There was no logic to the theme, and no connection at all to the owner and clientele.

    Maryland is a big time seafood and sailing state, with hundreds of miles of coastline along the Chesapeake bay.

    It would’ve been an easy revamp to keep some kind of sailing/pirate theme, focus around a seafood menu, but step it up a notch.

    I feel like there’s more to this show than what was shown. I almost get the sense that Jon clashed with the owner he wanted to sabotage them, which I think probably isn’t true.

    But the redesign just made no sense.

    Reply
    • It actually made great sense. It’s a daytime town not a nighttime town. There are too many choices in the Maryland burbs to risk your life going to Silver Spring at night

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    • I do believe Jon was a little vindictive this time with that rebrand LOL I love the man, but he knew good and well they’d hate that rebrand, but I think he also knew, he wasn’t going to try that hard on the redesign because she was clearly going to reject anything he did. Even if he made the pirates theme more sophisticated, she was incompetent manager and personally I think suffering from a mid life crisis. So he’s like “I’m not going to waste time or money going all out. I’ll give her bar a facelift and go home” Corporate is a terrible name and concept for a bar, but I think he knew that and left.

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  16. I feel bad for the daughter. Other commenters have said their new place in Florida closed. The older woman and her husband are obviously not qualified to run a business. Unfortunately, for their supplierss, they can continue indefinitely to open new establishments, collect salaries and declare bankruptcy leaving vendors to hold the bag.

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  17. honestly im split the corporate thing was terrible i would never go there i like a pirate place but that one was trashed and not applicable to location… the owner and original cook were lousey but a few of them had potential and taffer did more damage than good he could have wasily made a welcoming non pirate bar instead of asterile feeling stuffed shirt pooplace … and it probably would had stuck too… make a deafood bar not pirate but close enough itd likely stick and be more appealing to others

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  18. Bar Refuge is now closed too. I didn’t like the pirate theme , but the sanitized corporate theme wasn’t right for those bar owners either . The location of the pirate bar was unfortunate for the owner & staff .

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  19. I just looked it up (09/13/22), Refuge Bar in Melbourne, FL – PERMANENTLY CLOSED.

    Good riddance to that lady! I just feel bad for the crew that followed her and her pipe dream.

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  20. If I lived in the area I’d have gathered a group of friends and gone to the bar all wearing Pittsburgh Pirates hats. If the staff gave us a hard time I’d have said, “wait, the bar’s theme is REAL pirates? What a dumb idea.”

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  21. Not only was she in the show once, but twice, nooo wait it was THREE times. She was on a episode as a reco. Spy at another bar I believe after her first episode and then was on AGAIN for a third time claiming they were gonna make it all alright again?. Bulll f-n shiiiiit. Whatbdid she think theybwere gonna re pirate her bar? Why would you go back on a show that you think tried to destroy you? Come on a second time to spy for Taffer, and then a third time? All this claiming everything was staged?. Oh know I doubt that. Amd finally Bar refuge. Closed. What did all the fake middle and high schooler reviews follow her to Florida? Doubt that too.

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  22. There was no rescuing this one although it did last longer than I thought it would (interestingly it seems failing bars can hang on longer than failing restaurants).

    So, I just watched this one tonight and man’o’man that was a doozy.

    On the one hand, the owners are delusional on so many levels. Yes, the pirate theme was wrong for the area but it goes beyond that to servers apparently not knowing what they were doing, a kitchen run by someone who can’t cook much less be a chef, to being too in love with bad creations like Grog. Look I can make things I like but can also recognize it really isn’t fit for anyone else.

    That said I really feel that Jon was intentionally spitting on everything they wanted. I mean I get needing to make it appeal to the corporate crowd around them particularly for lunch but he had to know these people were never going to go for it.

    As soon I saw he changed the name to Corporate I knew that was going to be changed at the first opportunity and honestly, I can’t blame them cause it really did seem like a slap in the face. Maybe his redesigned concept really did give them the best chance at being a successful bar in that area but it was completely antithetical to what the owners wanted.

    I feel Jon had to know that did and just did it to spite them. Far be it for me to say Jon was wrong as I’m as from being an expert in bar science as you can get (I don’t even drink alcohol) but he was wrong. He should have figured a way to keep pirate touches at the bar.

    Obviously not as blatantly in the face as the owners wanted but some touches to make the connection. I think the name Corporate Raiders Bar and Grill (I know someone on here suggested but I thought of before I read it) could have worked.

    I would have also made it clear that yes 99% of the time they have to cater to people in the area but would have suggested that once a month they could have a pirate theme night where they go full-on pirate.

    I think that could have scratched Tracey’s itch (although it probably wouldn’t have been enough), create an event that people could indulge in, and not driven away that professional clientele the rest of the time.

    I find it funny they moved to Florida only to open a regular bar since I was thinking they could have made that work down here (ok maybe not them but someone who knows how to run a bar) – particularly in Tampa which has a whole pirate subculture and history. They even have a huge yearly pirate-themed festival.

    Ah well, I hope Mike is doing okay he seemed likable and understood what Jon was doing and was trying to make it work.

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  23. i live relatively close to silver spring and find the folks to be strange and unfriendly. i almost feel like im in los angeles when im in that area. john taffer did an amazing job on the bar transition and gave them an opportunity to have a gold mine and make lots of money. instead they burned taffers changes and basically gave him the finger for his help. you just cant fix stupid. i wanted to choke out juicyAno after he mocked the new name and design taffer and staff worked hard on. im sure taffer wanted to do the same lol. always nice to see the classy jessie barnes in the bar rescue episodes. too bad they all wasted precious time when they could have helped a bar more deserving.

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  24. I feel bad for the daughter of those two idiots. Living in their parents’ basement was completely okay with Tracy as long as she and her husband could play pirate all day. Moron.

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  25. Jon was mistaken with this one. He went way to the other end of the spectrum. I’m in the corporate world and I found it boring with no appeal.
    Juciano gave me the willies. Smarmy and stupid. He must make her happy somewhere else (hint hint) cuz his cooking and personality suck.

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  26. people have said it before but seriously, for me, this is one of the few rebrands that made me roll my eyes and sigh dramatically. taffer understands that when people go to a bar they don’t want to think of work, RIGHT? the new logo was off putting and the whole concept lacked any heart. owners aside, this concept would have never worked anyways. this needed something that had a relaxing, drink and chill vibe, without the gimmicky childish crap of the pirate tavern theme.

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  27. Jon has since tried this tactic a few times on the show. Namely, try to shock some clueless owners into maturity by implementing a radical rebrand. But he went way too far with this one, so I’m not surprised that they rebelled. The Corporate Bar was very stark, cold and sterile. Very unappealing — I wouldn’t have wanted to go there. On the other hand, Jon had the market nailed down. The pirated might have worked in a tourist destination, but Silver Spring is a suburb of DC. All the tourist attractions are downtown. It’s not coincedence that there’s a Taffer’s Tavern there! The location now houses a restaurant and nightclub that caters to the urban nightlife clientele. It was also apparrent that Tracy didn’t have a head for business and Juciano was never going to step up and become a master chef. Ill-starred from the start, but this is one of the most fascinating episodes.

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  28. Juliano acted as a complete little b*tch. His wife was no better. Two idiots who think knows better than Taffer, a real bar expert. Pathetic.

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