(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 8 | View All Season 8 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: March 12, 2023
The Bar's Original Name Was: The Hideaway Bar and Grill
The Hideaway Bar and Grill Address: 1510 S Celebration Ave Meridian, ID 83642
Episode Recap
The Hideaway Bar and Grill was a Meridian, Idaho (Boise) bar that was featured on the third set of Season 8 of Bar Rescue.
Though the The Hideaway Bar Rescue episode aired in March 2023, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place at the end of July 2022 (and into the very beginning of August).
It was Season 8 Episode 26 and the episode name was “Hideaway From Reality”.
In this drama-filled episode, Jon Taffer heads to The Hideaway Bar and Grill in Meridian, Idaho.
If you’re not caught up on your Idaho geography, Meridian is the second largest city in Idaho and located just to the west of Boise.
The Hideaway Bar and Grill has been around since 2012.
It’s owned by Dwayne Fulbright.
He originally operated the bar from a leased property but then he purchased his own land, so the bar is now run from property that he owns.
I believe the The Hideaway Jon Taffer visit happened from July 28th to August 1st, 2022, because the bar posted on Facebook saying that it was closed for “a private event” during those days.
If you just watched the Hideaway Bar Rescue episode, you know that this one was filled with drama.
A lot of that drama was centered one whether or not Dwayne had a drinking problem.
The employees said one thing to start, but then they wouldn’t admit the same thing when Jon Taffer was in the building.
Obviously, Dwayne wouldn’t admit that he had a drinking problem, either.
Because Jon Taffer couldn’t get any honesty (or at least he felt like he couldn’t get any honest), he couldn’t work his usual magic on the failing bar.
While we didn’t get a renovation, we did get Jon Taffer walking out of The Hideaway Bar and Grill without rescuing the bar.
In fact, rather than posting a normal “Sneak Peek” video, the Bar Rescue Facebook and Twitter pages just posted dramatic video of Jon Taffer walking out of the bar.
🚨This is not a drill🚨 Find out what happens during the all-new episode of #BarRescue this Sunday at 10/9c on @paramountnet! pic.twitter.com/I1vsfX82hQ
— Bar Rescue (@BarRescue) March 10, 2023
This makes it the fourth time Jon Taffer has completely walked out of a bar without doing any renovations.
The other three being O Face Bar in Iowa, Black Light District in California, and Second Base / Extremes in California (Jon walked out of his second visit to the bar after rescuing it the first time).
Jon Taffer also kind of walked out of The Press Box / The Dugout in Chicago, though he did still renovate the bar for the employees.
For that reason, I don’t count The Press Box as a true Bar Rescue walkout.
Because there was no renovation, there was also no new name at the bar.
It was The Hideaway Bar and Grill before Jon Taffer’s visit and it was still The Hideaway Bar and Grill after his visit.
So did the Hideaway Bar Rescue episode have any effect on the bar, even without Jon Taffer’s help?
Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this Meridian, Idaho bar is still open in 2023.
The Hideaway Bar and Grill Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Hideaway Bar and Grill Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left Meridian, ID.
Because Jon Taffer did not renovate the Hideaway Boise Idaho location or implement any of his own policies, there’s no reason to expect the bar to improve.
However, I’m sure you’re still interested in learning where the bar is today.
I’ll start with the most important question on your mind – if it’s still open (and the bar being for sale).
Then, I’ll share some real The Hideaway reviews to give you an idea of real customers’ experiences match what you saw on the Bar Rescue The Hideaway episode.
Spoiler alert – there’s even more real-life drama based around car towing at The Hideaway.
Let’s start with the most important question on your mind…
Is The Hideaway still open after Bar Rescue?
The Hideaway Bar and Grill closed on July 30, 2023, which was around 3.5 months after the Hideaway Bar Rescue episode aired on TV and almost exactly a year after the actual visit The Hideaway Jon Taffer visit.
This is no surprise because the bar had already been listed for sale before the episode aired on TV – more on this below.
Beyond that, reviews for The Hideaway Bar and Grill are pretty negative across the board – I’ll show some examples below.
In mid-July, The Hideaway owners posted the following on the bar’s Facebook page:
Thanks to all our wonderful customers over the years.
The Hideaway has been sold.
Our last day is July 30th so come by and say goodbye.
It’s been 11 great years but it’s time to hang up our hat and move on to retirement
According to the Facebook post, The Hideaway closed because Dwayne wanted to retire.
When I originally published this post at the time that the episode aired on TV, a reader below pointed out that the Hideaway Idaho property has been listed for sale since February 22, 2023.
The listing was on Loopnet here and the asking price was a cool $2,725,000 – so not cheap!
You do get a “LIKE-NEW, EXTRAVAGANT BUILDOUT”, though.
The listing was marked as “Under Contract” in late March 2023.
Then, on April 2023, the listing was marked as “No Longer Available”, so it seems like the sale went through (or it got taken off the market).
Here’s the full property listing description from that Loopnet page:
Here’s another listing page from RealNex that puts the asking price slightly higher at $3,275,000.
I guess they reduced the price based on Loopnet.
Interestingly, I also found the RealNex listing for the vacant land parcel from before.
It seems like the asking price was $550,000 for just the land back then, so Dwayne could be making some money if he sells it for $2.7 million.
If you want to see a walkthrough of The Hideaway without Jon Taffer’s yelling, I also found this video tour from the commercial broker:
And then here’s what the Hideaway Meridian Idaho location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:
The picture hasn’t been updated since 2019, though.
I’m mainly including it so that you can explore the area around the The Hideaway property.
When I know what the new owner of The Hideaway location plans to do with it, I will update this post.
The Hideaway reviews after Bar Rescue
Prior to The Hideaway closing, The Hideaway Bar and Grill reviews were pretty uniformly poor, both before and after the visit from Jon Taffer.
Overall, The Hideaway Yelp page had just a two star rating on over 140 reviews, which is pretty bad to be honest.
Shortly after the Hideaway episode aired on TV, they had to freeze the Hideaway Yelp page because a lot of angry Bar Rescue viewers were leaving reviews based on the episode (without visiting in person).
On Google, The Hideaway Bar and Grill reviews came in at just 3.6 stars on over 500 ratings.
Google is usually a lot more generous than Yelp, so 3.6 stars is pretty bad.
Beyond general issues with the food and service, one thing I saw in a few different reviews was people alleging that the Hideaway owner is very aggressive in having people’s cars towed.
I’m not sure where the truth lies – it’s just something I noticed in a few reviews.
Some of these people seem like they parked in The Hideaway lot without actually going to the restaurant, so I can’t tell who is “right” here.
For example, consider this string of consecutive reviews, including a response from the Hideaway owner:
A lot of the reviews also seem to mention that it’s kind of a competition between The Hideaway Bar and Grill and a neighboring restaurant named The Griddle.
The Hideaway owner seems to always mention that The Griddle didn’t pay for overflow parking, so it kind of seems like something personal.
Here’s another very lengthy Facebook thread with someone who was angry about being towed after eating at The Griddle, including lots of “evidence” pictures and back-and-forth with the owner.
However, even people who did visit The Hideaway Bar and Grill seem to have had issues with overly aggressive parking enforcement.
Here’s a sampling of a few The Hideaway reviews that were written after the Hideaway Bar Bar Rescue visit and don’t exclusively involve parking – all of them are still pretty uniformly negative…
1 star Yelp review from March 2023:
We use to go there weekly usually for weekend breakfast but the food and service has become subpar.
The last time we went the server brought me the wrong food and then walked out to her car and left.
Came back with a male friend and got into a verbal loud confrontation with I assume the manager.
After an extended time a server came over and I told her I got the wrong meal she looked at me and shrugged her shoulder and walked away.
I left the meal and payed and we have not been back
Add to the fact they are now towing vehicles at ridiculous charges I will not be back.
2 star Yelp review from February 2023:
Not the first time we’ve eaten at the Hideaway but will probably be the last.
The food is just not great.
I had a French dip sandwich and it was ok, the fries were definitely not completely cooked.
My wife ordered one of their happy hour specials and they couldn’t tell her what type of drink it was shot or cocktail.
So they just brought it out as a shot.
Ordered a basket of tots which was not very big.
There are plenty of other restaurants in the area to try before this one.
1 star Yelp review from January 2023:
INSTANTLY HOSTILE:
I was coming in as part of a group.
Two of the people organizing called ahead to confirm that there was space.
When I arrived the women behind the bar forced us to wait outside in the snow for the rest of the group to arrive.
After 20 minutes past the gathering time we walked in and got seated.
As we sat down (before any staff even approached our table) one last person arrived. the same woman who sent us outside came to our table yelling about how we lied about the number of people and told us we had to leave.
When we called ahead we said it would be between 15-25 people.
When we got kicked out, there were only 11 of us.
1 star Yelp review from November 2022:
Ate there twice, because everyone has bad days- but turns out, its just a bad restaurant.
Subpar food and as very overpriced and service was absolutely terrible.
No one checked on us or offered to get us more drinks.
Honestly, the idea is so cool but the business was not executed well.
Makes sense why I never see anyone else eating there.
We also watched the owner case the parking lot with two tow trucks waiting on edge of lot waiting to tow anyone he doesn’t feel is going to eat there.
He aggressively chastised people parking- which is a pretty stupid business move if he wants people to come into his establishment.
Clearly shady business, and will make sure no one in my circle ever eats there again.
1 star Google review from November 2022:
Jovonna C gave us the worst service I have ever had.
First, she requested that we “flag her down” when we wanted another drink rather than her coming to our table to check on us.
Each time, it took several minutes for us to get her attention.
Several times we went to the bar to order a drink from her because it took so long.
Then, at 9:30pm she informed us that it was last call.
After looking up the hours on Google (it said 11pm), I asked her what time they close.
She informed me that it’s “up to bartender discretion and I’m not making money” so she is closing early.
There were 8 people at the bar in addition to the four people at my table.
I had a couple of friends coming to meet us and they arrived when she called last call.
I was telling them about what had happened and that we would not be tipping her.
She overhead me having a private conversation with my friend and confronted me saying “You’re not going to tip me?”
I found her confrontational attitude in addition to the terrible service to be very off putting. I will not be back.
Overall, based on all of The Hideaway reviews that I read, it seems like the Hideaway Bar and Grill Bar Rescue episode was pretty dang accurate.
Shortly after The Hideaway episode aired on TV, some angry Bar Rescue fans started review bombing the Google review listing.
While I don’t think that’s nice to do, it did elicit a response from The Hideaway owner about the Bar Rescue episode:
Final thoughts on The Hideaway Bar and Grill
That wraps up my The Hideaway Bar Rescue update!
Despite spurning help from Jon Taffer and causing him to walk out of the bar, The Hideaway Bar and Grill did manage to stay open for a few months.
However, the reviews were very bad across the board.
The bar was already listed for sale before the episode aired on TV, so it’s no surprise that it eventually closed.
According to a Facebook post from the bar, Dwayne sold the bar so he could retire.
If he got anywhere near the asking price ($2.7 million), that will be a pretty good retirement (though I’m not sure how much debt he was carrying on the property, so I can’t know his actual profit).
Regardless of the bar’s performance, though, they did seem to at least be making a good bit of money towing people’s cars.
If you want to see two other bars that Jon Taffer completely walked out on, you should read my updates for O Face Bar in Council Bluffs Iowa and Black Light District in Long Beach California.
The Hideaway Bar and Grill was the only Idaho Bar Rescue episode at the time that it aired, though Jon Taffer did visit three other Idaho bars later in Season 8.
Those bars are Dave’s Firehouse / Firehouse Sports Pub in Nampa, Country Barn / Corner Cafe in Horseshoe Bend, and Bullseye Sports Bar / Strikers in Meridian.
If you want to see some other nearby episodes, the closest bars so far are in nearby states like Utah, Nevada, and Oregon.
Here are a few of the closest ones – Oak Tavern / The Bullpen in Reno NV, Linda Lou’s / Purser’s Bar in Layton UT, and Panic Room / Tonic Lounge in Portland, OR.
And if you want to share your thoughts on the Hideaway Bar and Grill episode, you can use the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/hideaway-bar-and-grill-meridian-2https://www.facebook.com/MeridianHideaway/
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Last updated: 2023-08-06 05:15
Wow…what an a$$hole.
People having their cars towed need to report this alcoholic to the city. He does NOT own the parking lot, so has no right to put up signs.
He has what is commonly referred to as ‘condominium parking’, which means each business is entitled to the parking spaces, no matter where they are. So, if there is a space near his piece of sh 1t bar, and someone is going to one of the businesses who share the parking lot, that person is LEGALLY allowed to park there.
I know this for a fact, because I was involved in a dispute like this when I worked at a hall that was also a private club. The neighboring business did not want club members or patrons of the hall to park in “his” parking spaces. But, the were not “his”.
This alcoholic, who has an anger management problem, has to be reported and the towing company has to be reported.
As far as the problems with the bar, that’s what you get when the owner is a single-digit-IQ, clueless, lazy alcoholic, and the staff, including his ‘partner’, or whatever that rag is, are big, fat, lazy, clueless b1 tches.
You CANNOT have fat people working in a bar or restaurant. They are lazy, they don’t do what has to be done, and they can’t do what has to be done. This is a train wreck. Let the know-it-all alcoholic, owner figure it out. And let his fat, lazy, servers figure out how to clean that filthy place and figure out how to bring in customers.
Relax! The place has already been closed two weeks ago. I don’t think we have to worry about that anymore.
Looks like they are closed or closing. The building is under contract for a sale as of today. https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1510-S-Celebration-Ave-Meridian-ID/26772161/
Very interesting – thanks for sharing! I will add this to the post.
Wow. Just seen the episode. My niece lives in Meridian, ID. It’s apparent the owner has not taken accountability for his bar failing. What a terrible idea to let your pride be more important than your business. Letting Jon walk out – stupid. He would have made your bar amazing. Cheers!!
Haha that girlfriend of his is nasty all around she can’t have her surgery now boo hoo. She needed a face-lift it looks like.
Awesome show Jon, no one wants to admit shit. Haha on them, they won’t last. That group is a bunch of losers.
After watching Jon Taffer do his best to get the town-drunk to admit he has a problem with drinking on the job, he lied and said he did not, his woman lied and avoided giving a direct answer, and those two barmaids did the same.
It’s no wonder the Hideaway is in the predicament it is in.
Jon could have done so much good in that big space, but when you have a clueless butthole and butthole-ettes in tow, welp, there you go!
Hurry and close so that the decent folks at the Griddle can use that excess parking space to give their customers outstanding service and not worry about you supplementing your income with the tow company…what a douche!
You should probably get the entire story before commenting. The Griddle is in a lease. The parking lot is not big enough for the businesses in that tiny strip mall. They had an option to lease the lot across the street for overflow and refused. Nothing to do with The Hideaway who OWNS the building and property that it’s on.
He has signs, clearly marking that cars will be towed. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to follow through. I was part of a discussion about the parking issue. The girl that posted about being towed took full accountability for parking where she wasn’t supposed to. Her PSA turned into a bunch of attacks against the owner with comments like, “let’s close this place down”. Seriously?!?!?! Leaving comments bashing a restaurant with false claims because of parking is unethical. What recourse does he have? I’d probably be uptight too.
The owner has and always will be a drunk and a loser. The bar is terrible and always has been. The food has always been crap. That’s just the truth.
This bar was never good !! The rudest place ever !! I live down the road from the hideaway bar and grill !!! I go to Rudy’s or pigs and hogs,,, there much better!!! The asshole who owns the hideaway bar and grill isn’t a good construction worker either!!!
Mistake #1, letting your drunken ego design and run a bar.
Mistake #2, not accepting your weaknesses and failures.
Mistake #3, listening to fools and liars (his girlfriend with no bar experience, his servers).
Mistake #4, not listening to a professional with a proven track record.
Mistake #5, not understanding how much free advertisement comes with the show.
Now they are probably all reading the “jobs” section of the local paper. Sad.
You could also fit at least four New York City bars into the area occupied by that pig pit.
I liked your comments, especially the way you delineated them in the list. I hope you don’t mind that I shared my thoughts on your post. I totally agree with you.
After what I saw on the episode and read in customer reviews, no decent bar or restaurant should take a risk hiring the rude, obnoxious, and incompetent former employees of The Hideaway. According to customer experiences, the staff gave customers ground rules to get service. One customer reported getting the wrong food and the server shrugged her shoulders and walked off.
Dwayne sat through the whole episode with that smug grin on his face. Of course one trait alcoholics and their enablers is denial of the problem.
I don’t blame him for towing cars. It’s a lot to keep a parking lot up to code. I disagree with a lot of remarks. Obviously protecting the owner was what most people would do. The owner seemed like an ok guy. He was not fighting or arguing. The fact he owns a construction business tells me he’s not always drinking. He should have just said I have too much dealing with all this stress. I think he’s over worked. I don’t think he did anything wrong.
Protecting the owner didn’t help him at all. No doubt he’s trying to sell that ridiculous space. Hopefully he will, because nobody likes that place.
His ego and the ego of his idiot girlfriend, got in the way of his being able to start over, and actually make some money… If there is a god, they’ll be closing soon and they can take all their debt and try to live out their life in their latter years with nothing.
It was an ego move. He is now using the parking lot as a way to make some cash because nothing’s happening inside the bar.
My God are you gullible and naive. There is no excuse for the employees to be lying about the owner’s alcoholism and daily excessive drinking.
How stupid are they? Didn’t they ever see the show and see that Taffer tapes everything for like 2 days before he goes in? Did they all really think they could get away with lying about what really goes on in there?
You made a very stupid and short-sighted remark about him owning a construction business, which tells you he’s not always drinking? You are as clueless as his big, fat servers. First of all, anyone can “own” any kind of a business.
Owning a business is an administrative action; it’s all paperwork. You have no idea how successful that business is or the quality of work he does, or the quality of people he hires. When one drinks to the extent that he does, YES HE DOES IT ALL THE TIME.
Secondly, there is a high incidence of problem drinking among construction workers, just as there is among firefighters. Yet, they all still manage to go to work every day. You think he is ‘overworked’.
You are not intelligent enough to see the big picture. You are defending his drinking by saying he’s ‘stressed’. Drinking does NOT lessen one’s workload or lessen stress. Ironically, drinking increases both of those things. And there is an old saying about drowning sorrows; you cannot drown them, because they swim. No matter how much one drinks, the sorrows and problems always come back to the surface.
Please go away and let the adults talk. You are not intelligent enough, articulate enough, or sophisticated enough to contribute. Or, maybe you are involved with a problem drinker and are in the habit of minimizing that problem, and protecting them, too. Either way, it isn’t good.
Hahaha just watched Bar Rescue and I have to say that POS and his ugly girlfriend don’t deserve a beautiful new bar. I mean how stupid to treat Jon Tapper like he’s a liar and a douchebag. The only douchebag I saw was that drunken owner. And shame on his nasty-looking girlfriend and his staff for lying. They should be welcoming Jon Tapperwith open arms and treat him like a king! I’m just glad I live far away from that place and won’t ever have to decide if I want to give them my business! Like that would be a problem LOL
I want to know wha is wrong with her mouth.?Weird.
To Paul
Go ahead and believe in rainbows and unicorns.
Good luck with that.
THERE IS something wrong with her mouth and speech.
Why do douchebags get such a bad rap? I’d rather have a douchebag than these clueless fools.
Jon Tapper?! Really?
Taffer, fool.
The bar, owner, and employees may be bad, but it’s so juvenile to talk about someone’s looks. Grow the hell up.
I completely agree. That really bugs me. It’s just low and immature.
Agree those comments were inappropriate. The focus should be the problems with health code violations, poor service, and substandard products.
Everyone is judged by their looks. Wake the heck up.!Where do you live, Disneyland?
She can’t pronounce words correctly, and her mouth is 2x as wide as normal. I was just asking why.
Are we not allowed to ask sincere questions?
Just watched the Hideaway Bar Rescue show. I’m a huge fan of Jon Taffer and the Bar Rescue show. All I can say is OH MY GOSH! What a really stupid owner, girlfriend & 2 emloyees. A chance at getting out of debt & being successful just ‘walked out the door’. Also, on national tv the 4 of them sure didn’t come off very nice! How embarrassing for those fools! Jon thankfully left, his help will be appreciated elsewhere!
Having Jon Taffer come to your failing bar and offer to train your staff and update your bar is like winning the lottery.
And yet the failing bar owner fails to understand this!?
Is this for real? Or is this the definition of being a Moron. I’m thinking this moron needs to stay out of the bar business and actually he shouldn’t state he is in the construction business either since he had no idea on how to design a bar.
Not a shred of shame throughout, but his staff of enablers was even worse.
And we didn’t get to see or hear anything else about Filiberto the cook.
So good to read a post from someone with common sense.
I think he will have learned nothing. Like the zeitgeist of the 2020s his failure is someone else’s fault. He will sell the building make a profit and go do something else. Learning nothing. I feel bad for his co-dependent employees who will be left holding their unemployment. FYI: I was in Customer Service for 26 years before I retired in 2022.
And forgotten nothing.
And forgetting nothing.
Oh, and why feel bad for a staff that enables him?
Stupid is as stupid does. If you drink several beers and shots all night you are a drunk. They were all liars and John caught them in their lies. John is an honest and very very good man. I highly doubt the employees will find work anywhere else, I know I would never hire any of them that worked there, because if you lie you will steal. I detest dishonesty like John and don’t blame him for walking out. I see the owner is not only a drunk & stupid he is also dishonest and robbing people by towing vehicles of people inside or not. The wife was ignorant and I hope whoever sees her dishonesty will refuse to do any business with her as well. Shame people can be that stupid to let John walk out and not just be honest and make a change so you can be successful. My husband and I Love John and I don’t own a bar but I appreciate him keeping these bars/businesses going.
If they parked there and went to eat at the Griddle that part is their own fault. Someone commented above that the Griddle was offered to lease that spot and didn’t.
I find it ironic that I’ve been to this restaurant dozens of times and haven’t ever had bad food, bad service, or “floaters” in my drinks. The owner is, in your words, an “alleged” drunk. How about facts rather than allegations?!?!? I’d say that the over dramatization is for ratings and doesn’t paint an accurate picture of the bar and grille.
I was part of a discussion group regarding the parking debacle. The girl took full accountability for parking in a spot that had a sign that clearly stated the car would be towed. She posted ad a PSA so others didn’t have the same fate. She went as far as parking by the restaurant and warned people. She claimed that there were over a hundred people that she warned. It’s clear that people parking in the lot that he owns is a problem. How does it make him an a$$h@le for making sure his parking lot is for his customers only? There were plenty of sympathizers for the towed car that jumped on the bandwagon of “closing them down”. I’m embarrassed that these are fellow Idahoans. Best guess is they aren’t natives. This isn’t how we roll.
The parking debacle should be researched before defending them. You’d find that THEY are the ones that aren’t doing their part to fix the problem.
Too many allegations to try and sway a narrative.
By the way, nobody wants to work in our area and most businesses are struggling to find people. Again, do some research before spewing a bunch of allegations to make them look bad. Is it really so unbelievable that you’d decide to walk out without doing the renovation, or did this make a nice “drama” for ratings?
I’m not Jon Taffer 😉 You can contact him on Twitter.
I don’t blame them one bit for the car towing thing, it’s their property! But to refuse to take a breathalizer test in exchange for all that free assistance and what could have been excellent publicity? Come on. What did that prove? What did that help? So stupid.
I see things completely differently than most.
I’m gonna dispense with the parking lot nonsense because it wasn’t on the show, and the owner has a right to tow people if they are illegally parked at his business.
Before I describe what I saw, let’s go over a few things. First, if you read this website and others, you will see that most owners in recent seasons go back to their original name, claim that their remodel was cheap and had to be redone, and/or are generally unhappy with the experience. So maybe the owners dodged a bullet.
Second, just about every owner on this show who hangs out in the bar drinks in it and almost assuredly does so after Jon leaves. Most of them are on the spectrum of alcoholism which is why they buy bars and not restaurants–we get that, and that is why many of these places fail and aren’t rescued in the long term. Jon showed breathalyzer clips from a couple of bars in the past, but one of these (Kid Chilleen’s) was an early episode with a guy who admitted to needing help for alcoholism. The breathalyzer bit has become more of a gimmick lately.
This episode was several minutes shorter than a typical episode and required a lot of filler (previews of other Idaho bars and flashbacks to other walkouts). The Second Base walkout was a stunt anyway and has a lot of similarities to this episode because Jon was gonna make that guy put up capital that he didn’t want to invest.
We learned is that the one-on-one interviews with staff take place before Jon shows up and are conducted by the producer(s) as part of his “research.” This should be common knowledge, but it was proven here. They are encouraged to exaggerate a bit for the purpose of setting up the show which is probably what happened with Lindsay.
This Idaho set was Jon’s first there. These people probably didn’t/don’t know the show very well and didn’t know how to properly play into the drama.
With that in mind, this is my take…
Jon’s recon spies go in and do the black speck routine which has become so commonplace that it isn’t even entertaining anymore. The bartender isn’t having this routine, so she bolts. They trump up a reason to fire on a microphone but not really on camera on her on the way out in some bizarre twist.
Also note that a great deal of the dialogue was heavily edited/spliced. Who knows how much time really elapsed between the black speck stunt and the impromptu bartender firing.
This is not the first time recon stunts have been staged. I’ve talked to bartenders on the show who have had their ingredients taken away by producers only to have recon spies ask for it.
The next day, Jon’s “evidence” (online reviews in which the disgruntled posters may not even know who the owner is) suggests that the owner is a drunk. He didn’t appear drunk at all and was now confused. The bartender who referred to him as someone who may be perceived as a town drunk probably forgot what she said to the producer. This is what the look on her face is telling us.
At this point, Jon is angry that the owner isn’t playing along with the breathalyzer routine like everyone else does. The owner is just like “screw this breathalyzer,” not knowing at all that he is being accused of being an alcoholic. The owner does not know about these Yelp reviews that he is being confronted with.
Now let’s address the extra bartender who was present the night before–she never said he was a drunk and doesn’t agree with what Jon is doing either. She is totally confused. She did not deserved to be yelled at.
Jon’s evidence–all hearsay, mind you–is given extra attention to fill the show, but really there is nothing proving that this owner should have to subject himself to the breathalyzer, and I kinda agree with him.
Jon first pretends to walk out, turning around more than once, waiting for the owner to beg him to come back. It never happens. the owner doesn’t want any part of a storyline that pegs him as an alcoholic, and he’s happy that Jon is leaving. Still, Jon persists, yelling about a Yelp review or whatever.
Now Jon has to save face because he is leveling accusations at somebody without any real proof, and the owner isn’t just gonna sit there and take it in exchange for a free remodel. So Jon needs to hold firm that he is being lied to despite not really knowing what is truly up. At least with O’Face, there was this dramatic review of court documents and video evidence of assault.
So there you have it, nobody wanted to play along with Jon’s drama, so he threw a tantrum and left blaming the owner.
If the owner reads these reviews and sees how many times other owners thought the remodels were cheaply thrown together, he knows he dodged a bullet with this one.
I cannot agree with you anymore about everything you said. You hit the nail on the head.
This episode frustrated me beyond belief because you could actually see and sense all the riggory on the part of the show. I go back and forth with my feelings for Jon Taffer but he was a huge, blubbering baby in this episode and should be embarrassed at the way he conducted himself.
I don’t like what the owner and his girlfriend did to that bartender on the first night with accusing her of stealing but am actually quite impressed with the way the owner didn’t take Jon’s bait when he was freaking screaming at him and behaving like a child. If I were the owner I would have sensed that Jon wasn’t going to follow through with the remodel at some point and just kicked him out of the business.
I am actually kind of surprised that, after watching this episode, more people don’t sympathize with the owner in this situation.
That’s because you are a loser, like the bar owner and his staff.
That is an amazingly mature response. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your kind words. It is so refreshing to feel the need to comment on the internet with your true thoughts and feelings and then to just get nothing but positive reinforcement right back! Once again, I appreciate your engagement. I actually feel very honored.
All I can say is that Jon Taffer did a rescue at a local bar in one of the earlier seasons. The bar had been a neighborhood staple for many years with a rich history and deep ties to the community.
They did go back to the original name but it was for local residents. As for the makeover, the owners followed Jon’s advice and the bar is still in operation and still doing outstanding business. Reviews to this day did a 180 from what they were pre-rescue.
The owners are still happy with what was done and still express their gratitude to the show for the help.
Do you remember the name of the bar?
This episode was strange all the way around. It’s too bad they couldn’t just scratch it’s broadcast and buried it in “episodes that just shouldn’t air”. I feel like I wasted my time watching this one.
That’s all-
D
$2.7 million sale price. But remember he put $1.5 million into building it plus $500k to buy the land. And he has been steadily losing money. Not sure what he is going to get but I think he won’t be making a fortune on this investment.
True. But I think he could clear a couple hundred grand, which ain’t too shabby. Though the overall return might not be great due to the opportunity cost of what he could’ve used that money for.
https://liteonline.com/the-hideaway-is-closing/
The Hideaway in Meridien is sold and perhaps closing. Last day open is 7/31/2023
Thanks for letting me know! I will update this once it officially closes.
No, they been closed since July 31st. Good riddance for that.
Just look at Dwayne. Anyone who has been around the block knows he looks like a drunk / flushed cheeks, red nose, confusion, smiling at inappropriate times…
To Machine:
You feel the need to share your confused ideations here? This is not the place. Get to the point, then shut up.
Dwayne quote:
“taking a breathalyzer is HUMILIORATING”
Jake:
Dwayne was already boozed up! Standing there with the classic German/Austrian flushed, red nosed grin, he could not make a conscious decision to respond or not.
He was dazed and confused. Technical term? Drunken stupor.
Kudos to him for keeping his mouth shut; it could’ve been a lot worse.
Jake:
Get off your high horse you sarcastic smart ass.