(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 2 | View All Season 2 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: August 26, 2012
The Bar's Original Name Was: The Black Sheep
The Public House Address: 3807 N Bend Rd Cheviot, OH 45211
Episode Recap
The Black Sheep, later renamed The Public House, was a Cheviot, Ohio bar featured on Season 2 of Bar Rescue.
Though the The Public House Bar Rescue episode aired in August 2012, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place before that.
It was Season 2 Episode 6 and the episode name was “Broke Black Sheep”.
In this episode, Jon Taffer heads to The Black Sheep in Cheviot, Ohio.
Since most of you probably aren’t Ohio natives, I’ll add that Cheviot is a suburb of Cincinnati, so there is a large urban center in the area.
The Black Sheep owners are Scott, Scott’s uncle Tommy, and Scott’s cousin Greg.
Scott manages the day-to-day stuff at the bar while the other owners are silent partners.
Scott is a fireman and left his second job as a carpet installer to open the bar.
The bar was very successful at first and made $70,000 per month.
That’s incredible!
However, things obviously started to go downhill after that, which is why The Black Sheep Bar Rescue episode exists.
I mean, Jon Taffer doesn’t visit successful, thriving bars that are making $70,000 per month, right?
At the time of the show, the bar runs out of inventory and has poor cleanliness.
They are now losing $8,000 per month, which is a big turnaround from the bar’s glory days.
Jon’s wife Nicole Taffer goes in as a spy to recon the Black Sheep bar.
The glass is dirty, and her Guinness is poured incorrectly.
Scott, the owner, tells Nicole how another bar has the best cheese sticks in town.
The chef is outside smoking when Jon comes in to speak to Scott.
Scott isn’t focused on the restaurant; he is too distracted.
He has taken out loans that his partners do not know about, so there are other financial issues, too.
The kitchen smells terrible, and there are bacteria in the fridge and grease build-up on the appliances.
Billy, the cook, is given a second chance and is told to be better.
Billy stays all night to clean, and Jon is impressed.
There is a staff meeting with all the owners present. There is no leadership.
Jon decides to intervene and make the bar a German/Irish theme to fit in with the area.
Peter O’Connor, a whiskey expert, and Chef Brian Duffy come in for recon.
Peter teaches the bar staff new drinks using Bushmills whiskey.
Product placement, right? This seems like a sponsorship, haha.
Chef Brian goes over the basics of the kitchen with the kitchen staff.
Jon tells the other owners about the loans with Scott and promises to help them set up a business plan.
The owners are concerned about the loans that Scott had taken out without them knowing.
The owners tell Jon they can’t hire a general manager because they are not making payroll.
The staff tries new German/Irish dishes and seems to like them a lot.
It’s time for the stress test now…
Scott is in the kitchen, expediting during the stress test.
Tommy is behind the bar, and Greg is in the front of the house.
Tommy is confused, and customers wait for 45 minutes for their food. The bar also runs out of glasses.
The customers begin chanting because they are frustrated.
It’s a real reality TV moment as you can tell that the producers definitely encouraged them to make the show more exciting.
Jon is getting upset that food is going out to the wrong tables.
Tommy apologizes to the staff.
Jon says the owners cannot manage.
The owners then designate Billy, the kitchen manager, Natalie, the operations manager, and Stephanie, the promotions manager.
Jon wants the bar to have the best Guinness in town.
Three staff members will go to Ireland to tour the Guinness facility.
Scott and Billy are going to go.
Again – it seems like even more product placement.
Natalie and Stephanie compete for the opportunity by making two signature drinks in two minutes and thirty seconds.
Stephanie wins and gets sent to Ireland.
While in Ireland, they are taught to pour the perfect Guinness in their gravity bar.
They return from Ireland and find out that Jon has changed the name from The Black Sheep to The Public House Bar and Grill.
The bar also got a brand new renovation, with a new aesthetic and equipment.
The interior is warmer, and there are posters of Guinness on the wall.
The customers love the changes.
The Public House Update - What Happened Next?
So, was The Public House Bar Rescue episode a success? Let’s talk about how things went after the visit from Jon Taffer and his crew.
One month after the visit, the newly named The Public House’s sales were up by 21%.
The owners/managers were also fitting into their new roles well and everything seemed to be going great.
So far, this boost in business seems to be continuing.
Is The Public House from Bar Rescue still open?
As of 2023, The Public House is still open and serving customers in Cheviot, Ohio. Reviews are generally positive, with compliments to the food and service.
Currently, the restaurant has a 3.5 star rating on Yelp, though the newer reviews seem to be more positive.
Other platforms are higher, with a 4.4 star rating on Google Reviews and a 4.5 star rating on Facebook.
Here’s a sampling of a few reviews that were written after the visit from Jon Taffer…
5 star review from December 2019:
We admittedly ate here because it was on Bar Rescue like seven years ago and I’m happy to report this restaurant is still going strong.
I ordered the sausage reuben and sweet potato fries and my husband had a Guinness burger and onion rings.
The sausage sandwich was delicious and I loved their take on sauerkraut and sweet potato fries – they added powdered sugar to the latter and it was amazing.
My husband enjoyed his burger and said it was cooked perfectly.
The service was also awesome – fast, friendly and attentive.
The restrooms and the bar were clean too!
I also noticed two people there from the Bar Rescue episode which tells me it’s a great place to work.
We will definitely come back to the Public House!
1 star review from January 2013:
It’s pretty sad to see a bar in such a great location go through this slow and painful decline process.
Yes I know they tried to change things around with the “Bar Rescue” show and yes it was “better” for a few months after that show… but now it feels like they are in decline again.
So what is wrong with it exactly?
Well it looks and feels dirty inside once again.
Can’t believe I’m saying this but it almost feels like they need to rip out everything the Bar Rescue people did (much of which was poorly done and falling apart now) and bring in a real designer to make the place look cleaner and more professional.
The current look just makes me want to take a walk down the street more than ever.
4 star review from May 2014:
This place gets a bad rap.
I have been coming here for years and I’ve only had bad food twice.
The pizzas are buttery and garlicy and the burgers are huge with amazing buns.
Everything is homemade and everything is always flavorful.
They don’t have any craft beer on tap yet but they do have a long list of bottled craft beers.
The service has never been good but it has improved since the Bar Rescue episode.
It’s a place I have to check out once every few months or I start really craving the Red Ram pizza and Baa Baa Black Sheep burger.
Overall, this means that the restaurant has successfully survived for a decade since The Public House Bar Rescue episode aired, with no signs of slowing down any time soon.
What’s more, they’ve done it using the concept and branding from Jon Taffer.
This Google Maps street view shot from August 2022 shows the bar is still using his concept:
It also managed to survive the pandemic, which took out a few bars that Taffer rescued.
This bar is certainly no black sheep! It’s a winner.
If you’re in the Cheviot, Ohio area and you want to check it out, you can see the menu and learn more at the official The Public House website.
Here’s a screenshot of part of The Public House menu to give you an idea of the prices – it seems pretty affordable, with lots of sandwiches under $9:
Overall, The Public House is a legit Bar Rescue success story that’s been open for over a decade – congrats to everyone involved!
If you want to see some other Ohio Bar Rescue episodes, you can check out my posts for The Federal / Martini Brothers in Youngstown, Tim Owen’s Traveler’s Tavern in Akron, and America Live in Fairfield.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-public-house-bar-and-grill-cheviothttps://www.facebook.com/thepublichouse.blacksheep/
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Last updated: 2023-02-05 08:33
The best bar rescue ever. The fact that they all stuck together and appreciated what was done. No family drama just appreciated what was done 💕 CONTINUED SUCCESS TO YOUR FAMILY ♥️🌈💙 Wish I could come but I live in Florida and Long Island New York
I have watched and still watch “Bar Rescue “, and although I don’t drink alcohol because I don’t like the taste and the fuzzy feeling, I enjoy watching how Jon Taffer can turn around bar disasters and also save relationships within employees.
My favorite Bar Rescue was the ” Black Sheep “, maybe also because I am from Ireland 🇮🇪 and had the opportunity to visit
” Guinness Brewery”.
Keep it up Jon Taffer .
When Taffer said they needed their food and drinks to reflect the ethnicity of the area, which his research showed was largely Irish and German, Tapper’s mixologist expert created a German Chocolate Cake cocktail which was supposedly “German-influenced”. I was amazed that Taper and his expert were so ignorant on the subject.
GERMAN CHOCOLATE AND GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH GERMANY!!
They’re named for SAMUEL GERMAN, an English/American baker who worked for Baker’s Chocolate Company where in 1852 he created a new type of dark baking chocolate. Again, it has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with GERMANY.
Calm down
I was happy to see the bar thrive, I have to admit I was skeptical it would last with the debt load, but all these years later its still going .
This rescue brought tears to my eyes for many different reasons, but I think the biggest was the growth of Billy, the cook/chef. From having a filthy kitchen no motivation and coming across as a loser this guy really rose to the occasion. And when he couldn’t stop crying over his trip to Ireland, I couldn’t stop crying either. Great people great rescue they’re doing great today they turning around a $700,000 debt and they’re going to be all right ~ and that’s good news.
I felt the same way about Billy. He had such a big heart, and took Jon and Chef Duffy’s criticism to drastically improve the kitchen. I’d love to meet him and buy him a beer. He is a truly good person.
Amazing with all that debt in 2012 that they are still going strong in 2023. Congrats to these guys, this was a great rescue.
Loved the Bar Rescue show…but my husband and I went to this bar in June 2023 and it was still open. I’m glad they made it…but it looked like it was falling apart on the outside really bad. It looked like it needs to be rescued once again. Service was good and we loved the fried brussel sprouts. Will most likely go back.
Thanks for sharing your firsthand experience! Always good to hear from people who visit the bars in person.
Does Billy still work there? He seemed like such a kind and genuine person.
My favorite episode. I’m so glad they’re still in business.
I’ve been posting on reruns, wasn’t sure what could say in past because worked 3, might recognize was around coastal new England, but ones I’ve visited are in big hunting states for me, and some plan on. I have been here before knew was rescued but was, always a fun time, can’t stay more than an hour but would! As a chef I think billy owned this nenue, service gas always been great, even the patrons are awesome people. Wasn’t here before rescue but doesn’t matter to me, it’s about 30 min from where camp, prices good, everytime just great, it’s just a reliable place even when on timeline. Beats cold cuts and pizza anytime.
I’ve been to this place twice. Pretty solid food and service.
Thanks for sharing your experience! It’s always great to hear from people who are able to visit in person.
Public house is still alive and well! We live 5 minutes away and go often. Their service is amazing and the food is consistently good. Try the BLT, burgers and the pizza – all amazing! They have added more outdoor space with plenty of shade. This is our “go to place” to sit outside and have a few beers and enjoy a great meal. If you’re in the area, you should check it out. They are also doing improvements to the outside area of this bar, along with the entire short strip in Cheviot.
Thanks for sharing your experience? I’m glad they’re still going strong.