(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 8 | View All Season 8 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: August 15, 2021
The Bar's Original Name Was: True Grit Tavern
The Roost Address: 20800 N John Wayne Pkwy Ste 101 Maricopa, AZ 85139
Episode Recap
True Grit Tavern, later renamed to The Roost, was a Maricopa, Arizona bar that was featured on Season 8 of Bar Rescue.
Though the True Grit Bar Rescue episode aired in August 2021, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place a few months before that in June 2021.
It was Season 8 Episode 12 and the episode name was “Wreck It Ralph”. It was the last episode of the first half of Bar Rescue Season 8.
Note – Jon Taffer has renamed two different bars to “The Roost”. If you’re looking for the update for the Season 7 bar that was originally named Broadway Club, you should check out our Broadway Club / The Roost update instead.
True Grit Tavern, owned by Ralph Skryzpczak, is in Maricopa, AZ.
The bar is located on a road named John Wayne Parkway, which explains where the name came from.
True Grit is a 1969 Western film that starred John Wayne.
Maricopa is a city of around 58,000 people located right outside Phoenix.
Ralph wanted to open a bar in a prime location that would make a lot of money.
To make that happen, he borrowed money from his father, John, to open True Grit Tavern.
Initially, the bar was a success amongst locals.
Soon though, a lack of leadership was evident and the bar started going down hill.
Samantha, the general manager, says Ralph can be challenging.
Janice, a bartender, thinks that Ralph is spoiled and Brandie, another bartender, thinks he used the profits from True Grit Tavern to fund his other investments.
Ralph co-owns a dating site as well as a comic book store.
True Grit Tavern is now in debt, and Ralph says if he loses the bar, he loses everything.
Jon Taffer and Chef Jason Santos watch the surveillance as they send in local DJ Joey Rodriguez to spy.
Joey and his friends enter the bar and each order an old fashion, but they are made wrong.
All of the food comes pre-packaged and is greasy.
Expert mixologist Mia Mastroianni enters the bar to further recon things.
Mia orders a margarita and a mai tai. She laughs at how poorly the bartenders made them.
At this point, Jon Taffer enters the bar, and Ralph tells him he doesn’t even know how to make simple cocktails.
Ralph, his father (John), and Jon Taffer meet to discuss the bar’s decline.
Jon promises to help the bar for Ralph’s father, not for Ralph.
The next day Jon Taffer returns to have a staff meeting.
The staff members tell Jon they think Ralph can run the bar if he tries.
Chef Jason tells the cooks that they need to stop using pre-packaged foods.
Mia says they need to learn how to make basic drinks.
To prep for the stress test, Chef Jason shows the cook and Ralph a spin on mac and cheese in the kitchen.
Mia teaches the bartenders to make simple drinks.
She also sets the bar up to look like a cocktail bar.
The stress test begins, and the staff starts strong.
Soon customers are waiting close to twenty minutes for someone to take their order.
Eventually, Jon Taffer shuts the stress test down because the staff can’t keep up with things.
The next day, the staff and Ralph have more training.
Chef Jason shows the cooks how to make a French bison sandwich.
Mia trains the bartenders on signature drinks.
Ralph tastes the food and beverages and is impressed.
The renovations are done, and Jon is ready to reveal the bar.
As part of the changes, Jon Taffer renamed the bar from True Grit Tavern to The Roost.
Jon Taffer seems to like this name as it’s actually not the first time he’s renamed a bar to The Roost.
One season earlier (season 7), he renamed a Utah bar named Broadway Club to The Roost.
The bar has been gifted an Orange Door Entertainment System and POS systems.
During the relaunch, the employees keep up, and the customers leave happy.
Jon Taffer gives Ralph a plaque before he leaves as proof he was there.
John, Ralph’s father, also tells his son that he is proud of him.
So was the True Grit Bar Rescue episode a success?
Keep reading our update to learn what happened next and if it’s still open in 2025 and beyond.
The Roost Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Roost Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew left Maricopa, Arizona.
Is The Roost from Bar Rescue still open?
Unfortunately, The Roost closed its doors for good on December 22nd, 2024.
This means that it survived for more than three years after Taffer’s visit, which is a good but not great run.
While the bar’s Facebook page has been deactivated, I did find an Instagram post from Ralph Skrzypczak explaining why he closed the bar.
In the video, Ralph says that his dad and he are both leaving the restaurant business.
Ralph also says that he wants to spend more time with his family, and that both Ralph and his dad want to write their own book.
He also hinted at launching a marketing app with his dad.
So, while Ralph is getting out of The Roost and the restaurant industry, he doesn’t seem to be leaving entrepreneurship behind.
I’ve embedded the video below if you want to watch it yourself – hopefully the embed works:
View this post on Instagram
In addition to the video content, he also shared the following message on the Instagram post:
And that’s a wrap!
Dad and I are leaving the restaurant and bar game.
Thank you all for the support and love over the years!
We hope to see you over the next three weeks as we celebrate the holiday seasons and all the great memories!
Ralph said that a new tenant would be moving into the old The Roost location in January 2025, but I’m not sure about the new tenant yet.
When I learn more, I will update this post.
Prior to its closure, the bar had continued to operate under the name that Jon Taffer gave it and the owners seemed to have kept most of Taffer’s changes.
The bar had its own official The Roost website and it was also pretty active on Facebook.
They seemed to have regular events, including stand up comedy, live music, karaoke, and more.
For example, here’s a Facebook post that advertised one of the standup comedy events that The Roost hosted before it closed:
In the most recent Google Maps street view, you can see that the bar was still using The Roost branding.
This image might update in the future now that The Roost is closed, though.
Here’s what the Roost Maricopa AZ location looks like as of September 2022:
Before it closed, reviews for the bar seemed good but not amazing.
Overall, it had a 3.5 star rating on Yelp and a 4.1 star rating on Google Reviews.
The Roost Reviews after Bar Rescue
Here are some examples of customer reviews that were written after The Roost Bar Rescue episode.
5 star review from May 2022:
3 of us decided to stop in for dinner last night and we were pleasantly surprised.
I was expecting just bar food but they had a pretty diverse menu.
We were seated immediately, as they were not too busy on a Tuesday night.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich.
The meat was tender, with plenty of BBQ sauce.
The onion ring, coleslaw and brioche bun complimented it perfectly.
My husband had the ham and cheese melt and our friend had the patty melt.
They said both were delicious!
They had some pretty enticing cocktails on the drink menu, although I didn’t try any as I was driving.
Server was friendly and checked in with us frequently.
Looking forward to stopping in again soon!
5 star review from March 2022:
First time going here and it was great!
We we’re seated at a table right away and waitress came right away for drinks and then took our order.
Our food came in less than 10 minutes!
Our waitress (Cindy) I believe names was, was great and stopped back our table 3+ times to see how everything was and if we needed anything.
I have never seen anyone hustle like she was doing since Covid-19 hit.
Great food and service, couldn’t have been happier!
5 star review from January 2022:
First time to the Roost, but will definitely be back.
Their black and blue burger was outstanding, best I think I’ve ever had.
Not what you would ever expect at a pub.
Service was great even with it being fairly packed for football.
Looking forward to many future return visits.
1 star review from December 2021:
Figured I’d give it a try to see if they have improved since the remodel.
Service was the worst and not busy.
After 20 minutes she handed us to another server Jimmy since she was too busy with her 3 other tables (I get it being busy, she was nice to hand us over).
He quickly got our drink order but never seen him again.
Had to actually cash out with the host on our way out.
Shouldn’t have been at this restaurant for an hour only to be served one drink which took almost 25 minutes the first time and another 15 minutes of trying to track him down.
1 star review from March 2022:
I understand it is a holiday.
I came in after a 12 hour shift hoping to order some good bar food.
My boyfriend and I waited over 40 mins, after being seated, to be approached for a food order.
Mind you the group of people that were sat next to us (15 minutes) after our arrival have had drinks delivered and the same server came to them prior to us for a food order.
I didn’t even get to taste the food, because I didn’t order.
I was so upset that I decided to leave.
Will not be returning.
Final thoughts on the episode
Unfortunately, it seems like True Grit Tavern / The Roost will not turn into a long-term Bar Rescue success story.
The bar did seem to have a pretty decent run after Taffer’s visit, surviving for over three years.
Sadly, it closed its doors for good in December 2024.
Ralph and his dad closed the bar because they wanted to exit the bar/restaurant industry.
Again, if you want to see the other bar that Jon Taffer renamed to The Roost, you can read our Broadway Club / The Roost Season 7 update.
To see some other Arizona Bar Rescue episodes, check out these updates:
- Havana Cabana / Rocky Point Cantina update
- The Original Hideout update
- Gallopin’ Goose update
- George and Dragon update
- Frozen Cactus / RJ’s Replay update
- Chilleen’s on 17 update
- Brick and Barley / Baseline Sports Bar update
Or, you can read my full list of all 11+ Bar Rescue episodes in Arizona as of 2025.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-roost-sports-bar-and-cafe-maricopahttps://www.facebook.com/TheRoostAZ/
What did you think about the episode? I'd love it if you shared your thoughts on the episode in the comments below!
You can also click the buttons below to share this post!
And don't forget to check out all of the other Bar Rescue updates.
Last updated: 2025-02-09 06:12
There’s not many im absolutely shocked if lasted or not, love when episode comes on and I check, I’m really shocked succeed to date, God bless them.
This place is a dump. Horrible food, high prices and terrible service. Maybe Ralphie is better off with his comic book store a couple doors down.
Taffer as usual wasted his time in this dumpster fire. Change the name all you want, the cheetah still has its same spots.
The bar is now closed.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/dining/2024/12/23/the-roost-sports-bar-arizona-closes-after-bar-rescue/77175212007/
Fail sons are gonna fail son…
Thanks for letting me know! I just updated this post, including a post from Ralph explaining why he closed The Roost.