(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 9 | View All Season 9 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: May 19, 2024
The Bar's Original Name Was: VFW Post 1689
VFW Post 1689 Address: 3409 St Augustine Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32207
Episode Recap
VFW Post 1689 was a Jacksonville, Florida bar that was featured on Season 9 of Bar Rescue.
Though the VFW Post 1689 Bar Rescue episode aired in May 2024, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place in late 2023.
It was Season 9 Episode 13 and the episode name was “From Camo to Cocktail”.
In this special Memorial Day 2024 episode, Jon Taffer is back in the driver’s seat to rescue a VFW post, which has become a bit of a tradition for the show around Memorial Day.
This season, he’s headed to Jacksonville, Florida to rescue VFW Post 1689.
As always, he also has the help of two experts to help him get the post in line.
The post is having a lot of issues, which is true for a lot of VFW posts.
The post only has around 115 members and the average age of those members is 64, so the post obviously needs to find a way to bring in younger veterans.
It’s also having issues with equipment and an aging building, with both of the post’s air conditioners breaking down.
Because it’s a VFW episode, Jon Taffer isn’t as angry and confrontational as he normally is.
However, he did still give the commanders some “tough love” when it was required.
Speaking of commanders, Pete LaComb is the current commander at the post, while Jeff Lincoln is a past commander and the current quartermaster at the post.
As part of the rescue, Jon Taffer obviously didn’t change the name of the post.
However, he and his team did put in tons of work renovating the bar.
Bar Rescue renovated the whole bar area, along with the front lobby of the post.
They also provided the post with tons of new equipment, including a panini press, a pizza oven, two large TVs, new dart boards, better lighting, and a resurfacing for the pool table, and resurfacing for all the actual tables.
Beyond that, Bar Rescue put in a new fire suppression system and recertified the stove hood.
According to the VFW post commanders as quoted in a local news article, they estimated that Jon Taffer and Bar Rescue spent about $75,000 renovating the post, which is great to see.
Plus, Bar Rescue also spent a lot of time training the staff to improve the quality and systems at the post.
Obviously, the VFW staff are not trained bartenders, so they could use some help when it comes to making cocktails and other aspects of bartending.
So – were the changes at VFW Post 1689 enough to achieve success?
Keep reading my update to learn what happened next and if the post is still open in 2024.
VFW Post 1689 Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped Taffer’s visit to VFW Post 1689, let’s talk about how the post is doing after the Bar Rescue crew left town.
I’ll talk about the post’s reaction to the episode, whether it’s still open, and how it seems to be doing.
Episode watch parties at the post
To start with, the post held a watch party for the episode premiere on Sunday.
They also went further and hosted a second viewing party, with a Bar Rescue replay on taco Tuesday scheduled for the Tuesday after the episode premiered.
All in all, they seem to be really happy with the episode.
This makes sense because they got a bunch of renovations/equipment and Taffer is usually a lot nicer when he’s rescuing a VFW.
Is VFW Post 1689 still open?
As of my most recent check in 2024, VFW Post 1689 is still open and serving veterans in Jacksonville, FL.
The post is pretty active on its social media, regularly posting about events at the post.
For example, they seem to have a karaoke party on Saturday nights.
They also have the aforementioned Taco Tuesdays.
Here’s a poster for Taco Tuesdays that doesn’t involve the Bar Rescue episode.
There’s also an official VFW Post 1689 website that has more information about the post.
However, it doesn’t seem to be updated and has some issues.
For example, the “Events” link just leads to the “Privacy Policy” page, rather than an actual event listing.
It seems like they need to get their webmaster to fix some things!
And then here’s what the location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view:
VFW Post 1689 reviews after Bar Rescue
Because it’s a VFW post rather than a commercial bar, it’s hard to find a lot of reviews.
Overall, it has a 4.6 star rating on Google reviews and a single 4 star rating on Yelp.
However, almost all of those reviews came from before the post got rescued.
In terms of reviews written after Taffer’s visit, I can only find a single Google review.
It’s five stars and says the following:
Great Post super friendly people
So yeah – it’s hard to get any information from that.
But given that the show put $75k+ into renovating the post, I imagine customer experiences will only be more positive going forward.
Final thoughts on the episode
All in all, the post seems to be doing well after the rescue.
They’re very active with events and promotions.
What’s more, they seem to be happy with the general rescue experience, which is great to see.
I hope Taffer will stick around to rescue some for-profit bars as well, as I’ve been missing his presence.
That wraps up my VFW Post 1689 Bar Rescue update.
As I mentioned earlier, this is the fourth time that Bar Rescue has rescued a VFW post.
If you want to see the other VFW episodes, you can check out my updates for Post 6216 in Albuquerque NM, Post 9644 in Englewood CO, and Post 10054 in Pahrump NV.
Or, if you want to see some other Jacksonville area bars from the show, you can read my updates for Bay Street Sports Grill / Wildkat Records, The Bayou / Fat Balls, Cap N Odie’s, and Sydney / Bluewater Oyster Bar.
I also have a page that lists all of the Florida episodes – there have been over 30 at this point.
As always, if you want to share your thoughts on the episode or how you feel about Taffer rescuing VFW posts, please use the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://vfw1689.org/https://www.facebook.com/p/Charles-E-Bennett-VFW-Post-1689-100064821633245/
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Last updated: 2024-05-20 07:58
A lovely heartwarming episode. No attitude, no tantrums, no a-holes.
Pro-tip US TV execs: people prefer this kind of episode!
I am a Past Commander of VFW Post-1689. Still a member there. Never transferred to a new post to my new home. I appreciate John Taffer in accepting the challenge of saving “my” Post. Excellent Job guys! Past Commander Tom Garrett
I applaud your decision to do a VFW. Veterans deserve our attention. Our Post has several older members and we are also looking to bring in the younger generation along with their wives/husbands.
We need help. And after reading this issue I’m hoping my information to Mr. Taffer will help us.