VFW Post 9644 Bar Rescue Update – Still Open in 2024?

Is VFW Post 9644 still open today?

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

Season: 8 | View All Season 8 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: May 28, 2023
The Bar's Original Name Was: VFW Post 9644
VFW Post 9644 Address: 2680 W Hampden Ave, Englewood, CO 80110

VFW Post 9644 Bar Rescue episode

Episode Recap

VFW Post 9644 was a Sheridan, Colorado bar that was featured on the third set of Season 8 of Bar Rescue.

Though the VFW Post 9644 Bar Rescue episode aired in May 2023, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place earlier in the summer of 2022.

It was Season 8 Episode 35 and the episode name was “Changing of the Guards”.

In this special Memorial Day 2023 episode, Jon Taffer heads to VFW Post 9644 in Sheridan, CO.

Technically, the address is in Englewood CO but the episode refers to it as Sheridan CO.

At the time of the visit, the VFW Post 9644 Commander is Paul Gremse.

Paul Gremse VFW Post 9644

This marks Jon’s third rescue of a VFW post, as well as his 13th visit to a bar in Colorado.

Sheridan, CO is a home rule municipality located in the Denver suburbs.

VFW Post 9644 has been around since all the way back in 1947, when it was welcoming back veterans from World War 2.

The post was built around Fort Logan, Colorado, which was an active military base up until 1946.

In 1946, 75 acres were turned into the Fort Logan National Cemetery, and the remaining land was donated to the state of Colorado.

In addition to Paul Gremse being the post commander, we also meet Ron Davies in the episode, who is the Senior Vice Commander.

Ron Davies VFW Post 9644

He explains that, since its founding, the post had grown in membership.

At the time of the VFW Post 9644 episode, the bar was getting ready to celebrate its 75th anniversary in December 2022 (a few months after the actual visit from Jon Taffer, even though the episode didn’t air until May 2023).

However, membership is now declining at the post, which is an issue that’s affected a lot of VFWs (especially as World War II veterans are passing away).

Overall, membership at VFW Post 9644 is down around 50% over the previous decade.

That’s obviously a huge drop.

Paul is now struggling to keep the VFW Post 9644 running and manage operations.

He had to keep the post going through Covid, which was obviously just a struggle to stay afloat.

Paul also won’t have the job for much longer, as a new post commander was just voted in.

The incoming VFW Post 9644 Commander will be Todd Van Sant.

Todd Van Sant VFW Post 9644

Todd is 48, so he’s the “young guy” who wants to keep the post relevant with younger veterans.

However, the senior members are concerned with the new direction at the post.

For example, Ron is worried about the VFW Post 9644 turning into a “nightclub” (which I don’t think is going to happen).

To try to bridge the gap between young and old and keep the VFW Post 9644 on solid footing, Paul and Todd reached out to Jon Taffer and Bar Rescue for help.

Obviously, Jon Taffer isn’t going to come in and give it a new name and concept like a for-profit bar.

But Jon is able to put in place systems to set the post up for success, as well as spruce it up a bit with some renovations and new equipment.

So was the VFW 9644 Bar Rescue episode a long-term success?

Keep reading to learn what happened next and if this Sheridan, CO VFW Post is still open in 2024.

VFW Post 9644 Update - What Happened Next?

Now that we’ve recapped the VFW Post 9644 Bar Rescue visit, let’s talk about what happened to the post after Jon Taffer and his crew left Sheridan, CO.

Because VFW posts are non-profit entities supported by the community, there’s not quite as much information and/or drama from after the episode.

However, I did try to find as much as I could.

First off, Todd Van Sant is now officially the VFW 9644 Post Commander.

He posts a lot of events on his personal Facebook page and in the VFW Post 9644 Facebook group.

Overall, he seems to be doing a good job of keeping people informed about what’s happening

Todd also posted a good number of times about the rescue in the VFW Post 9644 Facebook group, which is always a good sign that the experience was good.

VFW Post 9644 also had a watch party for the Bar Rescue episode airing, which they posted about in the Facebook group and on their website:

VFW Post 9644 Bar Rescue watch party

In posting about the Bar Rescue watch party, Todd Van Sant, the post commanded, also shared his thoughts on the experience:

We are excited to have been chosen to participate in the Bar Rescue episode.

Our members had a great time filming the show and we can’t wait to see the finished product.

We are grateful to Jon Taffer and 3 Ball Productions for considering us for this!

We hope our community will join us for the viewing party and have a good time with us

Given that VFW Post 9644 hosted a watch party, you can probably guess the answer to the next question…

Is VFW Post 9644 still open after Bar Rescue?

As of 2023, VFW Post 9644 is still open and serving the community in Sheridan, CO.

The post also seems to host lots of events and specials, which they post about in the VFW Post 9644 Facebook group and on the official VFW Post 9644 Sheridan CO website.

Here’s a quick look at some of the regular events..,

Every Sunday morning, they host a Sunday Breakfast event, which seems to get good reviews.

They also have a Friday Night Dinner every Friday.

On Tuesdays, the post hosts a bingo event and dinner.

In addition to the regular events, the post also hosts some special events.

For example, they have events for Colorado sports teams, karaoke, and so on.

To give you an example of what it’s like, here’s a screenshot of the VFW Post 9644 event calendar for May 2023.

VFW Post 9644 Sheridan CO event calendar

You can also see the Bar Rescue viewing party listed on the calendar.

Overall, Todd seems to be doing a good job of hosting regular events and keeping everyone informed via the website.

Here’s what the VFW Post 9644 Sheridan CO location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view…

The picture is from January 2023, so it’s from after the VFW Post 9644 Bar Rescue episode.

VFW Post 9644 reviews after Bar Rescue

Next, let’s look at some VFW Post 9644 reviews from after the Bar Rescue episode.

While VFW Post 9644 doesn’t have a Yelp page, it does have a good number of reviews on Google.

Overall, it has a 4.5-star rating on 87+ reviews.

However, there are only a few reviews with text from after the VFW Post 9644 Jon Taffer visit.

Here’s what I could find…

4 star Google review from February 2023:

It’s somewhere familiar even when you’ve never been here before.

Welcoming and instant family connections with people with similar history.

5 star Google review from December 2022:

Very welcoming!

Good Sunday brunch at a reasonable price.

We’ll be back.

Final thoughts on VFW Post 9644 Sheridan CO

Overall, it’s always nice to see Jon Taffer do these rescues for VFW posts.

While the episodes aren’t quite as exciting as the episodes for for-profit bars, it’s good to see Jon and the Bar Rescue team give back.

These bars don’t have the same financial pressures that a for-profit bar might have, so they have a better chance of staying open.

However, it’s still important to maintain them to offer a good experience for members.

With Jon’s help, it seems like VFW Post 9644 will be able to do that going forward.

I wish them the best!

If you want to see updates for the other VFW posts that Jon Taffer has visited, you can check out my updates for VFW Post 6216 in Albuquerque, NM and VFW 10054 in Pahrump, NV.

If you want to see some other nearby Colorado Bar Rescue episodes, you can check out my posts for Downstairs Bar / St8 Pub in Englewood, Summit House Grill and Tap in Lakewood, and Zanzibar / Solids and Stripes in Denver.

Or, you can read my full list of all 13+ Bar Rescue visits in Colorado as of 2024.

And if you want to share your thoughts on VFW Post 9644 and/or the episode, you can use the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!


More Information

https://www.vfw9644.org/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/vfwpost9644/


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Last updated: 2023-05-27 08:36

3 thoughts on “VFW Post 9644 Bar Rescue Update – Still Open in 2024?”

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

  1. Yep. Remove the staged filth, excessive drunken scumbaggery, enraged gorilla throwing dishes around, and you don’t have a show. Like the mod, I also like he does these to give back. VFWs are straight withering. Volunteer, they’ll appreciate it and need new ideas to get people in. Otherwise, these places will close by the thousands. If Congress defunds or changes current allocation, they’ll disappear. They need help and reg citizens are usually welcomed to volunteer.

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  2. This is the same story for all the VFW’s and American Legions. Old Commander going out, new Commander coming in, and he’s going to be the best “Commander Ever” out with the old people, in with the younger. You think your post is bad, come and visit American Legion Post 282… La mesa California. It disgraceful.

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