Bar Rescue Mixologist

by



Everyone knows I am a big “Bar Rescue” fan. I watch the show like a maniac and I even planned a tour that took me to bars that were rescued by Jon Taffer. But I am not an idiot. I know the show is scripted worse than professional wrestling. However, I could never get anyone who was on the show to confirm it to me until now.

  • The Olive Pit before Bar Rescue. In 2001 Tim Eyerly retired from his work as a banker and pooled in his resources to purchase The Olive Pit, a 60-year-old bar in Orange, California, and a favorite.
  • In the spring and summer of 2019, Jon launched two new business endeavors: Taffer’s Mixologist and Taffer’s Tavern. Now on shelves in retail stores across the country, including Walmart, Taffer’s Mixologist brings the craft cocktail experience to the home with a line of delicious, high-quality, pre-made cocktail mixes.

POCATELLO — The Chalk Horse bar will reopen Wednesday as the Clydesdale with a new menu and new look thanks to the consulting efforts of mixologist Michael Tipps of Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue. What starts out as a bar rescue turns into a community rescue and the biggest rescue Jon has ever done as he works to help a community devastated by a natural disaster and struggling to recover. Along with rescuing the bar, Jon repairs the local community center and its playground, baseball field and basketball court, all devastated by the.

Recently I came in contact with Maria Bedient, a real life person who was featured prominently on the fifth season of “Bar Rescue.” However, don’t think the word “prominently” translates to accurately or glowingly. Her episode, titled “Emergency Exit,” portrayed Maria as an entitled, spoiled distraction who was sucking the life out of a bar called Murphy’s Law in Reno. The show explained that Maria owned 40% of the bar while her ex-boyfriend also owned 40%. A third partner owned 20%. After an opening scene outside the bar where Taffer is very critical of Maria, he later convinces her ex-boyfriend (Gary) to fire her.

This is Maria Bedient, the woman who was gracious enough to talk to me about her experience on “Bar Rescue.”

The episode is your typical “Bar Rescue” story line: The bar is initially depicted as a business in complete disarray. The stress test is a disaster. The staff eventually comes together. The re-model is out of this world. The grand opening is a success. The credits explain that after a short period of time, the sales of Money Bar (the new name of Murphy’s Law) went up 20%.

Murphy’s Law in Reno is depicted on the fifth season of “Bar Rescue.”

But not so fast. Like I said, it doesn’t take a reality TV guru to know that “Bar Rescue” is produced to attract viewers, not to tell the truth. Maria couldn’t have made this more clear.

Bar Rescue Mixologist Cast

How about we just start from the top? The opening of every show exclaims that the featured bar is ready to “pull open the doors, bust out the books, and make a call to ‘Bar Rescue’ for help.” While Murphy’s Law did end up pulling open the doors and busting out the books, it never made a call to the show. Believe it or not, “Bar Rescue” contacted various Reno area bars to gauge interest in appearing in an episode. The show dialed up Murphy’s Law and Maria says it was the worst decision they ever made to accept their offer to “rescue” the bar.

The original call from “Bar Rescue” came in late September of 2014. All filming was complete by March 15, 2015. Once the show converged on Maria’s bar, it didn’t take long to realize that there was an agenda at play.

Maria doesn’t dispute that the bar had issues. But what she does vehemently deny is the type/cause of issues “Bar Rescue” portrayed the bar to have. You just have to watch the first minute of the “Emergency Exit” episode to see the writing on the wall. Maria is immediately labeled as a “puppet master” and all the editing and sound bites of her from that point on paint a portrait of a toxic individual who is set on destroying a business. More on what this portrayal of Maria did to her later.

At the start of the show, there is an epic meltdown by the owner who controlled a minority stake in the bar, Nellie. While the cameras rolled, Nellie decides to walk off his bar shift while hurling expletives and flashing obscene gestures at Gary. The two men and Maria happen to take their disagreement out into the parking lot right at the same time that Jon Taffer exits his recon vehicle. A major confrontation takes place. The whole scene seemed, to put it nicely, less than spontaneous. This would be the theme throughout the entire filming.

A major part in the “Emergency Exit” episode of Bar Rescue is when Jon Taffer and the three owners meet outside Murphy’s Law for a frank discussion.

Maria explained to me that the main producer talked to all Murphy’s Law employees who appeared on the show separately. Roles were developed and certain behaviors encouraged. As for the smaller things that occur on a reality show to make telling a preconceived story easier, all employees were required to wear the same clothes throughout the filming. Also, just like what Bryden Vukasin told me about “The Bachelorrete,” show producers had the Murphy’s Law staff perform certain tasks/scenes over and over.

Some of the manipulation was more damaging. The couple sent in as part of Taffer’s surveillance operation definitely wasn’t going inside to offer impartiality. Encouraged to showcase Murphy’s Law as an incompetent hellhole, they did just that. Interestingly enough, the couple, Kevin and Brittany, eventually apologized to Gary and Maria for purposely making their business look bad. Of course, how can you blame them? The show told them to do something so how do you say no? Anyway, this individual story ends well as now Kevin and Brittany are regular Murphy’s Law patrons and friends with Gary and Maria.

Another tough part of the “Bar Rescue” experience for Murphy’s Law was that the hands of the owners were tied. In the show there is an infamous part where Maria is sitting at the bar gambling and hanging out. A clock appears on the screen that shows the length of her inactivity. The truth is, she couldn’t do anything else. The show specifically told her to not help out with any bar operations, a tough task for someone who is used to significantly assisting. This is a theme you see throughout all the “Bar Rescue” episodes so maybe now you won’t think that all those owners are actually that lazy.

This is the scene where a clock is put on the screen to show the inactivity of Maria. It showed her sitting there for three hours.

Maria credits the “Bar Rescue” personnel for being nice and helpful up front, but it soon became hard to accept it as genuine. As the filming went on and on, the hidden agenda of the producers started to become more visible. This wasn’t the story of Murphy’s Law, it was the story of a generic “Bar Rescue” plot line that used a bar in Reno to help tell it.

But Murphy’s Law did go along with it. The employees played their parts, took their lumps, and put on their smiles after the bar was remodeled and renamed. Although I actually thought the 1930s old school style gambling hall makeover was pretty cool, Maria informed me that the staff, and, probably more importantly, the customers, didn’t.

A look at what Murphy’s Law looked like after it was converted to Money Bar.

Before the episode even premiered, Gary had changed back the name from Money Bar to Murphy’s Law. Everything else wasn’t as easy to reverse, however. Maria tells me business has suffered dramatically since the rescue. She says the place lost thousands of dollars worth of equipment and personal belongings. The 20% increase in business that “Bar Rescue” reported as the credits rolled? Absolute hogwash, claims Maria. Not only is that number inaccurate, but “Bar Rescue” never even followed up in the first place.

Losing business is one thing; losing your sense of self is another. Believe it or not, after the show aired Maria received hate mail from viewers unable to decipher the truth about reality television. She was the subject of social media venom from trolls who would watch the show and then sound off using their keyboards and smart devices. It took a year before Maria could even talk about the experience. She doesn’t hide the fact that it has been a very tough road since the “Bar Rescue” experience started.

With that said, it says a lot about Maria that she can still see the silver lining in this whole saga. After Gary pleaded for Maria to return to the bar, thereby turning his back on the advice Taffer gave him, she has experienced the small positive fruits of the “Bar Rescue” exposure. Fans of the show frequently drop in at Murphy’s Law solely because they saw it on TV. While this group can never replace the scores of regular customers the business has lost, it does provide Maria the chance to meet new people and set the record straight.

I am well aware that people have either enjoyed or suffered through different “Bar Rescue” experiences. I have in fact talked to both sides. In the future, I look to talk to more. However, there is one major theme that is very important to remember. The word “reality” in front of TV is not synonymous with the words “truthful” or “accurate.” We need to keep this in mind when watching our favorite shows and give the benefit of the doubt to any cast members who might come across as disagreeable. Don’t Blink.

On this episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer visits the Silver Dollar in Chula Vista, California.

Silver Dollar is a 90 year old bar owned by Mike Tegardine Jr and Mike Tegardine Sr.

Mike Jr has always wanted to own his own bar and got the funding he needed to start the bar from his father, who was supposed to be a silent partner.

Initially, the bar was on the rise and sales were growing but not long after the bar started falling apart with both owners clashing in managing the bar together.

The constant fighting is affecting not just their relationship but also with the staff, the business and Mike Jr’s marriage with Norma.

Jon arrives at the bar with Derrick Turner and they take a look at the bar and aren’t impressed with what they see.

They see a dated bar that is falling apart and it also looks like a dive bar.

Derrick goes into the bar with Christina, a fellow mixologist, to see how the bartenders manage with some classic cocktail orders.

Meanwhile, Jon calls Norma to come outside secretly and to fill him in on the dynamics of the bar.

She tells him the bar needs help and lots of things are broken including relationships.

We are introduced to Candy and Sam, who Norma insists are good bartenders.

Derrick finds out there is no drinks menu and they order a Tom Collins and a Martini.

They aren’t impressed with the drinks and Derrick says the Tom Collins is too sweet.

Mike Sr and Mike Jr have a mild exchange of words awkwardly witnessed by Derrick.

Mike Sr is also conspicuously drinking and he thinks he might be drunk.

Norma says that the father and son used to be best friends but now they constantly bicker all day and don’t see eye to eye on most things.

This has also affected Norma’s relationship with her father-in-law as he keeps trying to put Mike Jr between them.

Jon and Norma go inside the bar to have a talk with the owners together.

Norma’s letter to Bar Rescue is read aloud on how the family is falling apart and how they need his help.

Mike Jr reveals he and Norma no longer live in the same house. Mike Sr is shocked and admits he never knew that their marriage was in that much trouble.

This demonstrates how bad the communication has broken down between the family.

Bar Rescue Mixologist With Dragon Tattoo

Jon points out it is Mike Jr’s dream to own a bar but Mike Sr refuses to allow him to run the bar alone.

Jon leaves them to have a talk about the future of the bar.

Mike Jr wants to run the bar himself but Mike Sr is worried about the mounting debt that the bar is in and can’t let go of that.

Jon and Derrick come in the next day to see the bar decor, it is run down but they feel that it has some potential with its authentic history.

At the bar they don't serve any food with just basic bar snacks available to patrons.

Jon meets with the staff land discovers that the tension is obvious to customers, making them uncomfortable and a lot of things have fallen through the cracks because of their relationship.

Mike Sr. reveals he knows nothing about running the front end of the bar but spends a lot of time running the bar.

They both tell Jon that they want their previous good relationship back.

Derrick comes in to give his feedback about the lack of a drinks menu. It is decided they need a menu, comprehensive recipes and signature drinks to be able to rescue the bar.

Behind the bar they find rotten wood on the bar and dirt with dead flies in the liquor and Jon tells them to clean up the bar.

Derrick gives the bartenders training on making a Tom Collins cocktail after the poor one he received.

That night they have a stress test and they will be tracking the wastage for the service.

They have a limited drinks menu to help speed up service but they waste 2 drinks almost immediately and are slow to get orders out.

It quickly gets up to $30 wasted. Mike Jr is up front serving customers but many are unhappy with the wait.

They quickly run out of glasses and ice and Mike Jr asks his dad to run back to get some new glasses.

The bartender gets cheers from the customers as she makes 16 Tom Collins at once!

Later that night there is close to $50 of wastage but Jon is impressed with Mike Jr’s hard work and his father praises him too.

Derrick trains them the next day on making a Negroni and sets a new drinks menu for them.

As construction continues in the bar, the father and son are sent off to have a meal together at a nearby Italian restaurant.

They spend some time getting sentimental, with Mike Sr apologizing for things he had said to his son.

He is willing to let his son run the bar as the stress test was a revelation for him that he can step.

Mike Jr is happy to have his father back.

Mixologist

The bar is unveiled after renovations with new wallpaper throughout. It has been cleaned and updated whilst maintaining its historic feel.

Replications Unlimited did the stone work and Decorative Ceiling Tiles did the custom ceiling work.

There are two new Kitchen terminals set up for food delivery service to the bar from the Italian restaurant.

Jon has fitted them with One Stone for promotional videos, Harbour Touch terminals and Skytabs for payments, BarProducts.com for bar tools and mixing equipment and East Coast Chair and Bar Stools supplied the tables, chairs and stools.

They also have a Partender subscription as well a free training program from Jon Taffer.

There is dance floor lighting installed by AV King and Orange Door for entertainment.

On relaunch night, the patrons like the new look to the bar, they order food and it is delivered in less than 30 minutes.

The Bartenders are more confident and as a result the service is faster and the drinks they serve are better.

The family is much happier with Jon sharing a hug with all three of them.

Bar Rescue Female Mixologist


What Happened Next at Silver Dollar?

Six weeks after the show was filmed Mike Jr had quit his job to focus on the bar full time.

Bar Rescue Mixologist Cast

Mike Sr. had stepped back to let Norma become a Manager, the bar is busy and they made as much money in one month as they had in one year.

Bar Rescue Mixologist Experts

Reviews are very postive after the show with customers loving the music, bartenders, service, drinks and food.

There are complaints on Yelp of refusal of entry and a long wait for entry.

Due to restrictions they closed temporarily and the windows were boarded up due to demonstrations in the area.

Bar Rescue Mixologist Mia Wasikowska

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Women Of Bar Rescue

This post was last updated in January 2021.