Weber's Place / Weber's Rum Bar & Grill - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Weber's Place in Reseda, California.

Weber's Place is owned by Kervin Cinton.

He used his life savings, the money he earnt from his barber shops to open the bar in 2007.

Kervin hired bands to try and draw in the trade but he overbooked bands at great costs and struggled to compete with nearby Hollywood.

After buying the bar, Kervin didn't redecorate so the bar has no identity and it still looks like the former strip bar.

There have also been issues with staff including theft of money and product.

He has no control of the staff as he doesn't discipline them.

Jon arrives at the bar with mixologist Michael Tipps and chef Keith Jones.

They are unimpressed with the exterior of the bar including the huge red roof.

Jon used to run a number of popular music venues in Hollywood, including the Troubador, so he knows how hard it is to compete with these venues.

Keith enters the bar for the recon and asks to see a menu. He orders an extra dry martini.

The bartenders uses the glass to scoop ice rather than the ice scooper.

This is dangerous due to the risk of the glass breaking into the ice bin.

He orders wings with sauce on the side.

Customers are left waiting including Keith after the staff are distracted listening to the band.

In the kitchen, Chef Van is very slow moving with cooking and serving the wings.

When they eventually arrive they are rubbery, discoloured and he avoids eating the wings.

Jon has seen enough and enters the bar. He meets with Kervin to discuss the bar.

He asks about the lips and Kervin admits that he hasn't changed it since buying the bar.

Kervin admits that he hires bands at the start of the career and when they gain a following they play at better bars in Hollywood.

He also tells Jon that a big reason he is losing money is that the employees are stealing from him.

They are stealing money from the tips and are overpouring.

Jon tells him that they won't change their ways but Kervin thinks he might hire worse thiefs.

Jon calls the staff for a staff meeting and tells them that he will fire people if he needs to.

Jon and Keith go for a tour of the kitchen and the walk in fridge is covered in filth.

There is an empty container filled with blood.

Van claims that the chicken was used a few days ago and she forgot to empty the container of blood.

The grease in the fryers is old and contaminated and the fridge is not cool enough so the chicken is off.

A safe tempertaure is 40 and the reading is currectly at 72 so it is thrown straight in the bin.

Jon asks Van to deep clean the kitchen.

Behind the bar is also filthy with dirty shelves and sides.

There is a filthy rag in the beer bin.

Rodiah talks back to Jon after laughing at the state of the rag and leaves the bar.

Jon pours Blue Curacao in the ice bin so that he will know that the ice has been removed and the bin has been cleaned.

The staff clean the bar overnight, including server Leila as she wants to prove her worth and become a bartender.

The next day, Jon returns and both the bar and kitchen is spotless.

The product in the walkin is labeled and Jon puts her sanitation certificate back on the wall.

Jon reveals that he is shocked at the liquor costs of the bar.

He reveals that from a bevintel report he can see that staff gave away $435 of liquor Thursday night and $715 on Friday night.

Jon tells Kervin that the needs to send a warning to staff by firing a member of staff.

Mario is confronted as he worked the shift.

He admits to overpouring drinks and giving away so many shots he can't even remember how many he has given out.

He admits to taking money and putting it in his pocket!

But at first Kervin doesn't fire him and tells him he will give him another chance...

Jon asks the staff what they would do and all would fire him so Kervin decides to fire him and he is told to leave immediately.

Leila promises to change after being called out on kissing Mario in the parking lot whilst on shift.

Kervin reflects that Mario has probably stolen thousands from him.

Michael teaches the bar staff a simple counting trick to pour the correct measures.

Keith sees how Van works in the kitchen.

Van is defrosting chicken in water leading to the limp chicken he was served and she is taught to defrost in a shallow pan instead.

Jon reveals that he is going to do a stress test to find the weak spots in the bar.

Tyler struggles in the stress test and doesn't know the basics such as what glass to use or the recipes for drinks.

Leila is running around and is being micro managed by Kervin so she is running around like a headless chicken.

In the kitchen the orders are pouring in and Van works very slowly.#

Customers are left waiting as she has to go into the cooler for each order.

Jon suspects that the chicken is undercooked and asks Keith to open up the fried chicken and it is raw.

Van hasn't noticed it is raw and asks them to stop rushing her.

In the bar, Tyler is serving drinks without a garnish as they are at the other end of the bar due to the layout of the bar.

Patrons aren't happy with their drinks and Leila has to tell one of the bartenders what should go in the drink she is making for an order.

Jon suggests to Michael that Leila goes behind the bar to help make drinks and despite not knowing drinks she is a fast learner.

One customer finds a hair in his drink.

Food is left in the window and Jon brands the stress test a disaster and a disorganised mess.

After the stress test Jon reveals he wants to change it to a carribean themed bar.

The next day Jon reveals that it will be a day of training and he wants to create a bar that has live music but doesn't depend on it.

The new carribean menu items are introduced with less fried items to allow the kitchen to cook more efficiently.

The new drinks menu is revealed with a focus on light and dark rum cocktails.

The staff sample the new food and Kervin says that it reminds him of home.

Jon reveals that if staff want to steal they will find a way.

They could water down the liquor and sell it, netting the money themselves.

Moving forward only manager Joe and Kervin will have access to the spirit storage room so this cannot happen.

In the bar training Tyler struggles and Leila shines.

Next, Jon reveals his plans to Kervin including the renovation and improvements to the kitchen.

The renovation takes 36 hours and Jon reveals the new exterior and new name Weber's Rum Bar & Grill.

The interior is bright with new furniture and lighting and Kervin loves the new caribean theme.

Jon reveals the new jukebox to make money when there is no band.

The lips are gone and the stage doubles up as a seating area.

There is a new CCTV system to reduce theft and the stations are now set up correctly with everything they need.

In the kitchen, Van now has a fridge next to the fryer so she doesn't have to walk down to the walkin for each order.

On relaunch night, Tyler struggles and forgot all of the recipes for drinks.

He is removed from the bar to work the floor instead.

Leila is thriving behind the bar and has picked up the role quickly.

Jon brands her the rockstair of the night.

Van has stepped up in the kitchen, is happy and the customers love the food.

What Happened Next at Weber's Place?

Two months later, Kervin is booking bands at least 5 nights a week.

He has rehired Mario.

They declined to comment on their sales figures.

They changed their name to Weber's Sports Bar & Grill.

Yelp reviews were terrible.

They had a 2 star Yelp average with criticism of the food, poor service and poor management.

Even bands that had been hired were critical of the bar.

Weber's Place closed in July 2013.

The bar changed ownership in 2014 but closed just months after reopening with a new owner.

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This post was last updated in February 2022.