Barley Pop’s Bar and Grill / The Valley Saloon - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Barley Pop’s Bar and Grill in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Barley Pop’s Bar and Grill is owned by Chris Woodbury.

He has owned the bar for 6 years and has been supported by his fiancé Amber of 5 years.

The bar used to be very popular in gaming and hospitality circles.

There has been a downturn and Chris is now consistently drunk at work and unable to oversee his staff.

The bar is in disrepair and the kitchen has been closed for a while.

Chris has given up on the bar, he is $100,000 in debt and is losing $3,500 a month.

Jon recons the bar with master chef Ryan Scott and expert mixologist Shawn Ford.

They think that the bar looks very dated.

Chris is introduced to the team and he is drinking at the bar, looking sad.

They see Paige, head bartender and manager.

Justin, Carmela, Johnny and Kari are all bartenders.

They observe the bar is dirty, dusty and very dull.

Jon brings in friend and radio personality, Todd Michaels, with his friend to spy on the bar and test the service.

They try to order off a menu but each bartender has their specialty and the bartender drinks a shot with them.

The drink they order is bad and they want to order sliders.

Amber has Justin, a bartender, go into the kitchen to throw something together.

The team wonder why Paige took orders for food when the kitchen is not in use.

They know the time it will take to get the fryers up to temperature would be close to 45 mins.

They also observe mould on the frying baskets.

Justin gives up after seeing there’s nothing in the kitchen and walks out of the bar for the night.

The spies are told sliders aren’t possible but Paige still takes an order for chicken fingers.

Amber proceeds to make it herself in the kitchen doing almost everything wrong while Chris refuses to help her.

The team is worried on the safety of anything made in the kitchen and Ryan comes to check on the meal and stops the service.

Ryan then scrapes the old food scraps from the oil fryer and asks Chris to eat it before he serves the chicken they fried in it.

The spies have waited enough and want to leave.

Jon comes in the kitchen and meets them.

Amber is upset and crying at the sight of Jon.

Jon takes both away to talk to them.

It is revealed they have a child together and Chris frequently drops the ball because he knows she will cover for him.

Amber says she is worried about the future and Chris says Amber won’t leave.

Jon wants to get to the bottom of Chris’s drinking he says he lost his wife and stepson within a year of each other and it changed him.

Amber is left to convince him to change and he agrees.

The next day, there is a staff meeting and Jon gets there on time but the owners are noticeably absent.

Jon proceeds to speak with the staff, especially Justin on his behaviour the night before.

He says he was angry at being asked to do something that wasn’t possible but he is still loyal to his job.

The staff then tell him more about Chris and that they all love him and want the bar to succeed.

They call Amber to find out Chris is sleeping as he is passed out.

Justin is sent over to help Amber get Chris straightened out and hopefully back at work.

The experts are brought in to train the staff and Kari volunteers to run the kitchen.

Shawn takes them on proper pouring and making a margarita variant called a tequila moon.

Paige and Kari are taken through making buffalo shrimp with a blue cheese dressing with Ryan.

They are ready for the stress test but Chris has still not arrived.

He is at home and needs cajoling from Justin and Amber before he goes with them.

Jon sits with Chris as soon as he arrives and tries to talk him into breaking his addiction.

Amber has a panic attack and is taken to hospital by ambulance.

Jon has Oscar, a clinical counsellor, talk to Chris on his grief.

With Amber and Chris gone it’s all on the staff for the stress test.

Justin is trained quickly just as the doors are opened.

People come in and the bar is packed with only 3 bartenders to serve them.

Paige is nervous and Justin is overwhelmed while the kitchen is going through growing pains.

Customers have no napkins with their food and the bar’s inefficiencies are highlighted.

There is only one well, no space to work and a small sink so its hard to dump drinks.

Customers are left without drinks, lots of drinks are wasted and drinks aren’t being rung through the till.

Justin says he has been keeping tabs but soon loses count.

Things start looking up but its too late and the bar is shut down.

Jon speaks to staff afterwards and he is proud of how they hustled and they say it was calmer without the owners around.

Paige and Justin are to be flown to the biggest distillery in Nevada to get a taste for gin and vodka flavours that they will be using.

The next day, Amber is back from the hospital and Chris is seeing Oscar again.

The bar is being rebuilt.

Paige and Justin are in the Frey Ranch while the rest of the staff are being trained on making cocktails with Frey Ranch liquor.

Amber goes behind the bar and gives it a go.

In the kitchen, Kari is trained on some chicken skewers.

Soon it is the night of the relaunch and all members of staff and owners are present.

Everyone is happy to see Chris is back and he says he is continuing with his treatment with the counsellor.

The new bar is revealed and it has been renamed to The Valley Saloon.

It is now a ranch style bar with a tagline of made in Nevada.

Inside has been made to look like a ranch with lots of rustic wood elements.

Artworks Commercial Graphics did the woodwork.

There are two workstations, three Harbour Touch POS systems and a lifetime subscription to Partender.

The bar has been partnered with the St Jude’s ranch for children and a dollar from every ranch burger will go to the orphanage.

Chris is overwhelmed and thankful.

On relaunch night, customers are let in and they love the interior.

Justin is confidently making drinks and managed to get a non-gin lover to enjoy a gin cocktail.

The staff are excited, along with the customers.

Paige has stepped up with Chris being more involved.

What Happened Next at Barley Pop’s Bar and Grill / The Valley Saloon?

Six weeks later, it is revealed sales are up and the bar is doing well.

Chris and Amber separated, he married someone else and Amber moved out of state.

Chris changed the name back to Barley Pop's.

Five months after Jon visited they failed a health inspection for issues including roaches and old and mouldy food and produce.

The Rose Grill operates as an independent business within the bar, using the kitchen.

Reviews after the show are mostly positive with praise for the food and drink.

Some reviews after the show appear to suggest that Chris was still drinking at the bar.

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Next episode - No Name Saloon

This post was last updated in March 2022.