In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar is owned by Frank Talerico.
He bought a hotel that had the poolside bar alongside it.
Frank used a loophole to be one of only three beach bars in the city.
The bar was flooded with customers in the beginning.
They were making $5000 a week making both the bar and the hotel successful.
Frank got distracted by the pretty girls he hired to work there.
The decay in the facilities has driven their profits down along with the hotel.
The customer and service standards have fallen as well.
Jon recons the bar from a meeting room overlooking the bar.
He has brought along expert chef Josh Capon and expert mixologist Terrelle Treco.
Jon tells the experts the team that work at the bar and sends Terrelle in as a spy.
She goes in and orders in a Pina Colada while the bartender suggests a fried fish meal.
The bartender makes her drink from a mix and she hates it as it is strong and too sweet.
The kitchen makes the food incorrectly and left waiting.
Runner Mia comes in late and she spends a long time getting ready.
She serves the meal and the fish is rubbery with a blonde hair in her food.
Jon enters the bar to meet the owner.
He introduces him to Terrelle, who gives him feedback right away.
Franks is defensive and says he does not get complaints usually.
The experts inspect the bar and they see the floor is uneven and it is wet due to poor drainage.
The drinks are all cloudy with fruit flies.
The bottle caps are off, leaving them sitting in the Florida heat.
The coolers are filled with ice as an ice bin which is bad as there is no drainage.
Franks is defensive and accuses Jon of being overbearing.
They enter the kitchen and cook Barry is rude while pointing out some greasy food in the frier.
There is no covers on food or on the sauces in the fridge.
The kitchen is not clean and the staff are made to clean the place.
The staff clean overnight.
The next morning Jon comes into a staff meeting.
Mia is not there as she is late once again.
Alyssa says she is the head bartender as she has been there the longest.
She has no authority as she is only allowed to handle the schedule.
They point out the staff mostly all come in late and there are no consequences.
Abbie is a bartender who is present but was not the day before.
It is suggested Frank does not fire them because they are pretty.
Franks says he will fire Mia as she is very late.
Mia is four hours late and blames spring break for it.
Frank takes her to his office and fires her.
She thinks she will be rehired when it is all over.
Jon asks Frank what he meant when he promised Mia he will talk to her afterwards.
He says it meant nothing as he is standing his ground.
Frank talks to his staff, laying down the rules.
He gives Alyssa authority to keep staff in line and fire them.
Josh trains the cook on some seafood recipes.
Terrelle trains the bar staff on some mixologist techniques and some new signature drinks.
They get locals to come in the afternoon for a stress test.
They are let in and the bar staff are overwhelmed making mistakes.
The kitchen is also slammed with orders piling up.
The bar staff are buckling under the pressure.
Barry gets hot headed, getting into an argument.
Abbie is the weakest link and is still making mistakes.
Jeff is swapped in to make drinks and he fares no better.
Abbie goes into the bathroom to cry.
Frank says his business is more important than attending to her.
Josh tries his best to calm Barry down.
The food is still going out great to the complements of the customers.
Abbie calmed down and she came back to the bar to keep going.
After the test is over and Jon gave his feedback to the staff.
He commended Abbie for coming back to the bar.
The next day Terrelle trains the staff on working faster.
All the staff are timed making their signature drinks.
Abbie did well making it within time and to good quality.
Jon talks to Frank about marketing to the locals and the bar has to stand apart from the hotel.
Frank does not want to change the name.
The staff and Alyssa try to convince him a name change is for the best.
Jon and his team inspect the bar for the renovation.
They see the space has lots of moisture.
The wood is very rotten and the metals have rusted.
The work they have to do is extensive to fix it.
Eight hours into the remodel and heavy rain interrupts them.
This makes them fall behind but they manage to finish by daybreak.
The staff are gathered to unveil the new bar.
The bar has been renamed to Bamboo Beach Club.
The change is subtle but the exterior and inside are very different.
Inside is cleaner, brighter and with new furnishing and equipment.
The bar was rebuilt and the hole in the floor was filled and sealed.
The plumbing was changed with a four-compartment sink.
The cooler has been replaced so it works as an actual fridge.
The bar staff set up quickly for the relaunch as Jon has an aeroplane banner fly to advertise the relaunch.
On relaunch, people gather at the entrance.
Frank lets them in, overwhelming the bar and kitchen as it is more crowded than the stress test.
The kitchen has Barry on top of things sending food out on time that tastes great.
At the bar, the staff are more confident.
They work through orders with Abbie doing so much better, impressing Terrelle.
Jon is also proud of them as they make the customers happy.
The customers love the changes especially to the food, drinks and service.
What Happened Next at Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar / Bamboo Beach Club?
One month later, the sales have doubled from the same time the year before.
The bar is doing great and locals are patronising them often.
Mia came back to ask for her job back but Frank did not rehire her.
Alyssa still has her authority in the bar and Frank is grateful for her support.
Bamboo Beach Tiki Bar / Bamboo Beach Club is open.
Reviews are mostly positive.
Some patron's didn't rate their visit to the bar and the food and service appear to be hit or miss.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - Piratz Tavern / Corporate Bar and Grill
Next episode - J.A. Murphy’s / Murphy’s Law
This post was last updated in February 2024.
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