Cashmere / Duel Ultra Nightclub - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

Cashmere Bar Rescue

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Cashmere in Raleigh, Carolina.

Cashmere is owned by Brandon, a landscaping business owner.

He opened the martini nightclub in 2009.

It was initially a success and making $60,000 a month.

That was until more competition came to the area.

James was hired to bring new energy to the bar and bring in new customers.

He instead focussed on his DJ career, hyping himself while chasing customers away and partying with his friends at the club.

Brandon is $250,000 in debt and could lose both his businesses if the bar fails.

Jon recons the bar with expert mixologist Joe Brooke and service expert Jessie Barnes.

They see other clubs in the area have a lot of traffic but theirs is dead.

The club is in an office building so the exterior is bland and uninviting.

Spies are sent in and they find a booth to sit in but it is dirty.

James the manager is sitting on the bar and giving out drinks to his friends on his tab.

The spies order drinks and the server hands them a towel when asked for one, instead of wiping the booth down herself.

Bartender Chelsie stands around not making drinks and then does her makeup in a closed kitchen.

James takes the stage to DJ and he is booed.

Jon goes in to confront Brandon and James.

Jon tells James he chased his spies away with his DJing.

Brandon defends James as he is his friend.

James says he can change but Jon is not buying it.

It is revealed that they made $640 in sales and James comped $150 for his friends.

Jon leaves and James starts screaming and crying.

Jon comes in the next morning with his experts including expert chef Nick Liberato.

They inspect their respective areas.

Joe sees dust bunnies over the bar, mildew and cloudy drinks/

Jessie sees the dirty furnishings with dust in the display window.

Nick finds cockroaches in the kitchen.

Brandon brings in their old cook to be trained for the stress test.

Jon shows footage of James passed out on the couch from the night before until that morning.

James blames his personal life for his behaviour.

Jon sees scotch tape on some bottles and can tell they are refilling liquor bottles.

They are putting cheaper drinks in expensive bottles which is illegal.

James knows about it and does it for business reasons.

Not a single member of staff thinks he is a good manager.

Brandon is left to speak to James and he makes a promise to change for the umpteenth time.

Brandon says he is ready to hire someone else if he messes up.

Joe calls the staff behind the bar to make a simple martini and they make many mistakes.

He then trains them on making it correctly.

Nick has created a simple menu of olives, cheese and bruschetta.

The serving staff are told to demonstrate their service while Jessie corrects them as training.

The stress test is upon them and Jon notices there are still taped bottles.

They are made to clear the bar of them and smash the bottles.

Customers are let in and Joe has an airhorn for the bartenders and every time they pass forty five seconds, he sets it off.

Chelsie does poorly at the bar while Leda, a server, is doing poor in service as well.

Food is arriving before drinks and drinks are taking almost forty five minutes on the tables.

James tries to help but ends up getting in the way and twenty people walk out because they were not served.

James is careless and is disruptive in the kitchen and out of it.

All of the staff have complaints about James.

The bar is shut down.

The experts complain about the staff.

Brandon has decisions to make on Leda, Chelsie and James.

The place is cleaned and the following day Leda and James are nowhere to be found.

Jon comes in and presses Brandon to make a decision and James is let go.

Bartender Rocky is considered for manager.

Chelsie shows promise while Leda has been let go as well.

Joe trains the bar staff on simple four ingredient drinks that will be fast to make.

The kitchen has new equipment including a panini press, a food processor and a convection oven for their new menu.

Nick is confident in their cook.

The bar is renovated over thirty six hours and the staff are gathered at night to unveil the bar.

The bar has been renamed and is now called Duel Ultra nightclub.

Only the interior has been changed and the entrance has a colourful sign that is bright.

Inside the bar is swanky with nightclub lights that can be seen through the windows in the streets.

There are two DJ booths, new furnishings and artwork on the walls.

They have unbreakable glassware from Thunder group.

Jon has two popular DJs come perform and the customers are let in for the relaunch.

On relaunch, the staff are on it with the drinks, service and the food.

Chelsie was nervous but gets over it and improves.

Heather spilled some drinks but bounced back, delivering good service.

The dancefloor was packed until two people started removing their clothes making everyone uncomfortable.

Brandon steps in to stop it.

The experts are all complementary of staff.


What Happened Next at Cashmere / Duel Ultra Nightclub?

One month later, the staff are happy James is gone.

Bar sales are up 20%.

Customers have started coming back.

Their unique selling point is helping a lot.

James has not been back.

Cashmere / Duel Ultra nightclub closed in May 2014 after the building was sold.

James wasn't a fan of the makeover and said the concept was terrible.

He also claimed a lot of the events on the episode were staged.


Click for more Bar Rescues

Previous episode - Sand Dollar

Next episode - Handlebar Cafe

This post was last updated in February 2022.

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