In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Nico's Bar and Grill in Kingwood, Texas.
Nico's Bar and Grill is owned by Greg and Emmy.
They are a married couple who opened the bar in 2007.
They both had no actual restaurant experience but as a new business they had initial success.
They blamed the slowdown of business on a lot of external influences from Covid to road construction.
The staff believe the owners are the problem as they do not provide proper guidance.
The bar is now run down with poor equipment and bills stacked up.
Jon is surveying the bar with pizza expert Tony Gemignani and expert mixologist Nick Ortega.
He gives them the lowdown of the couple.
They are drinking at the bar despite having $800,000 debt hanging over them.
The bartenders do not know how to make some drinks.
They have to look it up so Jon decides to go in with the experts to try out the menu.
Jon meets with Greg and his wife.
The experts try to order a cocktail but there is no cocktail menu.
They order about 3 cocktails each.
Jon berates the couple for drinking at the bar and cuts them off while they assess the bar.
The bartenders are confused and the experts go and watch the food orders being made.
The order for the pizza was not rung in so it is delayed.
The chef gives Tony some details of the process in the kitchen.
The bartender has no idea what glasses to use and cannot answer some simple questions from Nick.
Jon is given the feedback and when the drinks arrive there is something wrong with all of them.
The pizza comes and it is too thin and flavorless.
Greg is given all the feedback and he is embarrassed.
The next day, the staff are gathered when Jon arrives.
They give their own opinions on why the bar is failing.
There is an unwritten rule that the staff do not approach the owners after 6 pm.
This is because they will get chewed out if they do.
The staff are emotional about this point as they care for the bar and know the owners well.
Emmy is berated for enabling her husband to drown the bar.
The experts are brought in for the staff training.
Nick has the staff play a game of ‘name the ingredients’ to some basic cocktails and they all fail.
Next, he instructs them on making a classic Tom Collins.
Tony trains the chef on making a proper pizza and has gifted them an industrial mixer.
The chef is emotional as he has always wanted to train under an expert and he loves the taste of the pizza.
The stress test gets started later that evening.
Customers are let in and the orders come through.
The drink orders come to the kitchen along with the food orders and it confuses the chef.
Greg is on top of it trying to communicate the right orders to the kitchen and the bar.
The bartenders have only one well to work out from.
They are working on top of each other and getting slowed down.
The kitchen gets backed up despite their best efforts.
There are now human errors in play from the staff and Jon is not optimistic.
Pizzas and drinks get dumped.
The experts think the staff just need more training and they are good.
They think that it is just the systems that are failing.
Jon shuts down the bar service for the night, giving the staff a round of applause.
Greg is proud of his staff.
Jon has a brainstorm with his experts and they identify the area is upscale.
They need to have more signature items to bring people in.
The next day, the staff are trained on making a signature cocktail, a blood orange mule.
Jon has a meeting with his staff about some major structural changes to the bar.
After a few hours the staff have been gathered for the relaunch.
The bar has been renamed to Kingwood Neapolitan Kitchen and Bar.
There is visible signage and call to actions on the windows.
They are let in and the interior is upscale and chic with warmth, light and a new stage.
They have new furnishings with rockless tables and new glass storage in the back bar.
There are two full new workstations with 3 POS systems and tablets.
They have new cocktail equipment, a standing mixer and new audio-visual equipment.
They spend some time setting up.
Emmy and Greg are happy to let customers in.
On relaunch, the orders come in fast and the bartenders are up to the task as they make multiple drinks.
The kitchen is on top of orders with pizzas coming out quickly.
Greg is a great support as he knows where to take the orders.
The chef is given compliments to boost his morale.
What Happened Next at Nico's Bar and Grill / Kingwood Neapolitan Kitchen and Bar?
Six weeks later, sales are up 20-25% with the new pizzas being best sellers.
Two new managers were hired to make sure the business was always covered.
The staff can now call the owners at any time of the day for any business needs.
Nico's Bar and Grill is open.
They didn't keep the new name.
Reviews are mostly positive.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - Uncle Albert's Pub / Big W Cattle Company
Next episode - The Wagon Wheel
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