In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer has asked Phil Wills to visit The Wagon Wheel in Cleveland, Texas.
The Wagon Wheel is owned by Jorge and Michael.
The bar was opened by the childhood friends in 2019.
Jorge is the people person and has fun in the bar, working and partying.
Michael also owns a plumbing company and could not be at the bar.
Jorge’s son Jeremy works with him and there is a lot of bickering.
The family dynamic is disrupting the business.
Jorge does not like the fact Michael is not present.
Danny Trejo is with Phil Wills in the surveillance trailer and they get to see the staff and the family of the owners.
There is a lot of empty, unused space and the decor is very inconsistent.
The experts are expert mixologist Rob Floyd and expert chef Chris Oh, who go in as the spies.
There is a food menu but no drinks menu.
Jorge attends to them with his drink and leaves it on the table.
The fan overhead is full of dust and could drop into drinks.
They ordered two drinks but the ingredients to make them are not available.
Eventually, they order some simple drinks and some food.
The drinks come and the margarita is too sweet.
There is a cockroach beside their table.
Jeremy uses gloves in the kitchen, which is good.
His father comes in to yell at him to hurry up rather than help him through the cooking.
The food arrives and it is oily.
The chicken wings are raw and cold in the middle.
When the experts complain about the food, Jorge throws Jeremy under the bus.
He then goes to bicker with him in the kitchen.
Phil and Danny have seen enough and enter the bar.
They meet the owners and closely inspect the kitchen.
There is old, smoky grease in the kitchen.
Jorge proceeds to yell at Jeremy.
Phil and Danny tell him he is ultimately responsible.
At the bar, the soda gun is heavily stained.
The bugs are exposed, which disgusts the patrons.
Phil and Danny want Jorge and Michael to connect and communicate.
They should show cohesion by the following day.
The next morning, the owners and staff are gathered to await Phil and Danny.
The staff get to meet Phil and Danny.
They tell them about the struggles with the lack of leadership.
The owners are in close to $800,000 debt and are two months from closing.
Danny gives feedback to Jorge that they need to separate family from business.
He tells them that he never drinks at his bars, even when customers buy him drinks.
They address both Jorge’s and Jeremy’s attitudes to correct them.
The experts are introduced and they are let loose for the practice before the stress test.
Rob starts with the staff training them on good customer service and making a traditional Paloma.
The kitchen staff are trained by Chris in making a fast and easy Tex Mex taco.
Jeremy is happy and excited to be trained.
For the stress test, they trained hard and they soon let in all the customers.
The bar is overwhelmed with orders.
Danny gives Jeremy a pep talk before he starts cooking.
Food is made but there are no runners.
Jorge is occupied by taking orders with no printouts.
The bartenders make mistakes and the owners are confused with the POS system.
There is a wild cheer when one drink comes out after 15 minutes.
The drinks are critiqued harshly and if they are short, they are dumped.
It is a slow descent into chaos and the night end.
The next day, Rob decides to focus on technique.
There was a lot of over and under pouring at the stress test.
He also trains them on making an espresso martini.
Michael, Jorge and Jeremy are then gathered to meet with Danny and Phil.
The owners express their impression of the stress test.
Jorge and Jeremy have finally connected with clear boundaries.
Jorge and Michael learned that they need to learn more about every aspect of the bar and then communicate properly.
Jon gives some insight into the renovation team on the theme and the structure of the space.
He thinks they need to take into account that they are beside a gas station.
Later, the renovation is done and the staff are all gathered for the unveiling.
The bar has been renamed to The Pour Station.
Inside, there is now a cohesive theme with an actual truck in the room.
There is a gas station theme running all through.
It is classy with pops of color.
They have two well stations, new rockless tables and SkyTab POS systems with a mobile tablet
There are new cocktail bar tools, an ice machine, workstation tables and new menus.
They set up for the relaunch and the customers are let in.
On relaunch, the orders come through fast.
The bartenders are getting drinks out quickly.
Food is being cooked quickly and taken out to the customers.
The owners are also communicating and coordinating to be more efficient in service.
It is all going smoothly so Danny and Phil feel comfortable enough to leave them to it.
What Happened Next at The Wagon Wheel / The Pour Station?
Six weeks later, sales increased by 15%.
Jorge and Jeremy are working better than before.
Michael and Jorge are reassessing their division of labor and ownership going forward.
The Wagon Wheel / The Pour Station is open.
They didn't quite keep the new name.
Instead they merged the names to be called The Wagon Wheel Grill and Pour Station Bar.
Reviews are mostly positive.
The food is praised in multiple reviews.
Click for more Bar Rescues
Previous episode - Nico's Bar and Grill / Kingwood Neapolitan Kitchen and Bar
Next episode - Coaches Pub / Midtown Pub
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