Big Dog Saloon - Bar Rescue Update - Open or Closed?

In this Bar Rescue episode, Jon Taffer visits Big Dog Saloon in Mt. Dora, Florida.

Big Dog Saloon is owned by Paulette Monaco.

The bar was originally bought by Don Johnson.

He offered her a third ownership stake to manage the bar.

Don sadly passed away, leaving her to run the bar.

Struggling to run the bar, she asked her daughter and her husband for help.

Her son-in-law, Josh, is in the surveillance van with Jon.

The spies order their drinks, and he asks the bartender to pick a drink with Bourbon.

She suggests a simple bourbon and Coke for him.

The other spy asks for a margarita.

Jon comments that it is hard to mess up a simple drink like a bourbon and Coke.

He also notices that due to the shortball glass that is going to be used, it is going to be too strong.

The first thing that he says after sampling the drink is that it was strong.

He has also noticed that there are many fruit flies up at the bar with them.

In the footage, we see a large swarm of fruit flies coming from the bar.

One of the spies asks for a food menu and is offered pizzas and popcorn.

Jon watches as the cook gets a frozen pizza out of the freezer.

They also comment that it is an expensive pizza that has been bought at a store and not from a wholesaler.

The cook ties her hair up in the kitchen.

Jon notices that Paulette isn't interacting with any of the staff or bartenders.

As the food arrives, the spies have to bat away even more flies from it.

Jon says that he has seen enough, and it is sad as it is pulling down Nikki and him.

Josh tells Jon that he has four children and doesn't have the money to throw at the bar.

Jon enters the bar with Josh and asks for Paulette.

In the bar, he runs a cloth around the ice bin and finds that it is covered in black mold.

The whole ice bin area is covered in black mold.

The customers put down their drinks as they discover there is mold in the ice.

Jon rubs a glass in the mold and offers it to a bartender who had seen the mold.

He tells them that they have no pride and won't help them unless Paulette cleans the bar.

Jon meets with Paulette and Josh.

He explains that as the bar declines, the quality and quantity of customers decline as the customers' mix lowers.

This also means that they spend less.

Jon tells them that they need to get more people in and people willing to spend money.

He tells the staff that he was so angry because the staff is heavily praised.

They are just let down by the state of the bar.

For the stress test, Jon is going to pack the bar to find out where the issues are.

The staff had told Jon that there were no bugs in the liquor bottles.

Jon reveals that he snuck back into the bar the previous night after they had all left.

He brings out a liquor bottle that is infested with flies.

Jon's team works on the bar, and the new look of the bar is revealed.

They didn't change the name of the bar.

The bar has been brightened up with new lighting and given a more modern look.

There is a tribute behind the bar.

All the plumbing and soda guns have been replaced.

There is a new SkyTab POS system with a handheld unit and a subscription to Partender.

There is a whole new audiovisual system and a whole new kitchen with new equipment.

Jon tells the staff to get ready for the relaunch.

What Happened Next at Big Dog Saloon?

Big Dog Saloon is open, with new owners.

The bar closed in December 2025.

They held a party to mark the closure.

The site was sold to a developer, Big Dogs Mount Dora LLC, who is affiliated with G3 Development.

The developer reopened the bar with the same name.

It has positive reviews since it reopened in 2026.

Nikki now works at Fat Cats bar.

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