"ESCAPE FROM THE ROAD": BAR RESCUE WITH JON TAFFER
by Dan Mirade
Monday, August 29th, 2011 * 10:29AM
When you're working around the clock to produce a massive live event / fanfest / fundraiser like our 10th anniversary bash MWF X Saturday, September 17th at Memorial Hall in Melrose, MA, what do you do for a little escapism overwhelmed over creating a great experience for hundreds of fans, Big Brothers, the Special Olympics and the Make-A-Wish??
You might ask what on earth does this have to do with professional wrestling, and if you've never watched Bar Rescue, what is it?? Each week Jon Taffer and his team of specialists visit a broken down, struggling bar to try to get it moving in a positive, profitable direction again. Some of the places he's visited range from comical to revolting. Either way, each episode has been tremendous. As a world renowned bar expert that's owned, fixed and flipped over 600 bars and night clubs, he knows his stuff better than anyone - he sums up what's wrong within minutes and doesn't hold back in letting the owners / management know exactly what it is. You see frustration, disappointment, anger, verbal explosions at first - and as the episode moves along, you see someone that truly cares about his work, someone that's willing to go above and beyond for these establishments and it's hard working employees. But watch out - get in his way and your career might need a "rescue"!!
The story of how I found Bar Rescue is funny enough. After our recent fundraiser in NC, I had several travel delays on US Air that led to a late arrival at MWF Studios, forcing me to miss the Red Sox vs Yankees Sunday night classic I had tickets for. Around 11PM, awake for about 40 consecutive hours feeling half dead, someone flipped the big screen TV to Spike and I saw a replay of one of my new favorite things in life (which says a lot as I'm not a big TV fan). After a long session last night trying to deal with the hurricane, video production work, etc., one of our executives made the photo above to crack me up as he knows the Bar Rescue episode at Downey's in Philadelphia is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life - I've probably watched it 20 times on DVR (the full episode is available for free on Spike's web-site).
Interesting facts. For fans of TNA Impact wrestling and UFC, here's some numbers for you. Only debuting July 17th, Bar Rescue has grown in the ratings each week, beating most non-major UFC offerings on Spike, and is closing in on Impact, which has been on the channel weekly since October 2005 with superstars known worldwide like Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair. Jon Taffer is onto something big!
Sunday nights at 10PM, don't miss the latest episode on Spike TV with various replays of older episodes throughout the day. It doesn't appear to be on this coming Sunday (guessing due to the holiday weekend), but you can catch up online in a hurry. It might not create world peace or give you the inside scoop on the next election, but for an hour, you will be thoroughly entertained to the point you're rooting for some of these owners you've never met, and you'll learn some interesting facts about bars and restaurants. I only drink 5 or 6 times a year, but still enjoy each and every minute of it!! That's what entertainment should be all about. . .
Let's hope Spike TV orders double the episodes for Season 2!
