Bar Rescuestar Jon Taffer has a lot to celebrate, andhe’s sharing what we can expect from the rest ofBar Rescueseason 9with Screen Rant. Throughout the run ofBar Rescue,viewers have been able to come to expect a specific side of Jon from episode to episode. Known for his tough love approach, Jon has worked with restaurateurs of all varieties, helping restaurants at every level. Knowing the best way to help a restaurant succeed, Jon’s gone from high-scale to hole-in-the-wall places with ease and certainty.
AsBar Rescueseason 9 began, many were curious to see how some of the changes the series was putting into play looked. With this season,Bar Rescueincorporated some incredible celebrity guestsand other restaurant experts to help Jon with different spaces. The addition of fellow industry experts has allowed Jon to help a wider scope of restaurants, bringing more relief with his expertise. Jon’s ability to oversee the rescue of severaldifferent bars and restaurants onBar Rescuehas been incredible to watch, especially knowing he’s behind the scenes pulling the strings.
AsBar Rescueseason 9 finishes off, Jon shared more about his inspiration and what’s to come for the long-running series in its next season, which he’s about to be hard at work on. While Jon has beena part ofBar Rescuefrom the beginning, his business endevaors in the industry including Taffer’s Tavern and Taffer’s Brown Butter Bourbon, have been passion projects that have proven he can talk the talk and walk the walk. WithBar Rescueseason 9’s mid-season premiere now available to watch,Jon sat down with Screen Rant to chat all about the show.
That hug at the end [of every rescue] just inspires me to be tougher next week.
Screen Rant: Jon, thanks so much for chatting with me! WithBar Rescueseason 9 continuing to air and you starting work onBar Rescueseason 10, I’m wondering what moments have stood out for you, especially in the last season. What’s been the most memorable?
Jon Taffer: I think the greatest moment for me is that hug in the end, that’s unbelievable. The things they say to me when they hug me, you know, “you’re the father I never had,” or “I love you, Jon, you saved my marriage.” The things they say to me in that hug are so powerful, and it’s remarkable the ones that fight me the hardest, the real tough ones are the ones that hug me the tightest. So it sort of inspires me to be tougher next week and tougher next week.
You know, some of the greatest joy I have onBar Rescueis when I get to bring friends on. Donnie Wahlberg is a very dear friend of mine, and you might recall a couple of years ago, Jenny McCarthy, his wife, did recon for me in an episode. So Donnie came and did recon with me, and I think it’s the third episode we aired this season. There was a moment where I looked over Donnie to my left, and there were tears coming down his face, and I realized how emotional that moment was. You know, I get caught up in a moment, and sometimes I don’t realize how emotional it is, but this is a very emotional season. Every small business that’s failing has a failing owner, and that failing owner is my focus. If I can’t change them, I can build them the Taj Mahal and they’ll probably fail. So when you go at somebody and challenge their decisions and what they do or how they do it, and they don’t like it. So it gets ugly, but you know that hug at the end just inspires me to be tougher next week.
Screen Rant: You mentioned Donnie Wahlberg - now, obviously you guys have had some really notable guests, especially this season. How has their involvement influenced the dynamics of the show thus far this season and in the remaining episodes?
Jon: Well, you know, Donnie’s family’s in the restaurant business, so he wasn’t there just as my friend. He’s a restaurant guy, so he had a contribution to make – the owners there had not just for me, but Donnie Wahlberg, too. It’s a big deal. Danny Trejo is also a friend, and Danny came on – he owns restaurants as well, as you might know. So Danny’s been in the restaurant business with his son most of his life. He had something to bring to the party, something to add. So it’s wonderful to bring people on like that, that that, you know, enhance the messaging that I’m trying to send to these owners.
Screen Rant: It’s always interesting to see people come in with a different approach than you have and really reinforce what you’re what you’re trying to do. You also had experts coming in this season, which was a little bit different than what we’ve seen before. What prompted that decision?
Jon: Every year we say no to well over 100 bars, because I can only do so many. I was doing 40 a year for a while, but each bar is a week on the road, so imagine that – 40 weeks a year on the road, and they’re not always the greatest places to be. I don’t want to be on the road 40 weeks a year anymore, so what I’ve done is I’ve said, “well, I don’t want to say no to all these bars if I don’t have to.” So I have some great experts that have been with me for a long time. I help them, but they lead the rescue, and that way I can still design the bar. I can still be involved with them every step of the way, because it is still my show and I’m still executive producer - but then we can say yes to those bars. So that’s my motivation. And you know, these are great experts, so they all have some contributions to make.
Screen Rant: It’s been great to see different different points of view. Given the current state of the industry, what is some of the top advice that you’ve been giving to your owners?
Jon: Today, it’s all about controlling expenses. You know, we came out of the pandemic, and many operators are in debt from the pandemic, so they’re behind. They couldn’t buy new equipment, so what they have is worn and shabby, so they’re in a hole. Then food costs go up, labor costs go up, utility costs go up - everything has gone up, so they’re being squeezed. When you’re squeezed as a business, it takes smart business decisions to get you out of that. So I’m helping them control their costs, make sure their food costs, their beverage costs, and set them up in the new economy that we’re in.
Screen Rant: It’s such a rapidly changing industry – on top of that change, how has the production process changed? What have you learned from the past nine seasons?
Jon: I use [this style of producing], I’ve never heard anybody else use it. I use something called shadow production on Bar Rescue. I’m executive producer in Bar Rescue, but at the end of an episode’s filming, the employees in that bar know the names of my producers fellow, they blew it. I don’t want the bar ever working for production – they answer to me, not production, and that keeps the show real. They never think they’re on a TV show. They never see producers all around them telling them where to go, what to say. There’s no script ahead of time. There’s no plan ahead of time. I’m the executive producer of my show, so nobody tells me where to go. I go where I want to go, when I want to go there, and I have an amazing crew that follows me around. Their skill gives me the freedom to be able to do that. So, I think the authenticity of the show and the fact that it’s so real is what’s led the success and allowed me to be so successful with the owners, because they don’t see it as a TV show.
Screen Rant: I do think you guys have one of the most authentic productions that I’ve seen in quite some time, so it’s always really interesting to see that.
Jon: Thank you. You know the interesting thing about that, if I can, is that I don’t see the casting reels. I have no involvement in the casting of the bars, so I’ve never seen even a picture of the bar. When I get there, I get about a 60-second briefing before I go in. It’s “John and George are in debt this much to have this much money to make it to last this long,” and that’s all I know. So I think that the success of the show is, I don’t know anything before the audience does. We take that journey together.
Screen Rant: I love to hear that – in terms of viewer feedback, has viewers’ input over the years given you any sort of shift in what you’ve done, or have you really just kind of relied on your own expertise and learnings?
Jon: You know, I’ve always had the philosophy that if I listen to somebody else, I’m being inauthentic, and I think the success of the show is authenticity. So sure, I’m influenced by the things that happen around me, like all of us are, but I’d like to think that I don’t react to those things very strongly. I tend to do it my way, and I try to keep it authentic. And my attitude is I’m going to sink or swim my way. Fortunately, I’ve made it 15 years and 272 episodes, so I’m not going to change that philosophy now.
Screen Rant: I think you’re doing a great job as it is. So you’ve obviously beyond Bar Rescue, you’ve had your own business ventures. Are there any upcoming projects or expansions we can look forward to?
Jon: Yeah, as for Taffer’s Tavern, we’re opening a location in Orlando in just a few weeks and our third location in Atlanta, also in just a few weeks. And and Taffer’s Brown Butter Bourbon is currently now in Massachusetts and Nevada, plus we’re about to expand it to several more states. So it’s an exciting time for us right now, and I start shooting season 10 of Bar Rescue next month – so we’re very busy.
Screen Rant: All good things – and congrats on season 10! What can we anticipate from the upcoming season? Have you had any talks yet?
Jon: It’ll be the same as we’ve done in past seasons of Bar Rescue. I know I’m going to Nashville this year and we’re going to Atlanta this year, but you know, these bars are typically a month or two from closing, so we don’t even know where we’re going until about a month beforehand. If we, if we bring them on board too soon, they often close before we get there, which is unfortunate. So I’m not even sure where I’m going, but I will be there.
Screen Rant: Incredible. Okay, and my last question for you, if you had to describe the rest of season nine in just three words, what would you choose?
Jon: Emotion, tension, and joy.
Bar Rescueseason 9 airs Sundays at 10 p.m. EST on Paramount Network, then streams the following day on Paramount plus.
