Then & Now: Spirits On Bourbon ⚜ Bar Rescue

Summary

On Bourbon Street, a failing bar named Turtle Bay struggles amidst the vibrant nightlife. Expert Jon Taffer steps in to transform the bar into a thriving business. He addresses issues like lack of identity, poor service, and substandard food quality. Taffer introduces a unique New Orleans-themed concept, 'Spirits on Bourbon,' focusing on a historical figure and a signature 'Resurrection' cocktail. The overhaul includes a new to-go strategy, a shot chair, and a commitment to quality, leading to a remarkable turnaround and success.

Takeaways

• 🍹 Bourbon Street in New Orleans is famous for its vibrant nightlife, hosting over 50 bars and being one of the few places in the US where it's legal to drink in the street.
• 🏆 Despite its popularity, Turtle Bay, a bar located on Bourbon Street, was struggling to attract customers and was often overlooked.
• 🌟 The bar lacked a unique identity, trying to compete directly with a famous green cocktail from a nearby bar by offering a similar green drink, which failed to draw in customers.
• 🍽️ Turtle Bay served substandard food, including gumbo from a food service product rather than fresh, which did not meet the expectations of visitors to New Orleans, known for its authentic cuisine.
• 👥 The staff at Turtle Bay was criticized for poor management and lack of knowledge about basic operational costs, which significantly impacted the bar's performance.
• 🌈 Jon Taffer, a bar and nightclub consultant, was brought in to revitalize Turtle Bay by establishing a unique theme and identity, setting it apart from competitors.
• 🍶 The new concept centered around New Orleans' mysticism and the historical figure Edward DuBois, creating a narrative and atmosphere that resonated with the city's culture.
• 🥃 A signature drink, the Resurrection cocktail, was introduced in a distinctive blue cup, which became a major draw and a symbol of the bar's rebranding.
• 🧼 Hygiene and food safety were significant issues addressed, with the implementation of bacteria swab tests to ensure cleanliness and safe food handling practices.
• 📈 Post-rebranding, Spirits On Bourbon (the renamed bar) saw a significant increase in sales, with over a million dollars in revenue and consistent growth.
• 🎉 The success of Spirits On Bourbon was attributed to its unique branding, focus on quality and consistency, and the incorporation of New Orleans' cultural elements into its identity.

Q & A

What is the significance of Bourbon Street in New Orleans?

Bourbon Street is a mile-long stretch with over 50 bars, located in the heart of New Orleans's oldest neighborhood. It is known for being one of the few places in the US where it's legal to drink in the street, and many of its bars are open 24 hours, making it a popular destination for bar hopping.

How much revenue do the bars on Bourbon Street generate annually?

The venues on Bourbon Street rake in 52 million in annual retail bar sales, which is more than $1 million per bar.

What was the issue with Turtle Bay, the bar featured in the script?

Turtle Bay was a failing bar that tourists bypassed every day. It had no identity and was seen as a copy of the bar across the street, lacking its own unique offerings and atmosphere.

What was the criticism of the signature drink served at Turtle Bay?

The signature drink at Turtle Bay was criticized for being a copy of a famous green cocktail from a nearby bar, the Hand Grenade. It was also described as super sour with a bad aftertaste.

What was wrong with the gumbo served at Turtle Bay?

The gumbo served at Turtle Bay was not fresh; it came in a plastic bag from a food service company, and it was not heated properly, leading to a lumpy texture and an off smell.

What changes were made to improve Turtle Bay's operations?

The bar was rebranded with a unique New Orleans-themed concept, focusing on authenticity and quality. This included improving the food and drink offerings, enhancing the atmosphere, and creating a signature cocktail called the Resurrection.

What was the role of Jon Taffer in transforming Turtle Bay?

Jon Taffer was brought in as an expert to assess the practical problems in the bar, provide guidance, and help implement a new concept that would make the bar stand out on Bourbon Street.

How did the staff's performance during the stress test reveal areas for improvement?

The stress test revealed that the staff was slow in serving drinks, which led to customers leaving due to lack of service. This highlighted the need for improved speed and efficiency in service.

What was the final verdict on the new gumbo recipe after the kitchen整改?

After the整改, the gumbo was cooked to the correct temperature and tasted excellent, receiving approval from chef Ron DuPrat during a surprise visit.

What long-term effects did Jon Taffer's intervention have on Turtle Bay?

The intervention led to a significant turnaround for Turtle Bay, which was rebranded as Spirits On Bourbon. Sales increased dramatically, and the bar became a success with a strong identity and consistent quality in its offerings.

Outlines

00:00

🍹 Struggling Turtle Bay on Bourbon Street

The paragraph introduces the world-famous Bourbon Street in New Orleans, known for its vibrant nightlife and legal street drinking. Despite the area's popularity, Turtle Bay, a bar on the street, struggles to attract customers. The bar's lack of unique offerings and poor management practices are highlighted, including serving subpar drinks and food from a food service company. The bar's owners are criticized for copying a successful neighboring bar's signature green cocktail, rather than creating their own identity. The need for quick service and originality to capture the attention of tourists is emphasized.

05:02

📈 Assessing Operational Failures at Turtle Bay

This section delves into the operational issues at Turtle Bay, focusing on the management's lack of understanding of basic business metrics and poor hygiene practices in the kitchen. The manager's inability to provide essential cost information is criticized, and a bacteria swab test reveals alarmingly high levels of contamination. The staff is challenged to clean the kitchen to meet standards, and the narrative emphasizes the importance of management's role in ensuring a clean and efficient operation.

10:03

🔥 The Stress Test and Service Issues at Turtle Bay

A stress test is conducted to evaluate the bar's service speed, revealing slow service and customer dissatisfaction. The staff's inability to meet the challenge of quick service leads to lost sales and highlights the need for a more efficient service model. The paragraph also addresses the failure to capitalize on the 'to go' market, which is significant in the area. The owners are urged to take responsibility for the bar's poor performance and to make necessary changes to improve service and offerings.

15:04

🌟 Rebranding and Revitalizing Turtle Bay

The narrative shifts to a rebranding effort, with the introduction of a new concept for Turtle Bay that focuses on New Orleans' unique mysticism and history. The bar is reimagined with a new theme centered around Edward DuBois, a historical figure associated with the building. The staff is introduced to new drink offerings and a revamped 'to go' station, aimed at improving service efficiency and attracting customers. The paragraph concludes with the reveal of the transformed bar to the staff, showcasing the potential for a successful turnaround.

20:06

🚀 The Transformation and Success of Spirits On Bourbon

Two years post-rebranding, Spirits On Bourbon (formerly Turtle Bay) is thriving. The bar has embraced its new identity, with a focus on providing a unique New Orleans experience. The staff has taken ownership of the bar's success, making improvements and expanding the business with private parties and merchandise. The paragraph details the bar's consistent growth, with sales surpassing a million dollars, and the introduction of a new mascot and branded merchandise. The success is attributed to the bar's commitment to consistency, quality, and effective cost management.

25:06

🎉 Celebrating Continued Success and Future Expansion

The final paragraph celebrates the ongoing success of Spirits On Bourbon, with the owners investing in new marketing strategies, such as a branded hearse for promotions. The bar's commitment to quality and consistency is recognized, and the owners express their pride in the bar's transformation. The paragraph concludes with a positive assessment from a returning expert, confirming the bar's sustained excellence in food quality and operational standards, and预示着 a bright future for Spirits On Bourbon.

Keywords

💡Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street is a historic and vibrant street in the heart of New Orleans, Louisiana, known for its rich nightlife, music, and culture. It is home to numerous bars, clubs, and restaurants, attracting millions of tourists annually. In the video, Bourbon Street is depicted as a competitive environment for bars, where establishments like Turtle Bay struggle to stand out and capture the attention of the passing crowds.

💡Bar Hopping Capital

The term 'Bar Hopping Capital' refers to a place with a high concentration of bars and nightlife venues, where patrons can easily move from one establishment to another. In the context of the video, Bourbon Street is described as the 'bar hopping capital of the world' due to the abundance of bars and the active nightlife scene, which is a significant part of the city's tourism and economy.

💡Turtle Bay

Turtle Bay is the name of a bar located on Bourbon Street that is featured in the video. It is portrayed as a struggling business that is overshadowed by more successful establishments. The bar's identity crisis and lack of unique offerings are highlighted as key issues that contribute to its lack of customer attraction and overall failure to thrive in a competitive market.

💡Hand Grenade

The 'Hand Grenade' is mentioned as a signature green cocktail from a competing bar across the street from Turtle Bay. The video discusses how Turtle Bay's attempt to mimic the success of the Hand Grenade by offering a similar green cocktail fails, as it does not establish its own unique identity and merely becomes a copy of the original.

💡Gumbo

Gumbo is a traditional Louisiana stew that is a staple of New Orleans cuisine. In the video, the quality of gumbo served at Turtle Bay is criticized as being subpar and not up to the culinary standards expected in a city renowned for its gumbo. The script highlights the importance of offering authentic and high-quality local food to attract and satisfy customers.

💡Food Service Product

A 'Food Service Product' refers to pre-packaged or processed food items that are often used in commercial kitchens for convenience and cost-effectiveness. In the video, the revelation that Turtle Bay's gumbo is a food service product rather than freshly made is presented as a negative, as it does not meet the expectations for authenticity and quality in a city like New Orleans.

💡Bacteria Swab Test

The 'Bacteria Swab Test' is a method used to check for卫生安全 by identifying the presence of bacteria on surfaces. In the video, the test is used to assess the cleanliness of the bar's kitchen, revealing a high count of bacteria that indicates poor hygiene practices. This is a critical issue in the food service industry, as it can lead to health risks for customers.

💡Stress Test

A 'Stress Test' in the context of the video refers to a simulated high-demand situation designed to evaluate the performance and efficiency of the bar's staff and operations. It is used to identify weaknesses in service, such as slow drink preparation, which can lead to customer dissatisfaction and loss of business in a competitive environment like Bourbon Street.

💡To-Go Station

The 'To-Go Station' is a part of the bar's service counter dedicated to preparing drinks for customers who are taking them off-premises. In the video, the lack of an effective to-go station is identified as a missed opportunity for increased sales, as a significant portion of cocktails in the area are sold to go.

💡Resurrection Cocktail

The 'Resurrection Cocktail' is a signature drink created for the bar as part of its rebranding efforts. It is highlighted as a unique, branded item that helps the bar stand out. The video emphasizes the importance of having a distinctive and memorable drink to attract customers and create a buzz around the establishment.

💡Rebranding

Rebranding involves changing the branding and marketing strategy of a business to reinvigorate its image and attract customers. In the video, the bar undergoes rebranding to create a unique identity that is distinct from its competitors. This includes creating a new concept, menu items, and a signature cocktail, which are all aimed at revitalizing the business and making it more appealing to customers.

Highlights

Bourbon Street in New Orleans is a hub for bars with over 50 establishments and 10 million tourists annually.

New Orleans is one of four US cities where it's legal to drink in the street, contributing to its vibrant nightlife.

Turtle Bay, a bar on Bourbon Street, struggles to attract customers despite the area's popularity.

The bar's lack of unique identity and模仿邻近酒吧的绿色鸡尾酒导致其业绩不佳。

Experts criticize Turtle Bay's service, noting the absence of lighting and staff to invite tourists in.

The bar's management is called out for serving a subpar green cocktail and pre-packaged gumbo, lacking authenticity.

Jon Taffer confronts the bar's owners about their lack of originality and the need for a unique concept to succeed.

Taffer emphasizes the importance of quick service in a tourist-heavy area like Bourbon Street.

The bar's manager is criticized for his lack of knowledge about cost management and overall poor performance.

A surprise inspection reveals the bar's kitchen has a bacteria count exceeding safe levels, indicating poor hygiene.

The staff is put to the test to improve service speed and cleanliness, with some showing significant improvement.

The bar's gumbo is served cold, leading to a customer getting sick and the kitchen being shut down temporarily.

Jon Taffer introduces a new concept for the bar, focusing on the mysticism and history of New Orleans to create a unique identity.

The bar's new design features a 'shot chair' and 'cocktails on tap' to enhance customer experience and efficiency.

The bar's new 'Resurrection' cocktail in a branded cup becomes a hit, setting it apart from competitors.

Two years post-rescue, Spirits On Bourbon (formerly Turtle Bay) shows significant improvement with consistent quality and increased sales.

The bar's owners have embraced the changes, expanding with a private party area and a graveyard theme, enhancing the New Orleans experience.

Spirits On Bourbon's success is marked by a new hearse used for marketing and events, showcasing the bar's growth.

Transcripts

- [Narrator] World famous Bourbon Street

is a mile long stretch of over 50 bars

in the heart of New Orleans's oldest neighborhood.

- Welcome to the big easy.

- [Narrator] New Orleans is one of only four cities

in the US where it's legal to drink in the street.

(crowd cheering)

And many bars there are open 24 hours,

making Bourbon Street the bar hopping capital of the world.

- Mwah!

- [Narrator] 10 million tourists visit

New Orleans each year, and the venues on Bourbon Street

rake in 52 million in annual retail bar sales,

which is more than $1 million per bar.

Making Bourbon Street a bar owner's dream location.

Buried in a sea of neon sits Turtle Bay,

a failing bar that crowds of tourists bypass every day.

- Look at this, guys. Here we are.

World famous Bourbon Street.

One of the greatest destinations in the world.

There it is. Turtle Bay and nobody is walking in there.

Usually in most bar environments,

we're focused on length of stay.

In a tourist market like Bourbon Street,

they're not gonna stay long, 'cause they want to go out

onto Bourbon Street and walk up and down.

So this bar is all about quick capture,

quick sales, and sending them on.

Guys.

He walked right by the place! - [Ron] Oh my God!

- All right, turn around.

- There's the science of capture, guys.

There was no lighting to pull them in,

no person outside to invite in.

- [Billy] I think we're supposed to go in here.

- [Woman 1] I think so too. - Are we going in?

- There we go, finally inside.

- Looks dead.

- [Lexi] Hi guys.

- Hi! - [Lexi] Have you been helped?

- How about one of your Hand Grenades?

- [Lexi] Turtles. We do not sell Hand Grenades.

We sell turtles.

- All right guys, they're ordering the signature drink.

The turtle.

The Hand Grenade across the street

is a famous green cocktail.

This guy opens the bar 300 feet away.

And what color is his cocktail?

Green. - [Ricky] Green.

- Rather than having his own identity,

he's trying to compete with the Hand Grenade.

- [Ricky] You gotta be original

and do something that's different to bring people in.

- Oh my God, why would anybody ever drink that on purpose?

It's like super sour and it has a really bad aftertaste.

- My chest is still burning.

- Just look at the way they're serving this cocktail.

If they have (Ricky mumbles),

it's gonna continue to oxidize that cocktail,

which has to be masked with more sugar

and makes it even worse of a drink.

- You guys have any authentic New Orleans food?

We're from Ohio.

- We do have gumbo.

- Is it good?

- Let's go to the gumbo.

- [Jon] They're getting the gumbo chef.

- They're getting the gumbo.

- So chef, look at this. It's a food service product.

It's not fresh.

It comes in a plastic bag from a food service company.

- [Ron] Wow. Wow. Wow.

I mean you come to New Orleans for the best gumbo.

I just don't believe to come out a can.

- [Lexi] All right guys.

- Thanks.

- Lumpy. It smells like being a bacon soup.

- [Jon] Now remember guys, Billy's a kitchen manager.

He's looking, he knows that's a food service product.

- Pretty obvious that was made out of a bag.

- [Ron] Wow! - [Jon] He knew it.

- Wow. Wow. Wow.

- That's just wrong.

- What's amazing to me is an owner will sit in that bar

and watch that all day long and think that's okay.

I've seen enough. This bar has no identity.

It's totally a copy of the bar straight across the street.

It's time for me to go in, meet with the owners,

and tell 'em exactly how I feel.

I wanna talk about integrity for a minute.

Why did you copy everything from across the street?

- I didn't copy everything.

You gotta realize a lot of that was my ideas.

- So you sold it to them.

I mean, you sell a business to them, you get paid,

you walk away, then you try to steal everything

that they bought and paid for, then they sue you,

then you spend a hundred thousand hours on lawyers

to protect your thievery.

That's unethical.

- I'm not a thief.

I've worked hard and I've proven myself as a good person.

- If I was opening this bar,

there's one color that I would not make the drink.

And what do you think it is?

- I'd guess green.

- Of course, 'cause it's right across the street.

What decision did you make?

The exact one you shouldn't have.

- I think there's a lot of things that we do,

people copy off what we do too.

I mean, I'm focused on beating them.

- But that's not the way to do it.

If you see this on a street, you think it's a Hand Grenade.

If you see this on the street,

you think it's a Hand Grenade.

There is nothing about this cocktail

that makes it unique or marketable.

Really creative, huh guys?

I mean, this is really dynamic, guys.

This is gonna make me a fortune.

You have no individuality.

- That's (bleep).

I mean, my cup's bigger. My cup's a turtle.

My cup's a different color. My cup is totally different.

- You're actually helping them.

A green drink walks by, you know what somebody says?

Oh, that's one of those Hand Grenades.

- I mean, I think it was different enough.

- This is a copy. Copy's always underperform the original.

That's why this drink is a piece of garbage.

So I walk by here, I see no "to go" sign.

Up to 80% of the cocktails in this city are sold

how on the street to go? - To go.

- So I have no "to go" sign,

I got a building that doesn't hit.

You with me, guys? - Right.

- So you're here every day. What did you hire him for?

- Well, to run the place--

- I'm blaming on you.

The fact is you ain't managing (bleep).

Are you a good manager?

- I think so.

- What should a beverage cost be?

- Well, I do have some issues, I mean--

- You don't know? What should labor cost be?

- That, I couldn't tell y'all.

- About eight points below what you're running now. 28%.

So you got a guy running your bar,

doesn't have a clue what the numbers add up to.

- It's surprised me when Steve didn't know

some of the numbers

because he's more of the managing partner

of the day to day operations.

But we're a partnership,

so I should take some responsibility too.

- Right now, you're a glorified host.

You shake hands, you talk to people,

you work with the employees,

but you don't manage the business.

You're a failure.

And I want you

to understand that. - That's (bleep).

- It isn't (bleep),

because if you don't admit you're a failure,

then you'll create every excuse in the book.

- I admit

we have a lot of problems! - [Jon] Blame yourself.

- You don't gotta sit here and look in my face

in my (bleep) place and call me a (bleep).

- I just did and I'll do it again.

Steve is one of the owners.

He's supposed to manage this business day to day,

but he doesn't have a clue what even a beverage cost is.

He's not really a manager, he's a glorified host.

Question, are you lazy or do you not care?

- It's neither one of those things.

- Well, you better prove it to me,

'cause I think it's one of 'em.

- I can prove it. I'm not afraid to prove it.

I have no problem proving to you I'm not a failure.

I'm gonna work my ass off to make sure this place

turns into something.

- You too, right?

You put a half a million dollars into this place.

Think of all the decisions that you made

that led you to this place.

That should bother you, right?

Brad doesn't seem to care.

He's in a hole of half a million dollars,

but he sits there smiling as if life is good.

If I was out of half a million dollars, I'd be pissed.

Guys, Turtle Bay is dead.

- Turtle Bay's not dead.

I mean he thinks he's gonna get rid of this brand

that we've worked hard to build.

He's gonna have to show me something to make me believe

he knows not just the bar industry, he knows New Orleans.

- [Narrator] Jon brings in his experts

so they can assess the practical problems in the bar,

starting with the kitchen.

- What goody we have here?

- Gumbo.

- Date? Label? When was it made? Did you all make the gumbo?

- No. - No.

- The biggest thing that stuck with me

is the gumbo out a bag.

This is New Orleans, the capital gumbo of the world.

That frozen stuff, not gonna cut it.

- [Jon] So look at this gasket, guys.

- Yep.

- You can see the filth on my finger, but watch this guys.

I've got a really new technology called a bacteria count.

And what it does is using a swab, I can wipe something down,

put it in this device,

and it tells me the exact count of bacterial organisms

that are on any surface electronically.

In order to pass the swab test,

a surface needs count of under 2,500 bacterial organisms.

If it's more than that, it fails the test.

Oh my God, 4 million organisms are in that very spot.

What does that word say on the bottom?

- Results fail. - Fail.

- If I go through the kitchen

with a pocket full of these swabs,

what is that screen gonna say to me every time?

- Well, that's not a doubt. I'm not doing my job.

- If I see this reading again,

I will fire your ass personally

and I'll love every minute of it.

'Cause this is infuriating to me.

That's why management has to manage.

I see to look on your face, Brad.

You're disappointed, aren't you?

- A little bit.

- You got a half a million in this place, man.

I want you pissed off.

- There's some stuff that I'm hearing, I don't want to hear.

I think the cooks have to take responsibility

for keeping the stuff clean.

And if they can't figure that out,

we'll have to find someone that can.

- [Jon] I am gonna go through this kitchen tomorrow

with this device and it better fricking be clean.

Your ass is on the line.

Let's go to work, guys.

- I live this job. This is not a job.

This is a lifestyle.

So I'm going to do what it takes to get this thing

to what we want it to be.

One downfall in the kitchen is unacceptable.

It can't happen. Right now I feel pretty embarrassed.

It's a learning lesson.

- [Narrator] Before the kitchen can open

for the night's stress test,

Jon makes sure the staff passes the bacteria swab test.

- So guys, I want to test this one last time.

Remember, anything over a reading of 2,500 fails.

- If they don't pass this bacteria test,

one or all of them are getting fired and they deserve it.

- Oh man, what does that say?

Zero and pass.

- [Jon] Zero and pass, guys.

Yesterday I got so angry at Jeff.

But you know what, he cleaned the kitchen and he showed me

he wants to learn.

Awesome, now it's time to cook, guys. Good job.

- Thank you.

(rock music) (crowd cheering)

- [Male Host] What can I get you to drink?

- I'll have a Crown on the Rocks.

- [Ricky] Tonight for the stress test,

we're looking for speed.

I'm gonna give them 30 seconds to make a cocktail.

And if they go over that time, we're gonna mark 'em down.

Because if a customer walks in

and they don't get a drink in the hand and first minute,

there's 55 other bars right on the same street

that they're more than happy to go to and get served fast.

- [Jon] Move Lexi, hurry girl, move!

Lexi is incredibly slow. Look at her.

- I got a minute and 45 seconds on two drinks.

Lex, you gotta speed that up a bit.

Looking at Lexi now,

I thought she was gonna be the front runner,

but she's one of the slower people on the team.

Those four drinks took like two minutes. Over two minutes.

- [Lexi] I was surprised at how many Xes I got.

I thought it was faster. That's all.

It surprised me but I'm still learning.

- Took us probably about 20 minutes to get our drinks here

for whatever reason.

- No service! No service!

I wanted service!

- [Jon] That table and this table left 'cause of no service.

Yeah, you didn't notice it.

- [Brad] No I didn't.

- This should piss you off, you lost about hundred bucks?

Right then in that moment. You gotta do better.

Two groups of people left because they wanted quick service

and nobody gave it to them.

If Brad and Steve had a better to go station

this wouldn't be happening

and they'd be making a lot of money.

- Come on, guys, try and keep up, okay?

Jon made it a point for me to realize

the reason why things are dirty

and the drinks are inconsistent

and all these other things are going on, they're my faults.

I'm definitely gonna be on everybody's butt

and make them accountable for everything they do

behind the bar and in the kitchen.

Is there anything you need?

- [Lexi] No, I think I'm good right now.

- [Steve] Okay.

Did you ring up some couple pizzas or something?

- I rang up one, they're already making it.

- Okay, it's coming right out.

Lexi, where's the frozen on the rocks going?

- When I got here, I called Steve a failure.

And tonight he changed.

He anticipated problems, he solved problems,

and he supported his staff.

Steve was a manager tonight.

- [Narrator] Back in the kitchen, the orders are pouring in.

- We need a cup of gumbo.

Right behind.

That's ice cold!

- [Chef] What?

- Nothing worse than cold gumbo, man.

- Yes, you're right.

- I decided to taste the gumbo,

the gumbo wasn't heat up properly.

It's bad, that gumbo's sour.

Should throw it out and make new one.

- It's not a good gumbo.

Like I don't think the chef knows how to make it right.

Like I can't stomach it. I can't finish it.

(tense music)

(Ron groans) - I'm gonna throw up.

(Ron retches)

I just think the gumbo's so bad, it made me puke.

It's their fault, they should be tasting the food.

They need to throw it out and make new one,

because they're gonna make everybody sick.

Did you taste the gumbo?

- No, I haven't tasted it.

- [Ron] It's bad.

I just threw up. - Oh, you did?

- Yeah.

How long that gumbo been out?

- We take it out the freezer and we pre thaw it--

- In water. - And have it sit here.

- Did you bring it to temperature?

Every time you reheat something,

you need to make sure you bring it to 212 degrees.

Otherwise, that's how bacteria grow.

(Ron coughs and groans)

I taste that gumbo, now my whole stomach's (bleep) up.

'Cause which idiot started that?

How many people those guys make sick?

- Guys, we gotta have a talk here.

I wanna hear what happened with this soup.

- We took the stuff back out the steam table

and I guess we didn't let it set out long enough '

to cool off the right way.

- So you guys knew it wasn't up to temperature, right?

Right? - Yes. Yes.

- And you sold it anyway, correct?

- I wasn't aware that it wasn't up to temperature--

- Am I right or wrong?

- Listen, Jon. I was not aware that it wasn't up to--

- But you're supposed to be aware,

that's what you get paid for.

- You're correct. You're correct.

- Okay, next.

Chef, how many times did you throw up tonight, chef?

- [Ron] About three times.

- Close this kitchen down, now.

You don't have the right to sell food.

Damn you! How dare you get people sick?

Shut this kitchen down.

I don't want any food served here tonight, do you hear me?

- Close it the (bleep) down.

- [Narrator] Now that Brad has agreed to make a new start,

Jon lays out the bar's new concept for the staff.

- What do people come to New Orleans for?

New Orleans experience? We know that.

The New Orleans is what? Mysticism, right?

Spirituality, the history of this city.

We are gonna take that element

and we're creating a focus upon a theme

that nobody else has on this street.

- Jon, we don't want a good one. We want great. The best.

We don't want him coming outta that kitchen

till he has the best gumbo on Bourbon Street.

We want the best specialty drink on the street.

We want the best cup on Bourbon Street.

We're believing in you guys.

- Well, I think that's a reasonable quest

and it's great to see your fire back.

When Brad gave me that challenge, I knew I had him.

He lit up, he got excited about the direction

we're going in.

And now that he's ignited, we can ignite this business.

Let's go to work, guys.

(crowd cheering)

Brad, when I came here, this building had no individuality,

no personality, and as a result, it made no money.

Now you're gonna have a money machine with an identity

that makes you proud.

You guys ready to see your new bar?

- Yeah! (crowd cheering)

One.

Two.

Three!

(crowd cheering)

(electronic music)

- Wow, look how lit up it is inside.

- Yup, badass.

- [Jon] Bars on Bourbon Street suffer from the sameness

and to make this bar successful,

I had to make it stand alone in a crowd of 55 other bars

in the immediate neighborhood.

- I think it's great. Everything catches your eye.

And I can't wait to open it up

and let these people have a good time in there.

- This bar is all about a guy by the name of Edward DuBois.

Edward DuBois actually lived in this building

and he was a barber and a philanthropist and a womanizer.

And the legend has it,

that he was murdered by a bunch of his mistress,

that in fact is his ghost is in that building.

Look at that sign. Spirits.

Booze but also the spirit of Edward DuBois.

It employs all the mysticism of New Orleans

and it's fun, guys. Go inside, take a look.

- That's so awesome.

- Oh my Lord, it's big back here.

Not run into each other.

- This place is wild.

- It's cool.

- It's better than I could even imagine.

Oh, oh, Lexi! Jose Cuervo Margherita!

- Oh yeah, on tap.

- What do you think, guys? - [Woman 1] It looks great.

Edward DuBois was a barber. So this fits our concept.

Somebody sits down, pour a shot,

and you watch how they line up for these shots

walking down the street.

I bet you can sell a couple hundred shots a night from here.

You agree? - I'm ready for it.

- The shot chair is like unbelievably cool.

Twirl me. (Brad chuckles)

You walk by there, you see it,

it makes you just want to get in it.

- [Jon] Let's head to the bar.

So the fact of the matter is,

we wanna sell more spirits, guys. So what did I do?

We put lighting above each of the bottle steps,

so when the lights come down in the bar,

what's the brightest thing in the room? The liquor bottles.

This is called cocktails on tap.

It's premium juice and liquor.

The juice and the liquor comes out two tubes

within that nozzle.

And you can make yourself these drinks in four seconds.

Next, I wanna take you down to the to go station.

This is a key point.

Now, rather than facing this way when people walk by,

you face this way.

- [Greg] It's a much cleaner bar back there.

It's a lot more efficient.

We'll be able to pump drinks out as quickly as possible.

That's what it's all about on Bourbon Street.

- You gave me a challenge to create the best cup, right?

- Right.

- Guys, say hello...

(staff cheering and applauding)

To the Resurrection cocktail.

Now, think of this baby walking down Bourbon Street.

You see that and you see blue, suddenly we're branded, guys.

Brad, is that the best cup on the street?

- Yeah, that's the best cup.

You see it coming--

- Steve is that the best cup on the street, buddy?

- Yeah, it's the best.

That cup has something that no one else has.

- I'm happy with it.

It's gonna make people go to the new bar.

- The Resurrection sold extremely well because it's blue,

it was out there, people saw other people drinking it.

- [Woman 2] Where'd you get those drinks.

- And I think it is gonna be the most popular selling drink

in the bar, just 'cause it's in your face.

- Resurrection! - On Bourbon!

- How you doing? Good.

Turtle Bay was a baby of mine.

It's always gonna be a part of my life,

but I can move forward now. I'm a new man.

- I think my work is done.

- I think you did a great job, Jon.

- Excellent, man. That means a lot to me. You're a good guy.

- Thanks, I appreciate it. - I want to thank the both

of you. You happy, buddy?

- Yup. - Thanks.

- Good luck. Congratulations.

- Appreciate it.

- When I got here,

Brad was living in a shadow of Tropical Isle.

Now he has his own concept, his own brand,

and his own future.

It's been over two years since I rescued Brad and Steve.

And now I'm sending in my expert,

chef Ron DuPrat, to test Brad's drive as a leader,

if the gumbo is cooked to the correct temperature,

and to see if the signature drink and cup

are being executed properly.

- Jon asked me to come out to check

the quality of Spirits On Bourbon's.

It's the perfect time because they don't know I'm coming.

When I walked in, I was very impressed to see

how they keep up everything and to see the customers happy.

What's up? - What's going on, man?

- Look who's here.

- Hey! Ron! - What's up, man?

- Jon asked me to come by to see what's going on,

but this was pretty packed.

You must be doing something right.

- This is Sunday night, which is pretty good.

When chef Ron walked in, I was excited to see him

because he brought a lot of great things to us.

I consider him a friend now.

- So gimme the rundown, what's really been going on?

- Well, we added this out here to do the private parties.

'Cause we've been selling so much food,

we have the demand now.

We opened out the courtyard in the back

with a little graveyard. We have a lot of private parties.

A lot of people go watch the games back there.

And we just took it to a different level.

- Nice, you're doing an excellent job, guys.

- When Jon left, we were like, "Wow, do I like this?

Is this really what I want out of the bar?"

So we looked at it and we says, "It's pretty cool."

And we just all had a meeting, says,

"Hey, we're gonna buy into this

and we're gonna torque it to make it work for us."

And we did, and within weeks after it,

it was paying off and it was paying off heavily for us.

One of the biggest changes we had was redesigning this cup

to make it work for us.

This is the original cup that Jon designed for us.

It was a little bit too big and we had some growing paints.

He just gave us an outline of what we needed.

So we were worked on the cup.

Then we came up with this cup with a on and all switch

and people seemed to love it.

- Can I get a Resurrection?

- One or two?

- Two.

- We added the mascot Edward.

- We added tons of merchandise.

We have t-shirts, we're even getting ready

to make a concentrated flavor mix that you can buy

the Resurrection mix in stores.

- Amazing.

- This is great.

We've been doing a great job in the kitchen.

I think our crew's been doing a really good job,

as far as keeping the place clean,

keeping your recipe for the gumbo the same,

keeping it consistent,

making sure we're serving the same things all the time.

- Good. Consistency count.

They sell the right thing.

The success story is well documented,

but I need proof for myself.

As you know, last time I was here, I got sick of the gumbo.

I just think the gumbo's so bad, make me puke.

So I hope this time's gonna be different.

- Yeah. - We wouldn't want anything

but honestly. If it's a bad report, you can tell Jon.

- If it's not better, I'm gonna shut the place down!

Okay, that's good stuff. Let's go.

- I'm nervous about him going to the kitchen

to try the gumbo,

'cause he wanted us to have the best gumbo.

This better be right

or we're gonna have to hear about this forever.

If he doesn't like this, we're (bleep).

- Here we go.

- Okay guys, this is the moment of truth.

(tense music)

I approve.

You did an excellent job since the last time I was here.

Everything just cooked to perfection.

- The gumbo is great. And in Louisiana, that's critical.

- I applaud you for that. - Well, thanks a lot, man.

We've been working hard to keep up to your standards.

We did it.

- Now, let's check the temperature.

(dramatic music)

That's ice cold!

Wow, perfect.

178 degrees. Everything's clean.

The gumbo recipe is perfect, consistent.

I mean the fryer is clean.

Perfect. Everything is date labeled.

They're doing an excellent job.

- Ron loving the gumbo two years after he left

and still saying it tastes the same, meant a lot to us.

Just proof that consistency and doing the same thing

when the recipes right, it's important.

- Right, make it magic.

- Tell me what you think about that.

(tense music)

- Excellent.

- Fantastic. That's what I was hoping to hear.

- [Ron] This exact same way two years ago.

My compliment man, you're doing an outstanding job.

Jon Taffer will be very proud of what you're doing.

- Consistency, that's what you were always pushing.

Consistency.

Our sales last year were up over a million dollars

and it's still growing to this point.

Since the show, we've all already went through

over a hundred thousand skeleton cups,

we were buying so many cups,

we had to buy a warehouse to store all these cups in.

Right here, the order that just came in,

that'll last us maybe three months.

- Over here, we have our graveyard of barber chairs.

So many people come in the bar

and get shots in the shot chair, we just go through 'em.

- The shot chair revenue has been unbelievable.

Every night, we're going through five or six bottles

of liquor just out of the shot chair alone.

- Woo! Yeah!

- I knew this chair would be a hit. It's a money maker.

And it's great to see the money coming in.

- We've added dueling pianos to the bar seven days a week.

- One of Jon's major focuses when dealing with me

was making sure that all of our numbers were in line.

Our liquor cost is consistently under 17%.

Our beverage cost is consistently under 21%

and our food cost is under 28%.

I mean you can increase sales,

increase sales, increase sales,

but unless you're making the money on the bottom line,

none of that really matters.

Jon opened my eyes to that.

- Well, lemme tell you something.

You guys are always surprised in us with stuff.

I got a surprise for you. I wanna show you.

- Okay, let me see a surprise.

- What do you think about this coming down the street?

- [Ron] Nice.

- [Brad] What do you think about that? (Brad cackles)

- The hearse is absolutely killer.

It's a great marketing vehicle.

Now they can bring Spirits On Bourbon anywhere.

- Oh man, this is a surprise.

- Thanks, that's the wow factor.

- [Ron] Brad and Steve make a show to the success.

If anything, they pushed and develop for higher standards.

To become bigger, better, and stronger.

- You know what we say in New Orleans?

"Laissez les bon temps rouler," baby.

Let the good times roll! Let's do it! (Ron laughing)

(crowd cheering)

- Way to go!

I really love everything Brad and Steve are doing

and I couldn't be more proud that they took the lessons

I taught them and the theme I created and ran with it.

Spirits On Bourbon is a surefire success.

Hi, this is Jon Taffer.

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