Original subtitles

For over 30 years, John Tapper traveled the country saving hundreds of bars from

failure and ruin.

Now he's heading to Douglasville, Georgia to attempt to rescue Blue Rose

Bistro. This is no way to run a business. Let's get some freaking drinks

here.

In 2017, Michelle Jones, with the support of her husband, Nate.

Open Blue Rose Art Beat Show after a successful career in the music industry.

I've worked with amazing artists like Isaac Hayes, so art was a big thing for

me. After leaving Isaac in New York, I moved to Georgia, and I decided to open

an art cafe called the Blue Rose.

An art cafe is not just a bar, it's not just a restaurant, it truly is a place

where people connect.

and for artists to show their work.

We have our local artist who did these paintings actually teaches it.

Michelle's mom, Yvonne, helped design the venue and gave the bar its name.

Blue Rose itself represents creation.

You can't grow a Blue Rose, you have to create it. That was all my mother.

But Michelle's creation was unable to attract customers, leaving some to

question the bar's identity.

It's hard to describe.

this place to people. Is it bistro? Is it art? Is it a casual bar?

It's all of those things.

Michelle views the business as a community giving back type of thing. If

something happens, we probably won't even make payroll.

To me, if you're in business and you're not making money, it doesn't make sense.

To make matters worse, Michelle and Nate's lack of management experience

affecting the bar's operations.

The things that we say we have, we don't have.

The desire is there. I don't think they have the ability or the knowledge of

really how to run a business.

Example, there's only one POS.

Heaven forbid, we'll get busy. I think only one of them is actually functional

right now, so.

I know some bartenders will make one drink way strong and another bartender

it to the recipe, so we need that consistency.

Running a restaurant bar, it's a beast. You really have to know this business.

But opportunities to learn the business have been in short supply as the last

five years brought a series of setbacks and personal losses for Michelle and her

family. My husband ended up getting cancer. I had cancer myself, and then I

my mother to COVID.

So it was tough.

My mother really is the bedrock of why I do this. As the bar continues to

struggle, Michelle is faced with not only the collapse of her dream.

But the end of her shared vision with her late mother. My husband, Nate, he

feels like there are thousands of businesses that close every day. But the

business is more than a business for me.

Now, Blue Rose Art Bistro is losing up to $8 ,000 a month, with Michelle and

Nate sinking into almost $400 ,000 worth of debt.

I don't think you know when it's able.

I've done all I can do.

But that's... I don't think you know that. With just a few months left before

closing.

Michelle and Nate have decided to pull back the doors, bust open the books, and

make a call for help to Bar Rescue.

We have to make this win for my mother.

Good to see you. John, good to see you there. Always good to see you. Welcome

Douglasville, Georgia.

I'm in Douglasville, Georgia, about a half an hour outside of Atlanta at a bar

called the Blue Rose Art Bistro. I have Anthony Lama and Derek Turner with me,

two of my favorite experts to help me rescue this bar.

What it says on the windows, guys?

Eat.

Sip. You can't drink. You can only sip. Chat.

Paint. You got to paint? Okay. What if I don't want to paint? Do you rent an

easel with tires? I mean, how does this work? This makes no sense to me.

Do you want some water, sweetie?

All right.

This bar is owned by Michelle.

Okay. You got shot glasses? No.

We only have one actual shot glass. Michelle was in the music business, and

understand it, worked with Isaac Hayes years ago, who took $200 ,000 of her own

money and opened this place.

And there's her husband, Nate.

Nate said he would have closed the place a year

ago. She's in debt for $100 ,000.

So I don't think Nate is quite into what's going on here.

There's your chef named Shorty.

Well, at least she's wearing gloves.

There's Kevin, the manager.

French fries, fried shrimp.

He's only been here about a week. Okay. There's Mark. He's one of the

bartenders. Fire.

Stay. There's one little station back there. So what happens when this place

gets packed?

I'm not sure they ever get packed.

Guys, for recon, I got my A -team. Kevin Undergaro is not only one of my best

friends, but he's done...

recon for me three, four times. And one of his wrestlers, Mercedes Bernardo. I'm

dying to see what they think. We're going to get a female and a male

perspective. It's supposed to be an art bar?

I don't know what it is.

I'm kind of confused because normally when you have these things, you'll have

the artist's name, maybe a description.

Maybe they sell into the gallery. What's interesting is what makes it an art

piece, John? Every restaurant has art on the wall. Right. So what makes this

place different than any other?

And so, yeah, these are all local artists. Are you selling them?

Yes, we are selling them. The whole purpose of it is really to support local

artists and give them a place to sell their work. If you went in there and you

looked at that painting on the wall, you see an artist's name anywhere. Not one.

It doesn't make sense to me.

Let's see what Kevin's ordering.

Can I do the island rum punch?

Sure. Can I do the blue rose margarita?

Do you want a house tequila, or do you want... Do you have a mezcal by any

chance? I can ask him.

So she doesn't know if they have a mezcal. But as an owner, you should know

you have. Who's putting in those orders? If you go to a table, you better have

90 % of the answers.

Let me take it further.

She doesn't know what she spent her $400 ,000 on, does she?

Yeah, that's real.

Let's do the fried green tomatoes and the catfish platter.

Look at the food.

Look at the juice coming off the shrimp into the flour. Now, that flour has been

contaminated. When those shrimp come out of there, it now has to be dumped. She

cannot use that again.

All right, let's see a cocktail.

We have some technique, but he has his garnish caddy in the fridge. Yeah.

You're open.

Take the caddy.

Put it up on the bar. So they're not set up for four people, let alone 20, 5,

10, whatever it is.

Okay, now here come the fried green tomatoes.

It's going to go in right after the shrimp. Was that the same flour?

No, that wasn't the same one.

So cross -contamination has definitely happened.

Shrimp allergies are very common. And raw shrimp juice can be one hell of a

source of bacteria.

Right. Uh -oh, same one. Now we got this.

What is that? Now the catfish is going in there. Looks like catfish going in

there. A seafood, a meat, and a vegetable all went into the same dredge.

Thank you.

Thank you. Your food will be up.

Thank you very much. Cheers.

Okay, let's try this. Go ahead.

I'll let you go first.

Here we go.

It tastes like very sour. Here we go.

That's it. I'm going to go in. I'm not going to let Kevin eat that, guys.

Fried green tomatoes, right?

Yeah.

I don't want you to eat that.

They're dredging it in the same flour that they're dredging raw shrimp in.

Then they're cooking it in the same oil that they're cooking the shrimp in.

Oh, my God.

This drink is disgusting.

What's wrong with it? It looks too sweet by the color.

I can see it from here.

What is this concept, Kevin?

We've been trying to figure it out.

No idea. Is it an art house or a cafe?

She calls it an art bistro. And she's losing $8 ,000 a month.

This is not going to get her out of the hall. No.

Good luck, John. She's a sweet lady. Be nice.

Michelle? Yes.

Hi, you want to sit and talk?

Sure, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too, hon.

Grab a seat, please.

You were in the music business.

Yes, I was.

Had you ever been in the bar business before?

No. Okay, so now you come in here, you buy this place. How much?

About 200.

About 200 grand. Have you made money?

No.

So, how much in debt are you now?

I would say...

I know you know the number, Nate, because if I was her husband, I would

number. I do. How much is it?

$200 ,000.

$200 ,000 of your money? Mm -hmm. $200 ,000 SBA loans? Mm -hmm. Are you

personally on those loans?

Yes.

How does that feel?

It doesn't feel good at all.

Let me be straight with you guys, because I'm here to help you. The

doesn't make any sense to me.

I walk in, this doesn't make any sense to me.

That blue drink is way too sweet. Mercedes couldn't drink it.

I can tell you it's too sweet for the color of it. But you didn't see that.

You went in the kitchen.

Do you know that your fried green tomatoes, you dredge them in the same

that you do the shrimp?

You didn't see it.

So you look, but you don't see.

And every time you don't see, it costs more money.

Does that bother you?

Because it would bother the hell out of me.

It bothers me in a sense, but in all actuality, right? This is the first time

she's ever ran a restaurant.

But she's been running it for five years.

This is my passion.

So this is your passion. But then you choose not to see things when you are

here. Okay, so let me just take two things. I'm just, I'm struggling.

No, don't struggle. It's her passion, but she's not looking at the drinks and

the quality of the product. It's her passion, but they're cooking the food

improperly right in front of her. I think that your ego is your passion more

than the work.

And I'm starting to think that you're a little full of shit.

I think that your ego is your passion more than the work.

And I'm starting to think that you're a little foolish.

Because if this was my passion, every drink would matter to me.

Every dollar would matter to me.

I wouldn't want to lose any more money.

There was a lot that happened.

I had cancer. Nate had cancer. I lost my mom to COVID.

We lost everything in the house, fire. All this stuff happened in a matter of

four years.

So you've been through hell. We've been through a lot.

And this place meant a lot to my mom. This was her dream with you?

Yes. Do you believe in this concept, Nate?

I know you believe in her. Do you believe in the concept?

I have my doubts.

I believe in my wife 100%. I feel like when you come into a business like this,

you have to have some experience for it to be remotely successful.

I want to introduce myself to you. My name is John Experience, and I'm going

give you everything I got.

Amen.

I appreciate that. Okay. And you know I'm going to be aggressive.

I have to turn this around. You can't put any more money into this. It's

ridiculous. But I promise you when I'm done, you're going to hug me.

Okay. Okay. We'll go to work tomorrow. All right. Good night. Nice meeting you.

Nice meeting you.

John is tough because that's what he is.

But I think that his wealth of experience and knowledge in this area is

most important. I'm ready for the rest of the week.

I think last night was kind of trying.

What do you think?

I think it was actually good. I think what John talked about are the exact

things that we need.

Yes, last night was a little tough, but my mom was a tough cookie too. And I

feel that John said he was coming from a place like, look, Michelle, this is

your business.

And if you're here now, you have to have both feet on the ground and you have to

be paying attention.

So I respect that.

So I think last night was a very good measuring tool of where we are and where

we can possibly go.

Yes.

Last night was not the worst operation I've ever seen by far.

Fact of the matter is there's something awkward about this business, the way the

art connects to it or doesn't connect to it, and the way the overall place feels

and looks.

I think that might be what's wrong, but I want to hear what the staff think.

You know, when I come to certain bars and restaurants, they're just businesses

to people.

But the whole premise of this community, artists in this community, the memory

of your mom, this is a lot more than a business to you.

See, I thought I was coming to rescue a business. I didn't realize I was coming

to rescue a legacy.

Oh, yeah. I went online last night.

Do you know you've got about 900 plus reviews at about a 4 .5, 4 .6?

Oh, yeah.

And how many people would be raving about that?

That tells me we should be making a lot of money. We should be paying down that

debt. So I say to myself, what's wrong?

And I think I know.

But before I tell you what I think, I want to hear what you think, okay?

So, Shorty, how long have you worked here? I've been here since March.

March, okay. Tell me why you think we're not doing as well. The biggest thing

for me was marketing.

So people will know where Blue Rose is and what Blue Rose is about and just

seeing if we can get some updates at some point. So you think that our

in the community isn't getting people in like it could?

Correct. Okay.

Hi. Hi, how are you? What's your name? I'm Unique. And how long have you been

here? I've been here two years. So you've seen a lot.

Oh, yeah, definitely.

Seen it all, actually.

Do we have less customers today than we did a year ago today?

Yes, we do. We do.

We do.

Give us a percentage. Is it 20 % less, 10 % less?

I'd say maybe like 30%, 35%. Gotcha.

So now when we take a look at the fact that you're saying marketing and

communications and people not knowing and a lack of promotions, you're sort of

saying the same thing, aren't you? Absolutely.

Okay. Hi. Hi, how are you doing? Good. What's your name? My name is Kevin.

Kevin, you're our new manager.

Yes. What have you seen? Like what everybody says, the marketing.

Word of mouth, putting ourselves out there.

But you're getting the same message from everybody, aren't we, Michelle?

Yep. My name is Mark. Mark, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. How long have

you been here?

I started at the end of April.

Okay. Now, last night's cocktail was a little sweet.

There's three elements to a cocktail.

Sweet, sour, and alcohol.

If it's too sweet, you don't order a second one, do you?

If it's too sour, you don't order a second one, do you?

If it's too strong, you don't order a second one, do you?

So... Cocktails are about balance.

But here's where I want to go. When you conceived this place, you did it with

your mom. Yes. You had a vision. You had a personality on where we wanted this

food to go.

Like I always wanted the plate to have an artistic, I know it sounds weird, but

I just wanted it to look like art coming to the table. You like the dishes to

look like that.

Art.

in this building is like a round peg in a square hole.

Look at the art on the wall. What the hell's the name of the artist?

Where do I buy it?

What does it cost?

It should be part of the concept.

It should be integrated into the concept. Art means nothing in this

Well, in the beginning, in the beginning... I don't care.

Don't give me excuses.

It's not an excuse. It's a fact.

In the beginning, it was because we were very intentional about having art

classes. And it doesn't happen now.

That's on you. As owners, you let it disintegrate. The customer base eroded.

The promotions stopped.

It kept eroding, eroding, and eroding. And you guys did nothing about it.

the issue I have.

I get it. You don't have the art show in your back pocket. But you knew it had

to happen.

And you wrote a check instead of making it happen.

That's my problem.

The people that walk through the building is down 30%. As a restaurant

that's horrifying.

It is not easy to turn a restaurant around when you've lost 30 % of your

customer base.

We're facing a point of no return, right, Nate, if we don't flip this

Technically not, Nate. There's no technical. Your trend is down 30%. I

with what you're saying. You're going to give me another excuse, right?

Hear me out, Nate.

I want you to own the fact that that 30 % loss is a failure because we don't

move forward until you own it.

If you don't own that, I can't help you.

So own this, guys.

I want you to own the fact that that 30 % loss is a failure. If you

don't own that, I can't help you.

So own this, guys.

Because we don't move forward until you own it. I'm owning it. Okay. I'm not

sure he is.

All right. 30 % is a failure.

Let's move on.

Don't tell me what to say. Nate, it's 30 % a failure.

Yeah. Let's move on. Okay?

All right. Thank you.

Well, then we got to go to work, guys. You with me?

Okay.

Let's up the food.

Let's up the drinks.

Let's integrate the art. Let me remodel this place and turn it into a real art

bistro.

How does that sound, Michelle?

Amazing. And thank you.

You guys ready to go to work?

Yay! Nate, you and I are thinking up, aren't we?

Let's go to work.

Hello, Michelle, Shorty, Kevin, Nate, correct?

Yes. All right.

So I saw two things last night, cross -contamination, the dredging.

of green tomatoes in the same flour and mix as the shrimp. So I was going to

actually have you cook the fried green tomato.

Shorty, it's your kitchen now.

Let's go.

Last time at Recon, I saw several things in the kitchen that weren't right.

About five green tomatoes.

I want to see Shorty, see her organization.

You're going into the flour first.

Right. I think it's very important for Shorty to start fresh.

Okay. It's a big portion, yeah.

Okay? Not exciting.

It's kind of like one, two notes.

Not horrible, but it's not great.

You know what I mean? You could probably get this anywhere.

The kitchen's my world. It's my element.

But, like, from one chef to another, I totally understood. Like you said, and

the tomatoes, you know, but just to need a little bit more razzle -dazzle to it,

for sure.

So, Nate, you ever help back here? Because you should be able to jump back

in case you're crowded.

Uh, no.

Okay. First time seeing it done. First time seeing it.

Wow. And how long have you been serving these green tomatoes?

It's been years.

Years. But this is your first time seeing it?

Yes.

You've got to be able to see it all. You should know it all. This is yours.

That's very important.

Lead by example.

You should be able to do it before you ask someone else to do it. Gotcha.

All right. So we're going to train all the way up to stress test.

We have a lot of work to do, so let's get to it.

All right.

Let's go.

How we doing, guys?

Good. How you doing?

So what I know, these bartenders are fairly new.

Michelle and Nate are rarely here. So I have to find out the skill level of

these bartenders.

Okay, so what I want to do is test you guys, quiz you guys a little bit to see

if you know the things you should know. John and I came up with a simple test.

Quiz them, see what they know, and see if their answers match up.

These are basic questions that everyone should know. Owners, bartenders,

servers, everyone should know.

You guys want to get to it? Yeah. Okay.

So the first question, no cheating.

What is the standard pour of a shot?

Quickly. Let's go. What's the standard pour?

What I'm noticing while they're writing down the answers is they're not

confident in what they're writing. So that's a big red flag.

Turn.

I see a...

A bunch of answers.

One and a half ounce. That's standardized.

It did not surprise me that we had different answers across the board. So

need to be on the same page with that.

You ready for the next question? What is the standard count for a two -ounce

pour?

All right, answers.

Okay, the answer is eight.

It's been a long time for two ounces. Okay, and lastly, how many ingredients

in a classic espresso martini?

Ingredients? Yes, ma 'am.

Okay. Three, two, one.

The answer is three.

Yay. I saw four. I saw three.

I saw I don't know. And I appreciate that I don't know. Because if you say I

don't know, I can help that. If you say I know and you go, no, you're wrong, I

can't help that. So I appreciate that you said I don't know because that's my

job is to give you the knowledge that I have. And this is the point to show you

guys what you don't know so we can teach you stuff to know. I want to make sure

that we train up to stress test so you guys are locked in. You know what to do

because it is going to be stressful.

All right, let's get it.

Let's all get together for a minute before we open up. Okay.

So let's imagine we had an art show.

And that art show's starting at 8 o 'clock.

We'd get pretty packed pretty quick, wouldn't we? Yes.

Well, that's what I'm trying to simulate tonight.

Okay, guys, we've got to open in a couple of minutes. Michelle,

you want to invite them in? Sure.

Here we go.

Welcome, everyone.

Welcome to Blue Rose. How many people tonight? Two? Come on in.

One. Take the two -feeter over there. Step on up. How many with you?

Six? Okay.

Welcome to Blue Rose.

Yes, you're welcome.

Welcome. Let me sit you over here.

Doing just fine, thank you. I'm unique. I'll be taking care of you all today.

Two rum punch and one martini.

Margarita, all right. And you, sir?

Margarita. Hey, guys.

Hey, you got a stopwatch with you? Turn it on for me. I want to see how long it

takes you to get your stuff, okay?

Cool, thank you.

And how many margaritas do you have?

Three. You have three? So you can make two, double up.

You have one cocktail there, you can make three at the same time. So who's

service bar? Nobody.

So he's doing service bar. So he's doing bar. He's doing bar, too. So we have

one bartender doing this whole room. The whole room.

It's not good. No, it's not good.

First order coming in.

Southern Fried Catfish.

Order of pride. Beautiful.

Let him eat, baby.

Hey, folks.

Have you ordered yet? Not yet. Not yet. Has anybody even said hello?

Not yet. Well, hello.

So when you sell, where do you put your food? Right up here. I always say we

need a better window system.

Okay. So we're going to see who runs this food.

They got names on here?

Yes. Bar number one.

Mark. We got our first order up.

Kind of sitting for a while, so we're waiting somewhere. It's been about a few

minutes, but it's still good right now. So we got to get a heat lamp up here for

you, Shorty.

Let's see who comes. Right. In about two minutes.

Definitely look forward to the new bell.

Guys, they're ringing the bell back in the kitchen.

Kevin, where is he?

You've got to hustle, man. We don't even have anything that's going out. Look,

how many service sticks do you have?

One bartender at one station. We haven't served the bar yet. I can't get food

picked up from the window. They're running around with glasses of water.

We haven't begun to serve the room yet.

Some of these people are going to be waiting an hour for a drink.

I don't know this cocktail, but I can tell you this is wrong.

One is higher than the other, right? And it's the same thing, right?

Look at the lemon.

This has more syrup than that.

I'm going to do the fried green half moon.

Two green tomatoes on the new.

Looking good, Shorty.

What's your stopwatch say?

Ten minutes.

Ten minutes.

I want you to make two more of those. If you know the floor needs it, they need

it, double up. Can you put this up there? I need another.

Got to hustle, man. Tequila. Tequila.

Reset. Knock those last three out. Get the floor going because you have 16

cocktails to go.

Nate, we're running 20, 25 -minute ticket times in the kitchen.

They're bringing food to tables. People don't have drinks. They have food.

That happens in every restaurant.

But, Nate, we don't have the systems. We're getting the food to the wrong

tables. We can't get the drinks out.

Look at how this is.

We're in deep, aren't we?

You know, this is exactly why I got frustrated at Nate this afternoon.

They don't accept that it's a shortcoming. They don't accept that

failing. Do you like some water in the meantime?

They don't accept that it's on them. But right now, we are failing. We've served

three drinks. We have one bartender in one bartending station with one POS

system. We're failing.

Until they know it, I can't fix it.

We got food.

Now we got food dying.

There's not one table out here that has a cocktail, is there?

What's your stopwatch say?

20 minutes ago his order was taken. Has anybody said, gee, maybe we should focus

on the tables?

Because this makes absolutely no sense. When do you get up and say, screw it,

they don't care about me.

Because this is absurd.

This is no way to run a business.

Let's get some freaking drinks out here.

20 minutes ago, his order was taken. This is absurd.

Let's get some freaking drinks out here.

I can't get all this done by myself.

This is a catfish.

All right, here you go.

Don't worry, I got you. I'll be right back.

Michelle, these people order food.

Kevin brings the food, no silverware.

This is happening everywhere.

Okay. We're disorganized on almost every table, every transaction.

Okay. So what are you doing right now? Hold on, what are you doing? I don't

know. No, no, no. I don't know.

Mark, Mark, take your time out.

Your bell is broken.

You have no heat lamp.

There's a lot going on.

All right, the bar is served, but nothing out there. Zero. Zilch.

Folks, listen up.

I don't do this very often.

Here it is, guys, the white towel.

Guys, I surrender.

We can't get the right food to the right tables. We don't have enough

silverware. We don't have the stations to put out the drink. We don't have the

POS system for the employees to be able to do it properly. Our food is sitting

in the back because we're not getting it out quick enough. What does your

stopwatch say?

He ordered his drink 26 minutes ago.

And you got no chance of getting that drink because look at everybody else who

doesn't have one.

So I got a choice, Nate. Either let them sit and suffer or be honest. We blew

it. Did we blow it?

We're working. We're working. No, we're not working. Michelle, did we blow it?

I'm not going to say we blew it.

Folks, did we blow it? Yes or no?

Yes. They made the decision.

We blew it.

Now I want to fix it. I don't want to waste any more time running around with

plasticware or serving people that don't have drinks.

Let's close it down and let's train people because this is a terrible

and you guys need to accept that so we can fix it.

Let's call it a night. We got to go to work and somehow make this a winner.

night.

I'm going to reserve what I wanted to say.

I mean, what John said hurt. I think our staff did the best we could.

Got a little ways to go. A long way to go.

For me, failure is a pretty rough word because I think that there are some

players that did really well on the team tonight.

This is a tough one, guys. From the location of the kitchen to where they

the dishes, this just isn't a very functional space.

What do you think of the bar setup?

It's backwards, John. Yeah. We're going to be creating a cocktail called the

Radcliffe. Radcliffe Bailey is a contemporary artist that focuses heavily

African -American history.

I'm going to jump into a very classic Southern dance, chicken and waffles.

It's a historical building, so we can't change the outside that much. So we got

to figure out some way to come up with a complete decor package.

It's tricky for sure.

Three -fourths of an ounce of Twisted Alchemy Eureka lemon juice.

Three -fourths of an ounce of Orgeat. And an ounce and a half of Taffer's

buttered bourbon.

Winko brought you a new waffle maker.

I know.

Go right down in there.

While that's going, we're going to get the chicken. When you go to an art bar,

you expect the center of the place to be art. So we got to figure out some way

to come up with a complete decor package.

Okay. Ladies and gentlemen.

That is the record.

Boom.

Boom. A fun take on chicken and waffle.

I like it. It's sweet. It's not too sweet, though.

Nice, crunchy.

We almost have to create a museum -quality presentation of art in a bar

environment. We need the lighting. We need the power to do that. And we need

artist, and we need the art.

And then this room is a real challenge.

Is this where you're wanting to do, like, It alludes to creativity in this

Is that what you're thinking? That's what I'm thinking. Okay. It's almost our

studio, dare I say. Okay. Do you have enough time to do it?

We're going to try. We're under a tight time frame right now. Is that going to

work? That's going to work. Thank you.

I know that last night's stress test was a disaster.

I need to know that Nate and Michelle understand that last night was a failure

so that they can move forward and fix what the failure was.

That's the most important part of our conversation today. You know, the only

point that you and I had any friction really during this week was when you

to me, we're working on it. Remember that? And I was pushing the word

This is a business of immediacy.

Each person comes for about 50 minutes for an hour.

Working on it doesn't work for them. For them, we failed.

You with me?

We've got to get to the point that every one of those guests have a good

experience. That's where the training comes in.

You manage those standards. I expect you at a table in two to three minutes to

welcome people.

I'm a little different with my wife because my wife kind of gets emotionally

involved with employees.

If they don't deliver for the business, then there's no place for them in the

business.

Remember, good business creates charity.

Charity does not create good business.

We've got to make money here so you can be charitable.

I want you to know that I'm creating what I believe is truly an art bistro.

I buy into your vision, but I also buy into the fact that we can execute it

much, much better.

You deserve this vision to come true.

Don't make me cry.

Don't listen to me.

You're open to us for all the right reasons.

Don't let anybody take this away from you.

Make this work so you can enhance your charity and find the happiness in your

soul that giving gives to you.

Okay? Okay, I've got to go to work. Okay, thank you. Thank you, John.

John, he heard our heart. He understood how passionate we were for the business.

And I feel like our story and our brand touched a different place in his heart.

What a week, huh?

Yeah, definitely.

I didn't want to change your dream, but I had to make your dream much more real

than it was. I had to make it deeper.

I had to mean more.

I had to give it more substance, more context, right?

I had to connect the food, the brand, the environment, make everything come

together so it makes sense.

So, are you guys ready to see it?

Okay.

This one's going to be fun.

Here we go. One, two, three.

Here

we go.

One, two, three.

I love it.

Go.

It's a historical building, so we can't change the outside that much.

So United Signs worked all night long, a great local company, to get the signage

and all the appliques and everything done. This is the beginning of the next

chapter. Ready to see it? Should I let them in?

Okay, go!

Go ahead.

That is amazing.

Oh, my God.

Yes.

Oh, my God. Yes. Oh, my God. Yes.

There we go.

Nice. Yes.

I think I'm talking about ease with ease a bit.

Oh, my goodness. Well done.

You outdid yourself. Are you happy?

John, this is amazing, man. This is amazing. Guys, there's a lot to tell you

about. Come over to the bar. Let me tell you everything.

Let's talk about it.

Look around.

Oh, man. Now, when the lights come down, that artwork pops. See how it all has

track lighting above it? Every piece of artwork has a spotlight on it. Well,

let's talk about making money for a minute. Let's do it. We got a

here and a workstation here. Two complete workstations.

A nice new hand sink over there. So, Nate, we just doubled our production of

bar. Now, remember that POS system over there? Yes. You got your own here.

You got your own here.

Shift 4 sky tab. Best. Best system there is. And I got you two

handhelds.

Then I got Partender, our inventory program, to give you a subscription. You

inventory in 10 minutes.

I got barproducts .com to get you everything you need. Glassware,

silverware, everything that you guys needed that we didn't have. So you're

running to the store, you're not going to buy anything. It's all here,

everything that you need, fully equipped with backups.

Then I got Tapper's Brown Butter Bourbon. You're the first ones in the

Georgia to have it.

Nobody else is going to have it for a month, so promote it.

Use it as an advantage and make some money off of it. Then I got a great

company, Swift Brothers, plumbing and heating. Came, fixed the plumbing, got

sinks in, the ice bins in, made sure everything was perfect. No leaks.

Everything is just the way it should be.

And then Atlanta Restaurant and Hotel Supply gave us the sinks that we needed

back here and all the equipment. And you know, when I told them what we were

doing, everybody stepped up for you guys. And then my own, Jim Chelios.

On my team, did all the artwork in the front of the bar. Wow. That's amazing.

So this was all done by our team right here for you. That's dope. And I got

Manitowoc to give you a brand new ice machine.

And I got a city discount to give you all new kitchen equipment back there.

my God.

You've got everything you need back there, including Winco waffle iron, a

toaster refrigeration unit back there, and a Moffat oven.

Okay. Like, this is...

I can't even begin to tell you, this is unbelievable.

It's amazing to see what you had in your heart visible.

This is a great crew. You're all really good people. You've got a place to be

proud of now.

Let's get them back.

Every single one, get them back with those smiles, with that personality,

that great food, with that special drink.

Let's get them back tonight, okay? Okay,

let's go to work.

To walk into the building and...

You know, to have a combination of a great place to eat, a great place to

and a great place to do art.

I mean, it's just different.

Welcome to Blue Rose. Welcome to Blue Rose.

Thank you. How are you doing?

This is great.

Thank you. So this is not your first time. Good, good.

How are you doing? What can I get for you today?

Look, you got your own personal studio over there. Look at that. Y 'all go

that out.

Michelle, I think you should get Kevin behind the bar helping out, okay?

Wow, this is so beautiful, miss. I mean, as an artist, I mean, wow, look at the

work. Look, that's yours.

Two andouilles, two bread beignets, and one half moon.

Let's get that other station going, okay? All right, walking in, andouille,

chicken and waffle.

Shorty, you feeling good?

Oh, yeah.

Okay, we got this.

Oh, still, still. My wife's chicken. Let's walk. Okay.

I'm worried. We put in a second VAR station. They're really not using it.

got to be faster. Room is full.

About four people have drinks.

We've got to get faster.

Two -second lime juice, two -second passion fruit. Got it. Make two of

Kevin, yourself.

Don't put them all on him. Come on, make some of these. Let's get caught up.

Food looks beautiful, guys.

Everybody's loving everything you're making. Every plate looks great, Shorty.

I'm really proud of you guys. Well done back here.

I was about to take her orders.

That's all I was about to do. I was a little worried in the beginning. We

started slow, only using one station.

Now Kevin's behind the bar as well, using two stations. We doubled up.

are starting to come out. The kitchen is starting to put food out. I'm starting

to feel a little better.

Look at this.

Not only did I build a bar I'm very proud of, I got some friends for life

That's right, that's right.

I'm proud of both of you. Thank you. You're such winners.

You're right, you guys are.

It just got away from you.

It can happen to anyone.

But if it happens twice, then I'm going to come here, you and I are going to

have some words.

All right, guys, my work is done.

Michelle and Nate are really good people. They're the center of this

and look, the community came to support them tonight.

Thank you.

They deserve this part. Now they're going to manage those standards, and

not going to get away from them ever again. I believe that.

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