Jon Taffer has served as host of “Bar Rescue” since the show premiered in 2011, helping to turn struggling bars into profitable businesses.
With the show’s 10th season out now, Taffer told KNX News’ Brian Ping there are still many mistakes bar owners are making.
“Filth, irresponsibility still exists,” he said.
Taffer said that this season is “the most stressful” he’s ever had as bar owners are in debt from the pandemic and dealing with elevated costs.
“These people are in financial trouble,” he said. “They're in default on their leases. They're behind on payroll taxes. They're behind on all of their other expenses, and creditors are chasing them down. So that puts a lot of pressure on me.”
Taffer also weighed in on why so many bars and restaurants in Southern California struggle despite satisfied customers, saying our regulations make it tough.
“This is a very difficult state when it comes to those kind of regulatory issues,” he said. “You know, look at other states. We talked about this earlier today, happy hour - it's illegal here. Two-for-one cocktails are illegal here. Any kind of discounting after work is illegal here. Forty-seven other states don't have those kind of rules. In this state, the government doesn't think the industry is responsible enough to serve alcohol and do it in these kinds of ways.”
New episodes of Bar Rescue air Sunday nights at 10 p.m on Paramount Network.
Listen to our full interview with Taffer in the audio above.
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