Bar Rescue (season 5)

A classic dive bar with mob ties in Las Vegas is about to close its doors because of an owner who's busy being a nice guy rather than a wise guy, and allowing his employees to do whatever they want.

Note: This episode features commentary from former Hole-in-the-Wall gang leader Frank Cullotta who occasionally visits the bar. He also appeared during the grand re-opening.

Jon helps a hometown hero of a desert town rescue his roller rink bar from his unruly staff and management that displays pushover authority.

Note: For the recon, Jon brought in AfterBuzz TV founder Keven Undergaro.

After gambling his life savings on a run down Las Vegas bar, a desperate owner tries out a fetish night to whip up new business.

Note: Jon watched the recon with the owner of the bar.

Celebrities is run by brothers Max and Ryke. Both were contractors working for the Department of Defense and were deployed overseas, with Ryke being severely wounded by a grenade. Max opened the bar, but developed a hostile, antagonistic reputation with the local community over social media due to controversy over a homeless veterans fund he started. Jon sends in a group of patrons who were publicly attacked by Max over social media, and Max's hostile attitude turns the crowd against him, with Max defiantly refusing to acknowledge his mistakes. Jon begins a process of conflict resolution, giving Max the opportunity to apologise to his staff. Community members are then invited the following night, voting to support Max after good service and a positive attitude change. The re-branded and renovated bar opens to a good reception from the locals. Six weeks later, Max organises a grand opening, announcing that he is donating the $20,000 fund money to the Semper Fi Fund for veterans.

A staffing crisis hits a sports pub before the stress test, leaving the owners without any employees. Now Jon must determine if he can salvage the night or make a risky decision.

Note: Due to the need to hire a new staff, Jon doesn't hold a stress test but rather an audition to determine who will make up the new staff. Jon calls it their first ever Bartending Audition.

Jon tries to corral an out-of-control staff and the owner's freeloading friends, and a violent physical fight threatens the bar's rescue potential.

New bar owners accuse their manager (and the bar's former owner) of sabotaging their business to try to steal it back. With no clear proof, Jon uses a stress test to determine who's right and who's wrong.

A historical landmark bar, divided in profits and responsibility, pits brother and sister against one another

Note: This is the second episode where Jon sends his expert to check on the bar.

A lazy stepson fails to succeed in his new role as bar manager, and his car dealer father can run the bar.

A military hero on the verge of being redeployed needs his own rescue before he drinks away his profits and angers his girlfriend past the point of no return.

A spoiled owner was gifted a nightclub by his father, but the profits aren't coming in for this mice-infested tourist bar.

Note: Before revealing the re-branded bar, Jon invites one of its bartenders to assist him on a future rescue, commenting that she is one of the most talented individuals he has ever met.

A former punk rocker is overwhelmed with tragedy, and his constant roughhousing with the employees draws Jon's ire.

Jon confronts some of the most memorable bar owners in the show's history to find out how they have fared since their rescues. Guests include leopard-print loving sisters Betsy and Stephanie from Handlebar Cafe, plate-throwing Ami from Zanzibar, Gipsy's Janet Jackson-playing bartender Brandon, and The Brixton's combative owner Tim.

An abrasive owner takes advantage of his mom's generosity to take over a craft beer bar from his landlord.

An absentee owner threatens his marriage by drinking away his financial sorrows and flirting with the female patrons.

Notes: Jon watched the recon with the owner's wife. Jon also couldn't change the outside or the name due to city ordinances.

A lackluster landlord falls into the sports bar business when a previous tenant refuses to pay rent on a World Series winning Chicago Cubs hangout.

Note: Jon became so disgusted with the owner's bullheaded attitude that he did not hold a grand re-opening for the remodeled bar. No sales figures were available following the rescue. Several bartenders quit immediately after the unveiling, but two of them subsequently returned. In addition, this is the second Bar Rescue episode that did not debut new cocktails, the first being O’Face Bar from Season 3. In 2021, this episode appeared as part of Bar Rescue: The Dirty Truth with small popups adding commentary on various situations throughout the episode. One such popup reveals that during the rescue, the Bar Rescue production crew pitched in to help clean the bar's disgusting kitchen. Several popups contained quotes from Jon about the events with one explaining that "it was two blocks from Wrigley Field about three weeks before the World Series... the whole city knew I was there so I couldn't walk out." They also stated that Ed kept the Press Box concept because he "didn't want to invest in changing the sign again."

Jon confronts AJ from Brick & Barley about her blistering attitude and civil strife with her daughters over the bar's uniforms; Ivan, owner of Stein Haus Brau & Brats, comes clean about the failure of his bar after its rescue.

An owner twerks her way to tears when her bar gets out of step.

Note: This is the first episode to feature an expert from a previous rescued bar.

Jon rescues a successful bar, and the beacon of a community, that was destroyed by a recent catastrophic flood in Denham Springs, Louisiana. Similar to the Bungalow from the 2013 episode "Hurricane Jon vs. Hurricane Sandy" (whose now-successful owners donated $10,000 to aid in the rebuilding), the bar was not a failure prior to rescue.

After suffering a stroke, a bar owner is on the verge of losing his family legacy.

Note: For the recon, Jon brought in the owners from Spirits on Bourbon (formerly Turtle Bay), featured in the third season premiere. Spirits was also used as a training location.

Former bar owners return to praise Jon for turning around their businesses, including an owner once accused of embezzlement by his father, a vape-smoking dragon lady who crafted conflict in her St. Louis bar and more.

Jon tries to resurrect a closed neighborhood bar by reigniting the passion of the burnt out firefighter who owns it.

It's a race against the clock when Jon Taffer heads to Pahrump, where he must save the failing bar owned by a man who might lose his sight forever.

Jon Taffer tries to convince the ultimate maternal figure to make her decisions like a business owner to save her struggling Las Vegas dive bar from closing its doors.

Jon looks back on the show's most outrageous and dangerous fights he has ever witnessed, including his physical altercation with the owner of Zanzbar.

Jon deals with a Long Beach dive bar, unaware that it's being infested by ants.

Jon calls out the aggressive owner of a family bar for berating the staff and scolding his sons.

Jon races to rescue a failing bar that's about to collapse further into the ground after the insurance company refused the owner's claim to fix its old structure.

Note: There was no recon in this episode due to the crumbling floor inside that was caused by Hurricane Matthew's destruction. Because of this, the bar went through a major construction while the stress test and off-sight training were done at Waterfront and Imperial respectively.

Jon checks in with The Cajun Belle for an update on the owner and his wife's marriage. In addition, he also revisits Hammer & Ales and The Wildcatter.

The owner's ex-wife threatens to leave him if Jon doesn't change his foul mouthing ways.

Jon revisits two bars that have suffered disastrous setbacks since being rescued, The Abbey (season 1; damaged by fire) and The End (season 3; lease not renewed), as well as The Shot Exchange (season 3; thriving under new ownership).