What happened to these 4 PA bars featured on the hit show Bar Rescue?

On the hit show “Bar Rescue,” host Jon Taffer attempted to rescue these four Pennsylvania bars. Here’s what happened to them. 

On the TV show “Bar Rescue,” host Jon Taffer visits struggling bars in an attempt to rescue them from impending failure. The Paramount Network show has aired nine seasons since 2011, all hosted by Taffer, who has had a long career running successful bars and nightclubs. 

About “Bar Rescue”

Bar owners themselves submit applications to be featured on the show. When a bar is set to be “rescued,” Taffer sends in scouts to assess the business and learn about a bar’s strengths and weaknesses. After that, Taffer begins a campaign to turn the bar around, whether that means changing up the menu, renovating, or cutting costs.

Currently, 49% of the bars featured on “Bar Rescue” are still operating—basically a coin flip, but pretty good for a show that focuses on bars that are otherwise about to close!

However, out of the four Pennsylvania bars visited by Taffer on “Bar Rescue”—three in Philly and one in the Philly suburb of Glenside—none remain open.

Dive in to learn more about Taffer’s attempts at revitalizing these spots and what you can find there now.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Lickety Split (RIP) – Philadelphia

Lickety Split was a South Side bar featured on “Bar Rescue” in 2014. Less than a year after the episode aired, Lickety Split closed its doors for good. Taffer did have his work cut out for him when he attempted to bring back Lickety Split from the brink of bar death. The pizza was greasy, the drinks were inappropriately named, and the bar didn’t even offer a Philly cheesesteak on the menu. Not to mention that the staff wasn’t trained, the owner was rude to customers, and the kitchen had trouble serving beer that was actually cold.

Here’s what Taffer prescribed for the failing bar: a name change, a concept change, and even a new point-of-sale system—because, uh, the bar didn’t have one before, making it difficult to keep track of orders.

Lickety Split became two concepts: a pizza restaurant—Alleged Pizza—on the bottom floor, and a bar—2nd State Lounge—upstairs. But it wasn’t long before the owner got rid of many of Taffer’s changes, for instance, bringing back the giant television and removing the Alleged Pizza window treatments, all before the “Bar Rescue” episode even aired. (If he hadn’t rejected Taffer’s rescue attempt, would the place still be open?) 

By the end of 2015, the bar was gone.

Soon after the bar closed, Philly music venue and restaurant MilkBoy bought the location to expand its footprint, installing its own restaurant and bar on the bottom floor with a music venue upstairs. 

As of 2024, MilkBoy South Street is still kicking.

Swanky Bubbles (RIP) – Philadelphia

For Old City champagne lounge Swanky Bubbles, the bubbles burst just months after Swanky Bubbles’s “Bar Rescue” episode aired. 

Taffer was confronted with an outdated bar with a strange design and limited bar space, led by owners who either weren’t around or were flirting with female customers and giving them free drinks. Both the bar and kitchen menus were too long, offering options that staff often couldn’t actually prepare. 

Taffer made a valiant effort to rebrand the champagne lounge as “Sheer.” Staff got food safety training, and the bar was renovated to make it easier for bartenders to actually make drinks and for guests to interact with each other. Plus, the menus were shortened and the owners given a talking-to about taking charge of their business (and quitting all the flirting).

However, once Taffer left, the owners reverted to the original concept, and tax liens, plus the loss of the liquor license, soon forced the bar to close.

Popular English pub The Victoria Freehouse took over the space for 11 years, though it closed in 2023. Today, the space is occupied by Mediterranean restaurant Lilly’s Ferry.

Downey’s Irish Pub (RIP) – Philadelphia

After appearing on the first season of “Bar Rescue” in 2011, the once-celebrated Downey’s Irish Pub kept breathing for several more years, only finally closing in 2016. In all, the pub was a Philly landmark for 40 years, as the spot originally opened in 1976 under owner Jack Downey. In 2003, Downey sold the bar to his chef. By 2010, the new owner had filed for bankruptcy, and a year later, Taffer came onto the scene.

Taffer’s attempts to save Downey’s included completely revamping the sanitary conditions of the pub, as the overflowing trash, grimy interior, and even a dead mouse in the kitchen pointed to numerous health code violations. The menu also changed to incorporate more Irish food and Irish whiskies, since it was, after all, an Irish pub.

Alas, today Downey’s Irish Pub is no more, nor is its original building. The bar closed in 2016, owing more than $80,000 in back taxes. The location was demolished in 2022 to make way for a new development.

Plush (RIP) – Glenside

The dramatics during the 2014 “Bar Rescue” episode devoted to Glenside’s Plush were largely driven by the divorce of the bar’s owners two years previously. Though Plush was successful when it first opened in 2003, things took a turn for the worse when the two owners—the main owner and his wife, the bar’s manager—split. The Glenside haunt was dirty, and the staff could be seen drinking on the job and being rude to customers. 

Taffer attempted to revitalize the bar with cocktail training for bartenders and a focus on serving the after-theater crowd, as the bar was near the popular and historic Keswick Theatre. (He also stirred up drama by having the owner’s ex-wife work the bar.) 

For the bar’s relaunch, Taffer renamed it Osteria Calabria to match its new focus on Italian food. After Taffer left, the name was soon changed to The O.C. Bar and Bistro. And in spring 2015, the bar closed its doors for good.

Today, the space belongs to the casual Japanese restaurant Nagomi.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.