SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A struggling Old Sacramento bar and grill is getting a second wind under a new banner, thanks to the "Bar Rescue" TV show.
Brannan Manor in Old Sacramento was once “Sactown Sports Bar & Grill,” a sports bar trying to keep its doors open with less than great ratings. Co-owner Ricardo Sibrian said he and his partner Chris Eaton just couldn’t catch a break.
“He wasn’t experienced when he came to the restaurant and bar industry. He was a retired police officer. His dream was to own a bar, but he didn’t have the experience on how to run it,” Sibrian said.
Sibrian said Eaton reached out to the show "Bar Rescue" as their last resort to bring business back to the restaurant.
“A year ago, he went and reached out to Bar Rescue. He sent an email and all of a sudden four months later, they reached back out and started interviews to see how we are doing," Sibrian said. "They came to study the establishment, check the finances, [and] open up the books.”
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The show's host Jon Taffer and T-Pain arrived in Sacramento with camera crews and new ideas. The four day overhaul was challenging, due to having to give up total control to Taffer, Sibrian said.
“We [didn't] know what he’s going to come back with. We just [had] to be prepared. We waited until the end of the night... He let us come back into our establishment again. We were not allowed to be in Old Sac. We had to be so many feet away. It was exciting but, at the same time, very stressful,” Sibrian said.
It has been four months since the taping of Bar Rescue, and Sibrian says they continue to use the advice Taffer gave them.
“Everything you see in the show is real, and we are thankful and grateful he chose us and to come and help us out,” Sibrian said.
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