The Abbey is a much different place than Chicago’s Blue Frog 22, but the River North restaurant and bar had similar problems. The Blue Frog 22 was in a lot of debt -- $400,000 worth to be exact -- and so they turned to Jon Taffer and Spike TV’s Bar Rescue. The episode airs August 21, 2011 at 9pm Central.
Like The Abbey, Blue Frog 22 is run by a family who don’t have distinct roles to play. “Who is the general manager?” Jon Taffer asks at the beginning of the episode. Is it mother Mimi or her son John? That issue is hashed out throughout Bar Rescue, as is the issue of the decor.
Mimi wanted her family bar to be, well, a family bar. And so decorations included a lot of child games. But that’s not the audience in the River North area, Jon Taffer astutely points out, and tries to get Mimi to see in the hour long episode.
Yet, decor and management aren’t the only issues Blue Frog 22 needs help with. And so Jon Taffer brings in Chef Josh Capon to help with the burger menu. He also brings in Jason Balducci to mix up the beer menu and teach how to clean beer glasses.
The result? A bar that’s all about local foods and beers, hence the new name: The Local.
Watch the Blue Frog 22 transform into The Local on August 21, 2011 at 9pm.
Have you visited The Local since Jon Taffer and Bar Rescue came by? What do you think of the new atmosphere?
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