Sunday, March 30, 2014

Bar Rescue - Agave Junction Cantina (Scoreboard 2) Update

On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Norwalk, California to try to rescue the Scoreboard 2 Sports Bar.  The bar is suffering from ownership issues as well as an undertrained staff.  When Jon gets to the bar, he finds a filthy kitchen, bugs in the bar and liquor, as well as expired margarita mix.  He threatens to walk out again if the kitchen is not cleaned by the time he arrives the second day.  He doesn't walk out, and during the Bar Rescue makeover, the Scoreboard 2 Sports Bar was renamed Agave Junction Cantina.

Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Agave Junction Cantina since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar.


The only reviews were on their Facebook page, which of course are positive:
  • "I love the staff! Great food and drinks. I love the decor! This is an AWESOME spot! You'll catch me here for sure ;)"
  • "Local bar good music full bar good people and lots if Tv's HD PURO DON JULIO pool table lottery tickets ATM draft beer love love love"
  • "Amazing! Speechless!"

Other News and Links:
  • Spike TV has 2 videos on their website that preview this episode.
  • Maria Menounos and her fiance Keven Undergaro are the two people that go undercover on the first day at the bar.  Of course the exact drinks they ordered each were the culprits of some drama.  Kevin ordered a whiskey cola - the whiskey had bugs in it, and Maria a strawberry margarita - the margarita mix was expired from 2012.  Supposedly Adam Carolla will be on this episode as well according to the episode description.
  • Jon Taffer showed up in Maria Menounos' "Christmas Dance Wars" video in December, which was when this episode of Bar Rescue was filmed.
  • As the name was Scoreboard 2, I'm not sure where the first one is.  There was a Scoreboard Sports Grill in Pomona, CA (30 miles away) that closed in 2009, so maybe that was it.
  • Scoreboard 2 was a finalist and finished in the top 5 for "Best Sports Bar" on the Los Angeles hotlist (Link)
  • The reviews before the Bar Rescue visit weren't that bad and one even said "the place can get pretty crowded."  There was also a stripper pole on the bar in 2012.

  • Here is the Agave Junction Cantina Facebook Page, Twitter, and Instagram
  • Here is the Agave Junction website and menu that specializes in tequila drinks and has 2 cocktails named after Adam Carolla.
  • Here is the Scoreboard 2 Facebook page, which is still active but all posts are about Agave Junction.
    Photo - Facebook
  • On this post on their Facebook page, chef Anthony Lamas (who will be on this episode, and was recently on an episode of Beat Bobby Flay on the Food Network) said he hoped the menu was working out for them.  Agave Junction responded "Chef Anthony, The menu is PHENOMENAL!!! Our food sales have never been better!"
  • Here is a Facebook post right after the makeover that has many of the employees tagged if you are interested.
  • Agave Junction Cantina was closed for a little bit after the Bar Rescue makeover because they had a lot of training to do before they were ready to reopen.  Only 4 employees on their staff were a part of the makeover. (Link)


It sounds like everything is going well for Agave Junction Cantina and they have kept their new name and menu.  It didn't seem like the bar was too bad before the makeover with people saying it gets crowded and it also being in the top 5 for "Best Sports Bar" on a website.  Agave Junction Cantina has also said their food sales have never been better and they are having a Bar Rescue watch party at the bar, so they have to be happy with the makeover.  Maybe the show wanted to have a more successful makeover airing after last weeks debacle at O'Face.

UPDATE - In December 2016, 3 people were stabbed at Agave Junction. (Link)
UPDATE - In January 2018 there was a strong-arm robbery outside Agave Junction where a man was attacked and his watch was stolen. (Link)

UPDATE - In September 2018, Agave Junction Cantina closed - More information on the closing.



  1. Keven and Maria are in this episode because they both have put Jon Taffer on a pedestal and he can do no wrong, as shown here:

    Bar Rescue AfterBuzz TV AfterShow

    They love him over there. AfterBuzz TV was created by these two:


  2. Actually, this wasn't a bad makeover. Even the new name was good (hey, Taffer can pick some corny names for bars). But, I'm sorry -- that woman Michelle seemed really, really nice, but she had managing skills of a Butterfinger candy bar. This is where I have a problem with BR. If a bar is rescued and the management stays the same, then it's just tossing pearls to swine! I mean, if the show said a new GM was hired or something, then it be more believable.

    But anyone who believes Taffer turned that ditzy woman into an effective manager in 4 days, then let me introduce you to a Nigerian prince I know.

  3. So they're fans of the show, so what?

  4. Somehow, I don't think this update is going to get the volume of comments as last week's.......

  5. Yes - more episodes like this.

    btw - 'brixing' is balancing the beverage lines so that the syrup and soda water mix is correct.

  6. Just fyi, there's a typo-- the city is Pomona not "Ponoma" (where Scoreboard Sports Grill was that closed in 2009).

  7. Haha, now you know why they decided to walk out - buzz and ratings. Although it now seems like they are going to bring in more celebrities on other episodes.

  8. Well, you can be a great fan of the show and provide a realistic view of what's going on in various Bar Rescue episodes (such as the information provided here) or you can be a lap poppy and believe everything we see in these episodes as "real," which is very surprising for people (especially for Kevin) who work in the TV/entertainment industry. You should ask yourself whether or not Matt, the owner of this website (and I assume a fan of the show), will ever be a guest on a future episode (hint: Jon Taffer already banned him from his Tweeter account).

  9. The most disappointing thing about this episode wasn't the actual episode, it was the non-stop hype for #TafferTalk and how you could ask him any question ... and he didn't answer a single one. Just re-tweets of his wife, Spike, Maria and one message about how they were brought on the show because they were his friends and not because they were celebrities. Not a word about OFace, even though that's more-or-less what Spike promised in commercials all afternoon during the marathon.

  10. Love the show... hopefully these owners are truly grateful for the training and makeover they receive. Some seem a bit ungrateful or still lost. Example is this recent episode. Is this Michelle truly able to manage the operations of this bar. Just because her dad owns the place doesn't mean squat. seems like her husband would be a more likely candidate as manager where she can just be a regular servicer there. Or like that one bar the Brixton. That deceiptful owner used Bar Rescue to get all the freebies and changed the name back. Don't come running back to John when the branding flops. I guess that's why John's mandated in their contracts and states in the show that he'll walk if they're thinking of changing the name of the bar after they've received their makeover.
    smart move on the legal department. What a bunch of grifters... I love when those jokers at the Oface fully pushed the envelope and got jack... zilch .... zero.... nada... classic episode.... good luck liars... Who cares if celebrities want to make guest appearances undercover to support the show as fans...
    The biggest lie about the scoreboard place if they were soooooo popular in top 5 in L.A. was were they unable to pay the father their rent due... for eight months??? popular for what??
    Over pouring? BYOB? That doesn't explain why they kitchen was in health code violation and in such filthy condition. And the owner is clueless?
    c'mon man viewer are very smart and are on the lookout for inconsistencies and propaganda laid out by businesses and their compeititors...
    Look forward to new episodes love the celebrity guests and the trips to the Guiness and Don Julio factories...
    Keep up the good work...

  11. Pretty good makeover. The owner is still a lazy moron so I don't have high hopes long term. Papa(ATM) should be livid with his opportunity costs. His $350K would have passively been $800K by now. That bitch daughter of his is a douche. I still liked when Taffer ran out of O'Face last week. That should happen more often. Most bars DESERVE to go out of business.

  12. FYI, he was responding on twitter, but without the . before his responses. So to see them, just go to his profile, and next to "tweets", select "All" instead of "No Replies" and you should see them.

  13. Well, perhaps you should hear their side of the story......

  14. Yes, I was watching it earlier this morning and I stopped after 10 minutes. Of course, Kevin would say that. Here's a behind the scenes segment from last week episode (by people who have no stake in the bar):

    Hit That Dive Behind the Scenes O'Face

    Then, you can compare that to last week Afterbuzz episode. There was recent one earlier this year where the bar's staff clearly mentioned on-line that they acted out the drama, but Kevin et al. were reviewing as if everything was true. There are several other examples like this (the "all-in" guy from NC for example, who called in during the Afterbuzz episode to tell them about how all the drama they saw in the BR episode was fabricated by him and the owner for the free publicity; Kevin, Dorinda and Phil were quite upset after the phone call to learn what they described was fake).


    Hit That Dive Behind the Scenes O'Face

    Then, you can compare that to last week's Afterbuzz episode. There was a recent one earlier this year in which the bar's staff clearly mentioned on-line that they acted out the drama, but Kevin et al. were reviewing it as if everything was true. There are several other examples like this (the "all-in" guy from NC for example, who called in during the Afterbuzz episode to tell them about how all the drama they saw in the BR episode was fabricated by him and the owner for the free publicity; Kevin, Dorinda and Phil were quite pissed off after the phone call to learn that the review they provided was based on fake stuff).

  16. That video is... pretty stream-of-consciousness. Can you provide a time reference for the part(s) you think are relevant?

    There's no doubt that reality TV, a genre that thrives on drama, is sometimes going to encourage or stage drama. Some people prefer their fifteen minutes of fame to looking like sane, mature adults -- and it's their choice to make. But really, you put enough filth, health code violations, decrepitude and incompetence under one roof, and even if you assume some of the drama is exaggerated the facts still speak for themselves.

  17. I clicked through to the survey, and then to the vote result. I was informed that I would be able to see how many people voted after the place had twenty votes. It is possible that the data isn't properly connected to the database, but it's also possible that very few people voted in the poll. That type of poll -- "come by our website and vote" -- is notoriously unreliable.

    It's also very possible for a bar to be full, even popular, while losing money. If you're popular because you overpour and sell drinks below cost....

  18. Yeah, I watched that too. Personally, I think they were mesmerized by the large beers in mason jars (no wonder their draft beer cost was 79%!) ;-)

  19. I looked around and read enough regarding the bars on BR to have formulated a somewhat informed opinion on how "real" this show is. (Mind you, I once sent in a definition for the word "fauxality" to and they accepted it

    First off, no reality show is ever going to show "reality" if for no other reason than you're trying to pack days of filming into a 45 minute show. Stuff is gonna be left on the cutting room floor. For example, let's take KCs bar. This episode featured the manager backing out of the deal to buy the bar because of bad paperwork and the cost being far more than the bar was worth. No one is disputing that that was the case. However, there was a video on Spike's website a couple days after the episode aired with the owner giving the reasons for the price (mainly, that Liz would not have been able to get a bank loan on her own to buy the bar, hence the self-financing). So, while what we saw was real, it wasn't the whole story.

    Second, who is right about what we see? Jon Taffer, who insists what we see is real, or the people like "All In" James and the staff at O Face? I believe it lies somewhere in the middle. I've read stories about Chileen's in Arizona, or Sorties Tavern (the other bar they did in the Omaha area), where they pretty much said that what you saw was more or less real (or at least representative of things that do occur), and that the most the producers do is encourage them in that direction. However, they don't go all out into staging or scripting anything. The only instances of staging or scripting that I know about are the the two I mention above, and those were both instances of people in the bar doing the staging, not the producers. So if James talks to the owner of the bar and dreams up a part to play, or what's-her-name at O Face tells the producers "I'm gonna pick a fight with Cerisa", I won't lay that at Taffer's feet.

    And calling the "stress test" fake is just beyond stupid. The test is just that: to find out where the stress points are and see what needs fixing. It's like what they did recently at Levi's Stadium (the 49ers new stadium). They did a test where they flushed all the toilets installed in the stadium at the same time. It's highly unlikely that that would ever actually occur during its use, but it does put the worst stress on the plumbing system it will ever have to see if there are any faults.

    Lastly, I always find it interesting that the ones who usually complain about this show being "fake" are usually the ones who end up looking very bad in the episode. They're usually the ones who have incentive to decry what you see.

  20. So you can't point to anything that supports your arguments in that video? Not one single time reference to something informative? then I'm glad I stopped wasting my time after the first five minutes.

    If you don't like the formula of Bar Rescue, and its stress tests, I suggest watching a different show. It's part of their schtick.

    There's an entire update, and huge comment thread, about O'Face. You may want to post your thoughts there, as this thread is about Agave Junction.

  21. I don't think it's farfetched that she could turn it around at all, I guess you're not much of a people person are you?

  22. You also can't fake the dirt/grime/bug/animals they clean out of these places. As much as people say they fake the drama, you can't fake disgusting.

  23. I remember this one bar rescue where a guy was pushing in Jon's stool. Another guy was scrubbing his throat. His wife was busy polishing my shaft. True story. Jon's a freak

  24. I assume you're replying to Ridgid Member and not me....

  25. Well, they picked a fine bar to walk out of!

  26. FYI, in case you didn't see other post from BRU yesterday:

    Is Bar Rescue Fake? - Lawsuit Says So

  27. I ate their today. I ordered the. "Tres Taco " plate. The tacos were delicious and filling. I also ordered the new Adam Corolla Mangria drink. It was outstanding. ! I recommend this bar.

  28. Dave, I totally respect your opinion and agree with 99% of what you wrote. However, in all of these "reality" shows the idea that a restaurant/bar that goes from 0 guests to maximum + guests in one seating is both highly unrealistic and poorly conceived. A "stress test" can be simply accomplished without all of the inherent drama of this flavor of TV. And then the re-launch is also unrealistic in packing the place at one time and the show expecting us to think everything is all better and everything went well.

  29. Well, let's remember, this is a TV show, and it is one that would be far less interesting if it was Taffer doing his thing in 30-45 days (which is the time he takes in his normal consulting). If you read his book, he never yells at people during his normal consultations. And though he doesn't address it, I'm fairly certain he doesn't do the kind of "stress tests" that you see on the show, mainly because he'd have the time to identify the weak links in the chain during the normal course of business.

    Thanks for agreeing with everything else! :-)

  30. Jdthree GonzalezJune 9, 2014 at 3:15 AM

    I thought this was a great episode. Very creative way to re-create the bar. Good job Jon! Your amazing sir. Love the show. Glad I found this site...great to see who makes it and who fails...even with help. You can change a business...but sometimes you cant change people. Also great to see the people that get their act together and experience a break through.

  31. Not sure about Michelle-she did not seem to be grateful or able to operate beyond clueless even after instruction. I don't think she wanted to be there and was just spoiled.

  32. If you look over the main summary page of this website,you'll find that lots of the bars have changed the names he dumped on them.

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  34. My favorite part of the episode is the fact that they went Mexican yet they still have potato skins on the menu. Does anyone else understand that?