On the season 3 finale of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are headed to Warwick, Rhode Island to makeover Marley's On The Beach. The Oakland Beach beachfront bar is struggling and Jon is trying to save the bar as well as the owner's marriage. Bar Rescue decided to change the name to St. Michelle Beach Club during the makeover, but the owners have since changed the name to Marley's Beach Club.Lets take a look at some reviews and updates of Marley's since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (all reviews are post Bar Rescue makeover):
Positive Reviews:
- "I was pleasantly surprised by Marley's on the Beach. We both ordered the Seafood Mac 'n Cheese, which was not only delicious, but was a very generous portion for its price compared to other places.... Waitstaff was a little slow, but I'll definitely be returning."
- "Calamari was good as was the service, drinks and location, right on the water. Not as busy as the seafood restaurant next door and a great place to stop by and have a drink. The apps were good but dinner was just fair...I'd come back for drinks but definitely not dinner"
- "Love the outdoor seating that looks over the ocean. Love the cheap and delicious libations. Food is only mediocre but I don't usually go there for the food...Usually has a band on the weekends. The one I most recently saw was really good and pretty amusing... Too loud inside but a good volume while sitting outside."
Negative Reviews:
- "Gave these guys another try because I heard they were on Bar Rescue. Haven't seen the episode yet but it doesn't look like much got rescued...the bartender informed me that they were out of 90% of the menu... which was only about 10 items so figure that out. He actually pointed to the couple next to us and what they were eating and said that's it, that's what we got...Oh well.... Go by for a beer on the beach, maybe someone will have gone shopping by then and you can order some chicken fingers."
- "Marleys made the mistake of bringing in Bar Rescue this summer of 2013. That idiot Jon from that show is a complete incompetent when it came to fixing Marleys. I won't go into why and hows but I've seen the food quality go down and I've seen the new wait staff (overstaff young people just standing around) quality go down. The drinks are meh, okay but here is how bad the food is and why doesn't the owner care? Who knows."
- "This Bar most certainly was not rescued. Four of us went for a drink a Saturday afternoon. After 20 minutes with no service, we left. I guess they did not take the advice they were given. The staff is disorganized, and with no dress code, people were shirtless outside on the beach bar. Save your time and money, and don't bother with this place."
Other Updates:
An interview in Providence Monthly, with a bartender who stated: "Bar Rescue changed the name from Marley’s On the Beach to St. Michelle’s Beach Club, named after the owner. We didn’t like the name change and neither did our regulars. We compromised and are now Marley’s Beach Club. The show upgraded the dance floor, upgraded our lawn furniture and added nice brick fire pits; Bar Rescue gave us a fresh look. They also changed up and added to our drink list."
Facebook Complaints about the Bar Rescue Makeover:
There are a lot of complaints from customers about the quality of the Bar Rescue makeover on Facebook, which were posted on the Bar Rescue Facebook page, and some of them are below:
- A comment stating: "Your Half-Ass "Rescue" of Marley's on the Beach needs it's own reality show and a Do-OVER!!!!!!!!!! It's a sham!" Many people responded to this agreeing, and one person even went to document things that were wrong after Bar Rescue came. Someone also heard rumors that Bar Rescue left during the makeover, and another said it was because of another makeover to do in New Jersey, but none of that is confirmed.
- A comment stating: "i cant believe how you screwed up Marleys...you should be ashamed of yourself. you going to fix the Tiki bar now that it is ruined....i use to watch your show....not anymore...."
- A picture of the Tiki Bar roof that had apparently blown off since the makeover.
- A few more complaints, complaint 1, complaint 2, complaint 3
Conclusion:
It seems as if the reviews for Marley's Beach Club are mixed and a lot of people are disappointed in the Bar Rescue makeover. The owners cannot speak about the makeover until after the episode airs, so the complaints are all from customers. The complaints include service problems as well as music being too loud inside. Also the Tiki Bar roof blowing off had a lot of people upset.
The official Bar Rescue update at the end of the show will be added after the show airs. Also, stay tuned for the rest of the updates of bars that have appeared on Bar Rescue on this site.
Update from the end of the show: Six weeks after Bar Rescue visited, food and drink sales were up 30%. Kevin remains a silent partner and only shows up to the bar with Michelle’s consent. Their marriage has greatly improved due to compromise and understanding. Michelle, Kevin and their staff are going to do infinitely better than before their rescue with St. Michelle Beach Club.
UPDATE - Marley's Beach Club has closed as of 11/2013. More information on the closing.
I used to spend alot of my summers in RI back in my youth. So, I know that this place can thrive but it seems the owners are only capable of sustaining it on a very limited basis. Their neighbor for instance is a good example of an establishment that can make bank. Only if you can get your s**t together. And If that was my place, I'd get it so organized that I'd be able to retire in a decade. Just my 02cents worth and opinion.
ReplyDeleteSome people just shouldn't be in business for themselves. Some are born to lead others are not. Grasp your role in life and make the best of it.
ReplyDeleteJust watched the episode. Everything Jon Tapper did was on par and right. What else could a failing bar want, for free, to relaunch itself. Unfortunately, Tapper can't stay and run the place. The owner and her husband needed to ante up and do whatever, again whatever, it took to run with what Tapper did. Obviously neither owner had or has the skill sets to run such an operation. Simply having a passion is not good enough. I would think that most of the negative reviews are that of family and friends of the failed establishment.
ReplyDeleteThey replaced the already messed up tiki bar roof with a shade sail attached to 2 trees and a pole. The whole point is you take it down in bad weather: aka that photo. Blown down? ha. Only if they left it out in a storm.
ReplyDeleteHere's the deal, if one needs their business "rescued" you probably shouldn't have opened the doors to begin with. Because you're not likely to know what you're doing and would eventually fail and go bankrupt anyway. Bars have it lucky to be able to enter into that "lottery" and may even win a free facelift and some new drink/menu ideas. All they have to do is fake drama and claim a huge debt.
ReplyDeleteI feel so bad that her accountant let her cash in her 401k of $170,000 and invest the money in her loser husband. You can see they have no business running a restaurant. They have no experience and no organizational skills. Seems as if they thought you just show up and the place will make money....Very sad.
ReplyDeleteSo the Beach Bar regulars were more upset about the changes at the bar than about the crappy bar that was before
ReplyDelete