Bar Rescue - Wildcatter Saloon (Bryant's Ice House) Update

On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Katy, Texas to try to rescue Bryant's Ice House. The bar is a struggling biker bar owned by Jeff, a former tax accountant.  It is struggling due to a bad reputation and a dysfunctional staff.  One of the bartenders is so drunk and obnoxious, Jon Taffer threatens to "knock his ass out"

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Bryant's Ice House was renamed The Wildcatter Saloon.  Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for The Wildcatter Saloon since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar:


Reviews:

All of the reviews for The Wildcatter Saloon appeared to be left by the same person on multiple review sites.  The reviews were positive and were probably left by someone affiliated with the bar.  The reviews on their Facebook page are also mostly positive.


Other News and Links:

• Spike TV didn't put up any preview videos this week, but here is a short commercial for the episode.
• The Bar Rescue makeover was in January 2014, and Jeff bought the bar and land (four acres) in 2012 after being a long time customer of the bar.  They must have reached out to Bar Rescue pretty quickly after purchasing the bar.
• Here is The Wildcatter Saloon Facebook page, Twitter page, and website.  Here is the old Bryant's Ice House webpage as well.
• The Wildcatter Saloon has upcoming concerts pretty much every Saturday, with most being a $15 charge. (Link)
• Here is the Facebook page of the owner Jeff, and Randy, who tells "Jon Taggerfee" to kiss his ass. Also, bartenders Missy, Nadya, and Shelley.
• When the makeover happened in January, there were a lot of comments on the Wildcatter Facebook page regarding the name change.  Some people didn't like it, and others say they will always refer to the bar as Bryant's.  People were also asking if the bar was still biker friendly, which the Wildcatter confirmed multiple times that the bar is still biker friendly, and that "all colors are welcome."
• There is a bar in Houston, about a half hour away from the Wildcatter Saloon, that is called Wildcatter Two.  I would assume Bar Rescue would have known that, but this may cause some confusion with people thinking they are related.

  

  Photo - Facebook

• A user on a Texas A&M forum was at a few days of filming for this Bar Rescue episode and detailed his experience. (Comments from GoAgs92 on both pages).  Some highlights include: 1. For the stress test - doing multiple takes of the owner coming out and saying "Welcome to Bryant's!" followed by the crowd going in.  2. The drink menu only had three drinks on it for the stress test - margarita, cosmo, and "something sour" which are drinks that take time to make. 3. When they sat down at a table during the stress test, they were told to time how long service took with their cell phone.
• Someone also commented in that thread: "Wildcatter's Saloon was an old biker bar called Bryant's Icehouse. They really didn't change it a whole lot, but apparently it was enough to piss off quite a few of the local clubs who held events and hung out there. A lot of the MC's are refusing to go back. Given the out of the way location and their traditional clientele, I wouldn't be surprised if this renovation costs them business instead of improving it..."
• A local article has comments from Jon Taffer and the owner Jeff about the makeover.  Jon wanted to make it less of a "biker bar" and more of a neighborhood tavern.  Jeff was happy with the makeover and said he would absolutely do it again.
• A lot of comments on Facebook, articles, etc. talk about how bad the location is, and that it is hard to find.  Due to this Jon wanted to turn it into more of a destination.

Conclusion:

It sounds like The Wildcatter Saloon is sticking with all of the changes done by Bar Rescue and that the owner Jeff is happy with what was done.  As is usually the case when a bar changes, some of the regulars are upset and it appears some of the bikers do not go there anymore.  Others either like the changes or don't care enough that it would be enough to keep them away. 

It seems like one of the main issues with the bar was the location in that it was hard to find and get to.  Maybe the publicity Bar Rescue generates will make people aware of where the bar is now.  The Wildcatter is having concerts there on Saturday's, so it looks like they are sticking with Jon's advice in trying to make it a destination.

UPDATE - On January 24, 2017, The Wildcatter Saloon posted on their Facebook Page that they would be closing.  Then two days later, they had an update that they would not be closing. 

UPDATE - Justin from The End Zone (Houston Sports Hub) Bar Rescue episode actually bought the bar.  He is a follower of my Facebook Page and saw that the bar was closing, so he reached out to the bar and bought it. Here is Justin confirming that is what happened. 

In other odd news, Stu from the 5th & Vine (Staten Island, NY) episode of Bar Rescue actually moved out there and was working at The Wildcatter for a bit (Link).


*To see how all of the bars from Bar Rescue are doing, go to the Bar Rescue Update page, and also Like us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter to stay up to date with all things involving Bar Rescue.