Bar Rescue - The Cajun Belle (Grinders Sports Bar) Update

On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Santa Clarita, California to try to rescue Grinders Sports Bar.  The owners decided to buy a pizzeria for $77,000 and turn it into a bar, however their renovations were not approved by the city and the city has threatened to shut them down.  They have spent $100,000 dealing with the city during renovations.  They are also supposedly losing $2,500 a month and are over $250,000 in total debt.

During the Bar Rescue makeover Grinders was renamed to The Cajun Belle and they have kept the name . Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for The Cajun Belle since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):

Positive Reviews:

• " love this place!! The staff is all so friendly; every one of them. Recently renovated and redone; looks awesome! Great selection of beers; including my fav IPA. The food is very good. I highly recommend the jambalaya and the pizzas are amazing (dough is out of this world, roasted chicken and andouille sausage my fav). Great music and live entertainment several nights a week. Pool table and dart boards."
• "That being said the staff is very nice and very helpful. The blond bartender I just mentioned probably seems to work two to three times harder than any other bartender I have ever encountered at any other bar at making sure everyone is happy. Knowing you'll be treated nicely should give you more confidence in visiting if you are still on the fence about giving this place a try. As far as the crowd goes, this was probably one of the nicer bars in Santa Clarita. At all most all other bars, the crowds have been loud and obnoxious in some form or another but I noticed the atmosphere here to be quite nice and relaxed."
• "Nice atmosphere. I went on a Wednesday night and I ordered guacamole, bacon wrapped jalapeños, and a few beers, the portion sizes are good and the selection of beer is good. The bartender Sterling is super polite and she always made sure I had a full beer in front of me.... I am pleased with my overall experience... I hope this place gets a lot more regulars because it's a feel-good environment."
• "Great spot! Great beers on tap. Awesome service. Tastes treats! The owners are very very nice. I always have fun here! They have a pool table, karaoke and live bands. Nice local bar. It's a plus that I can walk to it too!"
• "The best food. Great staff. Always a great time when we are there."
• "Get there early if you want a table for the band. This place is so much fun and they book really good bands!"

Negative Reviews:

• None

*Reviews from Yelp, Facebook

Other News and Links:

• The Bar Rescue makeover happened in January 2016.
• Here are two preview videos of the episode from the Spike TV website - Video 1, Video 2
• Here is The Cajun Belle Facebook Page and there is a viewing party for the episode tonight.
• Here are the Facebook Pages of the owners Jessica and David. 
• There was a fight outside the bar in August 2015 where two people were arrested and one hospitalized (Link).
• A local article during the makeover interviews nearby businesses and one said Grinders is always packed Friday and Saturday nights.
• The reviews before the makeover were pretty good with a 4 star out of 5 average on Yelp (Link).
• For the second week in a row, somebody from Bar Rescue has previously appeared on The Price is Right.  Bartender Sterling was on the show in 2012 and won over $5,000 in prizes (Link to video).
• During the makeover, Jessica posted, "And thx guys for the support! I am sad to hear people say...I hope I like your bar after they finish. What people dont know is that the city has been so tough on us that we would have closed without this project. Anything done to Grinders is a blessing!"
• After the makeover Jessica posted on her Facebook, "If anyone in Santa Clarita is buying a business please go to City Hall and verify the business you are buying is permitted. Our city does not have a business permit program so when you purchase a business the legality of the permits is not verified by escrow. I learned this the hard way.....please listen and learn. Be smart about your investment!"
• In a recent interview with Jessica, she said they have created a new logo and have added back some of the fun stuff Jon Taffer took out.  She said they took Jon Taffer's best ideas and combined them with their own and they consider the rescue a success.  She also said it took nine days.
• In another recent interview with Jessica, she says, “We literally got saved by it. That’s not fake at all. The only reason I’m here today is because of the show. Otherwise I’d be gone.”  The article also says, "The bigger story of Murrie’s experience sinking her life savings into Grinder’s Bar will appear in Canyon Country Magazine next month, in order to not betray the benefit of surprise in the show, but suffice it to say, changes were dramatic and life-saving for the bar."
• If you want to look at the permits for the bar, here is the City of Santa Clarita permit search.  Type in 18283 for street number and soledad for street name and they will come up.

Conclusion:

The bar has kept the name The Cajun Belle and they have combined the Bar Rescue changes with their own ideas, but they have redesigned the logo.  The reviews since the makeover are all positive, and it seems like the main issue with the bar was dealing with the city of Santa Clarita.  The owners seem happy with the makeover and said they could have been closed if Bar Rescue didn't come and help them out.

UPDATE - The bar was sold to a new owner in August/September 2017 who has kept the name and theme of the bar.

*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.