Bar Rescue - Butcher & Brew Pub (Drunken Donkey) Update

On this week's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Lewisville, Texas to rescue Drunken Donkey Bar & Grill. Drunken Donkey Bar & Grill is owned by two best friends who are on "the verge of losing their bar."  Co- owner Nick Vogiatzis is working while wearing sandals, the bar has 75 different kegs, and they are using four different managers to help run the bar.  The bar's menu is too large, and the kitchen is using a microwave to warm up food.

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Jon Taffer decided to change the name of Drunken Donkey Bar & Grill to Butcher & Brew Pub and the bar has kept the name. Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Butcher & Brew Pub since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):



Positive Reviews:

• "Friendly staff & great menu! Excellent range of items for that crave of just a cheeseburger to an elevated crave for the Lemon Herb Quail. Cocktails were sexy and love in every sip. We will be back for games and other events as this venue has a great concept for ALL."
• "Hesitant when we drove up due to strip mall location. We were pleasantly surprised with options on draft and food. We shared a wedge salad and Cuban and both very good!"
• "Great beer selection. Great service. Awesome bartenders. Very good food. Good sports and outdoor patio w/ pool, manga and tv's. What's not to love?"
• "What a turnaround! The service was impeccable The appetizers and meal were wonderful. We were fit to be tied with seating and lackluster service at the Drunken Donkey and thought we would give this place a shot since the Bar Rescue revamp. Seriously impressed and glad we made the visit...Def Worth the stop. We will be back soon :-)"
• "I've heard that this place has changed from the Drunken Donkey and was curious to check it out. I was immediately impressed with the ambiance of the new interior design. More of a casual speakeasy but with plenty of TVs to watch the latest game. Molly was fabulous as always and food was great. See ya next time....."
• "This place changed their name and their vibe a little while back from a local bar to something with more of a cocktail bar vibe. I came when they first opened very surprised that they had brought the beer menu down and changed it all up because I loved the old place. Well I went on July 4th and was happy to see that some of the Old Drunken Donkey has made its way back. It seems like they had about 15 beers the first time I came and they’ve made it all the way back to 50. Made me real happy to hear the manager say they are aiming for the original 75. If you’re looking for a review telling you if you should give it another try. Do it. And this is coming from a guy who was super disappointed with the change."

Negative Reviews:

• "Seems to be a pattern , very disappointing. I ordered a Reuben , I can honestly say it was awful . My husband ordered the appetizer ribs . He asked our server if the were beef or pork ? She said pork ( that's what the menu said too ) When served, they were beef and not good...It did have the vibe of a bar rescue, but poorly done . "
• "This place was apparently on the show Bar Rescue and was previously the Drunken Donkey. From what I know of this show, they renovate the decor quickly and cheaply. The "wooden" walls and messy paint job didn't do this dark space any favors. There's nothing wrong with a dark bar but when it's trying to be a chic restaurant, it just doesn't work. Now, I ordered the wings and it was nothing to write home about...Lastly, the music consisted of outdated pop music and did not fit the overall vibe of the place. Most people probably wouldn't notice but it honestly annoyed me more than it should have. "
• "Stay away. Went in today at noon and no one came to our table for 10-15 minutes. Food order took 45 minutes, only to have to ask for it go, and the order was wrong. They changed the name of the place - but still the worst service ever!!!"
• "Not sure if they realize what they have done. I'm sure they wanted to make it better. Unfortunately, Missed the Mark. Went on a Friday, place should have been packed. As the donkey was always busy. Plenty of space in the peak hours. Not good. The food was good. Beer selection have decreased, okay. I think they really should have kept some of the better sellers. May have made some decisions that could hurt the biz. Sad, cause I enjoyed it the way it was."
• "Food was overpriced and the portions were small. I miss the old menu. Inside is all black and the overhead rap music was not the ambiance I wanted. I use to love coming here.... bad makeover, lost another customer."

*Reviews from Yelp, Google

Other News and Links:

• The Bar Rescue makeover for Drunken Donkey happened in March 2019.
• Here is a 7-minute preview video of the episode from the Paramount YouTube page.
• Here is the Butcher & Brew Pub website and Facebook page.
• Their website is pretty well designed and the banner reads, "NEW HOME OF THE FORMER DRUNKEN DONKEY....NOMINATED BEST BAR RESCUE EPISODE 2019"
• The Butcher & Brew is having a watch party for the episode tonight at the bar. The description says, "Come watch Butcher & Brew Pub Bar Rescue Episode with Nick on the other side of the ass chewing!!!!! All our friends, regulars, and most importantly past staff members, come join us this Sunday night 8/4 at 9pm for the Bar Rescue watch party, as we get to laugh it up as Nick gets his ass chewed by Jon Taffer! But in the end of it all, we got a awesome new concept out of it." (Link)
• When Jon Taffer was doing the makeover, a lot of people were commenting that the place is always packed and they weren't sure it needed a makeover. (Link)
• Here are the Facebook pages of Nick (owner), Chris (owner), Brittany (bartender)
• According to Nick's Facebook page, he is also the owner of a BBQ catering company/restaurant and an excavation company.  He also lists himself as a franchise owner at Cruise Planner.  There is also another location of the Drunken Donkey in The Colony, Texas that he owns as well.
• Nick said about the Bar Rescue experience, "And yes despite the ass whip and getting my balls kicked in it was truly a great experience."  He also said, "I almost walked off 3 times but I was in too deep! 😂 😆 😂 😆 Turned out nice though." (Link)
• There was also a Drunken Donkey location in Keller, Texas, but this was closed before the makeover, sometime in 2018.
• In April 2019, Butcher & Brew Pub was looking to hire a bartender and offering a $500 signing bonus. (Link)
• In Texas, you can see the gross receipts for bars, and Butcher & Brew Pub had the following amounts after the makeover: April - $74,017, May - $83,123 June - $75,908.  All the months before the makeover has receipts well over $100,000, so I am not sure why there was a decrease.  April, May and June of 2018 were all around $130,000 for the bar. (Link, Link 2)
• According to the gross receipts, The Colony, TX location of Drunken Donkey does well over $100k in sales per month. (Link)
• Here is the Drunken Donkey website.

Conclusion:

Jon Taffer decided to change the name of Drunken Donkey Bar & Grill to Butcher & Brew Pub and the bar has kept the name.  The reviews for Butcher & Brew Pub have been mixed with people complimenting the food, beer selection and service.  Other people had some complaints about the food, service, and changes implemented by Bar Rescue.  It seems that the bar probably wasn't struggling or in need of a makeover as the owners own multiple bars and multiple businesses. Also, locals said that the bar was always packed and probably didn't need help.  Nick has said that he is happy with the Bar Rescue experience and likes the new concept.  According to the Texas gross receipts of Butcher & Brew Pub, the sales have decreased by a good margin since the Bar Rescue makeover.



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