Bar Rescue - The Prime Bar (WildeFire Bistro) Update

In this week's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Aurora, Colorado to rescue WildeFire Bistro.  WildeFire Bistro is owned by Tony David who bought the bar and is a performer who must choose between his career and his responsibilities.  Tony used his savings to open the bar and he is supposedly losing $15,000 a month and is $250,000 in debt.  While Jon is doing recon, he sees that Tony's performances are not entertaining and he also sees food at the bar that has a hair in it.


During the Bar Rescue makeover, Jon Taffer decided to change the name of WildeFire Bistro to The Prime Bar and the bar has kept the name. Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for The Prime Bar since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):

Positive Reviews:

• "Was pleasantly surprised! Took my son and his wife and met friends here. Ron Ivory and Linda Styles we're performing and it was a wonderful time. Service was on the slow side and menu limited. But I am sure with time they will come full speed and be a success. Met the owner, she was delightful and helped me get seats up near the stage. Next time I'm in town, I will be back‼"
• "The live music and atmosphere was GREAT! I invited guests and family and we enjoyed it! Ron Ivory and Linda Styles were there and they were FABULOUS!!! I will be back"
• "Great foods while enjoying super entertainment. Management very sweet, friendly atmosphere. Jazz on Thursdays!! Such a plus for a good place to take out-of-towners"
• "This is a hidden gem that is under new ownership and new name The Prime. Great owners, live genres of music and one of the cleanest kitchens in the Metro area. 10 percent discount to first responders. Live smooth jazz, country, latin varieties of music. Great food and drinks at fair prices."
• "New name - The Prime Bar. It was opening night. Waited a hour to get in, and an hour to get a drink. The owner, Tony David, did apologize and picked up our tab. The place has a very cosmopolitan look and hopefully will get it together in a few weeks."

Negative Reviews:

• "Awful. Terrible food that is overpriced, weird atmosphere, shitty beer list. Been in a few times and the first time was ok, but its quickly gone downhill. Every visit worse than the last. Last time I went there were no vegetarian options at all so I just ordered the nachos with no meat. They piled some salad greens on top of stale tortilla chips and movie theater cheese sauce. Pretty pricey and I could barely eat any of it. Music was ok one time, attracted and older crown and they seemed to be having fun but... I won't be back again."
• "Decided to try this place after the name change. Unfortunately, as most have said, it's a disappointment.Went in today for happy hour. Asked for a drink menu, bartender stated that they didn't "really" have one. She rattled off some happy hour specials, which were confusing, but she had very little patience and so we ordered two drafts: Blue Moon and Bud Light. We were informed that they were out of Bud Light and gave us a bottle instead.
• The atmosphere/vibe was so unwelcoming that we decided to cash out. The tab was $10, hardly happy hour pricing, especially considering one of the beers was a 12 oz bottle.
• Never again will this place get one more cent from me.
• With this kind of disorganization, I'm afraid it's going to fail just like their predecessors.
• Bar Rescue made not one bit of difference, other than putting a bit of lipstick on this very ugly pig"
• "New "Bar Rescue" make over is a myth. All they did was change the name. Same grubby place it has been. Never more."
• "Worst service ever! Wouldn’t give it any stars if that were possible. Took over 30 minutes to order a beer. On tap!!. Only stayed to support a friend. Wouldn’t recommend it and won’t come back. No wonder the place keeps changing names....."

Other News and Links:

• The Bar Rescue makeover happened in May 2019. 
• Here is a six-minute preview video of the episode from the Paramount YouTube page.
• Here is a WildeFire Bistro Facebook page.
• Here is an unofficial The Prime Bar Facebook page where people check-in. 
• Here is the Facebook page of Tony David (owner).
• Right after the makeover Tony said, "Wow and what a crazy week we had. We are still in recovery. This was the most draining experience I have every gone through. I am so glad this is over. Good Lord make it stop." (Link)
• The bar has been sold since the Bar Rescue makeover and the new owners have kept the name.
• A Meetup event on July 14th stated, "WildeFire Will be performing our Farewell show at The Prime Bar formally WildeFire Bistro this Sunday evening July 14th from 6:00-9:00 the address 15352 E. Ida Dr. Centennial, CO 80015As we all wish the very best for the new Owners of The Prime Bar, Jason and Shirley Sullen. WildeFire would like to thank all of our friends and fans who have supported us over the past 14 years of fun/entertainment/dancing/and sharing. We have made so many friends that we can't even count any longer, we would to take this very special evening to say thank you and we love you. So many memories are captured within those 4 walls. Many relationships started there and lots of marriages as well. We were happy and blessed to be a part of your lives. Many Celebrations of our friends who are no longer with us, but their spirits remain there every Thursday night. Countless Birthday's every Thursday night became a weekly tradition. Great entertainers who came up and performed with WildeFire. All the laughter that have echoed throughout the room still ring in my ears. So much fun, so many great people and so many memories. We hope you all come by this Sunday to give WildeFire a big farewell with one last show on the best stage in Denver Metro. Allow WildeFire to say Thank you all as the Curtain Falls."

Conclusion:

Jon Taffer decided to change the name of WildeFire Bistro to The Prime Bar and the bar has kept the name.  The owner Tony David decided to sell the bar in July, just a few months after the Bar Rescue makeover.  The reviews for The Prime Bar were pretty negative after the makeover with a lot of complaints about service and the fact that not much had changed.  The new owners of The Prime have kept the name of the bar and it will be listed as Sold on the Bar Rescue Updates page.

UPDATE - The Prime Bar closed in the middle of 2021. More information on the closure can be found here. 


*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.