Cinco Cantina (High 5 Grille) - Bar Rescue Update

In this week's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer and crew are in Tucson, Arizona to rescue High 5 Grille.  The bar is owned by Cathy Whaley, who has owned it since 2019. While doing recon, Jon finds that the walk in cooler does not work properly and it is about 85 degrees in the cooler. There is beer and food being stored in there, so Jon does not want anybody eating the food.  He also finds that the bar hasn't served draft beer in about a month because of the walk in being broken.  

During the Bar Rescue makeover, Jon Taffer decided to change the name of High 5 Grille to Cinco Cantina and the bar did keep the name, however they closed before the episode ever aired. Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for Cinco Cantina since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar (All reviews are post-Bar Rescue):

Positive Reviews:

• "Well what a surprise! Stopped in to what I expected to be a dark and just OK but conveniently located sports bar while waiting for laundry next door. Wow... the place has been rebranded ! Beer was cold. Food was good (even though my med well burger was definitely well done). Service was excellent! My only complaint is that I wanted to watch football but there is a live band. I'll definitely try again another night!. Well done ownership/managers!"
• "It has a new look!  Had the Philly Cheese Steak and watched football. The server and Andy the bartender were great!"

Negative Reviews:

• "Always seen High 5 but never went in, heard about the renovations and decided to give this place a shot. Inside was like your typical neighborhood bar. The food was ok but nothing to rave about and the drinks were decent water was from the tap. Not a bad place to hang but nothing stood out that would make me want to come back over famous Sam's."

*Reviews from Yelp, Google

Other News and Links:

• The Bar Rescue for High 5 Grille happened in November 2023.
• Here is a preview video of the episode from the Bar Rescue YouTube page
• Here is the Cinco Cantina website and Facebook page. 
• Their drink menu on their old website was updated after the show and listed draft beer and some Bar Rescue cocktails. (Link)
• Cathy said they modified some things Bar Rescue put on the menu to make it cheaper and also removed the taquitos due to complaints. (Link)
• Here is the Facebook page of Cathy (owner)
• Here are the reviews for Cinco Cantina from Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google.
• Cathy responds to the reviews on each site.
• Cinco Cantina announced it was closing at the beginning of January, just a few months after the makeover.  Cathy posted on the Cinco Cantina Facebook page, "It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I must inform you that Cinco Cantina has closed its doors as of January 3rd, 2024. I want to thank all of my loyal customers for your patronage and support over the last few years.  I have met so many great people and made some wonderful and lasting friendships. I will miss all of you but I know I will see some of you around town. Please continue to support all local area businesses. They rely on you to keep their doors open. Love you all! Cathy"
• A local article said that a notice was left on the front door stating that the landlord has taken "repossession" of the building. They posted a photo of the landlord lien sign which said, "Pursuant to ARS 33-361(A) these premises have been lawfully locked by the landlord and landlord has taken repossession. All non-exempt personal property belonging to tenant has been seized pursuant to ARS Section 33.361(D) and 33.362. Any unauthorized entry hereto shall be considered an illegal entry under Arizona Revised Statutes 13.1502(A)(1) and shall subject the violator to arrest and criminal prosecution. Any person needing to gain access to these premises should contact the landlord/property manager."

Conclusion:

Jon Taffer decided to change the name of High 5 Grille to Cinco Cantina and the bar did keep the name up until they closed.  The bar closed just a few months after the Bar Rescue visit and it closed because of money owed to the landlord.  The landlord repossessed the building and took possession of everything in it, including any updates done by Bar Rescue.  Because Cinco Cantina closed so close to the renovations, there weren't too many reviews and they weren't able to take advantage of any publicity from being on the show.  Cinco Cantina has been marked as 'Closed' on the Bar Rescue Updates page.

*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.