I was sick for about a month, and during that time, I decided to play around making infographics for Bar Rescue, especially related to the remodeling aspect of the show since I usually prefer to attend to the interpersonal segments with Jon and the owner(s) instead.

The one with the Venn Diagram is a serious one that illustrates three major components of the bar remodel and how they overlap. I couldn’t even add the kitchen and bar training on it because Venn Diagrams are designed to have few circles and be simple. Mine looked like a Spirograph, if you ever had one of those, which is essentially what I wanted, but it’s so congested I cannot fit the words in it. It was a great idea, but like a lot of stuff on this blog, it was pourly executed.

I originally wanted to use it to make a meme that illustrates how all the things Jon has to consider whittle down what can actually be done during the rescue. I wanted about 100 circles overlapping to create a tiny little spot in the center for the actual bar remodel that gets completed and revealed once all these things are taken into consideration. I imagine the final bar is not 100% what Jon envisioned at the start of the rescue because of all kinds of constraints, even if he has the systems and procedures for the show down to the minute, is partnered with the sponsors, has deep pockets and a big checkbook, and 57 people in his crew, most of which have probably been with him on the show for 10 or more years so they know what they are doing.

Because I couldn’t make the kind of Venn Diagram I wanted, I made a Decision Tree (flowchart) for all the remodeling decisions Jon has to make. I picked an arbitrary number of 100 decisions, but it’s probably a lot more than that. I work on my laptop and my phone, so to capture a real flowchart of what Jon does, I’d probably need to have a movie screen as a computer monitor to make it legible. I think you can get the picture (pun intended) from the decision tree with only 100 decisions in it, though.

No wonder Jon feels pressured and calls doing Bar Rescue “grueling.” When I sent it to my friends and family, everyone asked how long it took me to make the chart. I told them, “Fourteen times longer than it takes Jon to make the decisions on the chart for just one episode.” I think my family hates me.

The whole point of this exercise was to bring a little understanding to fans what I imagine we don’t get to see much of, and that’s just how much work and effort goes into just one aspect of doing a bar rescue and why it’s important to believe Jon when he talks about going “to work” and that he puts his “heart and soul” into the bar’s turn around. Of course Jon doesn’t execute it all himself but it’s gotta be one hell of an undertaking, even if he’s got it down to a well-oiled machine. Maybe I’m alone in this, but no one has ever worked that hard on my behalf, not even a small fraction of it. As such, in my humble opinion, the owners should be grateful and giving him a hug, and he deserves every second he takes to savor his accomplishments at the end of the show.