In my least favorite episode of Bar Rescue ever, Jon sends Phil Wills and Danny Trejo (a.k.a. Machete) on their second bar rescue, this time to the Wagon Wheel in Cleveland, Texas. The Wagon Wheel isn’t just a bar—it’s a giant, swirling tornado of bad management, family drama, grunge, and cock-a-roach-laden incompetence. Phil and Danny are Jon’s dynamic duo tasked with whipping this disaster into shape. Machete proves helpful this episode not only because he works with his son and is familiar with family dynamics in the bar and restaurant industry, nor just because he will yell with quite a bit of passion, but also because he’s a hero of the owners and staff of the Wagon Wheel, so he has some natural clout and influence from his notoriety, like Jon has and like Phil does not.

Co-owners Michael Buckley and Jorge Cueller have been friends since they were 16, and now as middle-aged adults, their friendship is on the rocks. In addition to the Wagon Wheel, Michael owns a plumbing company and is rarely at the bar. Jorge is resentful because, if the bar fails, Michael will still have a job but Jorge will have lost everything. Jorge isn’t innocent in this partnership, though. He tells us he is “the fun one,” and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what that means for a bar owner on Bar Rescue. They are $650,000 in debt, which is $200,000 more than they were when they bought the place. The bar is huge—a Texas-sized one, but it has no identity. .

From the moment Phil and Danny show up, it is clear that Jorge has fully embraced the “host-with-the-most” mindset—if the “most” in question is leisurely drinking on the job while everything falls apart. Experts, mixologist Rob Floyd and chef Chris Oh, do recon. Jorge talks with them and leaves his drink on their table, which, incidentally, almost fell off its two-barrel support pedestal when they sat down at it. Meanwhile, Jeremy is back in the kitchen “sweating his nuts off,” according to Phil. But cooking and cooking well are two different things.

The menu is so broad Chef Oh says it reminds him of a Las Vegas buffet. The dust on the fan above them is thick and all consuming. Danny and Phil show surprise like Jon used to back in the early seasons before it became clear that the initial sanitation of most bars on Bar Rescue is terribly disgusting. Danny comments that he wouldn’t want to eat a steak while he’s sitting next to the port-a-potties out on the patio. Between undercooked wings, a broken fryer that probably hasn’t been cleaned since the Obama administration, bartenders who can’t seem to make a single drink, and Rob finding it “hard to eat next to a roach that’s dying,” Phil has to be wondering why he agreed to host this one.

Then we are introduced to the family drama. Jeremy seems more adult than his father, but he expresses it with disdain. From his comments in the opening segment, Jeremy is probably fed up with his father’s incompetence. Ruben, the kitchen manager and Jorge’s brother, and Jeremy seem to coordinate and get along, but not so with Jorge and Jeremy. Jorge actually tells Rob and Chef Oh that Jeremy probably cooked their food poorly on purpose. I don’t think Jon would take kindly to that—a parent making such an excuse at their child’s expense? Nope.

Phil tries to imitate the passion and disbelief that motivates Jon to finally go into the bar when he’s seen enough. He and Machete head in to confront Jorge, Michael, and Jeremy. Watching Jorge fumble through managing both his bar and his son is like watching someone try to put out a fire with gasoline. You can just see that Jorge doesn’t know what he’s doing because everything is problematic, yet he does seem to be engaged to a degree. I imagine Jon asking Jorge, “Are you ignorant or lazy?” I think the answer is ignorant.

Chef Oh pulls a chunk of grease off the side of the fryer that looks like a 10-year-old stick of butter. Then the bickering starts about whose fault it is. Excuses and blame start flying. Phil fires off, “If I was losing $30,000 a month, I’d have an apron on and I’d be back here making sure every single piece of food went out correctly. So no more fucking excuses!” Machete joins in with “Pick up the slack!!”

Next, Phil goes to the bar and takes apart the soda gun. Regular viewers know what that means: Cockroach feces and legs, fruit fly guts, bacteria. Then Rob brings the dying cock-a-roach to the bar, wrapped in a napkin like he’s handing Phil a birthday present. Of course, everyone at the bar spectating freaks out. Phil tells them, “This is you, Jorge. This is you, Michael. Look at your bar. Does your home look like this?” Jorge starts on Phil about raising his voice, but Phil won’t take it. He talks over him and tells him he’s running his bar like a child. I laugh as I recall a YouTube parody video made from Jon’s famous run-in with the Piratz Tavern staff (S2E1: Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Dumb). Phil tells Jorge and Michael that he’s not there to play games and they better get their shit together and be on the same page tomorrow when he returns or he’s gone.

Jorge says Machete is his idol and he’s embarrassed and ready to change. He will do whatever it takes, 100%.

Phil tries to get to the root of the problem at the staff meeting, telling them why he was upset and explaining to Jorge how dire the situation is. Ruben is quite surprised to find out they are in such bad financial straits and that they will close in two months. The owners are not only $650,000 in debt, they are losing $30,000 a month. Danny schools Jorge about how to engage with the customers without drinking, even if they buy him a drink. Then he continues with Jorge and Jeremy, telling them to talk like they are employee and boss, not father and son. Jeremy admits he’s quit and been rehired a handful of times. Phil says, “If I owned this place and I had a son working here and they walked out on me, they wouldn’t be walking back in.” Jeremy again shows his maturity, saying he was humbled by being called out and how crucial it is to have a line between work and home.

During initial training, Rob Floyd teaches them some basic steps of service, including “10-5-2” which is about when and how to greet the customer. Then he trains them on a common Texas drink, the Paloma. Rob says the different alcohols make the drink “move,” but I don’t see it. He garnishes it with a fried grapefruit, which I find interesting and potentially tasty. I don’t like the way Rob pours, but I do like how personable he is as a trainer. He seems kind of Zen to me.

Chef Oh pays homage to Danny with the Wagon Wheel Trejo Tacos.

Stress tests are supposed to reveal weaknesses, and this one did. The bartenders struggled to make the drinks. Underpouring is Paige’s problem. She barely manages to get one cocktail out in the first 15 minutes. Phil sets the bar high when he tells Danny, “I want Paige to make one drink before this thing is over.” When she does, he high-fives the customer.

The POS doesn’t print orders. There are no runners for the food Jeremy makes. Michael doesn’t know how to use the POS system. Paige spills a drink. It’s disaster after disaster. Phil walks away, rolling his eyes and muttering, “What is happening right now?” It’s a nice change from Jon’s Home Alone look, but that’s only because I was thinking the same thing as Phil.

Phil’s look of despair could have launched a thousand memes, so he and Danny finally shut it down.

With the stress test in their rearview mirror, Jorge promises a complete turnaround by Saturday night. During training, Rob teaches the bartenders the “very simple” High Octane Espresso Martini that he says is easy. It is a three-ingredient shaken drink with microplaned coffee beans. Everyone loves it. Then the hosts have their owners’ meeting with Danny and Phil. Michael calls the stress test a “shit show.” He’s right. Jeremy is praised as the shining light back in the kitchen. He tells his family he wants them to be proud of the work ethic he brings to the table. His dad and he embrace, and Jeremy says he can see his dad as a leader and role model now.  I want a son like him.

Michael says that he needs to make more time to come into the bar, communicate with Jorge, and learn the POS system. Jorge says he learned how to see what’s going on in the bar and all the things he needs to inspect.

Then Jon calls the team and Laura the design expert to discuss the new concept. They are near a gas station and in some sort of industrial area, so they go with that kind of theme. The moment of truth arrives with the reveal of the Wagon Wheel’s transformation into the Pour Station: High Octane Cocktails & Food. I didn’t like the name at first, but it grew on me. The bar has been reimagined as a retro gas station-themed hangout, complete with industrial design elements, a separate sign for the bar area, a run down truck inside, an upgraded stage, and sleek self-leveling tables. The staff’s reactions are everything you hope for: Jeremy’s jaw drops, Jorge’s face lights up, and Michael smiles. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in my life,” Jorge says.

The new bar wasn’t just visually impressive; it was functional, too. With updated stations, a SkyTab POS system, and a revamped menu featuring Trejo’s Tacos and other bestsellers, the Pour Station is ready for its second chance. They also got a Manitowoc ice machine, the first this season, I believe.

Relaunch night is finally here, and the Pour Station looks and feels like a whole new bar—because it is. The team, now equipped with training, a streamlined menu, and a dash of newfound confidence, are happy and proud to be working there. By the time the first round of drinks hit the tables and the tacos made their way out of the kitchen, the place was buzzing with happy customers. Just as importantly as rescuing the business, Phil and Danny rescued a family and a friendship, just like Jon does.

Phil and Danny seem to be coming into their own and working well together. It’s taken a lot to get used to, watching Bar Rescue without Jon. The show isn’t the same, but it seems the results can be. As Jon would say, it’s not about fixing a bar; it’s about fixing a family—and that is a truly illustrious goal.

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I invite you to consider and share your answers in the Comments: How has your evaluation of an establishment changed since watching Bar Rescue?