'Bar Rescue' Tried to Save Michigan Bar Pete's Butcher Block, but Did They Keep the Bar Open?

Like many shows of its kind, Bar Rescue is ultimately designed to help struggling businesses turn themselves around. Like Kitchen Nightmares, the show follows a team that comes into small bars and helps them fix their menus, their food, and their drinks, and also helps them better advertise themselves.

During a March episode of Bar Rescue, the team set out to help a bar called Pete’s Cutting Board & Reuben Tavern in Chesterfield, Mich. The restaurant, which was later renamed Pete's Butcher Block Bar during the episode, needed quite a bit of help, and many want to know what happened to it after the episode. Here's what we know.

Chef Jason Santos came in to help address the bar's needs, including a renaming to Pete's Butcher Block Bar, as well as implementing a new sign and an updated menu designed to make the food more appealing.

After the bar made the changes recommended by Bar Rescue, it looks like they are still open and operating. Their Facebook page is still open, and while it still lists their old name, many of the posts on the page have the new name attached.

It seems possible, then, that Pete and his team haven't had time yet to change the official Facebook name, even as they have taken advantage of the renovations to help their business stay open.

We don't know whether business has picked up in the time since Jason and his team visited the bar, but Reality TV Updates has reported a slight uptick in reviews since the visit, although the reviews still aren't wholly positive.

It seems like at least the name change from Jason has stuck, though, and that suggests that they were receptive to at least some of the changes on offer from the team. Bar Rescue is designed to offer some tough love for bar owners, but not every business can be saved. Thankfully, it seems like Pete's is still open, even if the episode of Bar Rescue did not lead to a total reinvention the way it does for some.

Although plenty of people were invested in whether Pete's would manage to stay open, there were also some people who offered commentary on Jason being the expert who was brought in to save the establishment instead of Jon Taffer.

"You'd think Santos would be a bigger yeller being trained by the two biggest yellers in food/hospitality reality TV," one person wrote, pointing out his connections to Jon and Gordon Ramsey.

"Taffer should have been here for this s--t head. This is some Season 3 bad owner stuff," another person wrote, referring to the owner.

While Jason himself might not have gotten rave reviews, some did feel like he worked as an alternate host for the show. As for whether he actually saved Pete's or not, only time will tell. If you're in the Chesterfield area, you should give it a try.