Restaurant Rescue?

Jon Taffer, host of the hit TV show Bar Rescue, has set out to solve the problems of food-service franchising. His solution is called Taffer's Tavern.

- JASON FEIFER

As host of the television show Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer fixes other people's restaurants. But when he looked at the casual-dining sector more broadly, he saw signs of trouble:

"They're dinosaurs," he says of many brands that have been around for decades, "and I think they're facing extinction. All the Uber Eats in the world can't bail them out.”

It's why he created a franchise concept called Taffer's Tavern, which is designed for durability. The pandemic was, of course, a massive disruption for the restaurant industry, but Taffer says the problems go far beyond that. Labor has always been expensive and difficult. Consumers want lower-cost meals, even as supply costs are uncontrollable. Taffer's Tavern addresses them all with minimally staffed, robotic kitchens cooking vacuum-sealed food, and data-driven decisions everywhere.

The first unit opened outside Atlanta in 2020, and they currently have multi-unit franchise deals secured in Georgia, Northern and Central Florida, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Las Vegas. "This is my baby," he says. "Not only can I build immense value with this, but it could be a heck of a business model." Recently, Taffer spoke to Entrepreneur about the franchise industry, how he developed his concept, and why he believes all restaurateurs need to become more efficient.

You're experienced in the hospitality space, but this is your first step into franchising. Why do it?