Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer Explains How Us Weekly Helped Form His Friendship With Donnie Wahlberg

US Weekly

Transcript

00:00What can we expect from this season of the show?

00:02I watched the first episode, and you already start off

00:04with such a wonderful story.

00:06Yeah, you know, I always think that every failing business

00:10is a failing owner.

00:11And you know, Bar Rescue, especially this season,

00:15is much more about the failing owner

00:17than the failing business.

00:19And of course, the transformations and the remodels

00:22are always great.

00:23But you know, these are families struggling.

00:25And this first episode is a good glimpse

00:27into what these episodes are like.

00:29Don't think that I'm not getting angry,

00:31because some people are irresponsible,

00:33even though their family's in trouble.

00:35But this is an emotional season.

00:36You know, it's a challenging time for the industry

00:39and for a lot of us these past eight or seven or five years

00:43have been very challenging.

00:44So, you know, the bar industry is still digging out

00:47from the pandemic and all those years.

00:49So it's a rough season.

00:51You're gonna see me tear up once or twice this year.

00:53I should say, we're gonna see a little softer side

00:54of you this season.

00:56Yes, yes.

00:57What kind of pulled at your heartstrings

00:59this season then?

01:00Well, you know, this episode was a pretty good example,

01:02the one that aired this week.

01:04And next week's episode is a great one

01:07with Spike Mendelsohn, who's a dear friend,

01:10leading the charge on that one.

01:11And then the one after that is with Donnie Wahlberg,

01:15who's a good friend.

01:15And, you know, it was interesting to do an episode

01:18with Donnie and I together.

01:21We're friends.

01:22By the way, we met because of Us Weekly.

01:24Oh, really?

01:24Tell me more.

01:25Yes.

01:26So anyway, I would just finish.

01:27So when Donnie and I were doing Bar Rescue,

01:29I looked to my left and I saw the tears

01:31coming down his face.

01:33So it's emotional.

01:34It must have been 10 or 12 years ago.

01:36I was reading Us Weekly, as I often do.

01:39And I see an article of Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg

01:43that their Sunday pleasure is laying in bed all day

01:47watching Bar Rescue marathons.

01:49So when I saw that, I sent a note to Jenny,

01:53thanking and saying, that's great, thank you.

01:55She reached out to me.

01:56She and I became good friends.

01:58I did her serious radio show a few times.

02:00She did my podcast.

02:02And then she, Donnie, and I, and my wife, Nicole,

02:04all became friends.

02:05And we've had dinner together and such.

02:07So they love Bar Rescue.

02:09So Donnie got to do one with me,

02:11and Jenny got to do one with me as well

02:13a couple of years ago.

02:14So that's how that happened, all because of Us Weekly.

02:17You're welcome.

02:18I love it.

02:19I love that.

02:20So what was it like working with him?

02:22What was that collaboration like?

02:24It was fun.

02:24I've known Donnie before we worked together,

02:27but Bar Rescue is all as it comes.

02:30We don't know what's gonna happen.

02:31So he is in the restaurant business, as you know,

02:34his family.

02:34So he had a lot to add, but he saw how intense it is.

02:38You know, it's emotional when you watch it.

02:39It's far more emotional when you're in it.

02:41Yeah, definitely.

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