Did a Popular Reality Show Just Save a Failing Nampa Bar?

Boise wants to be a big city. But at its core? We’re really still just a small town with a couple of big buildings. That’s why it’s damn near impossible to keep a secret in the Treasure Valley! 

Back in February, we were snooping around Southeast Boise trying to figure out what was moving into the old Mazzah Mediterranean Grill on Parkcenter. While trying (and failing) to get answers from the neighboring businesses, we did hear a completely unrelated rumor that Jon Taffer’s Bar Rescue had been scoping out down on their luck bars in the Treasure Valley for the show’s upcoming season. 

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Naturally, we were curious and went down the deep, dark internet rabbit hole to put the pieces together. Bar Rescue was indeed looking for locations in Boise last December 2021. Casting agent, Rachel Natoli, posted this casting call on Instagram four months after making a similar post saying that Paramount Plus was looking for struggling bars in “Atlanta, Florida and a couple other cities, so stay tuned!” 

Flash forward to March 18 and Distractify published an interview with Taffer mentioning Boise by name while discussing the upcoming season. And that was the last we heard of Bar Rescue coming to Boise UNTIL last week. We got a tip on Twitter, followed by a tip called into our front desk, followed by a flyer making its way around Facebook! 

It looks like Firehouse Sports Pub in Nampa is one of the bars getting a makeover by Taffer and his team! The flyer making its way across Facebook said: 

“Popular Bar Reality TV Show Filming in Nampa!

STRESS TEST

Firehouse Sports Pub

423 E Karcher Rd, Nampa, ID 83687

Friday

Jul 8th

7:30 p.m.

Must be 21 to Enter”

The flyer is a bit of a shock, because on Taffer’s website, he explains that it’s really important to keep the show as real as possible, so they don’t usually advertise when they’re at a location because it will draw a crowd that’s not typical for the bar. They’ll usually reach out to local businesses to help fill the bar and see how the bar’s staff applies the new skills they learned from an initial round of training with Taffer and his crew. 

A few days later, The Venue in Nampa posted that they had the pleasure of having the Bar Rescue production crew with them from last week until July 11. Firehouse Sports Pub has a 4.2 star rating Google Reviews and a great deal of the most recent reviews are positive, so now we’re really intrigued to see what Taffer and his staff did to “save” this hometown bar. Was it in worse shape than we knew?

We’re not sure what the new name or concept he picked for Firehouse Sports Pub is, but the bar’s Facebook page was still advertising an upcoming pool tournament under their current name. If you went to the "Stress Test" and have some intel, tell us! We promise to keep our sources anonymous! 

There’s a rumor that Bar Rescue will be in town a little bit longer. From what we heard, they could be doing a bar in Meridian as well! 

These bars will be the first bars in Idaho to be on Bar Rescue!  Recurring guest star, Michael Tipps did help transform the Chalk Horse in Pocatello into the Clydesdale, but it wasn’t for the Bar Rescue series. Of course, there are plenty of reality shows OBSESSED with Idaho’s food life. Check it out!