Is This Insanely Popular Reality Show Coming to Film in Boise?
If you’ve spent any time on our website, you know that Boise is no stranger to appearing on reality TV shows obsessed with our food scene. Both Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Man v. Food have shot episodes in Idaho’s capital city. Are we about to see another TV crew setting up to shoot in the Treasure Valley?
There we were in early February 2022, minding our own business, driving home from work when we noticed the sign outside of what appeared to be a permanently closed Mazzah Mediterranean Grill on Parkcenter was finally torn off the building. Living in the neighborhood made us nosy and we started asking around about what might be moving in there.
While searching for the answer (which we eventually pieced together through public records,) we heard a completely unrelated rumor that Jon Taffer’s Bar Rescue had either been in touch with some Treasure Valley Bars that were down on their luck or were hoping to find ones that could use some help.
We dug through the depths of the internet to try to get more of the scoop and here’s what we know. 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!”
It seems like the casting call is legit, as the second half of Season 8 premiered in March 2022 has included three episodes shot in or within 60 minutes of Atlanta. A March 18 Distractify interview with Taffer mentions Boise, Dallas, Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta, Charlotte and Denver by name when talking about stops for the next season. The other three episodes that aired in 2022, were shot within 30 minutes of Dallas. Taffer also did an interview with Tampa’s CBS affiliate where he mentioned that they’ve shot four episodes in Tampa and that he was currently in another part of Florida shooting more. Could that other Florida location be Orlando? We’d be willing to put money on it.
So the question is WHEN and WHERE will they be in Boise? We’re dying to find out! The original rumors we heard were tied to Southeast Boise’s Eastside Tavern, but the bar closed in its former Boise Avenue location for good in late April. They do have plans to reopen in a new location but it seems unlikely that Taffer would come to help them build a new bar from the ground up. That’s not really what the show’s about.
When they roll into town, they likely won’t be at one bar very long. According to a Q&A with Taffer on his own website, shoots are a grueling five-day process broken down like this:
- Day 1: Scouting the bar, its competitors and the neighborhood
- Day 2: The “Stress Test”
- Day 3: Taffer’s cast of experts go through extensive training with the bar’s staff
- Day 4: The Remodel
- Day 5: The Big Reveal
We’re going to keep an eye out for anything that looks out of the norm at our favorite watering holes. You do the same and tell us if you notice anything out of the norm!