The eighth season of the American reality series Bar Rescue premiered on May 2, 2021 and ended on June 11, 2023 on Paramount Network.
The majority of the bars during the first half of the season were filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theme of the eighth season was to save an industry in a city affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic also meant that filming, recon, training, and stress tests were altered according to local guidelines. The show then later returned with episodes of bars throughout the United States in its traditional format on March 20, 2022.
After running a successful floral business for two decades, owner Randi thought she could parlay that success into a budding new bar, but she never rose to the occasion.
For his 200th rescue, Jon rescues a family who bought a Mexican restaurant at the height of the pandemic and put their daughter's future on the line to chase the bright lights of Vegas.
Note: Although billed as the 200th episode, this episode was 214th in airing order and instead Jon's 200th rescue. In addition, he brought in Clelin Ferrell and Trayvon Mullen to do recon. This was also the most recent appearance of Tiffany Derry as the chef expert.
Jon heads to Pahrump, Nevada to save a VFW hail from permanently closing its doors and to help its commanding officer step away to take care of his ailing wife.
A premiere billiards hall in Las Vegas is at risk of closing after its owner struggles to recover from the effects of the pandemic and an inept manager.
Jon Taffer tries to help a struggling married couple save their karaoke bar in downtown Las Vegas and get back on track with their goals to start a family.
Jon heads to Tampa, Florida to help save an owner who has suffered personal loss and health scares while trying to single-handedly keep his struggling bar afloat.
A riverside bar in Florida is struggling to stay afloat due to a manager with no experience, a staff co-mingling and a wildly out-of-line menu for their community.
In Gibsonton, Florida, Jon must help rescue not only a failing bar but a broken marriage after the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed both their business and their relationship.
Jon visits an Idaho bar plagued by multiple problems, including employees who privately accuse the owner of hurting the business with his drinking but will not repeat their claims to his face.
Note: After confronting the employees with footage of their accusations, Jon and his crew left without rescuing the bar, furious about the employees calling him a liar when he had only been repeating what they themselves had said, the owner's refusal to admit to his drinking and refusing to have his reputation attached to the bar of the town drunk as the owner was referred to by people. Jon states that, out of 240 episodes of Bar Rescue, this is only his third walkout and that walking out is no small matter. In addition, footage is shown of the crew taking down all of their equipment and packing up. This was also the third rescue to not debut new cocktails; the first being O'Face Bar and the second being The Dugout. There was also not a stress test. This is one of the first episodes of the show that the mixologist wasn't introduced; per the credits, Ashley Clark was originally supposed to be the mixologist for this episode. Due to the weird and confusing nature of this episode, she wasn't seen or heard from in any capacity.[Note 1][Note 2][Note 4]
Jon must teach a former engineer and his staff how to properly run a nightclub before they close down for good.
Note: After noticing the owner taking his recon people's private information, Jon takes part in the recon himself in order to understand the owner's actions.
Jon attempts to rescue a bar owner in Loveland, Colorado, who is on the verge of losing his business and his marriage.
Note: Courtland Sutton joins Jon to help him evaluate the bar. For recon, Jon brings in Justin Simmons, Kareem Jackson, and Bradley Chubb, three members of the team who the bar owner and the staff don't even recognize despite owning and running a sports bar with the Denver Broncos as their home team. As a special surprise, Jon brings former Broncos' running back Terrell Davis to the relaunch.
In Hickory, North Carolina, Jon finds a bar with an absent owner, an untrained staff, and an infestation of pests.
Note: For this bar, Jon did not do recon, instead immediately confronting the staff along with Vic Vegas about the disgusting state of the bar after watching the camera footage.
Jon heads to Moreno Valley, California, to save the legacy of a pizza and sports bar after the passing of one of the owners leaves a family in disarry.
Jon must save a small country bar in rural Idaho from going under while teaching the General Manager how to be a true leader.
Note: After seeing the state of the bar, Jon performs the recon himself along with his expert. He also literally throws the white flag during the stress test, something that Jon notes has only happened two or three times on Bar Rescue.
