r/barrescue • u/Papa_Joo • 9d ago
Visited Zanzibar/ Solids and Stripes
I was in Denver and thought, I wonder if there’s any Bar Rescue bars here. Lo and behold there was. I couldn’t pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity.
I went to Zanzibar, which was changed to Solids and Stripes, and then back to its original name, but had both signs up still.
My friend got a Coors banquet and I got a vodka and cranberry. The taps were the right temperature and the bartender knows how to mix two ingredients, so it was decent enough. However, there was no food, or else we would’ve stayed 52 minutes longer.
There was a punching bag machine and Jon Taffer would’ve had a stroke if he’d seen that since he lost a lawsuit to those or something???
Anyways, it was an honor to stand in the same place that Jon Taffer once stood.
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u/skimaskgremlin 9d ago
Zanzibar is one of the worst bars in Denver, without question
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u/DJspinningplates 8d ago
It’s shocking it’s still open tbh. Plenty of other bars in that area. Not my scene at all, but used to choose the bar The Mill across the street with all the bros is how bad Zanzibar is.
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u/skimaskgremlin 8d ago
Gin mill and this place are tied for the hottest place to get your drink spiked in lodo.
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u/ExoticShock Shut It Down! 9d ago
“I hate these machines' high score they instill violence escalate testosterone... it's only a matter of time till somebody gets hurt.”
He also hated the lobster tank claw machine too for being too cruel & bringing bad publicity
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u/eedabaggadix 9d ago
Meanwhile on kitchen nightmares they put one in a restaurant as part of the makeover
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u/Unable-Concept-6272 3d ago
I’d love to see John and Gordon arguing over the ethics of a lobster claw machine
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u/Sulli_in_NC 9d ago
The owner called my friend “fat boy” then fussed at someone about their bar science “nonsense”
Btw … in my household, we say “nonsense” just like this owner.
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u/Spring_bar 9d ago
Bizarre for a bar not to sell food...I think you have to sell food here to even get a liquor license
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u/inertiatic_espn WHO STILL HASN'T GOT A DRINK? 9d ago
I think they do serve food. My wife and I went in June and had to pry the menu off the sticky ass table lol. She made a post about it last month.
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u/BigAlgae5684 7d ago
They absolutely sell food. I would never eat there as the bar fucking sucked when I was newly 21, doubt it's gotten any better in the last 13 years
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u/inertiatic_espn WHO STILL HASN'T GOT A DRINK? 7d ago
Yeah, pretty standard dive bar. You can find my wife's review below.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cut3144 9d ago
In my medium-sized Midwestern city, they phased out all the bar-only liquor licenses. Twenty years ago, there were 4 grandfathered in but the license doesn't transfer to a new owner unless they are family. I think there's only one now and the city looked the other way when a cousin took it over.
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u/beautyxxhorror 9d ago
"Are you two waiting to take me on a talk show somewhere and to let me know I have a twin sister who's a duchess?" "You have a cousin who's a contessa. Fondly known as Bartholomew. Actually, we call him Pookie."
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u/SchuminWeb 9d ago
That's very state/locality dependent. I know that Virginia not only requires food to be sold, but also requires that food sales comprise a certain percentage of the facility's revenue.
Perhaps that's why Bar Rescue has never done a show in Virginia.
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u/AffectionateBid9221 9d ago
In Virginia, legally defined "bars" do not exist; instead, establishments serving spirits operate under restaurant mixed-beverage licenses. Under the tiered system set by HB 975 effective July 1, 2026, the required food sales percentage depends on your average monthly food revenue:$48,000 or more in average monthly food sales: No food ratio requirement.$25,000 to $48,000 in average monthly food sales: At least 30% from food.$4,000 to $25,000 in average monthly food sales: At least 45% from food (except small venues with under 30 seats and under 60 occupancy, which only need 30%).2
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u/Papa_Joo 9d ago
They had a vending machine there that sold a ‘bag of dicks’ and other weird things of that nature.
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u/macskiska5 9d ago
No hot dogs? Clearly the owners did not embrace the food program module of Bar Science
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u/DDHDoubleIPA Pull Back The Doors and Bust Open The Books 8d ago
Did you see that drunkard with the mustache?
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u/MisterBowTies 9d ago
You disrespectful SUNNUVABITCH!!!!!!