The American Bar Scene Is Grimmer Than Ever

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Jonathan Taffer, a long-time show business and nightclub impresario, has a grim message on this week's Masters in Business: A lot of bars and restaurants aren't going to make it through the coronavirus shutdown and long recovery.

Taffer learned the ropes at the Troubadour, a legendary New York entertainment venue that booked acts such as Lenny Bruce, the Eagles, Elton John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Red Hot Chili Peppers and James Taylor.After seeing "Kitchen Nightmares," a reality TV show in which celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey tries to bail out troubled restaurants, Taffer pitched a nightclub-bar version. "Bar Rescue," with Taffer as host, now is in its seventh season and just aired its 200th episode.

His prior foray into television was creating "NFL Sunday Ticket," predecessor to "NFL Red Zone."

Taffer discusses the state of bars and restaurants under quarantine today, and he has some suggestions for what needs to be done to ensure more of them can survive. He estimates as many as 40% of all U.S. bars and restaurants will never reopen or will fail. He proposes that the federal government extend lines of credit to these businesses so they can ramp up inventory and hiring so they can re-open. He mentions purchasing Shift4 Cares gift cards as a tool to steer money to your favorite local bar or restaurant.

His favorite books are here; a transcript of our conversation is here. You can stream and download our full conversation, including the podcast extras, on Apple iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Google, Bloomberg and Stitcher. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.

Be sure to check out our next Masters in Business with Michael Lewis, author of "Moneyball," "The Big Short" and many others.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, and was previously chief market strategist at Maxim Group. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”

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