Bar Rescue at Van Goghz AKA Crafted in St. Louis

Bar Rescue at Van Goghz AKA Crafted in St. Louis
Bar Rescue at Van Goghz AKA Crafted in St. Louis (Instagram)

About four months ago Chew Boom reported Jon Taffer and the Bar Rescue crew were spotted filming at Van Goghz Martini Bar & Bistro in St. Louis. This weekend, fans of the popular Spike TV reality series will finally get to see exactly what went down.

Advertisment

Story continues below

As Chew Boom originally reported in November, Taffer renamed the bar Crafted and gave the bar a new motto: “Handcrafted Food & Cocktails.”

Crafted Bar formely Van Goghz Martini Bar & Bistro in St. Louis
Crafted Bar formely Van Goghz Martini Bar & Bistro in St. Louis

The episode, titled “Dragon Lady” premieres March 13 on Spike TV. Here’s Spike’s description of the episode:

An apathetic owner would rather vape in the corner than engage with customers at her bar. Jon tries to keep the business up and running.

The apathetic owner in that description would be Dani Davis, who originally worked at  Van Goghz as the bar manager for six years before purchasing the bar in 2013.

Post Rescue

Since the rescue, Crafted has launched a new dynamic website and has been very active on Facebook with regular updates featuring a large selection of food and drink photos. It certainly is showing all the sings you’d expect to see in a successfully run business.

The Reviews are in:

The Chew Boom crew took a look at some online reviews of the bar since the rescue, and we found an eclectic mix of good and bad, with the majority on the positive side. Here’s a quick look at a few Yelp reviews:

  • Katie H on Feb. 29, 2016 – 3 stars: the loaded potatoes were just fine! Nothing life changing, but certainly filled my tummy with the carbs and cheese I wanted!
  • Sara R on Feb. 28, 2016 – 4 stars: Popped in for a happy hour with a friend and LOVED the changes! Fried goat cheese, tots with curry catsup…yum!! Those tots and sauces are LEGIT. Will definitely be back!
  • Laura M on Dec. 18 – 2 stars:  Wasn’t thrilled with this place. The menu was SUPER boring. I usually have the problem of not being able to decide what to pick because I always want everything on a menu, but nothing stood out to me on this menu.

Overall, 13 Yelp visitors have posted reviews about Crafted since the rescue. Among those, 9 reviews are on the positive side, with 4 leaning on the negative side.

In January, Feast Magazine featured a piece with Crafted owner Dani Davis on the bar’s new signature pressed cocktails. You can also check out Dani Davis at her personal Facebook page.

Crafted is also very active on Twitter and Instagram with regular posts featuring photos of food and drink menu items.

Here’s a Dani Davis video testimonial for a local DJ.

Check out this throwback video from 2009, featuring Dani Davis preparing a Van Gogh Appletini.

Here’s a look at the new Crafted sign being prepared to be installed at Van Goghz back in November 2015.

The Van Goghz Bar Rescue (Instagram)
The Van Goghz Bar Rescue (Instagram)