Jon Taffer Interview: New Taffer’s Tavern in Midtown and His Big Bet on the Atlanta Dining Scene

From the bustling suburban square in Downtown Alpharetta to the dense urban core of Midtown, one of the most recognizable names in hospitality is making a major bet on Atlanta. Taffer’s Tavern, which celebrated five years since launching its first-ever location in Alpharetta, offers an experience that is meticulously engineered. While the locations differ, they all share a common DNA: operational excellence and a founder who believes the true product of a restaurant isn’t the food or drink, but the reaction it creates.

The architect of this growing empire is, of course, Jon Taffer. As the fiery and brilliant host of the hit TV show Bar Rescue, he has spent 15 years and nearly 300 episodes transforming failing bars with his “no excuses” approach. But his journey began long before television, starting as a bartender in college and quickly rising through the ranks. Taffer’s “revenue cures everything” mindset combined with relentless drive allowed him to turn a studio rejection into a global television career and to become one of the most influential figures in the restaurant industry.

Our team had the opportunity to speak with Jon Taffer on the opening day of the Taffer’s Tavern Midtown location. In our conversation, he explains why he chose Metro Atlanta as the home base for his brand, his unique philosophy on engineering the perfect guest “reaction”, and the powerful story of how he built his career by refusing to take “no” for an answer.

Taffer’s Tavern recently celebrated 5 years since opening its first location in Alpharetta. What made Alpharetta the ideal location for the first Taffer’s Tavern?

“Well, some of this is demographic and psychographic, obviously it was a good choice because it is still successful five years later. In the case of Alpharetta, the building is beautiful. 
It’s right on the square, and it’s right in the center of everything with the parking right behind us there. So it’s just a great location. The location in Midtown, too, was hard because we wanted to do a second location. 
We didn’t say it was going to be Midtown. We were open any location that was great. 
But the Midtown area is a little underserved in restaurants. So, again, it was a great location and it all starts with that.”

Taffer’s Tavern now has locations in Midtown, Alpharetta, and at Mercedes Benz Stadium. What is it about the Atlanta and Metro Atlanta market specifically that you believe is the perfect fit for the Taffer's Tavern brand?

Photo courtesy of Craveworthy Brands

“Oh, I really love it here. This is a really great city and a great state. And I go back here from when I was a consultant for InterContinental Hotels. 
Many years ago, I was a Hooters franchisee. 
I would come to Atlanta for the Hooters corporate office. So I’ve been coming here in my whole life, mostly for InterContinental Hotels, and I’ve always fallen in love with this city. 
So when we wanted to launch the Taffer’s Tavern franchise, we found a great partner here, and chose to do it here. And we’re glad we did.”

What is your perspective on the Metro Atlanta dining scene? What are its greatest opportunities and challenges?

“I think the challenges are the same everywhere now, just managing costs. And I think the other issue is, obviously, in some cases, revenues are suffering, they aren’t quite what they used to be and you got to fight for it a little harder. But I think that’s common across the country. 
I think what’s more unique to Atlanta is neighborhoods. It’s a very neighborhood driven city. And people tend to stay in those neighborhoods. 
So I think that restaurants, even though it’s a big city, are actually very local in Atlanta. Not every city is like that.”

On Bar Rescue, you often have to fix deep-seated cultural problems in bars across the country. How do you build a positive, high-performance culture from day one with your franchise partners and the staff to avoid those issues?

“First of all, I can’t come in here as somebody who doesn’t live here and say “you’re going to open this my way and 
I’m going to give the food to Georgia that I want to give them.” I think that’s an asinine approach to business. 
I found a local partner who grew up here in Georgia, and the president of my company happens to be from Georgia. I connect to locals and I do it with them, and the menu is reflective of that. So it’s very, very important if you’re going to open something in a state as rich in culture as Georgia is, with Georgia football and universities. Look, the culture of this state is deep. 
You better understand and be a part of that culture, because if you’re outside of it, you’re never going to succeed. It’s also a matter of respect. You have to respect the people that live here, and you have to respect the culture, and we do.”

What is your definition of "hospitality," and how do you ensure every guest feels it the moment they walk through the door at Taffer's Tavern?

Photo courtesy of Craveworthy Brands

“I don’t think restaurants put out food and beverage. I think their product is a reaction. The food and beverage is the vehicle to the reaction. 
When a plate hits the table, either you react to it or you don’t. When you take that first bite, if you look at the person you are with and say “that’s really good” or you don’t. 
The reaction is the product. And that’s where restaurateurs blow it. They think that the product is the food or the beverage, it’s not. 
So when we look at it in a whole experiential way, our music is curated. Our video system is curated, our food is designed to create impact when it hits the table. I’m not in the restaurant business, I’m in the reaction business. 
And I tell every restauranteur in the country, he or she who creates the best reactions wins.

A lot of it is training. If I played the right music and did everything right, but took all the people out of here, this would be a cold place. 
So the people give it the warmth. So you hire for personality, not experience. You can’t care about resumes, it’s all about personality and connectivity. Connectivity is the magic word for us.”

What is the biggest challenge you see facing the restaurant industry in the near future, and how are you preparing your teams for it?

“I think we have challenges on two fronts. We have regulatory issues, and I think the government needs to start reducing regulations, which is happening now. And I think that’s very, very important because some of these regulations have created an unnecessary financial and time burden on operators. 
Some of them can’t even do it. So they’re in violation of these things. I think, in some cases, government needs to get out of our way. 
And I think, in other cases, people need to understand that restaurants are, first and foremost, sales organizations. And you got to run them that way. Restaurateurs will say that their rent is too high and their marketing is too high. I don’t think that’s true. 
Their revenues are too low. Revenue cures everything.”

You're now one of the most recognized hospitality experts in the world. Can you talk about your story of getting into the restaurant business and making a name for yourself?

“I went to college in Colorado and took political science and cultural anthropology classes. 
I started tending bar in college and fell in love with it. After, I became a manager, went to the East Coast, and became a vice president of a restaurant chain. 
I was very, very good at it. What happened with me is I’m very marketing oriented. So they gave me a restaurant, I brought the revenues up 30%. 
They gave me a bigger restaurant, and I brought the revenues up. They gave me an even bigger restaurant, and 
I brought the revenues up. Now, they gave me five restaurants, then they gave me ten restaurants because I could drive revenue. 
I always got promoted very quickly because other people focused on saving the dime, I focused on bringing in the dollar. And it was very successful for me. 
Back in the mid ’80s, I created a consulting company and started owning my own places. At one point, I owned 17 restaurants across the country. My consulting company became very famous and very, very good at this. 


One day I was giving a speech in Las Vegas and someone said to me, “Hey, man, you should be on TV.” I went and I wrote something up called On The Rocks, and I had worked as a consultant for Bubba Gump Shrimp Company from Paramount so I had friends there. I called them and asked to put some TV guys in a room to pitch an idea, and they did. 
Then, I came to Paramount and drove through the big gates, pitched my idea, they told me I was crazy, I was too old, I’ll never be on television. I left and didn’t believe him. So I shot my own sizzle reel and sent it to production companies I had no previous relationship with. Later, I got four out of four offers and was on TV less than a year later. 
And now after 15 years and 283 episodes, the new season premiers next week. So the trick is, and I say this to you and to everybody: “Only you can say no to you.””

For a first-time visitor at Taffer's Tavern, what is the one dish and one beverage they should order to get the full Taffer's Tavern experience?

“The campfire cocktail is an amazing cocktail. 
That’s with our browned butter bourbon, and a little smoking wood. That’s a really beautiful cocktail. Our “old fashioned” is to die for. My favorite item on the food menu is the blazing bacon flatbread. People often say the whiskey burger is the best burger they’ve ever had. But the whole menu’s great and I’m really proud of it.” 

Scenes from Taffer's Tavern Grand Opening in Midtown

Taffer's Tavern Menu Highlights