SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Piratz Tavern was the standout establishment in season 2 of "Bar Rescue." The Silver Spring pirate themed bar did not enjoy their rescue. They decided to mutiny.
A year after the original airing, it appears that the pirates made the right call -- or, at the very least, that they didn't kill their business by killing the "Bar Rescue" alterations.
"Bar Rescue" host Jon Taffer turned the pirate bar into the "Corporate" bar and grill. This lasted for 24-hours. The Piratz workers made-over the makeover after one night of business. Before the initial July 2012 airing of the episode Taffer told The Huffington Post that owner Tracy Rebelo's decisions "defy logic."
Last September Tracy Rebelo told The Huffington Post that Taffer is "an idiot."
"Bar Rescue" is currently in the midst of their third season. The show is more popular than ever. With enough episodes to fill an afternoon of programming, its network, Spike TV, airs "Bar Rescue" marathons most weekends. This leads to more viewers witnessing the Piratz Tavern mutiny, which in turn leads to mischief.
"When the episode is on we get hundreds of prank calls," Rebelo recently told The Huffington Post. "I'll check during the week to find out if the episode is going to air that weekend. I'll make sure I'm here the day it airs to answer calls so my employees don't have to answer calls saying, 'You suck!'...[T]here's nothing positive about the airings."
Piratz Taven is for pirate fans and friends. Their Yelp page is a reflection of this. Customers tend to love or hate the establishment.
Viewers of the reality television program are among the haters.
"The Yelp reviews are horrible," says Rebelo. "It's a lot of work to deal with the negative reviews from people that have never been here. Don't judge us from the show, judge us after a visit."
Check out Piratz Tavern's transformation in this slideshow -- story continues below:
Piratz Tavern
Rebelo says new customers come to Piratz Tavern expecting one version of "reality" and experience another.
"On the good side," she says, "the more people that react to it, the quicker that Hollywood and all of its subsidiaries have to come up with something better."
A year later, was the "Bar Rescue" experience worth it? Would it be something Piratz would do again?
"I would do it again," says Rebelo. "Life is for living. We're much more solid from the experience. I'm proud of the fact that we lived through it. I don't think, at this point, anyone would be able to hurt us. I think they should do a cooking show here!"
Piratz Tavern is open Tuesday through Sunday in downtown Silver Spring. The bar is currently accepting offers for The Smart Bar automatic bartender machine they received from "Bar Rescue."
Flickr photo by mdfriendofhillary, used under a Creative Commons license.