Gil & Rick's Sports Bar and Pizzeria Is Now Sauced Sports Bar

When "Pie Hard" aired on 2019-05-19, it introduced viewers to Gil & Rick's Sports Bar and Pizzeria in Largo, Florida, run by co-owners Gil Grim and Rick Johnson, two former U.S. Postal Service employees who had put more than $200,000 into a shared dream of running a sports bar. Jon Taffer arrived with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is known for reviewing pizza around the country, plus a producer sent in undercover to order from the menu. The recon exposed a bar with confusing three-part signage that made the space look like separate businesses, a kitchen manager who had never been formally trained on the menu, and clashing management styles between the two owners.

When the undercover guest placed a large pizza order, staff made him prepay and then mocked him behind the scenes; the pizza itself was criticized as doughy and undercooked, and the beer was flat. A liquor audit found 49 percent shrinkage, a level Taffer's mixology expert called unheard of, and behind the bar Taffer's team found the space visibly dirty. During the stress test, kitchen delays stretched past an hour and drink orders were repeatedly sent back, prompting Taffer to end the test early. For the relaunch, Taffer rebranded the bar as Sauced, a name meant to evoke both pizza sauce and cocktails, and gave it a new exterior, an updated interior with a stage and food-display monitor, repaired kitchen equipment, new glassware and draft equipment, and a new point-of-sale system, according to Bar & Restaurant magazine's coverage of the episode (2019-05-19).

The owners were introduced to a new signature drink, Rick's Mule, and the kitchen team began focusing on consistency and speed. Six weeks after the relaunch, Bar & Restaurant reported that Grim and Johnson were working well together, sales had grown with new customers, and a lunch menu had been added. The bar has continued operating as Sauced Sports Bar in the years since. Its state alcohol license, business registration, and multiple current online listings all show a business still active at the same Seminole Boulevard address, with a large body of customer reviews accumulated over time and a business-directory listing updated in August 2026. The venue has not reverted to the Gil & Rick's name, and no ownership change has been documented since the show aired.