What Happened to King's Duck Inn After Bar Rescue? (Merritt Island, FL)

King's Duck Inn was a working-class bar near Merritt Island's Kennedy Space Center, long popular with space-center employees, that had operated for close to sixty years by the time Bar Rescue's "Ground Control to Major Jon" episode aired in April 2018. The episode centered on strain in the mother-daughter relationship running the bar day to day, alongside the general disrepair common to bars featured on the show. As part of the renovation, Jon Taffer's team gave the space a theme paying tribute to the nearby space program, along with a new menu and specialty drinks built around that identity.

The rescue produced a period of stability, but it did not last permanently. The owner tried to sell the bar through an auction in 2021 that did not succeed, Reality TV Revisited reported that King's Duck Inn closed in March 2022, and Reality TV Updates reported that the property sold for $310,000 that September. After the building stood closed for a time, a different company, Kings Duck Bar & Grill LLC, remodeled it and opened a new bar, Kings Duck Bar & Grill, at 4155 North Courtenay Parkway.

The new bar is well documented. The business's own website, copyrighted 2026, lists current hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily along with a redesigned menu built around wings, burgers, pizza, and seafood, plus catering and event-hosting services. A featured customer review on the site reads, "Glad this place is open again! The remodel turned out fantastic!" The current ownership's website also notes plans to add outdoor seating starting in October, alongside a rewards program for repeat customers. Yelp separately carries two listings tied to the address: an older one still labeled King's Duck Inn is marked closed, reflecting the pre-2022 business, while a second Yelp listing for the address shows the venue as active, consistent with the current Kings Duck Bar & Grill operation. Kings Duck Bar & Grill now serves the North Merritt Island area from the building King's Duck Inn occupied during its run on Bar Rescue, but it is a separate business under different owners.