What Happened to Laguna Lounge After Bar Rescue? (Jersey City, NJ)

Laguna Lounge in Jersey City, New Jersey, was featured in the October 26, 2014 episode "El Moronte!!" Owner Ivan Arroyo, a working DJ, had run the bar since 2008 with help from his sons Josh and Jeremiah, but a 2013 divorce and Arroyo's focus on his music career had left the bar in declining condition. Recon visits found a broken soda dispenser requiring warm canned substitutes, food reheated under unsanitary conditions in the kitchen, and Arroyo giving away free drinks without regard to cost. During a stress test, the bar's slow service and lack of organization led the host to close it early, and Arroyo was confronted over his treatment of both staff and his sons.

The rescue team renamed the bar Tres Cuartos, introduced new cocktails and food items including empanadas and ceviche, and installed new workstations and point-of-sale equipment; the sons, Josh and Jeremiah, were given a larger role training alongside the retrained staff. Six weeks after the relaunch, food sales were reported to have doubled and drink sales were up roughly 20%. Arroyo later told NJ.com he found the experience valuable despite finding the host demanding. Arroyo did not keep the Tres Cuartos name, instead rebranding the bar again as Laguna Shots Bar.

A Reality TV Updates fan-site reported that the bar closed in August 2017, roughly three years after the episode aired, as Arroyo shifted his focus to a music and entertainment business; this claim has not been independently corroborated by a named news outlet. Arroyo has continued to promote DJ events online under the name DJ Commandante. Yelp currently lists a catering business, Casa Cubana Catering, operating at the same Summit Avenue address. Google Places separately lists the business as permanently closed at 1007 Summit Avenue, zip code 07307, as of a September 2026 check.