Is Papa Joe's Sports Bar Still Open? Bar Rescue Update (Moreno Valley, CA)

Bar Rescue featured this Moreno Valley, California, sports bar in the episode "Long Live a Legacy" (S8E32), aired 2023-04-30. According to Bar Rescue tracking coverage from Reality TV Updates and Bar Rescue Updates, the bar was opened in 2012 by Joe Naim and Raja Batchon; at the time of the rescue it was losing about $5,000 a month and Naim was more than $200,000 in debt. During the televised rescue, Jon Taffer renamed the business from Papa Joe's Sports Bar to Layla's Pizza Pub. Reality TV Updates reports that ownership later changed the name back to Papa Joe's Sports Bar, and that the business also identifies itself as PJ's Sports Bar; the outlet reported in 2024 that the bar remained open and serving customers at 12220 Pigeon Pass Rd, Moreno Valley, CA 92557, under that name rather than Layla's Pizza Pub.

Reviews cited by that coverage praised the pizza, drinks, and service. Google's Places record for the address lists the business as PJ's Sports Bar with an operational status, consistent with the 2024 report, though the website Google's listing points to, handhbar.com, returned an HTTP 403 response when checked 2026-09-08, so this record could not independently confirm current hours or menu from that page. An Instagram account, @pjs_sports_bar_, lists the business's location as Moreno Valley, CA, but no dated posts were reviewed to confirm activity closer to the present.

A Facebook page found under the search term "PJ's Sports bar" during this record's research is associated with a Murrieta, California address rather than Moreno Valley, and appears to be a different business; it was not used as a source for this record. No source reviewed here gives a date more recent than 2024 confirming the bar's continued operation, and no information was found describing the specific decor, menu, or staffing changes Taffer's crew made during the rescue beyond the name change and its reversal.