What Happened to R.G.'s Lounge After Bar Rescue? (Independence, MO)

On the "Twin vs. Twin" episode of Bar Rescue (aired December 15, 2013), Jon Taffer visited R.G.'s Lounge in Independence, Missouri, co-owned by twin brothers Rick and Randy. What had started as a successful bar built on the twins' personalities had deteriorated as their rivalry intensified, with the brothers openly arguing in front of customers; the bar was losing roughly $5,000 a month and carried significant debt. Recon visits found slow service, poorly made drinks, an unsafe overserving incident involving an intoxicated patron, and kitchen conditions that fell short of sanitation standards.

Taffer brought in chef Celina Tio and mixologist Mia Mastroianni to retrain staff and address the kitchen issues, and had new bartenders compete head-to-head against the existing staff for positions as part of the training process. He also mediated a long-running dispute between the brothers tied to an inheritance from their mother, after which the two agreed to stop the public conflict. For the relaunch, the bar was renamed BARcode with an updated, more modern interior. Sales rose in the initial weeks following the relaunch, and the brothers' working relationship improved, according to the show's own six-week follow-up.

Customer reviews posted over the following two years were mixed, citing inconsistent food availability alongside positive comments about live-music programming. BARcode closed in September 2016, according to a 2023 Reality TV Updates status review of the property; no public statement from the owners about the reason for the closure was located. The location at 9100 E 35th St, Independence, MO was later occupied by an unrelated bar, Score Sports Bar and Grill, which by 2023 carried a notably higher customer rating on Yelp than BARcode had at the time of its closure. No Facebook page for the original ownership group was located during this check, limiting further detail on the reason for the closure.