What Happened to Sidelines Sports Grill & Bar After Bar Rescue?

Sidelines Sports Grill & Bar in Mount Dora had been a buffet restaurant that owner Rich Marinacci converted into a sports bar in 2009 using proceeds from franchise businesses he had sold. The bar found early success, but Bar Rescue's "Daddy Dearest" episode, which aired in August 2017, depicted a business in decline, with long-standing tension between Rich and his two sons, Richie Jr. and Joey, compounded by Rich's drinking at the bar he was supposed to be managing. During a hidden-camera visit, cocktails arrived in the wrong glassware, and the kitchen crossed raw and cooked food, prompting the show's chef to stop customers from eating.

Tension between father and sons boiled over into a physical altercation at the bar during filming. Jon Taffer's team, including mixologist Phil Wills and chef Michael Ferraro, retrained the staff on cocktails such as a Bacardi mojito and a simplified shrimp-and-chips dish, and walked the family through a mediated conversation about the business and their relationships. As part of the renovation, the bar was renamed Lake House Bar and Grill, reflecting Mount Dora's lakeside setting, and was outfitted with new point-of-sale systems and soda guns.

The rebrand held for several years: at the standard six-week follow-up, sales were reported up more than 15 percent, and the family kept the Lake House name rather than reverting to Sidelines. In November or December 2023, according to a Facebook post from the owner, the bar closed after being sold; the buyers, Edna and Louie Gonzalez, remodeled the space and opened a different restaurant, Whiskey Kitchen, in February 2024, according to Lake & Sumter Style. Business listings for Whiskey Kitchen at 315 North Highland Street list the same phone number previously used by Lake House Bar and Grill, and Yelp's own listing for Lake House at that address is marked closed as of a July 2026 update; Edna Gonzalez told Lake & Sumter Style in 2026, "We created something brand new."

A separate online listing for "Sidelines Sports Eatery" still circulates under the same address and phone number, appearing to be a leftover aggregator record carried over from the bar's original name rather than a currently operating business; no independent evidence was found of a business trading under that name at the location in 2026. The site today is home to Whiskey Kitchen, a separate whiskey bar and restaurant serving brunch, pizza, burgers, and steaks rather than the sports-bar concept Bar Rescue built for the space.