Is VFW Post 1689 Still Open? Bar Rescue Update (Jacksonville, FL)

Bar Rescue (Paramount Network) featured VFW Post 1689 in Jacksonville, Florida, in the season 9 episode "From Camo to Cocktail," which aired the week of May 19, 2024. According to the fan site realitytvupdates.com, the post was chartered in the 1920s and had roughly 115 members with an average age of 64 at the time of filming; the same source reported that recon visits found bartenders unable to make basic drinks such as a dirty martini, along with a deteriorating building and malfunctioning beer taps. Per realitytvupdates.com, the rescue team redid the post's front lobby and bar area, added a panini press and pizza oven, renovated and recertified the kitchen's stove hood and fire-suppression system, and resurfaced the pool table.

The same source reported that six weeks after the makeover, the post's sales had risen roughly 25% a month, hall rentals had increased, and membership had grown about 10%. In September 2026, VFW Post 1689's own website, vfw1689.org, was live and listed the post's Jacksonville address, a contact email, a phone number, and hours of 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The site's social-media links (Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube) were active, and Google's business listing for the post showed it operational. The most recently referenced year visible in the site's own text was 2024 rather than 2026, so this update relies on the post's current hours and live contact details rather than a dated 2026 statement.

The post continues to operate under its original name; nothing in the sources checked indicated a name change, ownership change, or relocation since the episode aired. As a nonprofit veterans' organization rather than a conventional restaurant or bar, VFW Post 1689's canteen operation is tied to the post's broader membership activities, and realitytvupdates.com's account credits the improved kitchen and bar equipment with the post's post-rescue gains as of that source's most recent check.