On the Bar Rescue episode “Drunk on Punk,” Jon Taffer visits Dave Franich, owner of Blacklight District Lounge in Long Beach, California. The former construction worker bought the dive bar (then known as Max Steiners) in 2012. He didn’t have any restaurant or bar experience but he figured no matter the market, people always drink.
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Franich has always been in loud crashing punk bands so he sank an extra $50k into the place for a new stage, lights, and sound equipment. As Franich said, “All our venues [where he used to play] shut down.” (That should have been a clue, Dave!) But Dave believes “There are still people out there who want to listen to punk rock and shoot pool and have a good time.” There are, but there are a lot more people in the neighborhood who don’t. “We get a lot of people who are crybabies.” Franich says if a customer walks into a punk rock bar and complains about the music being to loud then, “We don’t want you here.” Note: Dave hasn’t “made a dime in four years.” Bar Rescue airs Sundays at 9pm on SPIKE.
