In the Bar Rescue episode “Back to the Bar: Disasters of Epic Proportions,” Jon Taffer revisits three bars including the former Chicago music venue The Abbey. The owner, Tom Looney Sr., had success with the pub for years but when he wanted to pursue his dream of being a firefighter, he handed the general manager duties to his son, Tom Jr., who didn’t have much restaurant experience. (He was an electrician by trade.) Several factors including rising maintenance troubles caused The Abbey to go from making $50,000 a week to $10,000. In 2011, Taffer rebranded the place as The Green Room.
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Four years after Bar Rescue, the music venue part of The Green Room caught fire. After the November 2015 fire, Tom Looney Jr. said there was “more damage than we thought.” He added that dealing with the aftermath of the fire and trying to reopen The Green Room is “frustrating for sure, but we’ll get it done.” However, Yelp and Gayot report the pub is now closed, and the business’ website is no longer. Note: There is a new venue in Chicago called The Green Room Tap but it is at a different location (1802 S Allport Street), in a different neighborhood, and run by different owners. Bar Rescue airs Sundays at 10pm on Spike.
