In the 2013 Bar Rescue episode “Beer and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Jon Taffer travels to Las Vegas to check out the The Hammer. The “blue-collar joint” was opened in 2010 by two chefs (and former friends) Chris Sarrett and Mitch Watson. Business was good (bringing in $25,000 a month) until Mitch got sick with pneumonia. Taffer helps them renovate and rebrand the place as Hammer & Ales.
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Three years after the Bar Rescue episode aired, Hammer & Ales closed in March 2016. A new restaurant and bar called Owl moved into the space but that too closed after a year in business due to a lack of a gaming license. (Hammer & Ales had a gaming license.) The owner of Owl, Stephan Galdau, told Eater Las Vegas that he’s planning to reopen Owl in January 2018 at a different location in Vegas. Spike TV airs Bar Rescue re-runs on Sundays.
