In the Bar Rescue episode “Beach Rats,” Jon Taffer and his crew go to Hollywood Beach, Florida to check out Toucan’s Oceanside Bar and Grill. The title refers to the rats that Taffer finds in the kitchen. After calling an exterminator, Taffer has a heart-to-heart with longtime friends and co-owners Jamie and John. It’s a tearjerker as Jamie talks about the loss of his 29-year-old son Jamie.
According to The Miami Herald, James “Jamie” Hawkes IV was living in Independence, Oregon when he was murdered in December 2013. He was working as a confidential informant for the narcotics team of the Polk County Police Department. When the drug dealers he was dealing with discovered he was working with the cops, they beat him to death. Hawkes’ body was found near a cemetery. The two suspects were arrested and charged with Hawkes’ murder.
In 2014, Taffer helped Jamie and John turn Toucan’s into Bonny & Read’s Toucan Hideout. In July 2018, Jamie and John are celebrating their 14th year in business. New episodes of Bar Rescue air Sundays at 10pm on Paramount Network.
