The crew of the nationally-recognized TV show “Bar Rescue” is hitting the streets of Springfield and one of its first stops is the dive bar W.F. Cody's.
A “Bar Rescue” crew was at the bar and restaurant, located at 3138 E. Sunshine St., May 15 and plans to return in the coming weeks, W.F. Cody's Owner Tanya Iverson said. While Iverson said she welcomes help from the show, she reportedly put her foot down when the crew asked her to be featured on the TV show.
“We're not doing the TV show part of it,” Iverson said by phone May 16. “I'm not gonna run out the back door crying because Jon Taffer came in my front door.”
Taffer is the host of “Bar Rescue” and an award-winning hospitality expert, according to the TV show's website. Featured on Paramount Network, the show has run for nine seasons. It follows Taffer has he travels across the United States helping struggling bar owners save their businesses.
“Bar Rescue” will help W.F. Cody's in a behind-the-scenes way, revamping the bar's systems and help the establishment with promotional material, Iverson said. The owner said she was adamant that no drastic physical changes were made.
The crew will do “nothing to change W.F. Cody's, because I was not going to do that,” Iverson said. “My dad would roll in his grave.”
Iverson took ownership of the bar after her father died in 2013, she said. The bar was founded in 1979 and Iverson's family purchased it in 1999.
“Bar Rescue” has been to Missouri before. In 2016 and 2019, the show featured Kansas City-area bars like Crafted, Thunderbird KSC Tavern and Water's Edge Bar & Grill, according to an iHeart Media summary of the show's activities. Of the 200-plus bars that have been featured on the show, eight were located in Missouri.
All that stands between W.F. Cody's and “Bar Rescue” is a few weeks time and some paperwork, Iverson said. When the crew arrives again, Iverson expects the crew to be at the bar for about a week.
W.F. Cody's won't be the only stop in Springfield for “Bar Rescue.” The crew asked Iverson to send some names of establishments that would welcome the help, she said. She already has a few businesses she plans to highlight to the crew.
“Some of my dad's old hangouts,” Iverson said. “Little holes in the wall like that, that need the help.”
Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained a mistaken quotation from W.F. Cody's owner Tanya Iverson. The story has been updated to correct this quote about Iverson's “dad's old hangouts.”
