'Bar Rescue' Asks: Is Your Business Name Hurting Your Business?Sometimes the only way to save a business is to start over, even down to changing its name. Here's how bar owners learned that lesson on Spike TV's 'Bar Rescue.'

ByCarol Tice

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Bar RescueThe final two episodes of the Spike TV showBar Rescueshow two struggling bar owners who have to confront a tough problem: The names of their establishments aren't cutting it.

Sometimes, tough as it may be to hear, yourbusiness nameor even your overall concept is wrong from the start. But sometimes, the only way to save it is to start over -- even if it means changing the name of your business. This season's final episodes, which aired the past two Sundays at 10 p.m., EST, profile two bars in big trouble -- The Canyon Inn in Yorba Linda, Calif., and Angry Ham's Garage in Framingham, Mass. Both have troubled concepts that are holding the business back.

大峡谷客栈听起来像一个酒店,但它不是- it's just a bar and restaurant. The bar keeps getting calls about how much the rooms cost, but owner Pauly Ambrus isn't grasping that the name is a problem.

When bar expertJon Tafferpoints out the obvious, Ambrus doesn't want to hear it. As part of a complete makeover of the bar, Taffer changes the name to the Canyon Saloon. Presto! Traffic goes up, and the calls about renting rooms stop.

Related:From Mess to Success: Spike TV Readies Bar Rescue Reality Show

But Ambrus changes it back a few weeks later. Unsurprisingly, when the Bar Rescue crew check back a few months later, the initial sales bump the show gave the bar has evaporated. The outlook isn't good.

The other bar starts in even worse shape. A 'ham' is a derogatory nickname for someone from Framingham, so the name Angry Ham's Garage is a slap in the face to the whole town. Also, the bar is in a former garage, and still looks like a garage from the outside, complete with oil-change ads in the windows.

The bar had three original owners -- but one is a former hockey player with a DUI on his record and a reputation as a brawler. The bar is full of signs that indicate it's a rough place, such as "We don't call 911." Perhaps unsurprisingly, when Taffer arrives, one of the owners, Tim Hanna, has just sold his car so he can put more money into the failing bar.

At first, Hanna rejects the idea of a name change. Then he seems to approve after Taffer revamps the bar and renames it Octane. The new concept pays tribute to the site's past as a garage, but makes it clear it is now a bar and grill, with pictures of food and cutlery on the outside of the building.

The TV show ends on an up note, but there's an epilogue: A few weeks after the TV crew departed, theoriginal name creptback in, becoming Angry Ham's Octane Bar and Grill. Much of the new decor was removed, too.

I think these entrepreneurs missed a major opportunity to transform their business but only time will tell. I hope they do an update on all the bars visited this season when next season kicks off, so viewers can see what happened after the bars' 15 minutes of fame ended.

Would you change your company's name if you thought it could give your business a boost?Leave a comment and let us know.

Wavy Line
Carol Tice

Owner of Make a Living Writing

Longtime Seattle business writerCarol Ticehas written forEntrepreneur, Forbes, Delta Skyand many more. She writes the award-winning Make a Living Writing blog. Her new ebook for Oberlo isCrowdfunding for Entrepreneurs.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard's Family 'Stranded' at Boston Airport During 9-Hour Delay: 'We Made Quite a Home Here'

The actors spent $600 on pillows and blankets while waiting for their flight.

Science & Technology

This Is the New ChatGPT Trend That Will Enhance Your Business

ChatGPT plugins are becoming the new cool trend among entrepreneurs to enhance their businesses and engage more customers. Here are some insights into how they're impacting business enterprises, along with some potential risks that may accompany the benefits.

Business News

Netflix is Hiring an AI-Focused Role—and the Starting Salary is up to $900,000

The streaming giant is looking for a leader in its machine learning department.

Growing a Business

Senior Executives Are Falling Behind The Digital Curve — Here's What It Takes to Stay Ahead.

Learn how to stay ahead of the digital curve with the top areas of digital transformation that all corporate leaders should know.

Business News

McDonald's Is Launching a Spinoff Restaurant Chain Based on a Beloved, Blast-From-the-Past Mascot

The company saw a lot of success with another former mascot, Grimace, in June.