About Jon Taffer
- Creator of Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon
- Executive Producer & Host of Paramount Network’s “Bar Rescue”
- Founder of Taffer’s Tavern
- Chairman & CEO of Taffer Dynamics, Best-Selling Author and World-Renowned Business Mogul
- Best-Selling Author
Most people know Jon Taffer as a larger-than-life television personality who takes a no-holds-barred approach to helping hotels, restaurants, bars and businesses reach their full potential. He is also a New York Times best-selling author, a highly sought-after hospitality and general business consultant, and is the creator, executive producer and star of Paramount Network’s hit show, Bar Rescue. For nearly four decades, Taffer has been at the forefront of the business management industry offering his expertise to hundreds of thousands of properties and Fortune 500 companies. By no surprise, studies show that Taffer is the most influential, trustworthy, and intelligent food & beverage personality on television.
Bar Rescue is now in its eighth season on the Paramount Network. Taffer has led the show to account for nearly 25% of the network’s programing and over 900 million viewers. Bar Rescue spotlights Jon as he saves failing bars from looming closure, leveraging his four decades of industry experience and trademarked “Reaction Management” strategy. In 2021, the show topped the milestone of 200 episodes.
His latest creation is Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon, a decadent new-to-world premium flavored American bourbon. Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon is a rich, bold bourbon whiskey with notes of vanilla and toffee to escalate your favorite cocktail or dish. After creating thousands of cocktail recipes throughout his 200+ episodes of Bar Rescue and many years of experience consulting and creating food & beverage businesses, Jon Taffer knows a standout spirit when he tastes one. As a concept came to him to fuse an indulgent favorite ingredient with the bold complexity of whiskey during Bar Rescue, Taffer’s Browned Butter Bourbon was born.
In 2022, Jon went head-to-head against chef Robert Irvine in an all-new, three-episode series streaming on discovery+ called Restaurant Rivals: Irvine vs. Taffer. In each hour-long episode of Restaurant Rivals, Jon and Robert put their guiding principles to the test, each using their distinct combination of tough love and sharp business acumen to help a pair of struggling restaurant owners back to profitability.
After many years of restaurant industry experience and lessons learned, Jon created Taffer’s Tavern, an innovative, casual dining restaurant franchise concept that provides a solution for many of the woes that plague the restaurant industry. The Tavern is based on a high-volume, small footprint kitchen format that uses the latest technologies to produce elevated tavern foods and outstanding beverage offerings without the need for a traditional commercial kitchen. The franchise’s first location opened October 2020 in Atlanta, GA, with additional multi-unit locations secured in the Atlanta, Boston, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas and Florida areas.
As an author, Jon wrote Don’t Bullsh*t Yourself, a no-nonsense guide that helps people understand and overcome the excuses holding them back from success. It became a New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller in its first week of release, joining his first book, Raise the Bar, on the best-sellers list. Jon’s newest book on sale now, The Power of Conflict, provides readers with a toolkit to speak their mind to get the results they want. In 2018 Jon also launched his podcast, The Jon Taffer Podcast, where he sits down with friends and well-known celebrities to discuss current events.
Concurrently, Jon runs Taffer Dynamics, his business operations firm which offers dynamic models for a range of well-known establishments and brands, including the NFL, Anheuser-Busch, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Marriott, Holiday Inn, Sheraton, Intercontinental, Fridays, Buffalo Wild Wings, Famous Dave’s Barbecue, and Wolfgang Puck Express.
When he’s not dedicating his time to bringing back businesses from the brink, Taffer volunteers his time with the Keep Memory Alive Board of Directors supporting the mission of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He also regularly offers up his seasoned hospitality skills to the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he helps faculty develop curriculum that is in line with industry expectations and trends.
Married for over 20 years to his wife Nicole, who he fell in love with at first sight at Super Bowl XXX, Jon spends what little spare time he has traveling with her, spending time with his daughter and grandson, and occasionally sipping on his favorite cocktail: The Godfather.
Some of Jon’s past awards and accolades include:
- Host & Executive Producer
- Award-Winning Entrepreneur
- Creator of NFL Sunday Ticket
- NY Times Best-Selling Author
- Award-Winning Hospitality Expert
- Taffer Dynamics Consulting
- Thought Leader
- Taffer’s Tavern Founder
When he’s not dedicating his time to bringing back businesses from the brink, Taffer volunteers his time with St. Jude’s Ranch for Children and Ronald McDonald House, and most recently joined the Keep Memory Alive Board of Directors supporting the mission of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He also regularly offers up his seasoned hospitality skills to the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he helps faculty develop curriculum that is in line with industry expectations and trends. Every year at the holidays, he and his wife, Nicole, host the annual Taffer’s Gift of Giving, with proceeds benefitting the children of St. Jude’s Ranch in Boulder City, Nevada—a 40-acre home for abused and abandoned children located just outside of the Las Vegas Valley.
Since falling in love at first sight at Super Bowl XXX, Jon spends what little spare time he has traveling with his wife, Nicole, spending time with his daughter (who’s currently taking the liquor industry by storm), and occasionally sipping one of his favorite cocktails: The Godfather.
