The Bayou

The episode

Key dates

1. July 29, 2018Bar Rescue episode “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Fatballs” airs — Jon Taffer's rescue of Fatballs, relaunched as The Bayou, filmed earlier.
2. May 2019Closed.

The rescue

Jon Taffer relaunched Fatballs as The Bayou.

Fatballs dropped its relaunch name, The Bayou, and reverted to Fatballs Sports Bar before closing in May 2019. In March 2018 it was cited for more than 100 rodent droppings, mold and raw food stored over cooked food.

What happened next

After the rescue, owner Tony Azer hired a new general manager and expanded the kitchen crew, but he reversed the relaunch: the bar dropped The Bayou name and went back to Fatballs Sports Bar, saying customers believed Fatballs had closed and that paperwork and licenses remained under the old name. In March 2018 the bar was cited for more than 100 hard, dry rodent droppings, raw food stored over cooked food, an accumulation of mold and no proof of required staff training; inspectors closed it from March 10 to March 12, and follow-up inspections found further droppings. Fatballs closed for good in May 2019. Its later Yelp reviews were largely positive, and by 2023 the site was occupied by Jam's Karaoke Bar and Restaurant.