10 years after 'Bar Rescue,' how is 22 Klicks in Hope Mills holding up?

A decade ago, a Hope Mills haunt with a "juvenile name and bad reputation," earned a visit from Paramount Network's "Bar Rescue.” 

Hosted by hospitality expert Jon Taffer, the show transforms failing bars into successful ones — and 22 Klicks is no exception, owner Todd Harr said Friday.

“It was really good for business,” he said.

Now, with more than $1 million a year in annual revenue, the bar is still riding a boost in traffic from the 2013 “Bar Rescue” episode and subsequent appearances in 2015 and 2018, Harr said.

“You see a big spike after every rerun,” he said.

Harr, 51, a Marine Corps veteran, owns the North Main Street bar and restaurant with former Army firefighter David Coleman, 55, and his wife, Kimberly Coleman, 52, bar manager and real estate agent.

First opened as Back Door Bar and Grill in 2009, the bar was briefly called Cliques and was finally dubbed 22 Klicks by Taffer’s crew, a reference to its distance from Fort Liberty in kilometers.

With the new name came a top-to-bottom redesign. Military insignia and photographs line the walls. Some photos show Harr from his days as a Marine; another shows a young David Coleman and his father posing next to a tank.

While some changes shown in the August 2013 episode didn’t stick — like a regional comfort food menu, gimmicky military-themed drinks and a wooden battle tank designed to look like it’s crashing through the wall — Harr said Taffer’s tough love helped him and his co-owners improve their business practices.

Behind-the-scenes upgrades like a new point-of-sale system, improved inventory tracking, better pricing and monitoring of alcohol pours have all helped the bar turn a profit, Harr said.

Perhaps the biggest change, however, was shedding its reputation as a seedy watering hole with a rowdy crowd to a family-friendly spot with scratch-made food that attracts a dinner crowd.

“We had to buy a booster seat and a high chair,” he said with a chuckle.

Ribeye steak, chicken wings and alligator bites are among the top sellers, he said, and nearly everything is made in-house.

New year brings new location for 22 Klicks

About 10 years after the metamorphosis that “Bar Rescue” brought, 22 Klicks will soon undergo another big change. Early next year, the owners expect to leave their longtime spot at Holiday Center and reopen at 2653 Hope Mills Road, Units 11 and 12, in the Elmwood Crossing Center.

The new location has an outdoor patio that seats 25, and after the move, the bar will resume its karaoke nights on Thursday and live local music on Friday and Saturday, Harr said.

With them, the owners will bring the hard-learned lessons from their time on “Bar Rescue.”

“It taught us that you have to work it to really be successful,” Harr said.

Food, dining and culture reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com, on Twitter, or Facebook. Want weekly food news delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the Fayetteville Foodies newsletter. 

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: 22 Klicks on 'Bar Rescue': Hope Mills bar update, ten years later