TV Restaurants

What Happened to Mandala Lounge After Bar Rescue? (San Mateo, CA)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Mandala Lounge has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, April 19, 2016.

Primary source
barrescueupdates.com ·
Secondary source
Yelp ·

Last verified

What the source shows: Owner Greg Hawkins's April 19, 2016 Facebook post, reproduced by the Bar Rescue Updates blog, announced the 38th Floor Bar (formerly Mandala Lounge) would close for good at the end of April 2016 due to declining sales and debt; a Yelp listing for the address remains marked permanently closed as of an August 2026 update.

  • Season / episode Season 4, Episode 20
  • Original air date
  • Address 38 E 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403
  • Current name 38th Floor Bar

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What happened after Bar Rescue?

Mandala Lounge was a custom cocktail lounge in San Mateo, California, opened in 2007 by owner Greg Hawkins near the Highway 92 corridor. On the episode "Mandala Down" (aired 2015-04-12), the venue was shown struggling with inconsistent drink quality and underused space, positioned as a cocktail-focused lounge rather than a higher-volume neighborhood bar. Bar Rescue's team, including mixologist Mia Mastroianni, worked with staff including bartender Angelo to overhaul recipes and service standards. As part of the makeover, host Jon Taffer renamed the bar 38th Floor Bar and gave it a new interior concept aimed at increasing volume.

At the relaunch, the episode showed the reworked bar taking in about $1,100 in its first hour of business. Six weeks after the rescue, the production's follow-up reported sales at the renamed 38th Floor Bar were up roughly 40 percent, and Hawkins had promoted Angelo to manager and added two additional bartenders. Hawkins also later appeared on a Bar Rescue "Back to the Bar" special, where he said the changes had helped the business.

Despite that early momentum, the 38th Floor Bar did not sustain itself. On April 19, 2016, owner Greg Hawkins posted a message on the bar's Facebook page announcing that the 38th Floor Bar would close for good at the end of that month, citing months of declining sales and accumulated debt despite the rescue. In the post, Hawkins thanked the show and host Jon Taffer for the opportunity and thanked his staff and family for their support through the bar's run, while noting the changes had not been enough to reverse the business's financial trajectory. The bar held a final weekend of events before closing.

The 38 East 25th Avenue location has remained vacant in the years since. A Yelp listing for the 38th Floor Bar showed the location marked as permanently closed as of an August 2026 update, and no subsequent tenant has been confirmed at the address.

Featured on Bar Rescue

Season / episode
Season 4, Episode 20
Original air date
Episode title
Mandala Down
What was featured
Struggling cocktail lounge remodeled and renamed 38th Floor Bar
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Mandala Lounge

Frequently asked questions

Is Mandala Lounge still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Mandala Lounge has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, April 19, 2016.

What happened to Mandala Lounge after Bar Rescue?

Mandala Lounge was a custom cocktail lounge in San Mateo, California, opened in 2007 by owner Greg Hawkins near the Highway 92 corridor. As of September 2026, Mandala Lounge has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, April 19, 2016.

Is Mandala Lounge permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Mandala Lounge has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, April 19, 2016. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

What is Mandala Lounge called now?

Now: 38th Floor Bar (formerly Mandala Lounge). As of September 2026, Mandala Lounge has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, April 19, 2016.

Where is Mandala Lounge located?

38 E 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Bar Rescue featured Mandala Lounge?

Season 4, Episode 20 of Bar Rescue, first aired April 12, 2015. The episode is titled “Mandala Down”.

Did the makeover last at Mandala Lounge?

The episode first aired April 12, 2015. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 11 years later —: As of September 2026, Mandala Lounge has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, April 19, 2016.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
38 E 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403
Venue type
bar
Official website
None found

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • barrescueupdates.com — https://www.barrescueupdates.com/2016/04/38th-floor-bar-from-bar-rescue-to-close.html
  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/38th-floor-bar-san-mateo-2

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