TV Restaurants

What Happened to The Blue Frog 22 After Bar Rescue? (Chicago, IL)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, The Blue Frog 22 has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, March 29, 2024.

Primary source
realitytvupdates.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The bar's own Facebook page announced its closing after "8 wonderful and crazy years," with a final day of Friday, May 11, 2018, which Reality TV Updates dates as the permanent closure following the owners' retirement.

  • Season / episode Season 1, Episode 6
  • Original air date
  • Address 22 E Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60611

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What happened after Bar Rescue?

Blue Frog 22 had been open in downtown Chicago for about a year and a half before Bar Rescue's crew arrived, run by a mother-and-son team, Mimi and John Reed. The bar's decor leaned heavily on toys and carnival-style knickknacks, which a Bar Rescue-recruited interior designer said made it one of the more visually chaotic bars she had seen; recon visits described frozen centers in appetizers and a general sense that the space had outgrown its original concept as trendier competitors opened nearby. Behind the scenes, Mimi and John were in open conflict over how to run the business, staff described not knowing who was actually in charge, and Mimi was seen drinking at the bar during business hours.

The rescue's fixes covered both people and product: Jon Taffer had the childish decor stripped out and asked Mimi to step back from day-to-day operations so John could run the floor without her overseeing every decision. A chef brought in locally sourced ingredients for a reworked menu, a beverage expert corrected the tap and pour setup, and the business was renamed The Local as part of a broader repositioning toward a more grown-up, neighborhood-bar identity.

In the weeks after the episode aired, food sales rose by about fifty percent according to figures Reality TV Updates attributes to the show's post-rescue check-in, and higher menu prices -- a $15 burger and $8 beer, up from a $6 combo beforehand, according to co-owner John Reed -- held up with customers. Rather than fully adopt the new name, the owners settled on a hybrid, calling the business Blue Frog's Local 22. Construction at a neighboring property later blocked the bar's summer patio and cost the business more than $120,000 in lost revenue, according to the bar's own account. The business continued operating for about seven years before closing in May 2018; its own Facebook page announced the closure, saying the owners were retiring after "8 wonderful and crazy years." John Reed and manager Kelly went on to open an unrelated restaurant, Jokers Cajun Smokehouse, in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood.

Featured on Bar Rescue

Season / episode
Season 1, Episode 6
Original air date
Episode title
The Blue Frog Sings The Blues
What was featured
toy-decorated bar's overhaul and rebrand into The Local
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
The Blue Frog 22

Frequently asked questions

Is The Blue Frog 22 still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, The Blue Frog 22 has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, March 29, 2024.

What happened to The Blue Frog 22 after Bar Rescue?

Blue Frog 22 had been open in downtown Chicago for about a year and a half before Bar Rescue's crew arrived, run by a mother-and-son team, Mimi and John Reed. As of September 2026, The Blue Frog 22 has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, March 29, 2024.

Is The Blue Frog 22 permanently closed?

As of September 2026, The Blue Frog 22 has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, March 29, 2024. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is The Blue Frog 22 located?

22 E Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60611. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Bar Rescue featured The Blue Frog 22?

Season 1, Episode 6 of Bar Rescue, first aired August 21, 2011. The episode is titled “The Blue Frog Sings The Blues”.

Did the makeover last at The Blue Frog 22?

The episode first aired August 21, 2011. Our most recent check was September 7, 2026 — 15 years later —: As of September 2026, The Blue Frog 22 has closed — confirmed via the business's own closure notice, March 29, 2024.

Is The Blue Frog 22 still using the Bar Rescue menu or branding?

A chef brought in locally sourced ingredients for a reworked menu, a beverage expert corrected the tap and pour setup, and the business was renamed The Local as part of a broader repositioning toward a more grown-up, neighborhood-bar identity. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

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
22 E Hubbard St, Chicago, IL 60611
Venue type
bar
Official website
None found

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Record br-006 · last verified .