Bar Rescue · S9 E31
The Airliner Bar & Grill
East Alton, Illinois
This one survived. It remains in business.
The short answer
Same name retained since 1988. Multiple current directory/review listings (TripAdvisor, Yelp, RestaurantJi) show active menus and reviews.
What happened on the show
The Airliner Bar and Grill in East Alton, Illinois, operating since 1988, came in for the show's standard intervention, in an episode marking the return of mixologist Daniel Ponsky, last seen in season five. The room went through Bar Rescue's usual arc of scrutiny, confrontation, a stress test and a renovation aimed at giving the long-running bar a stronger footing. The show proposed a modernized take on the old name, betting that a sharper concept and a disciplined operation could steady the room. The reveal handed the owners a refreshed operation, with the familiar test of whether the improvements would hold once the cameras left and the decades-old bar was left to sustain them. An East Alton bar operating since 1988, it had decades of history worth protecting, which made steadying the long-running room the rescue's central task.
After the cameras left
The Airliner Bar and Grill is still operating, name intact since 1988. Multiple current directory and review listings, including TripAdvisor, Yelp and RestaurantJi, show active menus and reviews at 573 East Airline Drive in East Alton, which puts the open call at medium confidence. The long-running bar kept its original identity through the rescue and its doors open, landing this one among the survivors of the ninth season, an Illinois room with decades of history that carried its makeover forward and held onto both its name and its place in the community.
Location
573 E Airline Dr
More from Jon Taffer
These are Amazon search links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Related reading about Bar Rescue
More on Bar Rescue
Sources
Confidence: medium. Last checked 2026-07-19.