I Bought the Bar and the Bar Won

One or more characters buy a bar or night club, and it doesn't work out like they thought it would. Usually by the end of the episode, the bar goes bust.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Appearances

• The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 3, episode 16, "Lou's Place" (1973). Lou learns that the owner of his favorite bar, McCluskey's, has passed away, and if no one buys the bar, it'll have to close down. Lou decides to buy the bar to save it, but he quickly finds out that McCluskey's is a lot less popular without McCluskey, and his efforts to be as pleasant and personable as McCluskey just seem to scare customers away.
• Herman's Head: Season 3, episode 17, "The Herm from Ipanema" (1994). While attending a seminar in the Caribbean, Herman spends his life savings to buy a bar on a whim, but his island fantasy turns out to be a nightmare.
• Wings: Season 8, episode 7, "Olive or Twist" (1996). Brian gets his insurance check for burned down house, and Casey talks him into buying an old diner and turning it into a martini bar, but the very first customer slips and falls on the floor, and by the end of the episode, he owns the bar.
• Spin City: Season 2, episode 22, "The Lady or the Tiger" (1998). Stuart and Mike go in on bar together, but when Stuart reveals he plans to make it a gay bar (because it would make more money), Mike backs out and Carter partners up with Stuart instead. Unfortunately, Stuart forget to get a license for dancing, and really puts a damper on things for their patrons.