The Shot Exchange

I have been multiple times since my first review and I’d have to say that I have not feared for my safety! lol. It’s nice people, but it’s pretty rare that we stop in. The staff is nice and you basically have a core group of locals frequenting the establishment. It was cleaned up as part of a reality show since my first review and I’d definitely say it is nicer. The 3 star review isn’t a slam, the place just is what it is, a local watering hole, with good people trying to make a living and patrons passing some time.

Bar rescue should never waste their money on turning over this bar it’s a joke with all the staff, no fucken customer service at All.

Not impressed with the service tonight. Usually all are accommodating, but tonight not so much… The young gal never announced last kitchen call & at 12:15 we wanted chicken tenders. I never would’ve asked had she announced last kitchen call. Communication is key! Although, I must say the ID checks are good!

No thanks. Won’t be back. I came here when it was Tailgate, came in after the show takeover, and came in a few weeks ago after new owners. The bartender was a jerk. I asked for a drink and when he served it, it was practically half a drink. When I mentioned it, he was so rude and said, ‘I’ll drink the rest of it if you want’. Didn’t offer to remake it or anything. He obviously didn’t know how to make a cocktail. There are many other places around here to buy drinks. I definitely don’t need to come here to drop money on attitude and lousy service.

Back to the Basics!
I have been frequenting this place through more names than I can remember. I liked the old setups such as when it was the Tailgate before the Bar Rescue show got a hold of it. The show did make a few good décor changes but really destroyed the way this place should be based on some fantasy about a college crowd in the area. I grew up around here and that crowd was not coming down here except for the show.
Anyway — the beer schooners are back! Frosty as ever! The staff is as cool as ever and the old vibe is back. The menu is simple but really good. Good beer selection and they can whip up any drink you can describe. Pool and darts and some well sized TVs.
A great place to hang out and catch a game or meet some cool people.

Will follow new owners

Great food, great service, great location! Modern interior and a wide variety of music. Would definitely recommend.

Heard this place was under new management so we went to check it out. The food was good and the service was great. The bartender gave me the wrong beer but quickly and apologetically fixed her mistake. Our food took about 10 minutes to cook — average time for chicken strips and a hamburger with fries. It wasn’t very crowded but the crowd seemed cool. We talked to the new owners and they seem super nice, I’m excited to see what comes of this place.

Ah The Shot Exchange, formerly The Tailgate until the popular show Bar Rescue revamped it last year.
The first time I came here, I looked around and left. This time the people I was with actually wanted to stay and so we did. Here is my story:
The Shot Exchange, as the name implies, specializes in specialty shots. The list is vast and there’s something for any alcohol lover from a classic Washington Apple shot (one of my personal favorites) to a Pickle Back shot (vodka and pickle juice, who thought up this?!). All shots are priced at $ 6.25 each and come in the tall skinny shot glasses. Not worth the price in my opinion.
No other drinks besides the shots appear on their menu. They seem to have all the fixings for other drinks though so I’m sure you can order one. That said, this place is not where you go for your 21^st birthday. It’s an older crowd that congregates here and they obviously expect you to know how to order drinks already since they’re not available on the menu.
They also serve some bar foods like calamari, but we were not there for the food and didn’t try anything out.
The atmosphere is really why I wasn’t a fan the first time I walked in and that opinion continued to be valid as I stayed the second time. The music is loud, my throat was actually sore from trying to talk with my friends over it, and we only stayed for a shot and a drink. The music isn’t even that good either, it was like bad wedding reception music. The DJ (yes someone was actually picking these specifically) went from Calvin Harris to AC/​DC, none of the songs really had much scratch to it. Might as well have been changing songs on your iPod. When the YMCA song came on, drunken customers danced to the movements. Funny, but I was not nearly drunk enough to enjoy myself past that.
That said, the employees we interacted with were friendly. Bartenders came to our table for our orders, but it took awhile so I’d recommend just pushing your way to a bar spot to get your alcohol on quicker.
I was not a fan of this place, but the other patrons seemed to enjoy getting down down and doing their thing. It’s just not my bag baby.

I like this spot, small dark and intimate wtih a cool with a simple theme. They a karaōke dj, you can dance your sing or both at the same time. everyone gets into it. They have a great selection beers and drafts with a kitchen serving up bar grub. huge selection of shot specialties. I like the Pickleback, Jamesons and pickle juice.
good times. will definitely come back.

John Taffer would slap the hell out of the bar tender that served me. Kept going into the kitchen to eat and was drinking behind the bar. Didn’t even bother being sneaky about it. Oh and there was the part where she bent over and you could see her sweaty ass crack and she thought it was hot. Never bringing my wife here again.

Great drinks! Great food, especially for a bar. At first when we walked in, the staff and patrons looked a little intimidating. After we sat down and started enjoying our ice cold blue moons, we realized that the roughest looking guy in there was an X-​ray tech we recognized from the hospital, and the staff and a few of the other patrons were comprised of a moms and dads from Hart softball and baseball, Saugus and Valencia football parents, a couple that own a local aftermarket parts business, and college kids.
Never judge a book by its cover! We made some new friends, stayed for another beer and some steak fries (which come with a ton if different side sauces if you ask), and we look forward to returning soon.

I have never been here before even when it was the Tailgate. I have only heard terrible things about it so I never wanted to give it try. Last night I was invited to celebrate a friends birthday there so I finally went. It wasn’t as bad as I heard it was, but it wasn’t great either. First off it is super small, and this wouldn’t be a bad thing if they didn’t allow so many people inside of it. I was cramped the whole night and had rude people constantly giving me looks because I was in there way. On the topic of people this is the main reason this place sucks. The people who go there are trash. I know that sounds harsh, but the majority of the people there were gross and rude. Not the kind of people I want to hang out with at bars. The beer selection is minimal but I didn’t expect much, and I got a schooner size Bud Light for 5 bucks which isn’t bad.
Overall, I will never go here again. It wasn’t the worse place in the world, but it’s also not the kind of place I want to have drinks at.

Hard to write a review for this place… Let start out with categories
Things I liked
–6 bucks for a beast of a shot…
–place is nicely redone
–shots were tasty
–beer selection on tap was nice
–bartender chick was super cool. Her name was Jillian. It’s loud so I think I heard that
Things I didn’t care for
–clientele is ghetto fab
–Dj fucking sucked. he is playing bossy by whoever the hell sings that song… And other awful shit… Let people just use the jukebox
Place needs a cover band or something… They will never compete with marbels on Fridays…
Would I return… Probably… It’s my new watering hole…

This place NEEDS a rescue!!!
Let me start off by saying that I’ve had some great times here. I wouldn’t call myself a regular but come frequently enough to know a few of the regulars.
I usually come on Thursday and Saturday, and occasionally Friday.
Thursday: in my opinion, this is the night to come to the Tailgate. It’s busy enough to be fun, but not so crowded that you feel like a sardine. The DJ on Thursdays is Jerome, and he’s excellent, consistency on the 1’s and 2’s, he can keep the crowd entertained with the best of them. He has karaōke on these nights as well, though not to many people take the chance to make a drunken fool of themselves haha.
Fridays: I haven’t been here enough on these days to have an opinion on it.
Saturdays: awful! The DJ (if he can even be classified as one) is terrible, can’t get his levels right, tries cutting into another song at thw worst times and has no flow. Generally the same crowd. However tonight, November 23, 2013, is the reason I’m writting this review… Now, I don’t really drink, so it begs the question, why go to a bar? 1) I go to play billiards, you can find some decent competition, on the table at this place. 2) I’m usually a designated driver.
Now I’ve come here and ordered a coke, gotten a questionable look from the bartenders and have had to explain why I’m deciding against alcohol. Once they hear me out, they rarely if ever charge me for the soda, which is much appreciated.
I’ve worked at a bar, so I know the roles of the employees fairly well, however today the «DJ» decided to cut the music off before 12, nobody understood why. He then gets out his phone and starts filming some of the patrons, myself included, WITHOUT ANYONE’S CONCENT!!! Once he turned the camera on me he had the audacity to say «give me a shout out» as if what he was doing was okay… or legal! I told him (and I admit, very rudely, however appropriate) to get the camera out of my face. So he walked away and decided to come back 2 minutes later to tell me I had to leave because I haven’t bought a drink all night… I see nothing posted stating I MUST buy alcohol to patronize this establishment. So I tell him to erase that recording with me on it, seeing as he unlawfully recorded me, he continues to tell me «the owners don’t want people in here that don’t spend money».
At this point, as anybody would be, I was incredibly annoyed and angry. First off, it isn’t your job mister «dj» to handle any type of situation like that, you tell security and they handle it… that’s partially why they are there! So with him saying all this to me I had to tell him to get out of my face and get back to his corner, where the dj set-​up is located, he tried to argue but ended up turning and walking away (smart move because at this point everybody had had enough of his crap). After this back and forth, my friend and I decided to leave before our tempers flared up.
Essentially, what this incredibly long review I’m writing, is trying to state is that this person wanted to take it upon himself to try and «kick me out» maybe it was the Napoleon complex, or maybe he’s just a jerk, either way this punk was trying to say «screw your decision of staying sober so you can get your friends and yourself home safely. Get drunk or leave.» And to that, sir, I say… bad form! Know your place and get over yourself. As an avid fan of John Taffert and «Bar Rescue» I say this place needs you guys bad, if not for any reason other then to put this guy in his place or get him out!
As for the ambiance– this is definitely a dive bar, no if, ands, or buts about it.
The prices– I couldn’t tell you, sorry

Thank goodness for The Shot Exchange replacing Tailgate! I love their impressive menu (and your fave tasty shot can be made into a full size cocktail) and extremely friendly and accommodating staff. No more blacked out windows or high school dance disco lights either! I’m very impressed with the turn around of this bar and I recommend giving it a shot.