It’s one of the busiest weekends for bars and restaurants in North America — and, no, not because of Valentine’s Day being three days away.
It’s Super Bowl weekend.
The 57th annual championship game of the National Football League takes place in Arizona on Sunday and features the Kansas City Chiefs (14-3) versus the Philadelphia Eagles (14-3).
Last year’s big game brought in an average audience of 8.1 million viewers in Canada, with North American football fans spending about $1.3 billion on beer and cider.
With many people choosing to watch with friends and family, bars are busy this weekend.
Dana Parris owns The Lockeroom, located at 201 Cundles Rd. E. She told BarrieToday on Friday afternoon while the big game is Sunday, the festivities have already begun.
“It’s funny. Usually when there is a big game on a Saturday or Sunday, the days before are quiet. As you saw when you came in today, we’re packed already and we were just as busy Thursday afternoon as well,” said Parris. “Even people who aren’t into football get into the Super Bowl and all the excitement around it.”
The Lockeroom has been a Barrie staple since 1991, and Parris admits she has seen the big game become bigger over the years.
“It’s always been a big deal, but we have had some changes over the years. We are still full inside here, but our takeout has grown huge over the years, especially through COVID, when we couldn’t do anything but,” she said. “Being here is great because we’ll have lots of giveaways, including a beer fridge.”
The Lockeroom isn’t taking reservations, so it will be first come, first served. Those who want takeout should order ahead as Parris said the bar will likely be forced to shut down takeout service at some point.
“We’ll have people ordering early for a pickup to coincide with the game, so our kitchen will at some point be cut off,” she said. “Our wings are the big thing and what we’re pretty known for. A blogger in Buffalo gave us an eight out of 10 for them, so that was pretty cool.”
The Chicken Farmers of Canada website projects Canadians will consume 76 million wings during the game Sunday.
That would be four years if each wing was counted as one second, and roughly 3,800 kilometres if laid end to end — the distance to drive from Quebec City to Calgary.
While the City of Buffalo won’t be represented in the Super Bowl, the NFL team has a Buffalo Bills supporters’ club at Malones Pint House.
The establishment at 118 Bradford St. is the official Bills “backer bar” in the region, and owner Sarah Lynne Maloney told BarrieToday it makes for a great atmosphere for the biggest football game of the year.
“We’re pretty sad the Bills didn’t make it, but people know how much we love football here, so we get all types of fans coming out to enjoy the Super Bowl,” she said.
Malones gets so busy, reservations are needed, and it is selling $25 tickets for Sunday, which includes a seat and access to the halftime pig roast, a commemorative T-shirt, games and trivia.
Maloney said she doesn’t have a favourite since her beloved Bills didn’t make the big game, but she did take a guess at a winner.
“I don’t have a real preference, but I will say I have seen more Eagles fans ever since the team made the Super Bowl,” she said. “If I had to guess, I would say Philly over Chiefs by a score of 34-27.”
The Super Bowl starts at 6:30 p.m. and this year’s halftime show features music superstar Rihanna.
