A Gridiron Goliath
State Street Brats in Madison, Wis., Scores With Super Bowl Promotion 

Back in the July issue of Nightclub & Bar, we published a Buzztime Report focused on fall football –– specifically, checking into where and how patrons most enjoy the games.
    While the season begins to inch toward the goal line, hopefully your profits are on the victorious side. There is a huge profit to be made at the finale, however. So, don’t forget to keep your head in the game until the finish.
    In our July Buzztime Report, we learned that 30 percent of the football lovers out there are attending bars to catch the pro games, and 65 percent of all football viewers prefer a bar where they can watch the action amongst friends. With this in mind, we highlight one bar that has done a tremendous job in making the final game of football season profitable for the last several decades.

State Street Brats
    In business since the 1950s, State Street Brats in Madison, Wis., has a capacity of 550 and a policy to be open for its patrons every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas. With more than 20 beers on tap and 40 kinds of liquor, the establishment backs it all up with a full menu –– featuring bratwursts, of course.
    Beloved by locals and the neighboring students of U.W. Madison, State Street Brats has become so legendary for its annual Super Bowl extravaganza that the event helped win the bar the No. 13 spot in the “25 Best Sports Bars in America” ranking last year in Sports Illustrated — an accolade worth its weight in golden brew.

Suiting Up
    “We start setting up for the Super Bowl two to three days in advance,” Assistant Manager Tyler Kneubuehl says. “But really preparing? Well, we start that a month and a half before the game.”
    Patrons can purchase tickets in advance or at the door for $25, and the price includes all-you-can-drink tap beer, $1 well drinks, complimentary food and an entry in the locker prize giveaways.
    “We cap it at 275 people,” Kneubuehl says. “I don’t think it would be that great of a time with 500 people inside.”
    Prize lockers are set up on the second floor dance area, and when a patron’s number is called, he or she selects a key from a bucket and is awarded the matching locker full of prizes from sponsors and local businesses.
    “This past year, we had these inflatable chairs that one of the beer sponsors gave us right in front of the screen. We called it ‘the best seat in the house.’ We called out numbers before the game, and those people got to watch the game from there
and then take the chairs home,” he says.

No Need To Talk
    Kneubuehl says that State Street Brats doesn’t do much advertising for the event these days, except for on-premise signage, but this year they are considering larger giveaways to keep numbers high.
    "We will maybe give away some skydiving trips or something,” he says. “We cater to a college crowd, and the college kids definitely love getting anything for free.”                      NCB