Oakland bars and restaurants stock up for big game

Oakland’s restaurants and bars are gearing up for Sunday; at least, the ones who expect to see… Oakland’s restaurants and bars are gearing up for Sunday; at least, the ones who expect to see many customers during the big game are.

There will be many thirsty fans to keep happy during the big game Sunday, and for some establishments in Oakland, a busy night lies ahead. For other restaurants, like Fuel and Fuddle, Super Bowl Sunday might be as quiet as the sideline of the losing team.

Peter’s Pub should see its share of black-and-yellow-clad fans, but the turnout will likely be about the same as on a standard Friday or Saturday night, said Andrew Stackiewicz, the bar’s manager. Still, it plans on ordering plenty of beer.

“We get as much beer as possible — everything that can fit in the cooler,” Stackiewicz said.

Stackiewicz has been at Peter’s for the past several Super Bowls, and when the Steelers play, the mood jumps to a level that is “10 times crazier.”

Peter’s Pub plans to have a buffet on its upper floor and DJs to fill in during commercial breaks. Beer will probably be the choice drink that night, Stackiewicz said, although he noted that a few customers at past Super Bowls have taken shots every time the Steelers scored. So if it’s a high-scoring game, blood alcohol levels might go up in tandem.

Stackiewicz said everyone in the bar rushed out to join the chaotic celebration in the streets after the 2009 Super Bowl victory. Within a few minutes the bar had nearly emptied, giving the staff at Peter’s Pub just enough time to clean up before the raucous crowd gushed back in a half an hour later to party the rest of the night away.

The only unknown variable on business owners’ minds is what will happen if the Steelers lose. Either way, in preparing for a very energetic crowd, Stackiewicz said he plans to have extra bouncers on hand.

Diana Bellisario, owner of Mellinger’s Beer Distributor, plans to run her store this weekend the same way she does every weekend — except she will double the order of beer. When the Steelers were in the Super Bowl in 2009, Bellisario said she sold more beer compared to a Super Bowl without the Steelers. Her store must close by 5 p.m. on Sunday by law, but that will give her time to watch the game.

And will she be rooting for the Steelers?

“You know it,” she said.

It’s generally understood here on campus that fried food pairs well with beer, too, and Quaker Steak and Lube will be dishing up buckets of chicken wings — lots of buckets.

The restaurant’s Super Bowl weekend delivery will contain 60 cases of wings, said Tony Work, Quaker Steak and Lube’s manager. Each case contains 40 pounds of wings — that’s 2,400 pounds of chicken, or more than triple a standard delivery, Work said.

The restaurant began taking orders for the big day two weeks in advance. It recently changed its message machine to remind customers to hurry up and preorder their wings for Super Bowl Sunday.

Work said he’s expecting an even greater number of orders this year because of how busy the restaurant was during the AFC championship game and the Steelers-Ravens game. Still, except for the couple of customers who want to watch the game away from the rowdy bar scene, the seating area will probably be dead, he said. The crew, however, will be bustling as it prepares orders to go.

“Time and organization are the key factors,” Work said. “[We] can’t be stressed. There’s no time to be stressed.”

Some establishments have braced for a much calmer night come Sunday. Although Fuel and Fuddle on Oakland Avenue has a bar, it is more of a restaurant, said Jason Sipe, the floor manager.

“If you’re more a restaurant like we are, it’s one of the deadest nights of the year,” he said.

That means there will actually be less servers working than usual at Fuel and Fuddle. Some of the bar’s regulars are bound to watch the game there, but Sipe said there probably won’t be many customers beyond that.

“Seriously, it’s like this during the Super Bowl,” he said this week, referring to the restaurant’s quiet state with its tables mostly vacant in the mid-afternoon lull.

Fuel and Fuddle might even have to close early, although not from a shortage of business. Sipe was working at the restaurant during the 2009 Super Bowl, and he remembers the chaotic aftermath of victory.

From the window, he could see a couch burning across the street as the swelling crowd rushed the streets. But it was when Sipe saw the police marching down Oakland Avenue in riot gear and bearing shields that he decided things were getting serious. Time to shut down and lock the door, he figured.

This year, Sipe said he’ll have to monitor the situation before making the decision to close.

“It’s play it by ear [this year]. As soon as I get concerned for the safety of people in here or for the building itself, that’s when I’ve got to cut if off,” he said.

Primanti Brothers also had to close early after the 2009 Super Bowl because of the wild street celebrations. Benjamin Gunter, a manager at Primanti Brothers, said he’s predicting a large turnout of customers to watch the game. But if things get too crazy afterward, they’ll have to call it a night.

“We would like to stay open, but based on the past two Super Bowls, I can’t imagine anyone would be staying open,” Gunter said.