Many Missourians, including those in Jefferson County, jumped for joy when the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC championship last month, along with the chance to play in another Super Bowl this Sunday evening.
Few likely leaped as high as bar and restaurant owners, who knew that a local favorite in the big game could mean big business for them.
Several of the owners said they expect bigger-than-usual crowds at their establishments this Sunday while people gather to drink, eat and watch the game. Others said they may not get big crowds inside their businesses but expect a big uptick in carryout orders.
The Chiefs will take on the San Francisco 49ers at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, the Chiefs’ fourth Super Bowl in five years, with wins in 2020 and 2023.
Since the Rams left St. Louis for Los Angeles after the 2015 season, Kansas City and the Indianapolis Colts, both a little more than 240 miles away from the Gateway City, are the closest National Football League teams to St. Louis. However, in-state pride, plus the Chiefs’ success in recent years, have made the Kansas City franchise more popular than any other NFL squad, according to local business owners.
The romance between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and mega pop star Taylor Swift likely will only increase the interest in this year’s game, as well as the number of people getting together to watch it.
The game will air on CBS.
Usher, an R&B and pop artist with a new album to be released this week – his first in several years – will perform during half time.
Country music icon Reba McEntire will sing the national anthem, and Post Malone, a rapper, singer and songwriter, is scheduled to sing “America the Beautiful” as part of the pre-game entertainment.
Moortell’s Sports Pub
The owners of the newly opened Moortell’s Sports Pub, 120 Main St., in Pevely are looking forward to its first Super Bowl gathering. Moortell’s opened in November 2023.
Tom and Traci Moore and Jamie and Tina Portell own the business, and combined their last names to come up with the establishment’s moniker.
“We are hoping it will be a big day for us,” Jamie Portell said. “We’ll have drink specials. We plan to have free food at halftime – different types of chips and snacks, plus a nacho bar and a big sandwich.”
He said the pub has been getting large crowds for NFL games, particularly for Chiefs games, and some of their patrons have inquired if Moortell’s is doing something special for the Super Bowl.
The pub will have all 13 of its televisions tuned to the Super Bowl and will beef up its staffing for the evening.
“We’ll have all four of the owners here, plus a few other bartenders,” Portell said. “Normally, there’s just a couple of bartenders. We anticipate a good crowd.
“We’ll have the game on loudspeaker so people will be able to hear the broadcast.”
Case & Buck’s, Super Smokers
Jeff Fitter, who owns two area restaurants – Case & Buck’s Bar & Grill, 7095 Metropolitan Blvd., in Barnhart and Super Smokers BBQ + Cajun, 1567 W. Fifth St., in Eureka – said he expects to see lots of diners at Case & Buck’s to watch the game on Sunday, as well as lots of carry-out orders for wings and other food there and at Super Smokers.
“The Super Bowl is huge at Case & Buck’s,” Fitter said. “Last year alone, we sold just over 6,000 (or 1,080 pounds of) wings in carryout. We probably sold another five or six cases of wings in-house.
“Our specials for the game are all about food and drink. This year, we’ll do $1.25 wings and have drink specials during the Super Bowl.”
Case & Buck’s Bar & Grill, 7095 Metropolitan Blvd., in Barnhart
He said Case & Buck’s typically sees a 30 percent increase in sales on Super Bowl Sunday.
Super Smokers also will plan for a massive number of carryout orders, Fitter said.
“Super Bowl Sunday is probably our fourth-biggest day of the year, after Mother’s and Father’s days and Independence Day,” he said. “We see an increase in carryout preorders. It’s our second-biggest barbecue day after Independence Day. It’s probably a 60-percent increase in sales over a normal Sunday.”
Fitter said Super Smokers will offer various specials on carryout food for Super Bowl parties.
“This year, we’ve added Cajun to the menu,” Fitter said.
“We do bring in a larger staff to handle the overflow in both (Super Smokers and Case & Buck’s),” he said.
He said he expects to see many people wearing Chiefs’ attire for the big day.
“The Chiefs are very, very popular,” Fitter said. “We also have a big group of supporters for the Packers.”
Main & Mill Brewing Co.
At the Main & Mill Brewing Co. bar and restaurant, 240 E. Main St., in Festus, Super Bowl Sunday is treated like a major holiday, co-owner Denny Foster said.
“Last year, we actually closed a little early to let our employees go enjoy the game with family and friends,” he said.
Until that unspecified closing time this year, however, Foster expects hordes of people showing up for carryout orders.
“We do specials on our wings and our to-go (canned) beer,” he said. “We did, probably, five times more wings last Super Bowl than on a given Sunday. We’ll do the same things again this year. We’ll have specials on carryout wings and canned beer.”
Johnny’s Hideout
Johnny Daus, owner of Johnny’s Hideout, 3367 High Ridge Blvd., in High Ridge said Super Bowl Sunday is a strong sales day for his business, but not like it used to be.
Johnny’s Hideout, 3367 High Ridge Blvd., in High Ridge.
“I’ve been doing this 42 years,” he said. “When I had my (old) place, Carson’s in Soulard, Super Bowl Sunday was a huge day. That was in the ’80s. It was a day where I’d just about have to stop letting people in.
“What’s happened is, people decided to have parties on their own. It’s still a good day, just not as big as it used to be.”
Johnny’s Hideout will offer food and drink specials for the Super Bowl, he said.
“I run game-day specials on alcohol,” he said. “We have specials on appetizers, like Irish ballpark nachos. That’s basically nachos using potato chips instead of nacho chips. We do riblets in my homemade Jim Beam barbecue sauce. Another popular item is our loaded tater tots.”
Daus said he expects Johnny’s Hideout to get a lot of carryout orders.
“Wings to-go are big,” he said. “People also want the riblets, chicken strips, toasted ravioli.”
Daus said he believes the Chiefs appearance in the game will help business on Sunday, so he plans to bring in extra staff that day.
“Whether we have four people or 400, we’ll have a lot of fun,” he said.
Local House
Tim Huelskamp, owner of The Local House Restaurant & Bar, 3946 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold, said his place usually sees an uptick in business on Super Bowl Day, especially with carryout orders.
“It’s definitely a good to-go day for us,” Huelskamp said. “They come get a lot of carryout. Pizza and wings are the two biggest items.”
While Super Bowl will keep his staff hopping, Huelskamp said that’s not the only busy Sunday of the year at The Local House.
“Sundays are always big for us because of our fried chicken. We have three days with fried chicken specials – Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays,” he said. “Sunday is just the most popular day.”
He said he plans to have one more staff member than normal working on Super Bowl Sunday.
“That’s for all the to-go orders,” Huelskamp said. “It is a big day.”
The Local House Restaurant & Bar, 3946 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
Melba Theatre
With so many people watching the Super Bowl at bars and at house parties, business can suffer at cinemas, said Herman Oliver Carnell, who manages the Melba Theatre, 300 S. Main St., in De Soto.
He said the number of moviegoers on Super Bowl Sunday depends on the motion picture he shows, so he tries to choose one that women would enjoy.
Melba Theatre, 300 S. Main St., in De Soto.
He said the Melba will feature the 1978 musical film “Grease” for this Super Bowl Sunday.
“I’m doing ‘Grease,’ with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John,” Carnell said. “I would imagine it will appeal to women.
“I actually booked it thinking of Valentine’s Day that week, not realizing the Super Bowl was right before it.”