The Bars, Restaurants Fighting For Super Bowl Bucks
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Downtown Minneapolis bars and restaurants consider this a Super Bowl of sorts for them, too.
Between special menus, extended hours, and more manpower, business owners are in the middle of what they hope will be a busy week.
WCCO took a look at some of the plans to compete in a crowded field, and we found a surprise while visiting a bar just steps away from U.S. Bank Stadium.
Hubert's had a front row seat to a Twins World Series win at the Metrodome in 1987. So, when Erik Forsberg took it over -- renaming it Erik The Red -- you would think there would be no better place to cash in on football's biggest game.
"If you would have told me that two years ago that I would be within a pitching wedge of the stadium, and I'm going to be empty and nobody's going to be in here, I would have been like, 'Get out of here,'" Forsberg said.
It turns out Erik The Red is just too close to the stadium for security reasons. It will be closed on Sunday. Still, the NFL has negotiated a private party to make it worth their while.
Two blocks away, Radisson RED's Oui Bar and Kitchen has mixed some fun cocktails for its menu, along with offering their signature dishes with a street-food vibe, like a grilled cheese or smoked brat.
"We've been talking about this for over a year with our employees, and yeah, this is a moment we're going to look back and remember our whole lives," said Radisson RED's Ryan Foley.
Most bars and restaurants will be in business a lot later in downtown Minneapolis this weekend. Eighty-three of them in all paid for the 250 permit to have the option of keeping their doors open until 4 a.m. Thursday through Sunday night.
The Loon Cafe is one of them. Tim Mahoney expects his place to really pick up on Wednesday.
"We're going to rock and roll just like everybody here in town," Mahoney said.
He worked for months to put together a security plan and some serious overtime for his staff as the big weekend finally arrives.
"We're as ready as we're going to be," Mahoney said.
Click here for a full list of the 83 Minneapolis bars who applied for permits to stay open later. Fourteen St. Paul businesses and 23 in Bloomington also have the permit:
St. Paul:
23 Bloomington Business:
