ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Those looking for a hot spot to enjoy some good food and perhaps a game or two now have a place to do just that.
End Zone Sports Bar & Grill, located at 2867 Centennial Boulevard, hosted its grand opening in late September, and as co-owner Om Patel tells it, the idea for the restaurant had been percolating for a while.
“It was about five or six months ago when we heard Old Chicago had closed down, and we started thinking about opening a restaurant that was already at a good location, and we also knew we wanted to have it be a sports bar,” Patel said. “So we started putting everything together, we hired a great team, and then we got to our soft opening, which was Sept. 19, and then our grand opening was Sept. 27. We'd heard from people in town how they were looking for somewhere fun to go on the weekends and have some good food and watch a game or two, so we thought doing this would be a great thing to do for the community.”
Patel added the restaurant’s location was already practically perfect, as it had formerly been the site of an Old Chicago restaurant.
“This building had already been a restaurant and bare before, so it was already set up really well, which was great for us. And it'd had a bunch of people coming here already in the past, so we knew location-wise it would work,” Patel said. “My family has other businesses in town, and we've been talking for a while about opening up something else in town and again, we'd heard from people in town about wanting a place like this, so we went for it.”
Patel added the menu has something for everyone.
“We have the regular bar foods like pizza and burgers and nachos and all of that, all of which are very delicious, and something that's unique on our menu is our samosas, which are really popular in Indian cuisine, and those are also really good,” Patel said. “We've got great food on the menu, it's a great place to come in and just have fun watching a game or two. It's just a great atmosphere, and we want everyone who comes in to have a great time.”
Patel said he and his family are excited for the restaurant to officially be open now, and said there are already some tentative plans being made for expansion.
“Our soft opening went really, really well and we had a lot of people at that, and then our grand opening was also just amazing and had a great crowd. It was great to see all of that support, and we can't wait to see all the other customers we get as time goes on,” Patel said. “The grand opening was absolutely amazing, and it was great to see all the people who came out and supported us, we were really happy with how that turned out. We're talking about opening a hookah lounge, which would be outside on our patio area, and there are still some logistics being worked out with that, but that's something else we're talking about.”
Overall, Patel said, he hopes to see the restaurant frequently full of customers.
“We're really excited to officially be open, and if you're ever in the mood for some good food and a good game or two, come and visit us and we'll take care of you,” Patel said.
