City Loungin': Nice Weather, a Cold Beverage & Plenty of Sports to Watch

It’s May and Spring is here, meaning 3 things for me – nice weather, Giants Baseball and the NBA Playoffs.  In fact, as I type this entry, I’m flipping between sports channels so I don’t miss any of the action.  And as I do this, I’m wondering to myself, “Why am I watching these games at home?”  Yeah…  Why am I watching these games from home???

 Flash backward to 1999…

When I was an undergraduate student at SF State, I was enrolled in a couple business/economics classes – requirements for my general elective credits.  In one of these classes, I was assigned to come up with a business idea that was unique to my community.  Without much thought, I came up with the idea to open up a sports bar in Hercules.  I have always been a sports fan, playing in multiple Pinole-Hercules-Rodeo leagues as a youth (little league, soccer, basketball) and having grown up watching the Giants and Warriors on TV, so opening a restaurant that served alcohol and played sports on big screens seemed like a great concept…at least to me.

 Everyone I spoke with about the idea, however, always had something negative to say.  “Hercules is too small.”  “That type of business wouldn’t thrive in Hercules.”  “You won’t have enough clientele.”  Why would someone outside of Hercules come here for that?”  It was difficult hearing these criticisms for an idea I really thought would benefit our city.  That didn’t matter, though, because I still went ahead and put together my project report.  I did all kinds of research – putting together a budget, researching liquor licenses, scouting locations, finding out how much rent would cost, etc..  It was all coming together to the point where I actually thought I could open my own sports bar in Hercules.  Then, I realized…….I didn’t have ANY money.

 Flash forward to today…

 12 years later, I’m happy to say that the City of Hercules has 2 sports bars, plus a restaurant that serves happy hour, and all 3 of these establishments show live sports on their TVs!  For an idea that seemed unrealistic over a decade ago, the development of our city sure has come a long way and this is something to be excited about.

 So why am I watching these games from home?  That’s a very good question.  I would have never had this opportunity if it were still 1999, or even 2008.  It’s time to take advantage of what we have in this city.  Let’s go out, have a drink and enjoy these live games with a bunch of complete strangers.  And, who knows, if you’re at one of these spots on a day the Giants or NBA Playoffs are on TV, maybe I’ll see you there… 

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44 Sports Lounge | 848 Willow Avenue, Suite A,  Hercules, CA 94547  | (510) 245-1144  | Happy Hours: Mon-Fri 3p-7p, Sat-Sun 1p-6p

Powder Keg | 2132 Railroad Avenue, Hercules, CA 94547 | (510) 724-7300 | Happy Hours: Mon-Fri 3p-7p

Sala Restaurant | 1991 Railroad Avenue, Hercules, CA 94547 | (510) 724-4044 | Happy Hours: Mon-Fri 4:30p-6:30p