Hotshots in Arnold is the Place for Sports, Food and Happy Hour Specials

Grab a seat at Hotshots and you’ll notice one thing: big screen TVs. They’re everywhere and they’re showing sports all day long. Even on a Wednesday lunch hour a patron could catch a college football game, some hoops action, a World Cup sailboat race and a soccer match. The restaurant has 30 big screen televisions and two projector screens scattered across every wall.

The Hotshots in Arnold is one of the first to be franchised by the St. Louis based company. Partners Don and Chris Wilburn and Jeff and Cheryl Huch own the only three franchise locations: Arnold, Florissant and Cape Girardeau.

Jeff Huch said they started talking to Hotshots owners back in February of 2011 and were able to open this June.

Their location at 131 Arnold Crossroads Court has always been home to a sports bar. Originally it was a Krieger’s, then for a short time the location became a Tilted Kilt. Tilted Kilt was an out-of-state chain that vanished after 19 short months.

Huch said they decided to buy a franchise with Hotshots because the brand name is well-known and all the locations are strong performers. The only Hotshots location that didn’t thrive was one next to the Cardinal stadium in downtown St. Louis.

The location is smoker friendly, despite Arnold's anti-smoking regulations. Huch and his partners kept the specially ventilated smoker’s lounge (with its own pool table) installed by the previous owner and added an outdoor patio to the location.

Their full bar stocks 21 beers on tap. Hotshots is known for happy hour specials, from 3 p.m.-6 p.m., where drink prices go up as the evening wears on. The restaurant has a full menu with bar nibbles like chicken wings, toasted ravioli or baskets of mini tacos. You can also get St. Louis style pizza, sandwiches or giant burgers with the works.

Cheryl Huch said their restaurant draws a diverse crowd and is popular with both families and sports fans. She said they are working on forming both a pool and dart league. If anyone is interested in joining, they should call the restaurant at (636) 287-6078.