COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Quinn Allen, owner at The Library Bar, spent day and night managing while he wore a vintage cheerleader’s uniform from his grandmother, a longtime ticket-office worker for the Buckeyes.
“This outfit has a lot of years on it,” Quinn laughed. “The equation was how do I stay warm, how do I support the Buckeyes, and how do I dress up in an outfit? I’d like to think I hit all three.”
Being able to celebrate their favorite team and holiday on the same night was a welcome distraction for student T.J. Brown of Steubenville.
“Everyone seems pretty happy. I think it’s a good thing considering the pandemic has most students down,” Brown said. “I think to have game day and Halloween on the same night was well-needed this year.”
Scott Ellsworth, owner of Threes Above High, says he’s been extremely fortunate considering how the pandemic has impacted other businesses.
“We’re open. So I think that’s the first, most important thing,” Ellsworth said.
Threes has been taking reservations to ensure seats are filled while also keeping capacity capped. On Saturday the bar held a costume party for those wanting to celebrate Halloween, shut down for an hour to clean, and then reopened for a game night crowd.
“Some people want to go out and have that costume contest/party for Halloween and then some people are solely focused on football. So, we’re hoping to give everybody an option to do what they want and some people are going to do both,” Ellsworth said.
With coronavirus cases trending in the wrong direction, there has been concern off-campus gatherings could only make things worst.
That’s why Quinn and Ellsworth are still cheerleading for a change to the 10 p.m. last call emergency order.
“We’re a safer option for everybody than going to any house parties, so it’s just a bummer we’re not able to protect everybody and keep people safe while also keeping our doors open,” Quinn said.
“DeWine and Ginther should re-evaluate this time crunch they’re putting us on because these kids are leaving and going to house parties where there’s no door guy to say ‘hey, do you mind putting on your mask?'” Ellsworth said.
“It’s never been about the bottom line, it’s been about the experience for our brand and anytime we can give anybody a good time, and just take their minds away from the hectic-ness of life…it’s a fun atmosphere and we take pride in that.”
Bars are also missing out on an hour of extra revenue from daylight savings time, when a normal 2AM last call Sunday morning would have been pushed back an hour when the time change takes effect.
“Yeah, it would’ve been much better if Ben Franklin would’ve started daylight savings at about 10 o’clock so we could’ve gotten that extra hour of service,” Quinn joked.
