Station 19 = Buffalo Wild Wings

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Buffalo Wild Wings is so overrated, but it is cool to have a bar in that space.
 

I like this. It looks like they are going to redecorate, but will work with the spirit of the historic building, and I imagine this place is going to just scream "Gophers hangout", they know where there bread is buttered.
 



Dammit. I was gonna open a brewery/bar there.
 

I'd look for BW3 to make this their signature restaurant

within their dining empire. Countless times it will be given free advertising just from TV camera shot spanning the view towards downtown from TCF Bank Stadium, plus whatever gratuitious shots are garnered during hockey and basketball seasons. Hopefully they plan it correctly and build an elevated patio on the east side of the building looking into TCF Bank stadium. On gameday those will be the best seats in the Big 10 for pregame bumps in a bar. I really hope they heavily lean towards Gopher / Big 10 decor. I also hope the University helps in that endeavor by donating items to be showcased at the restaurant. Think along the lines of the Appleby's in the Radisson but more tactfully done.

Great move by a locally managed corporation. Whatever your prediliction is towards their food it is a license for them to print money. The other local bars - Sally's, Stub & Herb's, Campus Pizza are going to have to get even more football fan friendly on gamedays and provide more specials to compete. Plus, that location will be within a stones throw from the LRT station once it is completed.
 

Inigo Montoya said:
Hopefully they plan it correctly and build an elevated patio on the east side of the building looking into TCF Bank stadium. On gameday those will be the best seats in the Big 10 for pregame bumps in a bar.
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There is already a roof patio built on the east side of the building that looks into the stadium. Whether that stays with the owner, Station 19 architects, or goes to BWW I haven't heard. That also used to be a part of my parking spot... And it was the best pregame spot in the Big 10 with my own beer for a couple weeks.
 

LAME. Yay, let's add an overrated chain restaurant to Stadium Village. I'll stick with Stub's.
 



I was hoping some U of M football Alumni would step in and put in a new bar called the "M Club" or "Alumni Club". Oh well I think both of those names are already taken. More bars to choose from and more big screens to watch the rest of the football games on saturday.
 

YES!

Omega015 said:
LAME. Yay, let's add an overrated chain restaurant to Stadium Village. I'll stick with Stub's.
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Could not agree more. I think BWW is about the worst, most-overrated of all the crappy chains out there. Really glad I have a tailgating spot! Hoping they go the way the old bw3 in Dinkytown went (now Blarney). Ideally, that will open up the chance for a local guy to take over. Would make a great Stadium Pizza location!-- I'd rather support a GH poster any day of the week and twice on Sunday! Stub's 2, Sally's 2, Big Ten 2, Blarney 2- anything would be better. At least a Hooter's would provide some ancillary value over the left over bones doused in marginal sauce provided by BWW....

p.s. closed circuit to Campus Pizza-- you should deliver to the tailgate lots...while not sure the "U" would like it, it would be a nice gameday option when I don't want to haul the spread.
 

Is There A More Over-Rated Chain Than BWW?

For me, the answer is no. Hooters, Applebee's and Chili's are all in the team photo, but BWW is . . .

Loud, with food as bad as Hooters, and did I mention it is really loud. I have been to 3 different ones (in 3 states) and have found the service to be pretty lame at each one.

Just one man's opinion, but it's a sign o' the times, I suppose.
 

I would rather have a bar with my name on it.
 



I'm with spermophilus. I'm no fan of BWW, mostly because what you get is grossly out of line with what you pay. I'm sure I won't be spending much money there, but so long as high schoolers don't overrun this one (like every other BWW I've ever been to), it should make the owners tons of cash.

I don't remember the Blarney site ever being a BDubs. When was that?
 

Speaking of wings, if you want good ones I'd recommend Green Mill for their sampler tower. 24 wings that are actually from fully grown chickens, unlike BWW. And great sauces (favorite is Extreme Jamaican) and dipping sauces.
 

If you don't like BWWs, that's fine. Just remember that it will help thin out the crowds and lines for Stub and Herbs, Sallys, etc.

And competition only drives down the price of beer on gameday... always a good thing.
 

I'm all for a bar going in to that location, I would just prefer it wasn't BWW. There are already too many chain restaurants on campus. It would be nice if the area could retain some of the things that make it different from Maple Grove.
 

Didn't realize there were so many hipsters posting on GH.

"Chain restaurant" = "automatically bad" :rolleyes:

If they're so terrible, how did they get to the point of being a chain restaurant? Why do people keep going? How do they stay in business?
 


Fact is only BWW could afford that locatoion

Taxes on that property alone are staggering so it stands to reason that only a deep-pocketed corporation could afford the renovation needed, startup costs and pay the taxes. Doubt we would be chastisting if a Joe Senser's went in there. Yes it is a publicly traded company but at least it is locally managed by people who pay in-state taxes.

BTW Omega015, I know you are a well-traveled college football fan so I pose a question to you: Can you name a college football stadium where there is a non-university sanctioned bar/restaurant closer to the stadium than TCF Bank Stadium once BW3 moves in ? Yes, even the hyped-up pregame bar culture that is seen in Madison on game days cannot compete with that proximity. Stadium Bar in Madison is close, but not as close as the BW3 will be.

Yes, I too would rather see Stadium Village littered with locally owned independent shops, bars and restaraunts but the fact is some real estate is just too pricey for anything but corporate entities. Uptown is becoming example 1A of that.
 

A chain restaurant doesn't have to be automatically bad, but it's probably not going to be great. It's probably not going to be truly awful. You know what you are getting, no matter where in the country you are. An independent restaurant, might be fantastic, it might suck. It's a learning experience, an adventure. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Man v. Food isn't likely to highlight a chain.
 

Beer for sale 30 paces from the stadium entrance? I'm in. No one is forcing you to buy the overpriced wings.
 

The fact is, Caribbean Jerk is really good.
 

Inigo Montoya said:
Taxes on that property alone are staggering so it stands to reason that only a deep-pocketed corporation could afford the renovation needed, startup costs and pay the taxes. Doubt we would be chastisting if a Joe Senser's went in there. Yes it is a publicly traded company but at least it is locally managed by people who pay in-state taxes.

BTW Omega015, I know you are a well-traveled college football fan so I pose a question to you: Can you name a college football stadium where there is a non-university sanctioned bar/restaurant closer to the stadium than TCF Bank Stadium once BW3 moves in ? Yes, even the hyped-up pregame bar culture that is seen in Madison on game days cannot compete with that proximity. Stadium Bar in Madison is close, but not as close as the BW3 will be.

Yes, I too would rather see Stadium Village littered with locally owned independent shops, bars and restaraunts but the fact is some real estate is just too pricey for anything but corporate entities. Uptown is becoming example 1A of that.
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I couldn't agree more. Beggers can't be choosers.
 

My feelings about this are really simple. I travel to lots of Gopher road games, and I don't spend time in and around those campuses to go to BWW. I would expect fans of other schools feel the same way.
 

I may prefer independent stores over chains, but a BWW is more interesting than an architectural firm. ;) I'm sure it will be a good hangout, the more the better.
 

Inigo Montoya said:
BTW Omega015, I know you are a well-traveled college football fan so I pose a question to you: Can you name a college football stadium where there is a non-university sanctioned bar/restaurant closer to the stadium than TCF Bank Stadium once BW3 moves in ? Yes, even the hyped-up pregame bar culture that is seen in Madison on game days cannot compete with that proximity. Stadium Bar in Madison is close, but not as close as the BW3 will be.
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If only Mustard's Last Stand had a liquor license!!
 


The place is going to be an absolutel cluster**** on gamedays. More power to anyone who wants to go, though!
 

Hopefully it will make Sally's, etc. a little less crowded. I'm not a fan of BWW's food. Way overpriced and not that good.....But they do have beer, so it's not all bad.
Another establishment will add to the gameday experience, which is good for everybody.
 

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