I’ve heard from a couple of people that Primetime Sports Bar at Second and Peabody Place has closed. Not surprised. I hardly ever saw people go in there. It struck me as a poor attempt to keep something similar to Jillian’s/Club Atlas alive, just to have something in the building for when the Peabody expanded into the Peabody Place Mall. Now that the Peabody expansion has been delayed, I guess they saw no reason to keep Primetime alive. Too bad because that space is in an extremely desirable, high-traffic location Downtown. Something successful needs to go in there.
I’ll tell you what I think would work, and I’m not alone in this thought, because a couple of friends have mentioned it to me. Most chain restaurants are not a good fit for Downtown. TGI Friday’s on Union does okay but it’s mainly due to tourist traffic – I rarely see locals go in there. I can’t see something like an Applebee’s going in that space. But there’s one chain I think would do really well in the Primetime space: Buffalo Wild Wings.
For those who have never been in one, Buffalo Wild Wings offers a casual dining menu, the highlight of which are wings dipped in one of twelve signature sauces. They recently added some dry rubs too. They have a good selection of beer as well as a full liquor bar, and the restaurants are full of TVs for watching whatever games are on.
The Primetime location is about the right size, in terms of layout and square footage, for a BWW. There would be plenty of foot traffic past the door: The location is one block from the Beale Street entertainment district, and is right across the street from the Flying Saucer, arguably the busiest bar Downtown. There are many other bars and restaurants within one block of the location. The Peabody and Hampton Inn hotels are right around the corner, and the Westin is two blocks away. Many apartment complexes and condos are within a quarter-mile walk. Both locals and tourists tend to bar-hop, and a BWW’s presence would likely benefit surrounding businesses in terms of increased traffic for everyone.
BWW locations feature Buzztime, where you can play trivia, card games, and sports games against other restaurant patrons via video screens and handheld controllers (“little blue boxes,” or as we call them “crack boxes”). There is no place in the Downtown core that has Buzztime. A lot of people look for these Buzztime locations when traveling on business, so they can have something fun and social to do in the evenings without knowing people in town. A BWW could fill that need for people staying in the Peabody, Westin, Hampton Inn and all the other nearby hotels. The only location in all of Downtown that has Buzztime is Calhoun’s, in the South Main district, farther than a lot of people would choose to travel if they don’t have access to a car and aren’t familiar with the trolley system.
The only question would be, what to do with the bowling alley which was prominently featured in both Jillian’s and Primetime. It could be split off as a separate business, or perhaps BWW could take it too and feature the location as one of the few BWWs in the chain with a bowling alley.
BWW is a proven concept that has been around almost 30 years. I wish Downtown leaders would pursue getting a BWW in the Primetime space, because I can’t think of a tenant that would be a better fit.