Super Bowl snow storm
Bartender Amanda Ioannidis and Jason Noble, a server/manager at the John Max sports bar location On Dougall Ave. in Windsor are trying to find a balance between cancellations and new reservations during Snowstorm Linus during Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, 2015.
By Ken Pastushyn
The Super Bowl is one of the two biggest football events of the year at the John Max sports bar on Dougall Road, according to one of the managers. The other is the Detroit Lions annual Thanksgiving Day game.
While every seat in the house was booked solid, one big concern on the minds of every John Max employee was whether or not football fans would show up despite Snowstorm Linus, the biggest blizzard of the year.
“Last year’s Super Bowl was busy,” said Amanda Ioannidis, a bartender at John Max. However, last year’s forecast didn’t include up to 10 inches of snow.
There were 10 cancellations in the early afternoon but as soon as there was a cancellation, a reservation was quickly filled up. Potential customers were constantly calling to see if American commercials would be shown on the 24 TV screens at John Max since Canadian cable TV channels show only Canadian commercials.
A half -hour before kickoff, six reservations had been cancelled. John Max still had 20 reservations but the managers were concerned about how many of those would.
Even with the snow, much of the staff said they believed there would be a turnout because it is the Super Bowl. “They will come if they have to use a horse and sleigh or a snowmobile,” said Josh Henley, a bartender at John Max.
Jay Osbourne, a former manager at the John Max on Dougall Road and current manager at the new location on Lauzon Parkway said promotions bring customers in and John Max was giving away Detroit Lions jerseys during the game and a grand prize plasma TV near the two-minute warning.
“We give away prizes because people like the stuff. We buy the jerseys out of the goodness of our own heart,” said Osbourne. “Its like being Santa Claus for a day.”
And customers expect more prizes every year.
“This is our fourth Super Bowl and we have to live up to expectations,” said John O’Kane, one of the three co-owners of the John Max group.
The crowd at John Max wasn’t what managers said they expected but it was probably the same at sports bars all over Windsor, according to O’Kane.
“I’m happy despite the weather. I’m glad they showed up,” said O’Kane. “People love their time here every year and it keeps on spreading.”
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