8/8/2023 0 Comments Do or drink gameMike Moyer, owner of Santa Barbara-based Head Games Trivia, which stages events in the Bay Area at Concord’s Hop Grenade, Richmond’s East Brother Beer and more, stumbled into the business as a high school history teacher reviewing test material with his students. “The crowds are so large, it doubles our business on a weekday.”Ī trivia support network has expanded rapidly, as dozens of companies - Geeks Who Drink, Brainstormer Trivia, Risky Quizness and more - have popped up to provide questions, multimedia and sometimes even hosts for trivia nights. “It’s absolutely helped us get back to normal,” Grieger says. On a recent Tuesday, the taproom was packed with more than 100 players, many dancing to Madonna by the end of the evening. The brewery started hosting trivia nights about a year ago. “We scaled all the way down to to-go sales for the longest time, then had a minimal outdoor area for the majority of COVID.” (Center left to right) Kalea Tamsing, of Ventura, Jennifer Allen, of Ventura, and Bridgitte Chan, of San Jose, participate in trivia night at Barebottle Brewing in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) “We went from this bustling taproom to absolutely nothing,” says taproom manager Stephanie Grieger. Things were dire at Barebottle Brewing in Santa Clara, which had been open less than a month when the pandemic lockdown hit. “It takes a little while to get going, then next thing you know, you’re seeing the same groups of people coming back week after week.” Trivia’s popularity has made an impact at Walnut Creek’s Mike Hess Brewing, too, where it pulls in weekend-size crowds of loyal customers midweek, when “we needed it most,” says general manager Mike Loar. “Sometimes I’ll be finishing work and come down, and all the tables are full a lot earlier than usual. “That’s the biggest benefit for us - consistency and getting people in the door,” Hester says. On trivia night it could be raining fireballs outside, and people will still show up. “We have some good Thursdays and Tuesdays, but if it’s cold or raining, who knows what’s going to happen?” says co-founder Tommy Hester. It’s plenty to Oakland’s Two Pitchers Brewing, which runs trivia nights on Wednesdays. Trivia took a few months to catch on, but it has definitely improved the Thursday night sales and customer flow.” “Things are still making their way back to what it used to be. We took a beating, says Jenny Lewis, co-founder of San Jose’s Strike Brewing. The theme on this particular Thursday is Japan, inspired by the recent G7 summit, and competitors are fielding questions such as “What is Ronald McDonald’s name in Japan?” (Donald McDonald, in case you wondered.) The winner gets a free pitcher of beer or movie tickets.īut the real prize is something much more: a sense of community - and an infusion of cash.įor the taprooms, pubs and bars that stage these events, trivia night is a guaranteed payday after three years of grappling with layoffs, staffing shortages, supply chain issues and a lockdown that kept many Bay Area drinking establishments - including bars and taprooms without food service - shuttered until March 2021. “There’s the Go-Go’s, Trivial Fursuit, Misfits, Stranger Danger, Femme Factales and Don’t Cry Over Spilled Beer. “Let’s meet our teams!” says theater manager and trivia host J Moses Ceasar, getting the party started. And amid the chaos, a woman spills her drink, lamenting, “Oh no! I got beer in my Birkenstocks.” One man wears a shirt reading “The Nineties” in “Simpsons” font. It’s trivia night at the New Parkway Theater, Oakland’s cult fave pub-meets-theater, and the room is packed.
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