Most ESPN Zone Sports Bars to Close

If I wanted to have lousy food amidst noise and chaos and crappy service I'd eat at home

 

Before you could watch every game on an inexpensive HDTV in the comfort of you living room or at every bar down the street, it was a pretty good idea.

 

Is that because you could only eat half your meal?

 

My favorite sports-themed ripoff joint was Sports Clips. The premise is you can watch a game while getting an overpriced haircut. Went in once on a weekday when there was a day baseball game on ESPN. The girl wouldn't change it from some golf program because she said the owner of the local store liked golf.

Plus, they used Jay Novacek as a spokesperson and had a bunch of generic photos of him all over the shop. I was in Denver at the time. You would think they would use a local star.

Needless to say, I got a crappy haircut and couldn't even watch a game at a place that supposedly used that premise to get people in the door.

 

The one in Atlanta hasn't been replaced with anything. That whole area of Buckhead is a complete disaster these days; the NIMBYs famously kicked the clubs out and a huge shopping development started, only to shut down when the economy tanked. Now instead of a bunch of bars you've got a bunch of vacant mud lots and cranes. Well done.

Went to ESPN Zone a few years ago when they were showing a PPV game no other bar seemed to be carrying. It was fine enough, I guess. The concept is just outdated. How the Fox Sports Grill does so well here (lines out the doors on weekends) is beyond me.

 

Isn't the Vegas one in the basement at NYNY? Had some beers there last year, it was OK.

 

Been to Anaheim quite a few times. Family loves it. I'm OK with it, but I am not comfortable eating dinner in a recliner. Need a bib and then a shower after. They stumbled into a USC football game in 3D there once. Thought it was the bomb.
When are these closures supposed to happen?

 

For the folks complaining about the quality of the food ... do you seriously expect to go to any theme joint and expect great food? You are going there for the theme/show/atmosphere/whatever, not the food. You should know going in the food is going to be OK and overpriced.

I like the food at Hard Rock. It's not great but nothing wrong with it other than being overpriced. Still, I don't go there for the food. It's for the atmosphere.

 

I go to a Sports Clips, but if the woman who cuts my hair leaves, I'm out of there.

 

I've got to be honest. I've been to one chain sit-down restaurant in the last two months.

Mainly because the food sucks compared to the local mom-and-pop eateries in my town.

Anytime I eat at Chipotle, however, the line is out the door.

So I suppose in this economy, people would rather pay $6.25 for a burrito than $10 for a hamburger and a coke. Fair enough.

 

SportsClips is where I go. I have had only one not-so-good haircut in 4 years. I do complain to them that the employee turnover is too high. But, with coupons and other deals, the haircuts are about $15. That doesn't sound too expensive to me.

 

ESPN Zone sucks.