Few local restaurants, bars opening for Steelers’ Ireland game Sunday
Steelers fans will have to wake up early this weekend to catch their favorite team, and if they typically watch the team at a local bar, they may have to relocate to another spot because of the timing.
The Steelers are playing an international game against the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland, on Sunday, Sept. 28, leaving Butler County residents who flock to restaurants to plan ahead to ensure they’ve got a spot to view the game and prompting some area restaurants to open early.
Due to the time difference between Ireland and Pennsylvania, local viewers will see the Steelers kick off at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, a time on the sports schedule normally reserved for international soccer.
Owing to the early start time, local Steelers fans may have a harder time finding a bar or restaurant to watch the game with others, as not all are shifting their hours to account for the Steelers’ rare morning time slot.
A staff member from the Hardwood Cafe in Penn Township, which normally opens at noon seven days a week, told the Butler Eagle that they would not open early on Sunday.
Likewise, Deb Krelow, owner of the Beacon Hotel in Connoquenessing Township, said that it was not planning to shift its hours either, as the staff was too busy preparing its annual “Beacon Haunt” Halloween haunted house and corn maze.
“We just have too much going on right now,” Krelow said.
In addition, T.J.’s Hideaway in Forward Township and the Monroe Hotel in Butler also indicated to the Butler Eagle that they would not open early for the Steelers game on Sunday.
But one establishment taking full advantage of the occasion is the Sports Grille in Cranberry Township. Not only did it opt to open at 8 a.m. on Sunday — three hours earlier than usual — but it will offer a special menu with Irish-themed drinks, including Irish coffee, Irish mimosa and a Bloody Mary with a Guinness floater as an option.
ShuBrew in Zelienople and the Monroe Hotel in Butler will also lean into the theme. ShuBrew will open its doors at 9:30 a.m. and will feature an Irish brunch. Monroe Hotel opens at 9 a.m. with the kitchen opening at 11 a.m. At the Monroe, there will be a complimentary buffet with Irish eggbake and biscuits.
Also opening on Sunday morning is the Helltown Taproom in Penn Township, which will its doors at 9 a.m. The bar at Michael’s Restaurant along New Castle Road will open at 9 a.m.
As for churches, at least one parish — Saint Mark the Evangelist in Cranberry Township — will have plenty of options over the weekend to ensure that practicing Catholics will not have to choose between God and the Steelers on Sunday morning.
“They can go Saturday night. They can go Sunday night. They can go later on Sunday,” the Rev. Charles Bober said. “I think for a lot of people Sunday Mass is a big deal, and so they’re going to make choices for themselves.”
