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Bars prepare for early PSU football opener

Several local establishments hope the morning kickoff for Penn State’s season opener Saturday will generate some additional business.

Penn State will meet Central Florida in the Croke Park Classic in Dublin, Ireland, with kickoff set for 8:30 a.m. on ESPN2.

The early kickoff means some taverns will be opening earlier than normal to accommodate Nittany Lion faithful.

“We cater to our customers’ needs. If there is a game, we are ready to open early,” said Dawn Pellegrine, manager of the Belmar Hotel, 1501 Fourth Ave., which will open at 8 a.m., an hour earlier than usual.

Among others opening early will be Co”BRH”s Lounge, 1200 Sixth Ave.; Zach’s Sports & Spirits, 5820 Sixth Ave.; and Jack & George’s, 2400 Fourth Ave.

Serving breakfast isn’t new for the Belmar Hotel.

“We will have our regular breakfast menu, a few breakfast specials and drink specials such as mimosas, Bloody Marys and our orange crush, made with fresh squeezed oranges with vodka and 7-Up,” Pellegrine said. “We will have some waffle specials and breakfast paninis with eggs, bacon and cheese.”

Co”BRH”s, Zach’s and Jack & George’s don’t offer breakfast on a regular basis but will on Saturday morning. Co”BRH”s’ doors will open at 7 a.m. rather than the normal 11 a.m. opening time.

“A lot of my customers can’t wait. If this takes off, we may try doing it once or twice a month during football season,” owner Steve Horton said.

Horton said he is bringing in Steve Noel, who previously worked as a chef for King’s Restaurant, to cook breakfast.

Noel will be preparing “the mess” – a combination of fried potatoes, eggs, ham, sausage, peppers and onions – and will also prepare a sausage, bacon, eggs and toast platter and cinnamon-flavored French toast.

“We will have free coffee all morning during the game and will be serving Bloody Marys and draft beer specials,” Horton said.

Zach’s will open at 7:30 a.m. rather than its regular 11 a.m. opening time.

“We are not really sure what to expect. This is the first time we have opened this early, but we think we will be busy,” said manager Anthony Pacifico. “We will have a nice breakfast menu ready for the people. We will have items such as French toast, pancakes and waffles and build-your-own omelets.”

Zach’s also will offer mimosas, Bloody Marys and crushes. Jack & George’s will open at 8 a.m. rather than at 11 a.m.

“I think we will be pretty busy. That is the feedback we are getting. I’ve seen others advertising on Facebook that they are opening early; ours has been solely by word of mouth. It sounds like we will have a decent crowd coming in,” said bartender Liza Grassi. “We don’t usually serve breakfast, and we will have a limited menu, items like steak and eggs, ham and eggs, home fries and omelets.”

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.

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