JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Ahead of the Jaguars’ prime-time showdown Saturday against the Tennessee Titans, bars in Jacksonville Beach are gearing up for a busy day.
News4JAX on Friday spent the day talking with bar owners, and many said that they plan to reach capacity early.
One bar manager said he expects to see a sea of teal and black pack his bar early Saturday, and because of that, he’s bringing in extra workers to make sure they meet anticipated demands.
The excitement level surrounding the game had Monkey’s Uncle Tavern prepping early.
“We’re super excited for the amount of people this game is going to bring in and also for the Jags to be at this position,” said Dionne Younce, a bartender at Monkey’s Uncle Tavern.
A sign on the door lets customers know Saturday karaoke has been pushed back and all of the TVs will be playing the game with sound on.
“Because they need to hear when we’re winning,” Younce said.
And Keith Doherty, the general manager of Lynch’s Irish Pub, said he expects his bar to be fully packed before the sun goes down Saturday, so he’s bringing in reinforcement to be prepared.
“We’re going to staff it like it’s a New Year’s Eve and have all of our bartenders and servers on,” Doherty said.
Doherty said that to make the extra fans happy and spending their money, in addition to having the game on, they’re going to have some drink specials.
“It’s called Jags Juice, and it’s a vodka-based frozen drink that is the color of teal and tastes kind of fruity and is pretty nice,” Doherty said.
And if Jaguars fans want to see the game projected on huge screens, Ink Factory Brewing said it has you covered. The brewery has Jaguars-themed drinks, merchandise and more.
“This is a make-or-break game,” said Aaron Meisenheimer, one of the owners of Ink Factory Brewing. “The entire city is super excited about this one energetic, so we want to capture that.”
And it’s not just businesses in Jacksonville Beach preparing for the big game — Titans fans are gearing up, too, using an event Friday night to prep them.
″It brings our spirits together, and what it does is every time we do the pregame is to bring us all in one so we can come together the night before, come talk about what we think is going to happen,” said Titans fan Tamekeia Osborne.
Randall Roberts, the general manager of Sneakers Sports Grille, also said he is excited about Saturday’s game. He said fans from both teams are welcome to come and watch, but he expects the ones in teal and black to show out.
“This is that game that might send us to the playoffs,” he said. “Everybody’s excited.”
All of the people at those businesses said that if you plan to go watch the game at their bars, get there early so you can get a seat.