By Donald Wittkowski
Customers attending the Super Bowl party Sunday at Kix-McNutley’s in Sea Isle City will tell the bartender whether they’re rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles or New England Patriots.
Each time their team scores, they’ll be handed a ticket by the bartender. If their team scores three times, the next person they should expect to see is the mayor of Sea Isle. Yes, the mayor.
“I will personally buy them a drink,” said Kix-McNutley’s owner Lenny Desiderio, better known as Sea Isle’s mayor. “Everybody’s a winner in this game.”
Kix-McNutley’s is one of a few local nightclubs and restaurants that are throwing Super Bowl parties to capitalize on South Jersey’s overwhelming support for the Eagles. In the process, they are looking to grab some extra business on what would normally be a dead weekend at the shore in the middle of winter.
“It is a shot in the arm,” Desiderio said. “If the Eagles were not in the Super Bowl, I would probably be closed on Sunday.”
Kix-McNutley’s is getting creative to draw customers to its “Sunday Funday in February” Super Bowl party, including the free-drink promotion that will see the mayor himself pick up the tab.
Desiderio said he expects very few Patriots fans to show up. But even if they do, they will be able to win a free drink if New England scores three times. For the record, Desiderio is picking the Eagles to win the Super Bowl, 27-17.
He is giving his kitchen staff off on Sunday so they can enjoy the game instead of having to work. In their place, he is letting the chefs from the popular local restaurant Hank’s Sauce take over Kix-McNutley’s kitchen for the Super Bowl Party.
LaCosta Lounge and its sister property, Lobster Loft, two other mainstays in Sea Isle’s nightclub and dining scene, are also throwing Super Bowl parties on Sunday.
Jimmy Bennett, owner of LaCosta and the Lobster Loft, is expecting a couple hundred customers to show up at the parties at both places. Ordinarily, there would probably be only 50 or 60 customers on a typical weekend in February, he noted.
“It would be very, very slow without the Eagles in the Super Bowl,” Bennett said.
Bennett believes that a lot of people who live in suburban Philadelphia, especially Delaware County, will come to Sea Isle to watch the Super Bowl at their seashore vacation homes.
“Sometimes, we’re called Delaware County East,’’’ he said.
At the LaCosta Lounge liquor store, Bennett carries six packs of Del Co. Beer, a perfect Super Bowl brew for fans from Delaware County.
Partygoers at LaCosta will be able to enjoy a $50 open bar and a buffet of wings, roast beef and sausage and peppers.
At the Lobster Loft party, there will be a best-dressed Eagles attire contest at halftime. The party includes a $15 all-you-can-eat land and sea buffet.
Bennett, by the way, is predicting an Eagles win. He is already wearing a No. 92 throwback jersey in honor of Reggie White, the late Eagles defensive end and Hall of Famer.
“Eagles all the way,” Bennett said.
Christopher Glancey, president of the Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization, predicted that the Super Bowl will create a “little boom” for the local nightclubs and restaurants that hold parties.
“I think the people who are open are definitely going to be busy,” he said. “You’ll see a nice crowd.”
Glancey, who owns the Diamonds Liquor store in Sea Isle, said the local liquor stores should also benefit from the Super Bowl because people will be stocking up for their home parties.
But customers shouldn’t expect to see Glancey at the Diamonds Liquor store this weekend. He will be in Minneapolis, along with other Eagles fans, to attend the Super Bowl.
“It’s always great to see an Eagles win,” Glancey said, making his prediction known.
