There has been an encouraging trend in our fair city in the last year or so. That trend is the increase in the number of sports bars. And I am a firm believer that there can never be too many sports bars to choose from.
A welcome addition to that list is Duggers Food and Fun. Duggers is owned by the robust and friendly Doug Krupla, by his own admission ’a good Hungarian name.’ Duggers opened May 9, in the Georgetown Shopping Center (in the location that formerly housed Anderson’s Catfish), and is designed to be a working man’s sports bar.
There are 22 flat screens and three of the biggest big screens you’ll ever lay eyes on, the smallest comes in at 9’ by 9’, and gives Doug reason to claim that his are the biggest TVs in the city. There is a TV pretty much anywhere you care to cast an eye.
During football season Duggers plans to carry every NFL game, with the Titans on the big screen. He has nine TVs above the bar so you can watch all the games at the same time. Dugger’s also carries every NASCAR race, college football, basketball, baseball and any other sporting event that’s televised.
Duggers is a large place and has the feel of the regular hangout as soon you walk in. With happy hour from 4’10 p.m. and a menu that has nothing over ten bucks on it, Duggers is sure to be hit with the 30-plus crowd. The Douger himself said they will probably be his biggest customer base.
Krupla is not new to the bar business, he bought Bill’s Landing on the Smyrna air base 10 years ago and built a loyal following there. He now plans to use that experience at Duggers. The menu has all the standard sports bar food with a few twists. A daily lunch special will include items like meatball subs, roast beef with gravy, shrimp scampi, and pasta, so there is always something new to try. With a lunch that averages about six bucks, it won’t be a big hit to the workingman’s wallet.
The menu leans to the homemade and Krupla blends all the spices himself. The sauce for the hot wings is his own invention. He invested more than two years of research into developing the sauce.
Hmmm, eating experimental chicken wings and finding the appropriate beer’that’s enough to make you grab a lab coat.
The chili is also a passion for Krupla. He makes two and half gallons every Monday. The burgers are fresh ground chuck, never frozen, and the buns are toasted.
’I built the reputation of my last place on the food and I plan to do the same here,’ Krupla said.
I tried the Texas Chili-sized burger and highly recommend it. It was a big burger served open-faced and cover in so much chili, cheese and jalape’os it had to be served in a bowl. And get this, it is served with a side of Tums!
Dugger’s has a full bar, 12 beers on tap and 26 bottled beers, including 16 imports.
Krupla says he has the coldest beer in town.
I said ’ya, maybe, but everybody makes that claim.’ He then want on to explain that the lines are refrigerated all the way up to the taps and kept at 30 degrees. I’d say he has a good claim, because I don’t think you can get beer much colder than that.
In addition to all the good food and drink, there is NTN trivia every day and plans are in the works for Texas Hold ’em tournaments on Tuesdays. Every Saturday there is live music, usually with a ’70s or ’80s flavor. Sundays and Mondays are acoustic nights with Wes and Demoss. You can get your karaoke on Tuesday through Friday.
When she brought me my beer, I asked bartender Tamara May, who hails from Naw’lens (New Orleans to a Yankee) what she had to say about Dugger’s. She said ’It felt like a home to her.’ Then with her best Cajun smile and French accent, she said ’Laissez les temps bons rool,’ which means let the good times roll! You knew that right?
THE DISH
Name: Duggers
Location: 1738 W. Northfield Blvd.
Phone: (615) 809-2605
Hours: Sun.’Thurs., 11 a.m.’1 a.m.; Fri., Sat., 11 a.m.’3 a.m.
Prices: Texas Chili-Sized Burger’$7.99; 10 wings’$5.99
