Brewhouse Xtras

It's all but official. The "Suck for Luck" strategy, whether real or make believe, has paid off and the Colts have the number one pick in the draft. If all goes according to plan, next Thursday evening Roger Goodell will say that magical phrase that Colts fans have been waiting for, "With the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft, the Indianapolis Colts select Andrew Luck."

After a year unlike anything in recent memory, the Colt's franchise is rebuilding and the cornerstone of the new team will be the 23-year-old Quarterback from Stanford University. It seems like eons ago when a young Peyton Manning became the Colts quarterback and promptly turned around a franchise and an entire state.

"For the last 10 years, the Colts' incredible success has helped drive business downtown and it has been exciting seeing the rebuilding process and fans supporting a current 3-seed Pacer playoff team," said Dave Hornak, General Manager & Operating Partner of Scotty's Brewhouse, downtown. "As the Pacers and Colts go, so does Scotty's business…Scotty's is a big fan of the Colts, looking forward to this upcoming season and to the future sucess of the team. Go Blue! Go Colts!"

For the first time in about 13 years, the draft will be very interesting for Colts fans. For the last several years, it has been somewhat of a "yawn" as the team selected specific role players to fill in holes on a team made of superstars but all that has changed now. Gone are old favorites like Jeff Saturday, Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai. Jacob Tamme and other key players have been released or traded in major housecleaning of the team as well. 

"We're looking forward to a great crowd for the draft" said Eric Schamp, COO at Scotty's Brewhouse. "Of course our interest in the #1 pick in the first round is quite a bit different than in previous years, but all the rounds will be exciting to watch and see who joins the team as we move into the next era of Colts football."

Scotty's realizes that, with their multitude of TVs, wide selection of beer and food to fit every taste, they are the ideal location for draft viewing and they want to make it fun for Colt's Fans. During the night of the draft, Scotty's will be offering a "draught for draft special". All draught beer pints will be featured on special for $2.50 to $3.50.

"With all the hype about the draft this year, we thought it would be fun to offer draught specials," said Ryan Kellerman, the Director of Beverage. "Now, fans can make their own draught picks while watching to see who the Colts select."

As always, the Brewhouse will have 30 draughts on tap to accommodate every beer drinkers' taste. TVs with sound turned up will be on at all locations starting at 8pm Thursday night for the big event.

We want to hear from you. What would you do with the first "draft" pick? You can choose a beer or a player. Tell us who you would pick and why or what draught beer you would select and why. Post here and we will pick 3 winners to each receive a $10 Scotty's Gift Card.

Presidents, actors, singers and all sorts of celebrities have been asked by the Chicago Cubs to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at one of their games, and now who do they want to do it? Scotty!

That's right sports fans. On May 7^th before the Cubs take on the Atlanta Braves at 7pm, Scotty will be on the mound to throw out the first pitch.

"I never in a million years thought I would get to throw out a first pitch at a baseball game," said Wise, while talking with him in his office on Monday. "I am not a celebrity, actor, musician or anyone of importance.  I just flip burgers for a living and knew some people in the right places."

The game takes place during the annual National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place in Chicago. 

"The annual National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is the largest single gathering of restaurant, foodservice and lodging professionals in the United States," said Annika Stensson, Media Relations Director for the N.R.A.

Wise's restaurant management group, a Pots & Pans Production, is bringing 45 managers from all 8 of his restaurants to the show and game.  The tie-in between the NRA Show weekend and the Cubs vs. Braves game gave opportunity to this local restaurateur.

Wise hasn't always been a Cubs fan, but talked about his "conversion" 10 years ago.

"I grew up as a Cincinnati Reds fan, listening to them play with my grandpa on his "bunny ears" transistor radio with antennae.  I remember Pete Rose hitting his 4,192^nd record-breaking hit on my birthday, Sept. 11, 1985.  

After he passed away, I got busy with my restaurant and really just got to hear/see more Cubs games due to their TV presence in this market.  My best friend from college did his medical residency in Chicago and my wife and I visited over the 8 years he lived there.  We kind of became Cubs fans through osmosis and I was hooked the first time I visited Wrigleyville, sat in the Bleachers and got to experience "Ivy Nation."  

Granted, I have only had about 10 years of understanding Cubs losses and disappointment, not a lifetime like many.  But, I was at the "Bartman game" and subsequent game when Kerry Wood hit a homerun to almost jump start life back into the Cubs World Series opportunity.  Alas…  the "goat" or whatever you want to blame, reared its ugly head of loss and misery once again."

Scotty also isn't leaving anything to chance. He recently contacted the Indianapolis Indians office to see if he could practice his pitching at Victory Field. The Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburg Pirates, were happy to help. 

"They have been great to work with," Wise said, describing his interaction with the Indians front office. "They are going to let me get out on the mound and get some practice in before the big day.  I haven't played baseball since I was 13 and, of course, all my friends warned me to not bounce the ball across the plate.  A lot of feedback was, 'get on the mound and practice, it is much higher and further than you realize."

Wise joked, "I only threw about 25 pitches and my shoulder was sore.  I didn't have any problems with my pitches; but, of course, I'll be throwing in front of 29,999 more people than I was that sunny morning at Victory Field.  It makes me nauseous to just think about it now."

Scotty wants to have a lot of fan support as he gets this unique opportunity so he is renting two busses and offering the public a chance to join him and his management team in Chicago for the big day.

"Our team was already going to be in Chicago for the National Restaurant Convention so this worked out great for us," said Wise. "Then we thought why not invite our guests to join us too."

For $150 dollars guests can get a ticket to be a part of the fun. The ticket includes: round trip bus transportation, a ticket to the game, a 4pk of Sun King Cream Ale, a $50 Scotty's Gift Card and a Scotty's t-shirt. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here.

Any advice for Scotty? Who is your favorite team? We would love to hear your comments below.

A blog post normally is all about words, telling a story or offering an opinion that hopefully the readers will relate to and enjoy. This week, however, I don't believe anything I can type could describe, adequately, what you can see in the video and pictures below.

Sometimes in the restaurant industry you get to help make a memory, that hopefully, will last a lifetime. This was one of those occasions. A couple weeks ago Joshua Meyers, who is currently serving in the United States Air Force, sent Scott an email message asking for a favor…..

Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 4:31 PM
To: Scott Wise
Subject: Questions?

Mr. Wise,

My name is Joshua Myers. I am currently serving overseas and set to deploy in a few months. I am from Noblesville with plans to return the first week in April to surprise my family with a visit before I deploy. My family and I love Scotty's and my wife has set up diner plans with them at your Indianapolis north location on the 4th of april so that I can surprise them. I was wondering with the assistance of your restaurant if I could pose as one of your waiters in order to surprise my family by showing up to take their order. They have no clue I am coming home and I wanted to surprise them in a way no soldier ever has. Just trying to be creative. Let me know if this is something possible to accomplish.

V/R

SrA Myers Joshua D. 86 SFS, USAF

On Mar 20, 2012, at 11:19 PM

Scott Wise <swise@scottysbrewhouse.com> wrote:

I think this is awesome and I'd love to help make this work.

What time will you be coming?

I will set up a private table and hold it for you and your family. I can let mgt know and we can keep you in our office until they arrive.  You can borrow an apron and we will give you a Scotty's shirt to wear (you can keep for your courage, dedication and commitment to our Country, it is the least I can do).

Let me know what time...  this will be great!

Scotty

Take a look at what happened from there…..

Josh's Family

Thank you to Josh and to all the men and women who serve and protect our country each and every day.

"Seven strangers picked to live together to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real…." I can still remember that classic sentence from my freshman year in college and now 28 seasons later MTV's Real World will be hosting open auditions at Scotty's Brewhouse in Bloomington this Wednesday.

The Real World, which has become an institution on MTV, started the reality craze of today back in 1992. With engaging, young, good looking cast members, viewers seemed to find someone they could relate to in each season. From Pedro to Puck, each cast had their own unique characters that helped to shape the show over the years. Now MTV is looking to find their next standout character, when they visit Bloomington this week.

"We are talking about the pioneer of reality TV," said Scott Wise, President of Scotty's Brewhouse. "Before Survivor, The Bachelor, Big Brother and all the others, The Real World was there. Now we are going to offer some young people the chance to be a part of that history."

The show has definitely changed over the years, going from a somewhat social commentary in the early years to more of a partying, what will they do more outrageous this year, kind of show.  No matter how it has changed, it has continued to draw great numbers for MTV and has gone on to spawn other shows including The Road Rules, The Real World/Road Rules Challenge and, of course, the Jersey Shore.

"I think my friends and I watch it for drama," said Brandi Large, our Executive Team Administrator, who is considering going through the audition process. "You watch how crazy these people are being and it makes you feel better about yourself."

Several years ago Scotty's hosted some of The Real World stars at its Muncie, Bloomington, and West Lafayette locations and it was very clear then the impact this show was having on young people.

"People were treating them just like stars," said Wise, who went out on the town with some of the cast members when they visited his Bloomington store. "It is definitely 15 minutes of fame, created by our obsession with sneaking a peak into others lives and almost hoping for personalities and life obstacles to cause chaos and drama.  We loved having CT and others at the restaurants several years ago.  They were a lot of fun and enjoyed hanging at the Brewhouse with Dill Chips and pitchers of beer."

And that is the winning formula that makes the show successful. Young people realize that if they can just get on this one show, and make themselves stand out, they can become a celebrity. This fame may not last long, but there is still a possibility it could change their life and that is what makes people want to be a part of it.

"I would be so pumped to make it on the show," said Large. "It would be a whole new adventure in life and could open a lot of doors.

If you are interested in participating in the audition process, you must be between the ages of 18-24 and bring a photo (ID) to the Bloomington location this Wednesday from 11am - 6pm.

What are your memories of the Real World? Who were your favorite or least favorite characters on the Real World? Would you be on the show if you had the chance?