While “a sports bar that isn’t strictly a sports bar” is an idea that may not seem clear at first, Jeremiah Schenzel, owner of Daps Breakfast & Imbibe, has come up with a fresh vision with his new restaurant, Cleats. The spot officially opened its doors late last month and aims to bring everyone into the fold around a love of “the game” and what modern sporting events stand for.
The wider sports fan culture has started to shift its focus from traditional sporting events; women’s leagues such as the WNBA and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) have gathered increasing popularity and broadcast time. Schenzel hopes to capitalize on this shift by taking the focus away from a specific team or sport, something that classic sports bars tend to lean into.
“So when you’re talking about a traditional sports bar you might always [think of] only football, or a certain team, but Cleats will be more of a wide variety of sports,” Schenzel explained. “I think the biggest thing is from our perspective, it shouldn’t matter if a man or a woman is playing the sport, it’s what does the sport bring to the table, right?”
Schenzel stayed focused on a community-driven, approachable path so Cleats could appeal to a wide range of guests, from casual watchers to diehard fans.
The idea of community is front and center at Cleats, which aims to bring people together around the “community of sport.”
“The whole idea was, how do we kind of stem from the community concept?” Schenzel said. “Whenever you are with your group of friends, and say it’s Saturday, and your friends ask to grab a beer and hang out, and there’s always that one friend who’s like ‘I would love to, but I want to watch the game.’ Maybe you don’t care, but you want to be with your friends. Cleats is where you can go and know the games will be on; it’s part of the culture, but it’s not defining the culture.”
The community of sport (and good eats)
Based in The Refinery, Cleats’ location plays a major role in what Schenzel sees as a spot where people can enjoy the bar alongside events, concerts and other local businesses.
Cleats plans to offer a local beer menu and kegged cocktails, but Schenzel insists that classic, light beer will still be on the menu for an authentic sports pub experience too.
The menu at Cleats offers a more refined take on classic pub food, specifically sandwiches and hot dogs, while still maintaining an easy-going and lighthearted vibe.
“The Refinery is a really great area and with this project we actually got a chance to test most of the food before we ever opened and get a feel for what we wanted to do since we did pop-ups at all of the concerts over the summer,” Schenzel explained. A standout that he’s excited about is Cleats’ Baltimore-style “pit beef” sandwich with thinly shaved beef, raw onions and horseradish sauce on a potato roll.
Fans of classic hot dogs can expect a rotating menu of four different options, each with a new riff on the classic sports-going food option. “We do a Thai dog that has a curry mayonnaise, cilantro and jalapenos on it, and then we do a border dog with refried beans. It’s just really fun stuff.”
Aside from the meat selections, Schenzel emphasizes that Cleats will always have vegetarian and vegan options available.
After a soft opening and several pop-ups, Schenzel said Cleats is officially open for business and ready for kickoff. “We’re just really excited to get people out here.”
Cleats is open 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Monday (although Schenzel insists that they’ll stay open later if a big game is on).
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