Downtown Indianapolis bars gearing up for busy weekend

INDIANAPOLIS — College Football Playoff National Championship weekend is here, and bars across Indianapolis have been getting ready to welcome Alabama and Georgia fans.

The District Tap in downtown Indianapolis tells WRTV it's ordered 4-5 times more beer than they do for a normal weekend.

“It’s going to be huge. We are ready for it; we have been looking forward to it all year," general manager Jeff Huron said. "We are staffed and ready to go. We got our beer ordered; we are looking forward to it and making some money,”

Huron began stocking the bar early Friday morning and shipments will continue all weekend long.

Across the street, Kilroy’s, is also preparing.

“I think the weekend, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, will be the real test,” Steve Kelly, regional manager, said. "It’s not our first time doing this obviously with the big events that have come through Indy."

Kelly says there will be "extra beer, extra staff, extra everything."

Kilroy’s bartenders like Yvonne Rodriguez are ready to welcome the extra crowd.

“It’s just exciting, I mean that’s why I work in a sports bar, you love people getting excited about their teams,” Rodriguez said.

With more than 100,000 fans expected to crown downtown over the next few days, safety precautions for COVID-19 are already in place for Kilroy’s and the District Tap.

“I’m always worried about my staff – they always come first. Every table has hand sanitizer, they are always welcome to wear masks,” Kelly said.

The District Tap is back open after being temporarily closed for three days this week as a preventative measure to make staff is healthy and at their best for this weekend.

“We will have sanitizer available for everybody same as everywhere else – anyone is free to wear a mask if they would like to. Obviously, my crew is mostly vaccinated,” Huron said.