By Pam George
A drink, a barstool, and a television were once enough to attract friends to a local bar or restaurant. Things have changed. Just 54 percent of U.S. adults now say they consume alcohol, a record low, according to Gallup. Meanwhile, 88 percent of U.S. sports fans surveyed by Deloitte said they watch live sporting events from home at least weekly.
So why go out?
At the new Lefty’s Alley & Eats in Newark, the answer is to bowl, shoot pool, throw a digital axe, take a swing in a Topgolf simulator, play Krazy Darts or test your reflexes in what the company calls the East Coast’s first Game Show Studio.
“Lefty’s Newark gives adults a reason to get together and do something, not just meet up for drinks,” says DJ Hill, founder and owner of Lefty’s, which opened its first location in Lewes in 2016.
For generations, the public house — or “pub”— was someplace to go. The new pub gives you something to do once you get there.
Beat The Couch
John Fusco of Wilmington Brew Works understands the challenges presented by the economy and home conveniences.
“We know dollars are tight these days, so we want to make our locations as welcoming and hospitable as possible, and worthy of your time,” says Fusco, vice president of creative and brand marketing for the brewery, which has locations on Miller Road in Wilmington and Marsh Road in Brandywine Hundred. “Ultimately, our biggest competition is the couch and the remote control. But we offer a great alternative that isn’t just a TV in another setting — games you can play and friends you can meet.”
That’s particularly important on weeknights.
“Weeknights are traditionally harder because people need a reason to leave the house,” says Morgan Minner, director of special events for Ashby Hospitality Group. “On a Friday or Saturday, people are already looking for somewhere to go. On a Tuesday or Wednesday, you need to give them a reason.”
Consider trivia, Quizzo, music bingo and karaoke. Two Stones Pub in North Wilmington, for instance, advertises Monday trivia, including occasional theme nights.
The Chancery Market Food Hall & Bar in downtown Wilmington schedules events so workers in the area can come directly to the food hall instead of going home first. Some customers arrive for happy hour and wind up participating. Others plan their visit around a specific event, says Gaby Indellini, director of marketing and communications for JCRE and manager of TSG Hospitality, which owns the venue.
The Chancery has a solid core of customers who return week after week for Quizzo and music bingo, and many bring newcomers, Indellini says.
Repeat business depends on more than putting an event on the calendar. “The host plays a huge role,” she says. “No matter how much we promote an activation, if the host doesn’t connect with the crowd or deliver a great experience, people simply won’t come back.”
Consistency is also key. Once an event becomes established, customers may choose to go to the Deer Park Tavern or a McGlynn’s location specifically because of the activity, Minner says.
“It becomes part of their weekly routine rather than a one-time promotion.”
Oldies But Goodies
Organized activities are ideal for bars and restaurants with limited space. Others have room for recreational games, such as pool or bowling alleys.
Bowling alleys in many states have long had a bar component. Admittedly, they’ve undergone some transitions. The United States had roughly 12,000 bowling centers at the sport’s mid-1960s peak before league participation plummeted. Yet Americans never stopped rolling: An estimated 53 million people bowled in 2025, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
Today, bowling is often as much a social activity as a competitive one. Lefty’s Newark location has 16 traditional bowling lanes and four duckpin lanes. At Wilma’s in downtown Wilmington, four duckpin bowling lanes share space with a full-service bar and a New Orleans-inspired restaurant.
Old-school bar games are also finding new players. U.S. participation in darts climbed from 9.1 million in 2019 to 12.3 million in 2025, while billiards and pool grew from 20.7 million to 23.1 million, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.
Brew Works North is a sprawling space with five dart lanes, two cornhole courts and two pool tables — plus foosball, skee-ball, pinball, and Pop-A-Shot basketball. It’s less beer hall and more adult playroom.
“Pool and darts have stood the test of time for bars,” Fusco says. “They are both inherently social games and they have a low barrier to entry — even if you’ve never played before, you can pick up darts or a pool cue (both of which we have available at Brew Works North) and start playing.”
Playing a game increases social interaction, he adds. “Games are easy to play in groups and encourage friendly competition. Best of all, the feeling you get when you hit a bullseye or sink a great pool shot is a huge endorphin rush. It always leads to high fives, even with the opposing team.”
Offering more than one recreational option helps customers create their own experience, Hill maintains.
“I’d say the biggest distinction with Newark [versus the Lewes Lefty’s] is that it’s less about choosing one activity and more about creating your own night, whether that means bowling and dinner, trying something new like axe throwing or the [TopGolf] Swing Suite, competing in trivia, catching live music, or moving between several activities throughout the evening.”
The activities can also break down barriers between strangers. Put several varied groups around dartboards on a Friday night and someone eventually comments on another’s good shot, Fusco says.
Pool and darts prove that what’s old is new again. Simliarly, Wilma’s, Lefty’s, and even Nick’s Pizza Parlor have arcade games for a touch of nostalgic fun.
Betting On Sports
Sometimes customers don’t even need to play the game. They only need to care about it.
Sports bars should have become obsolete years ago given that fans can watch most games from home. Yet put the Eagles in a big game and bars still fill up.
“At home, you are watching a game. At a sports bar, it is more of an event,” says Lori Liguori, chief HR and marketing officer for High 5 Hospitality, which owns Buffalo Wild Wings franchises.
A touchdown elicits contagious cheers. A bad call generates a communal groan. Strangers start talking because, for at least the next three hours they are on the same team. “The crowd is the experience,” Liguori says.
But for a bar to cater to sports fans, it must offer more than screens. “Putting the game on TV is just the start,” she agrees. “The atmosphere is key. You have to have the right games on, and the sound needs to be loud enough for the big games so it feels alive. Your staff must be just as engaged. They might wear their favorite team jerseys, banter with guests, and ensure timely service so no one goes thirsty or hungry.”
Food matters when customers settle in for two or three hours. Wings, nachos and other shareables don’t interrupt the action and can keep a table snacking through several quarters.
Where Everybody Knows Your Name
For all the new toys, technology and themed nights, the goal is still one that neighborhood taverns have pursued for generations: Turn customers into regulars.
Before Brew Works North opened, the team hung a photo of George Wendt as Norm from Cheers above the bar. “We wanted to be a place where the bartenders remembered you and where you could feel like you belonged,” Fusco says.
When some Brew Works North bartenders spot a regular’s car pulling into the parking lot, they start making the customer’s usual cocktail. Along with games, hospitality turns a bar, pub or restaurant into a gathering place.
The booze — or the NA beer — is still there. It just doesn’t have to do all the work.
Above: Brew Works North offers customers a variety of games — from darts to Pop-A-Shot basketball. Photo courtesy Wilmington Brew Works
Pam George has been writing about Delaware’s dining scene for two decades, and in 2023 received a Community Impact Award from the Delaware Restaurant Association. She is also the author of Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast: Tales of Pirates, Squalls and Treasure, Landmarks & Legacies: Exploring Historic Delaware, and First State Plates: Iconic Delaware Restaurants and Recipes. She lives in Wilmington and Lewes.