by Emily Mosier
Alabama sports bar chain Baumhower’s Victory Grill will be opening a location in July on the Trojan Parkway adjacent to Publix.
Construction workers recently broke ground on The Troy University-themed restaurant, which will hire between 80 and 100 employees. Bob Baumhower, the CEO, and a Miami Dolphins nose tackle from 1977 to 1986, described the restaurant as “intense,” with 60 flat-screen TVs, roll-up garage doors and an outdoor patio.
“This is the first of its kind” in the chain, Baumhower said. “We’re doing these things called TV walls, so we’ll have a couple of walls full of flat screens, and they can become one huge picture or a different image on each screen. It’s huge, and with the sound system, you can actually feel the vibration of the game.”
Baumhower, an Alabama native, said he’s seen Troy’s economic potential since he drove through the city for Dolphins games. But he ultimately decided to plant a restaurant in Troy on the suggestion of his son, Wesley, who made The Trojans football team as a linebacker a few years ago.
Baumhower plans to invest between $3 million and $5 million in the sports bar. There are nine other Victory Grills across the state.
“I am looking forward to game days, seeing all the fans in their gear, cheering, and being in the exciting insane energy of that,” said Mari Steele, a freshman undecided major from Montgomery, Alabama. “How could you not be a big fan of sports and delicious food all in one place?”
Like Steele, most students interviewed were excited for the new chain bar. But Jaelanne Thomas, a senior broadcast major from Eufaula, Alabama, expressed reservations.
“It takes away from the small bars in our community,” said Thomas. “It’s something new and will take away customers and money.”