Beefs wants to bring local communities together by airing fall sporting events live.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is bringing local communities together by airing high school football games at over 10 restaurants this season due to COVID-19 restrictions/capacity regulations at the games. Fans now have a hangout to watch their favorite teams play while having great food and drinks.

Locations include: Plant City (airing Plant City games), Northdale (Gaither games), Riverview (Riverview games), Bloomingdale (Bloomingdale games), FishHawk (Newsome games), Valrico (Brandon and Durant games), Lutz (Steinbrenner games), Citrus Park (Sickles games), Summer Field (East Bay games), Wilderness (Land O’Lakes games) and Sunlake (Sunlake games).

If your area is not listed, call your local Beefs to find out if it will be airing games.

According to Heather Boggs, chief marketing officer at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, when it was announced that there would be limited attendance at high school football games in Hillsborough County, the Beefs home office and local franchisees teamed up with their respective high schools and booster clubs to air games at the restaurants.

Volleyball, cross county, track and other fall sporting events are being aired as well. Some of the restaurants will set up a viewing party outside with big TVs to have a tailgating vibe for game nights.

“Community connection has always been in our DNA,” said Boggs. “Once we saw this become a problem in our communities, we said, ‘How do we step up, how do we fix these problems and allow these people to unite as a family and be able to watch it and tend to these sporting events live?’”

Food and drink specials are offered on game days, and events are shown on several TVs in the restaurants. Party rooms can be reserved as well for groups of six or less. Social distancing rules are followed, allowing for a safe environment. Restaurants were allowed to open at full capacity last Friday.

According to its website, “the health and safety of our customers has always been our highest priority. We are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization guidelines in addition to monitoring and implementing local and state recommendations in dealing with the coronavirus (COVID-19).”

Lithia Beefs General Manager T.J. Oliveres thinks the promotion has potential and that his store will get even more business on game nights now that restaurants are able to open to full capacity. He said excitement fills the air in the game night atmosphere.

“Our goal is to bring our communities together,” said Boggs. “What mom, grandma, sibling doesn’t want to watch their kid live when they are playing in their sports events? We understand that times are tough, so how can we make sure that they can still be as close to that as possible? We want to make it known that we are a part of your family and community.”

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Nick Nahas
Nick Nahas has written for the Osprey Observer since 2016. He has lived in the Valrico area since 2002 and has his bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of South Florida. He is dedicated to covering sports in Hillsborough County at every level.