LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It’s time to be honest here. With the 2025 NCAA March Madness Tournament kicking off this week, office productivity is about to take a slight dip.
Offices have formed their bracket challenges, whether it’s for bragging rights or a traveling trophy between cubicles. Although we are living in a more remote-work-friendly world, it offers a better opportunity to catch a game or two from a venue outside of the four walls of the office.
Taking advantage of that opportunity is a discussion I’ve already had with my editor this week, but it’s one she’s vying for, too, ahead of Purdue men’s basketball’s tipoff at 12:40 p.m. Thursday against High Point. Two proud Purdue alumni, how could we resist an opportunity to cheer on the home team in the middle of a workday while still getting some work done?
That’s certainly how local restaurants are viewing the tournament, too, aiming to find creative ways to lure college basketball fans into their doors to catch the game on a screen bigger than their smartphones.
WiFi in one hand, a chicken wing in the other
Ahead of the March Madness tournament kickoff, Mike Felt was busy hanging three brand-new 75-inch TVs inside Digby’s Pub and Patio, 133 N. Fourth St.
Although all Boilermaker fans had a feeling the 2024 team would go far, seeing Purdue make it all the way to the national championship game, Felt, co-owner of Digby’s, the Knickerbocker Saloon and the Sixth Street Dive, said success in the tournament translated to good sales for Digby’s.
“We weren’t really a sports destination at that time, but we’re hoping to change that this year,” Felt said. “Any time Purdue does well, all of the surrounding economy around the university does especially well, but especially bars and restaurants.”
Offering bigger TVs in the main dining area of Digby’s, Felt said he hopes to cash in on some of the business and hype around the 2025 tournament. Alongside WiFi for customers who dine in, Felt said the restaurant will offer $10 “Boiler Gold” burgers with fries and $9 cheese bricks alongside drink specials.
“Most of our lunchtime diners usually don’t drink,” Felt said. “But having the tournament on may increase that.”
Meanwhile, over at the Sixth Street Dive, 827 N. Sixth St., where a dozen TVs are hung around the restaurant and bar, Felt is approaching one full year of ownership alongside business partner Jeff Hamann. WiFi will be available, too, Felt said, for customers hoping to get a bit of work done while they catch the game, and of course alongside $12 Italian beef sandwiches with fries and $1 bone-in wings.
“We aren’t quite sure what to expect since this is our first tournament with the Dive,” Felt said. “But we are hoping we can gain a following for people wanting to catch the game since we’ll have it playing on all the screens throughout the bar.”
For anyone looking for something a bit more of an indulgent option, The Tap is hoping to lure basketball fans in with a little more than free WiFi.
The Tap, 100 S. Chauncey Ave. in West Lafayette, will offer an all-you-can-eat-and-drink event on March 20 and 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Caroline Wenokur, a spokesperson for The Tap and Finney Hospitality Group, said that for $115, guests can enjoy an unlimited amount of Tap fries, slider sandwiches, boneless wings, beers, cocktails, wine and a complimentary glass.
Cheering for the home team, whether that’s in Lafayette, West Lafayette or Brownsburg
With three TVs behind the bar and more scattered around all three Walt’s Pub restaurants, Walt Foster IV said there’s room for all basketball fans to catch the games at Walt’s Pub as they play out in the NCAA tournament.
The hype around the big week for college basketball doesn’t wane, Foster said, while Purdue University is out on spring break.
“We definitely see a lot of west-side residents that help to support us while the students are out,” Foster said. “You’ll see all the Purdue gear leading up to the time Purdue plays.”
The restaurant group celebrated the grand opening of a third Walt’s location in Brownsburg in January, Foster said, hoping to see an increase in lunchtime foot traffic at that location like the Tippecanoe County eateries do.
“With our restaurant concept for the Brownsburg location, we wanted to downsize in terms of scale and streamline the process,” Foster said. “Keeping the food and atmosphere we’re known for, we found an already existing building and rehabbed it to create Walt’s Eats and Drinks.”
Foster, son of Walt’s Pub founder Walt Foster III, said he returned home to West Lafayette in 2024 after living and working in Austin, Texas, aiming to help his father’s restaurant business after they turned over the Lafayette Walt’s location’s operation to two local entrepreneurs.
One of the qualities diners will find across all three Walt’s locations, Foster said, is a sense of community.
No matter who you’re rooting for in the tournament.
“Walt’s is always a family atmosphere, so win or lose, we just want to support everyone no matter who you’re rooting for,” Foster said. “Our goal is always to see our customers leave with a belly full and a smile on their faces.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
