A new sports bar is opening in Wichita, just in time for the Super Bowl
A new Wichita sports bar is just about ready to open, and its owner is planning a test-run for Super Bowl Sunday.
Jeran Trotter, a onetime record-setting running back for the Northwest High School Grizzlies, has taken over the former Club Boomerang space at 1400 E. First, where he’s opening a new business called Sidelines Sports Bar & Grill.
Although he’s planning the official opening day for Friday, Feb. 18, this Sunday he’ll put on a soft opening from 3 p.m. until 2 a.m. that will allow his staff to practice. He’ll be serving drinks and a limited food menu and will have the game playing on his more than two dozen television sets.
Then, starting next weekend, his hours will be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
Trotter, who graduated from Northwest in 2006 then went on to play college football at both Missouri State and Friends University, says the bar will be a family-friendly place and will double as a sports museum of sorts.
He gutted and remodeled the massive space and decorated it with sports memorabilia, including several items that honor hometown heroes like Barry Sanders, Chris Harper and Rashad Washington.
Though Sidelines will serve alcohol — including daiquiris, Moscow Mules, craft cocktails and beer — Trotter said he wants the bar to be a place parents feel comfortable bringing their children. Trotter, who has four children of his own, also owns the Grizzlies, an organization of more than 200 kids that’s part of the Greater Wichita Junior Football League.
One of his goals with the bar is to inspire his players and let them know they can achieve great things in sports. Not only does he offer a kids menu but he’ll also have a separate room designated for arcade games.
The building has a main dining room with 24 television sets, pool tables and lots of seating. There’s a separate bar area that will serve as overflow seating on weekends and will be open to groups wanting a meeting space during the week.
Sidelines also has a patio on the front side of the building that can seat 50 to 60 people and has a big LED screen. Trotter plans to utilize it during March Madness.
The menu includes daily specials, and Sidelines will have Taco Tuesdays and Wing Wednesdays. Other food offerings include things like nachos, cheese fries, burgers, sandwiches, fried catfish baskets, pizza and more.
Eventually, he said, he’ll add a karaoke night and he also wants to institute a happy hour meetup for coaches in town.
His own connection to sports is what will make the bar stand out, said Trotter, who still holds the single season rushing record for Northwest High School and also once held the City League single-season record.
“I think it’s going to do really well,” he said. “We need something like it. There’s not too much like it here.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 12:24 PM.
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