Ron Stanhouse, the manager and owner of Crazy Horse Food and Drink Emporium, called Homecoming a “fantastic, busy” weekend for restaurant owners.
“A lot of people use it as an excuse to come back to Bloomington ... and relive the best years of their life,” Stanhouse said.
For Stanhouse, general prep for the weekend of Oct. 17 involves stocking up on key ingredients, scheduling many staff members and keeping an eye on the weather.
“(People) go to the stadium, they get cold, so they go to the bars and restaurants to warm up,” Stanhouse said. “Sometimes the weather changes the script.”
With such a rush of customers on game day, Stanhouse said Crazy Horse usually also creates a “speed menu” — two pages instead of the usual four, with some favorite items prioritized and basic dishes that can be made quickly in large quantities.
“Within an hour after the game ends — holy cow,” Stanhouse said. “It’s pretty bonkers downtown.”
Every weekend is chaotic, Jordyn Fox of FARM Bloomington said, so preparation for homecoming weekend shouldn’t be much worse.
“These busy weekends are really great for us, since we’re going to get into that slower season after Thanksgiving,” said Fox, the public relations and special events manager.
Since many students go home during Thanksgiving break and visit relatives during Christmas, the usual rush of family members into Bloomington tends to slow down during the holiday season, Fox said.
In terms of preparation, Fox said servers will fold about 1,000-1,500 napkins ahead of time for the weekend.
Because IU is playing Rutgers from New Jersey, Fox also thought it likely that the restaurant would put out an east coast-themed special.
Jeff Finch, the chef and owner of Finch’s Brasserie, said his restaurant would add staff during the weekend.
As Finch’s is a slightly more expensive dining option, Finch said he anticipated parents and alumni in town for Homecoming would make up most of their clientele.
The Brasserie, which uses local food will also serve seasonal specials homecoming weekend using fall produce like greens, squash and sweet potatoes, Finch said.
“We can’t really have ‘local’ seafood, (but) seafood, like everything else, is seasonal,” Finch said. “One of the things we’re really excited about is (that) it’s getting into Nantucket Bay scallop season.”
Finch said he’d just ordered some of the small, sweet scallops for homecoming weekend.
Stanhouse said some of the customers who come through his restaurant that weekend might miss some of Bloomington’s other events.
“Homecoming is more than just a football game,” Stanhouse said. “I never really get the impression that (alumni) pay attention to activities other than the game.”
Stanhouse said one of his favorite activities is the Homecoming Parade down Kirkwood Avenue, but alumni might not remember to keep an eye out for the other activities slated for the weekend.
“(Alumni) want to hit Nick’s, they want to head down Kirkwood and see the Sample Gates,” Stanhouse said. “Most of our visitors aren’t really looking for that agenda.”
