Downtown Sports Bar Reopens Under New Ownership; Old Issues Unresolved

Mad Dog’s, the erstwhile downtown sports bar, re-opened its doors January 7, under the ownership of Bob Hinton, who also runs the Kimball Bakery. The establishment kicked off its new run participating in a pool tournament between the downtown bars January 12.

Hinton says that the atmosphere has changed since the previous ownership.

“You go in there and there’s a football game in there now,” Hinton said.

Under his ownership of Mad Dog’s, Hinton plans on offering specials throughout the year. The first will fall on Super Bowl Sunday, and there will also be a special for the bowling crowd if they stop by after a bowling match.

“If they buy one drink, they get the next drink for 50 cents. If they can show proof that they bowled above their average, they get their next drink for 50 cents,” Hinton said.

However, Hinton emphasizes that you do not need to be a sports fan in order to enjoy a visit to Mad Dog’s.

“It says sports bar on the sign, but you don’t have to be affiliated with sports to come in,” Hinton said.

Hinton currently offers a personal pizza to customers, but he plans to increase the variety of food offered in the future.

“Eventually, I’ll get a small menu that will include hot dogs, chips, pizza, chicken sandwiches, and cabbage burgers,” Hinton said.

Hinton emphasizes that disturbances in the establishment will not be tolerated.

Though the doors of Mad Dog’s are currently open, the grand opening for the establishment will be at a later date as Hinton is still in the process of stocking up on items for the business.

“My thoughts of the ultimate grand opening would be St. Patrick’s Day. By that point, we should be able to handle a large crowd, and It’s my goal to have the beer garden open by then,” Hinton said.

There will also be live entertainment provided by Dave Stahla the following weekend on March 23.

The building Mad Dog’s resides in is currently owned by Mor-Max Mortgage, LLC.

“It’s strictly a landlord/tenantship, and things are going well. I couldn’t ask for a better landlord. They let me do all the things I need to do to get the business going,” Hinton said.

However, though Mad Dog’s is starting new, troubles of the past before Hinton’s involvement may still haunt the business.

When Mad Dog’s previously closed, liquor reportedly purchased with previous owner Greg Reinninger’s liquor license was left inside of the building.

Tom Williams, whose son owns Mor-Max Mortgage, LLC, indicated in a previous exchange with this paper that materials belonging to the previous owner remained in the building. Reinninger claims that he has not received any liquor that was left behind that had been purchased under his license.

“I don’t know if it’s in there, but legally it can’t leave the building other than by me,” Reinninger said.

Hinton, who was not part of the earlier dispute, says that he does not know where the liquor is currently.

Mad Dog’s is open on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. and opens on 11 a.m. on weekends with Happy Hour between the hours of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.