Sports Illustrated is flipping for State Street Brats.
Out of the 25 best sports bars in the United States, SI ranked State Street Brats, 603 State Street, No. 13.
\Simply the best sports bar in the nation's best college sports town,"" read SI. ""This is where the Grateful Red and alums have been gathering since 1953 to do what Wisconsinites do so well: drink and root.""
Kelly Meuer, owner of State Street Brats said his business was wildly popular when Seymour ""Shorty"" Kayes and Walter ""Lammy"" Lamm established the bar with only brats and two kinds of alcohol: Hamm's and Blatz.
Meuer attributes the success of the bar he has owned since 1989 to reviving the tradition Shorty and Lammy left behind.
Meuer said the SI article will slightly increase business, but usually people go to State Street because of its ambiance and end up in his bar because it is the place to go for the Madison experience.
Meuer, however, was careful not to categorize his bar.
""We're not just a Wisconsin bar and we're not just a sports bar,"" he said. ""We try to be very eclectic.""
Meuer told The Capital Times he was not surprised by the high ranking.
""We've worked hard to make this happen,"" he said.
