Whether you are looking for live music, want to catch the big game or just chilling with your buddies, The Surge Sports Lounge is fast becoming the place to be in Timmins.
The Surge opened its doors on Aug. 27. According to General Manager Kim Pellerin-Donovan, it took about five months to plan and set up the site.
“Timmins was in need of a nice bar and a nice place to go, where everyone feels safe,” she said.
“Everything is brand new. We have multiple TVs. We are focusing on a sports bar, but we’re going to have live entertainment.
“We have live entertainment every Thursday night. We are also looking at karaoke, and we’ve got country on Wednesday nights.”
Front and centre at the bar area are the draught taps.
“We have 12 taps, two local — Full Beard,” Pellerin-Donovan said. “We have eight Labatts and two Molsons at this point.”
There are also bottled beers and, of course, cocktails.
There is also plenty to munch on while enjoying sports on the many large screens or live entertainment. The menu includes bar favourites such as nachos, Idaho nachos (potato wedges with the loaded-nacho treatment), chicken wings, chicken tenders, perogies, mozzarella sticks, battered mushrooms, pizza fingers and sweet potato fries.
“We have a $6.99 menu,” she said, noting that they are open for lunch. “There’s lots of restaurants, but some just want to come to just come and have a drink and have a casual lunch.”
There is even a VIP area in a loft, which gives patrons a bird’s eye view of the entire lounge.
“The VIP right now, if you want bottle service up there, you have to order two bottles,” Pellerin-Donovan said. “If you don’t want to do that, which we’re OK with, you can have the whole area for $200. Or you can have half for $100, because we can separate it and have two areas, one with 15 (seats), one with 10.
“I’ve had a lot of enquiries and people booking already for Christmas parties.”
There is lots to do at The Surge. There are four pool tables, one coin operated and three that can be rented by the hour. There is also foosball and darts.
There are also plans for special events.
“We’ve been approached by quite a few promoters in town that want to bring bigger bands in,” she said. “Still have Super Bowl, Grey Cup and other big games. For instance, if Montreal goes into the Cup Finals, we’ll play that up. We’ll have giveaways and prizes. We’ve got quite a few exciting things coming up.
“If anyone has any suggestions, we’re willing to take them. We’re willing to try almost anything.”
There is no problem when there are multiple sports games taking place at the same time. The Surge has fans covered.
“We have four cable boxes and four different zones,” Pellerin-Donovan said. “A certain zone can have the Montreal game, another can have Toronto, and Zone 3 can have Ottawa.”
She pointed out that the staff has been great to work with.
“I have a great staff,” she said. “There is an unbelievable diversity of ages. They’ve been fantastic, very supportive.”
The reaction from the community has been nothing but positive.
“We have had incredible support from Timmins,” she said. “Never in my world did I think it would be as busy as it is. It has been very busy.”
It all comes together to provide Timmins residents and visitors with a fun, safe atmosphere for a night out.
“Again, the safety is number one,” Pellerin-Donovan said. “A lot of women don’t feel safe going out at night. We have licensed security Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which helps a lot in this industry.
“We want to be sure this keeps clean and safe for people.”
The Surge Sports Lounge is located at 71 Algonquin Blvd. E. (above the former Rocky Mountain Carpet store).
It is open Monday from 11:30 a.m. to midnight, Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (but may stay open later if patrons are watching a game). For more information, visit their website or follow them on Facebook.
