Parlay Sporting Club & Kitchen, located at 570 N. High St., is a high-end sports bar that opened Feb. 17. Credit: Courtesy of Jack McKnight
Complete with television booths, mussels and a DJ, Parlay Sporting Club + Kitchen provides Short North-goers with a new sports bar environment.
Jack McKnight, marketing director for Peerless Management Group — which owns Parlay Sporting Club + Kitchen — said the sports bar was in development for two years prior to opening Feb. 17. He said the venue, located at 570 N. High St., was inspired by Las Vegas sportsbooks, a popular series of sports bars in Las Vegas.
The combination of distinct food options, customer control over televisions and private rooms makes Parlay a unique presence in Columbus, McKnight said.
“It is a little bit of a higher-end sports bar where you can have a nice dinner while you’re out watching a game,” McKnight said. “I would say that we are one of the true sports bars in the area.”
McKnight said Parlay offers various amenities such as TV booths and a total of 100 televisions. The booths allow customers to control their own televisions to watch any game they want. He said one of the goals of Parlay is for customers to have a great experience no matter where they are seated.
“We don’t want there to be a bad seat in the house,” McKnight said. “Whether you are sitting at the bar or with a group eating at a table, you will have a lot of TVs around you, and we have it set up to where you can watch any game that you want.”
McKnight said Parlay tries to focus mainly on local teams, such as Ohio State sports and the Columbus Blue Jackets, but they also show national events, such as March Madness games and UFC fights.
Four private rooms are available to be booked in advance for big sporting events, and McKnight said customers can place custom food and drink orders ahead of time. He said these rooms all include televisions in addition to a game room suite complete with Skee-Ball, darts and a tabletop pong game.
Adam Solomon, director of operations for Peerless Management Group, said Parlay’s dining options include elevated sports bar food, with a special emphasis on mussels, along with various sandwiches, burgers and salads.
“The mussels are the signature of the restaurant, which are Belgian-style mussels, meaning they all use beer,” Solomon said. “Wagyu Pigs in a Blanket are also a signature of the restaurant, and our two wagyu burgers are things people are really enjoying.”
Parlay also offers “Boozy Buckets,” consisting of three canned alcoholic drinks along with three 50-milliliter bottles of liquor, according to the sports bar’s website.
Although people of all ages are always welcome at Parlay, Solomon said the venue often turns into more of a bar environment after 10 p.m. with the arrival of a DJ that plays until close.
“It definitely progresses as the night gets going to the point where we have a DJ,” Solomon said. “It turns into a really fun party.”
Solomon said the goal for the team behind Parlay is to not only find success with the Columbus community but to expand to other locations in Ohio, especially Cincinnati.
“We are definitely looking to open up more Parlays in the Ohio region and beyond,” Solomon said. “But Columbus will always be the flagship and home base. It is where everything starts and stops for us.”
Parlay Sporting Club + Kitchen is open Monday through Wednesday from 4 to 11 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to its website. Reservations for tables and private rooms can also be made on its website.
