Damon's Grill
Encyclopedia
Damon's Grill & Sports Bar was founded in 1979 by Irv Rossman, Jerry Rossman, Sam Massara, Joe Mazzola, and Joe Nader and is currently headquartered in Columbus, Ohio
. Restaurants are usually sectioned into two separate parts: The dining room, and the clubhouse with bar. There are currently 45 franchised locations in the United States, including restaurants in Colorado
, Wisconsin
, Illinois
, Indiana
, Michigan
, Ohio
, Kentucky
, Tennessee
, South Carolina
, North Carolina
, West Virginia
, Maryland
, Pennsylvania
, New Jersey
, as well as three in the United Kingdom
.
, a main focus, steak
s, wings
, sandwiches
, as well as a variety of appetizers and desserts.
covered in sports memorabilia
. The memorabilia usually correlates to sports teams in the area. (For example, the Damon's Grill in State College, Pennsylvania
is decorated in Penn State memorabilia) The clubhouses' main feature is their large, projection screen televisions. Each restaurant usually has one to four televisions, and most franchises usually designate a television to the Buzztime
network. This allows patrons to go head-to-head in a trivia competition while eating their meals. Mainly, the televisions are used to broadcast sporting events. Damon's Restaurants are often crowded during College Football
or National Football League
games. Clubhouses also include a bar area with several smaller televisions.
The second of the two areas is the dining room. Dining rooms are quieter areas for patrons to enjoy their meals. These areas often include small televisions so that guests may watch sports in a quieter setting.
There are a few franchises that do not follow this model. Locations in Sandusky, Ohio
and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
are situated on bodies of water, the Sandusky location is on Lake Erie
and the Myrtle Beach location is on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean
. Because of their location both restaurants have a nautical theme and have more of an upscale atmosphere.
The Sandusky location (along with the Willoughby, Twinsburg, Middleburg Heights, Independence, and Mentor locations) is now closed.
Damon's Grill launched a brand new menu in October 2010 and are in the process of rebranding the chain to Damon's Grill & Sports Bar. Stores are being upgraded one by one at this time.
In the year 2011 several stores in Ohio have closed. This includes stores in Independence and Stowe. More recently the stores located in Canton, Middleburg Heights and Sandusky have also been shut down, leaving only 6 stores remaining in the state.
In addition, according to cleveland.com, Damon's has refused to pay their employees their final paychecks, and have not been paying sales tax on food sales in Ohio.
, while two other restaurants operate in Sheffield
and Liverpool
. A fourth restaurant was opened in Derby but closed in the summer of 2008. Unlike its American cousin, the English establishments are set out in American 1950s theme, with wait staff wearing a tuxedo-style uniform.
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. Restaurants are usually sectioned into two separate parts: The dining room, and the clubhouse with bar. There are currently 45 franchised locations in the United States, including restaurants in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, as well as three in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Menu
A menu at a Damon's Restaurant typically features barbecue ribsRibs (food)
Ribs of beef, lamb, venison, and pork are a cut of meat. The term ribs usually refers to the less meaty part of the chops, often cooked as a slab .They can be roasted, grilled, baked, braised, or smoked....
, a main focus, steak
Steak
A steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
s, wings
Buffalo wings
A Buffalo wing, hot wing or wing is a chicken wing section that is traditionally fried unbreaded and then coated in sauce...
, sandwiches
Sandwiches
"Sandwiches" is a song by American electronic band Detroit Grand Pubahs. It reached number 29 in the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.- Track listing :...
, as well as a variety of appetizers and desserts.
Dining atmosphere
Damon's franchises are often split into two different areas each with their own atmosphere and ambiance. The first of the two, is the clubhouse. The clubhouse area of the restaurant is themed like a sports bar with wallsWalls
- Other uses :*Wall's , a company that makes ice cream*Wall's sausages, a British sausage brand*Walls, an episode of Power Rangers S.P.D.- Music :*Walls EP, a 2005 album by The Red Paintings*Walls , 2007...
covered in sports memorabilia
Sports memorabilia
The term sports memorabilia usually refers to anything that can be directly connected to a sports event or personality. These items are generally gathered by the fans of the particular sport, athlete or team that the item signifies or by collectors who find value in the rarity time-value of these...
. The memorabilia usually correlates to sports teams in the area. (For example, the Damon's Grill in State College, Pennsylvania
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
is decorated in Penn State memorabilia) The clubhouses' main feature is their large, projection screen televisions. Each restaurant usually has one to four televisions, and most franchises usually designate a television to the Buzztime
NTN Buzztime
NTN Buzztime is a company which produces interactive entertainment across many different platforms. Its most well-known product, simply called Buzztime, and formerly known as the NTN Network, since 1985, broadcasts trivia and other games via broadband over a national network to over 3,800 bars...
network. This allows patrons to go head-to-head in a trivia competition while eating their meals. Mainly, the televisions are used to broadcast sporting events. Damon's Restaurants are often crowded during College Football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
or National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
games. Clubhouses also include a bar area with several smaller televisions.
The second of the two areas is the dining room. Dining rooms are quieter areas for patrons to enjoy their meals. These areas often include small televisions so that guests may watch sports in a quieter setting.
There are a few franchises that do not follow this model. Locations in Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand in northeastern South Carolina. It is considered to be a major tourist destination in the...
are situated on bodies of water, the Sandusky location is on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
and the Myrtle Beach location is on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. Because of their location both restaurants have a nautical theme and have more of an upscale atmosphere.
The Sandusky location (along with the Willoughby, Twinsburg, Middleburg Heights, Independence, and Mentor locations) is now closed.
Recent
Damon's last Columbus Ohio location will be closing at the end of December 2010.Damon's Grill launched a brand new menu in October 2010 and are in the process of rebranding the chain to Damon's Grill & Sports Bar. Stores are being upgraded one by one at this time.
In the year 2011 several stores in Ohio have closed. This includes stores in Independence and Stowe. More recently the stores located in Canton, Middleburg Heights and Sandusky have also been shut down, leaving only 6 stores remaining in the state.
In addition, according to cleveland.com, Damon's has refused to pay their employees their final paychecks, and have not been paying sales tax on food sales in Ohio.
English franchise
An English franchise was setup in the late 1980s and is known simply as "Damons" instead of Damon's Grill. The main restaurant and head office are based in LincolnLincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, while two other restaurants operate in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. A fourth restaurant was opened in Derby but closed in the summer of 2008. Unlike its American cousin, the English establishments are set out in American 1950s theme, with wait staff wearing a tuxedo-style uniform.