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OverTime’s buzzing patio overlooks 86th
Street, making it a cool spot for drinking
or dining on a hot afternoon. |
By Amber Williams
Is there anything folks at OverTime won’t do
for their customers? Let’s break this down:
1. They set up their business on the northern
end of 86th Street, just off the interstate,
which makes it a prime stopping spot for commuters
and travelers and a convenient watering hole
for Urbandale locals;
2. They have food — good food — and the kitchen
stays open from lunch throughout the day and
into the evening, offering anything from a salad
to a steak and touching on everything in between;
3. They sponsor or host numerous local charities;
4. They are a sports bar — for real, this time.
Other places in the city claim to be sports
bars, but few can pull it off as truly as OverTime.
Not only are the walls plastered in an eclectic
collection of sports garb and merchandise and
too many big screen TVs to count, but notice
the fans. On any given game day, they look like
fixtures that came with the décor;
5. And, they have a patio that overlooks the
bustling 86th Street next to the parking lot
where OverTime sets up its musical guests —
featuring the acoustic styles of Justin Saf
from 7-10 p.m. on Fridays and the rain-out location
for any band booked for Urbandale’s Friday Fest.
When Kim and Jerry Cobb opened OverTime back
in March of 2009, the location had already failed
as a Jesse’s Embers followed by an Italian restaurant
(which only lasted eight months, according to
general manager Kristi Cobb). Still, they bought
the place with a different demographic in mind.
“We’re more affordable, for one thing,” Kristi
Cobb said. “This place was too high-end for
this specific area. We have a friendlier and
more welcoming atmosphere. It feels more like
a bar and grill, and you don’t have to dress
up. We make it so people come back one or two
times a week rather than once a month.”
Although the nearby hotels and interstate help
OverTime grow, it’s the regulars who make it
the “neighborhood hub” that it claims to be.
“We are a 100 percent sports atmosphere, because
we have eight different alumni groups that come
in here for all the sports packages for all
the sports seasons,” Cobb said. “We have every
sports package, and if we don’t have it, we
buy it, even if it’s requested by just one of
our customers.”
OverTime recently purchased several table top
speakers after seeing some less popular games
getting drowned out by the noise of the “big
game” that day.
“So now, not only do we have three overhead
sound systems — in the dining room, back room
and at the bar — but we also offer these table
top speakers, which technically makes us able
to have six different channels at one time,”
Cobb said.
That kind of customer service and striving for
sports bar perfection is what brings “a lot
of people coming from a lot of places” to OverTime,
according to one belly-upper, Andrew Doria.
CV
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OverTime
4810 86th St., Urbandale
727-4992 (72-PIZZA)
Hours: Mon., 3 p.m.-close; Tues.-Sun., 11 a.m.-close
Happy Hour: Mon.-Fri., 3-6 p.m.
Capacity: 250 |
