Ready for some football, B-Dub style?

Clint Kragel, Maddison Schofield and Eric Jones take advantage of Buffalo Wild Wings’ happy hour specials on drafts, wells and appetizers.

Nearly everyone who’s ever had a hankering for hot wings, a tall, frothy beer and a big screen TV to highlight every detail of the weekend’s must-see game has probably been to Buffalo Wild Wings somewhere in the country. The franchise includes 600 establishments in 41 states across the nation. Four are within a 30-mile radius of Des Moines, the first of which emerged with all the other chain restaurants and bars sprouting in the Jordan Creek neighborhood almost a decade ago.

“Because we were the first in Des Moines, we were kind of outdated,” admitted bartender named Kelli Keuning. “We wanted a new look, more space and to be more cutting edge.” In one week, crews managed to re-do the walls, floors, bar top — pretty much everything.

Along with the new screens that are vast and hi-def enough to expose each purging pore on John Madden’s rosy cheeks, B-Dub is also sporting a fresh black-and-gold paint job (No, it’s not for the Hawkeyes, so don’t ask) and more seating, something this hot spot desperately needed.

Buffalo Wild Wings is a traditional hub for a wide following of fans: A cackling gaggle of Wells Fargo employees gather in a corner at least once a week like clockwork, and the bar stools rarely cool as regulars belly up for happy hour deals daily. B-Dubbers fit in with furniture so much that an indiscreet Cityview writer with a camera around her neck was far from incognito.

“Who are you with?” asked a good looking guy behind the bar named T.J.

“Cityview,” I confessed.

“Cityview? I thought you guys just focused on the locally-owned places,” he insisted.

He was right. We usually do. But we wanted to check out the new renovated look — a fine excuse for a writer who loves football and $3 drafts. Along with his keen detective skills, T.J. has other useful talents for patrons along the bar.

“Bacardi Limon and Boulevard Wheat; Fireball and Angry Orchard; how about Bacardi O and Leinenkugel’s Honey Weiss?” he offered to a woman at the bar looking for a way to put more kick in her hops. All sensible pairings. Bravo, T.J.

Last Call… Wooly’s owners, Sam Summers, Josh Ivey and Rafe Mateer, are opening a barcade in the space previously occupied by The Underground, 500 E. Locust St. Up-Down will feature 1980s- and ’90s-era arcade games (25 cents per game), cocktails and craft beer, including 20 beers on tap. It will also show ’90s programming on televisions throughout the space. Construction on the new bar is currently underway and is tentatively set to open in October. CV