A local gathering spot appealing to bar goers as well as those who want a fun game atmosphere is looking for some help from the community. Game On Sports Bar and Grill has set up a GoFundMe in order to help pay for music licensing to offer karaoke, something owner Anthony Greb says most don’t realize is very expensive.
“In order for a commercial establishment to just have music playing, they have to pay for copyright licensing, and there’s three companies that hold all the copyrights,” Greb says.
Licensing is strictly controlled, and an annual fee must be paid to have music — the same goes for hosting live musicians who play covers, as well as for offering karaoke.
“The fees for those companies are about $800 each annually …” which totals about $2,400. Greb is trying to raise half that amount. “We’ve raised some from a donation jar we have set up inside the bar, as well as a GoFundMe page …” and so far, he says they’ve raised about $400.
He found out just how serious licensing for entertainment is after a U.S. Marshal appeared to serve him papers after he aired a UFC fight at the bar from pay-per-view.
“He was all decked out in uniform, all official, and said I paid the residential fee and not the commercial fee for the fight … But I had no clue, there was only a ‘click here to order’ button, nothing like ‘if you’re a business click here.’ ”
He had to pay $7,000 to avoid being sued for $220,000. “So, now I know.”
Greb opened Game On in November of 2019, right before the global pandemic hit. He says if he’d known what was coming, “I probably would’ve waited to open …”
But he’s happy with what the place has become so far.
Originally from Indianapolis, Greb has been in La Grange for about the last nine years. Before opening the business, he was a software engineer who worked from home.
“Software engineering was never my calling — I wasn’t passionate about it. I got into it to pay the bills, and it did that and then some, but I didn’t enjoy doing it.”
Greb said he’s a people-person, and also loves sports. “There’s also quite a few games I like playing. And you know the old saying — if you do something you love, you never work a day in your life.”
Initially he opened under the premise Game On would be a game store. “We sell board and card games, and actually opened us as a hobby store at first. And people could buy or play them in-store, which didn’t happen at first due to Covid.”
Greb wanted to turn it into more, and had visions of families coming in together and playing board games white they ate.
“Unfortunately, that didn’t take off. And I had been selling Against the Grain canned beer, which was selling really well. So, I decided to expand on that.”
He turned it into a sports bar with plenty of TVs, pool tables and a full bar. “I love talking sports, love being around it. And it’s very uniquely set up in here, for a hobby store to be on one side and a bar on the other …”
Some order food and drinks and take them over to the game side, others bring games over to the bar side. Right now, Game On is about 2,000 square feet.
And business has really picked up. “More people are coming out now than before. From my small perspective, I think these people were very much ready to get out of the house and go do something.”
Now they have a wide selection of draft and bottled beers and liquors. He’s still faithful to Against the Grain and carries the cans, as well as specialty cocktails like the Donkey Kong Slammer — made with amaretto, OJ, rum and banana liquor and served in a ceramic barrel glass.
“But food is the thing we keep people coming back for,” Greb said, like dollar wing night on Thursdays. “Any one of our customers will tell you we’ve got the best wings.”
He said the secret is caring about your food. “I’m not doing anything special — everything I cook, I cook it like I’m serving it to my family. People come back for the burgers, too.”
They also serve things like mozzarella sticks, cheese curds, flatbread pizza, chicken strips and grilled chicken.
Greb said he’s expanded and edited the menu over time. “We honed in on what we do well, removed some stuff we didn’t, and branched out to add some new things.”
The hobby side has a main room stocked with games, as well as a back room with three large TVs, a Playstation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and a big couch. It can be used to host parties or reserved for large families or groups.
As of now, Greb runs the bar by himself, along with a cook. “I set the place up where if I had to, I can run it by myself. I’ve had some bartenders in the past … let’s just say I’ve experienced the world of having employees and what that’s like …”
So he plans on being picky when finding his next bartender. “We’re never in the position where we’re not looking to hire, but we’re not desperate … We just want the right personality.”
To donate, search “Anthony Greb” on GoFundMe.