March leads to madness at local sports bars

Basketball fans pack restaurants to catch action

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — Plenty of people packed sports bars and restaurants early Thursday to take in some March Madness action.

Howie’s in La Crosse saw a big rush during the lunch hour, and had to bring in extra staff to keep the food and drinks flowing.

For a normal Thursday lunch hour, Howie’s would normally have 4 or 5 servers and one bartender on staff. On Thursday, they had two extra servers and an extra bartender on hand.

“This is definitely not a normal lunch hour,” said bartender Drew Hintze. “This is definitely due to the March Madness, definitely got a bigger push.”

Howie’s expects to be even busier tomorrow night, when the Badgers play their first game of the tournament.