2010 Rallies & Events
Quaker Steak & Lube’s Biker Night
Story and photos by Cindy Blake
While on a trip to Cleveland, Ohio, I asked some of the locals if there was a place that bikers hung out. As if they were in sync, each of them told me, “Check out the Quaker Steak & Lube restaurants for Biker Night.” So I headed west onto Interstate 90 to Sheffield, Ohio. That’s when I saw the huge green neon sign for Quaker Steak & Lube. The locals were right on the money. The parking lot was full of motorcycles and there were even some parked along the side street of the restaurant. This was the place to be.
Quaker Steak & Lube are best known for their buffalo wings and internationally award-winning sauces along with their collection of vintage motorcycles and cars displayed throughout their restaurants. There are over 36 locations nationwide from Toronto, Canada, down to Florida. Tim Hoops, marketing manager at the Sheffield location, informed me that it’s part of the franchise agreement that each location designate Biker Night one day out of the week. He said, “We are the largest weekly biker gathering in the country.” I wouldn’t doubt that at all as there were over thousands of people at this event on the night I was there. He said they average in attendance from 2,000 to 2,500 depending on if the weather was good.
At this particular location, Biker Bight will run from April thru September. Tim said, “We live and die by the weather here. If the cold hasn’t hit us yet, we’ll run this through October. If it’s 75-degrees the bikers will be out, as long as mother nature doesn’t shut us down.” There’s a huge patio off to the side of the restaurant and on a beautiful night, they will open up the garage doors and setup chairs and tables all along the sidewalks. So what brings these bikers out here every single week? Tim said, “It’s all about creating contests and themes each week.” For example, that night they had the loudest pipes contest which was sponsored by one of their vendors, SuperTrapp Performance Exhaust. There were six bikers who entered the contest and these guys were revving up their engines big time. One by one they started up their bikes and rolled that throttle back and forth. The rumbling noise got everyone excited. The crowd cheers and yells designated the winner. There was even a theme night during Memorial Day and Fourth of July week and the contest was who was the most patriotic. The crowd even gets excited when there are T-shirts thrown from the top of the roof. “People love it because there’s always something different,” Tim said.
And what’s a biker event without some good music? Whether it’s the DJ or a live band, the bikers love the entertainment. The DJ will play the crowd where he will have music trivia and those with the correct answer will win free T-shirts or something else from the restaurant (like some buffalo wings). Live bands will consist of all types of music from current rock hits to the sounds of blue grass and even members from the band will get the audience shaking in their boots. Bikers know how to get down and cut a rug.
There are different vendors each week that contribute to this event every year. Tim said, “They give us a call in early spring and we plan out the season with them. If we have new vendors that aren’t too sure about participating, they’ll try a night or two and see what the response is like from the crowd. But they always come back.”
Bikers, they all get along,” Tim added. “There’s no friction between them and they have respect for each other. They all have one thing in common: riding their motorcycles. It’s a riding family.” And a family they are. You will see entire families here, including children. “Kids will be running around and they’re not afraid to be here,” said Tim. “Bikers often receive a bad stereotype that they’re bad people, but it’s the coolest group of people to be around. They range anywhere from blue collar to CEO’s of big corporations. We get everything from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to foreign sport bikes. They love the entertainment, the fun, the cold drinks and of course the buffalo wings. They always have a good attitude. It’s just a good night.”
To check out a Quaker Steak & Lube near you, just go to their website at; www.quakersteakandlube.com. To see how others rev up excitement (and business) with family Bike Nights, check out our story on Kickin’ Back With Dave on Bike Night.