When Jason Reda, the general manager at Firehaus, learned about Illinois’ new happy hour ordinance, he brewed up a new idea for his campus bar.

According to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission’s new happy hour ordinance, a policy in effect since JulyRB, restaurants and bars can now serve happy hour drinks if they give a 7-day notice on their website or licensed location. The ordinance also allows Illinois bars to serve drinks earlier in the day.RB

Reda realized that there is not a popular breakfast restaurant on or near Green Street, so he saw it as an opportunity to create a breakfast menu for students that “won’t break the bank.” 

After a few months, Reda’s ideas culminated into Firehaus’ “Keg & Eggs” event on Saturdays and “Recovery Brunch” on SundaysRB. On both Saturday and Sunday, breakfast is served from 9 am to noon, also accompanied with a variety of drink specials.

“The specials are fantastic for the morning,” said Kevin Cohn, another Firehaus manager. 

The menu serves a breakfast sandwich, bacon basket, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, the ‘Haus Scramble,’ a breakfast special called ‘the Hangover’ and more. Drink deals include, but are not limited to, $1 PBR drafts, $2 Screwdrivers and $2 mimosasRB.

Reda said he hopes to give students a reason to “get their day started a little earlier,” yet the crowd of students coming for breakfast on the weekends is still relatively small.

Many students on campus are unaware of the deals. 

“I don’t know if I am trying to get up that early on a Saturday. But I think it is a good option. I don’t know if it’s trying to compete with Block,” said Mitchell Mizerek, sophomore in Business. “It could be a nice option to have a late breakfast with some friends.”

But each week, Reda said the amount of customers grows as students become more aware of the deals. 

Firehaus is not the only campus bar that has recently transitioned from kegs to eggs. 

White Horse Inn has been serving breakfast since Fall 2016, while Firehaus and Legends have been serving breakfast for the past monthRB.

At White Horse, the breakfast menu includes French toast, biscuits and gravy, omelets, sausage, bacon, eggs and potatoes, as well as drinks such as Bloody Marys. 

“Nothing cures my hangover like a Bloody Mary at White Horse after a night at White Horse,” said Berkan Usta, junior in Engineering. 

In the past few weeks, Legends has started a ‘Breakfast Club’ on Saturdays, serving breakfast burgers, mimosas and Bloody Marys.

Kady Barnfield, sophomore in FAA, is planning to try one of these options.

“(Breakfast at the bars in Champaign) is pretty nice. Many of the bars on campus have great atmospheres. It’s perfect to be able to show your visiting friends (and) family fun places on campus without totally traumatizing them with the night-life scene.”

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