The Illini Inn and Brothers Bar & Grill have launched “Bachelor Mondays,” or watch parties for the popular show, “The Bachelor,” and offer drink deals for customers.

“We realized that there was an untapped market for it, so we just started to create an event for it,” said Josiah Pearson, general manager of Illini Inn. “We provide free popcorn for everyone that comes in, we turn the sound on for the TV and it just grew from there.”

The bar started screening watch parties for “The Bachelor” last year after it was requested one night and it turned into a success. 

“I think it’s fun to be at the bar because it’s not just with my friends, it’s with a bunch of people and we all get to react to the show all together,” said recent graduate Lucky Nanduri. “It’s kind of cute how it brings together a bunch of people that wouldn’t normally hang out.” 

“We’ve definitely seen an increase on Mondays, which is typically a slower day, and again people are sitting here for the two hours as opposed to if they just come in for dinner … it’s definitely a bonus for us,” Pearson said.

The bar primarily screens sports on the television, but this new idea has allowed the business to flourish. 

“It’s not our normal, ‘sports, sports, sports all the time,’ so to be able to find that niche where you know the female population does want to come out and enjoy themselves is great,” Pearson said. 

As of now, the bar doesn’t have any other screenings planned for the future other than watch parties for “The Bachelor.” The screenings are currently held every Monday and will continue for the remainder of the semester.

“I think it would be cool if the bar decided to show more TV programs because it’s something fun that everyone can do together,” Nanduri said.

Brothers Bar & Grill was unable to comment at the time of publication.

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