As Indianapolis prepares for the Super Bowl, restaurants are preparing for the challenge of accommodating an influx of fans. Circle City natives should expect many changes to their normal dinning scene.

With more than 150,000 extra mouths to feed, restaurants and the city of Indianapolis are planning accordingly. 

According to Dianna Boyce, director of communications for the host committee, food trucks will be brought in, and Papa John’s will bring in a local kitchen.

These downtown additions will enhance the Super Bowl experience, and should not take away from already established business. In a recent interview, Boyce reassured businesses that they will be packed.

With more than two weeks before Super Bowl festivities are set to begin, some restaurants are already packed.  St. Elmo’s and The Capital Grille have few to no reservations available.

“Most - if not all - of our dinner reservations have been completely booked,” according to St. Elmo’s website. “In an effort to serve as many patrons as we can, we have decided to open our doors early at 11:00AM on Friday, February 3rd and Saturday, February 4th.“

Other establishments are meeting the increased demand with creative solutions.

Sensu will open at noon, six hours early, and offer seating in two-hour time increments throughout Super Bowl week.  This will ensure a higher turn around, and allow Sensu to serve more customers.

To provide additional seating, Scotty’s Brewhouse will enclose their patio with a heated tent.  The Oceanaire Seafood Room is following suite by temporarily extending their dinning room to the next-door lobby. 

Accommodating quantity is a challenge for all downtown restaurants, but one restaurant has shifted focus to quality.  Mo’s A Place For Steaks is arranging preset minimums with their guests.  Depending on the size of party and time of reservation, guests can expect to spend $300 or more per person.

Indianapolis has over 200 restaurants- Two hundred unique ways of adapting to the Super Bowl, two hundred new experiences for visitors, and two hundred opportunities for residents to rediscover the Indianapolis dining scene.