Alice Cooper'stown Thrives On Sports Teams' Success

If the Suns are winning, so is Alice Cooper’stown.

Luring sports fans with menu items such as “Kurt Warner’s” corned beef, “Gonzo’s” barbecue beef and “The Shaq Stack” burger, Cooper’stown, is named after the rock star who opened it in 1998 with other investors.

When US Airways Center across the street fills, so does the restaurant, manager and bartender Brian Houle said.

“The success of our restaurant is dependent on our sports teams and their success,” Houle said.

Basketball season brings in the most customers. And considering the Suns have been one of the NBA’s most profitable teams in recent years, this usually means good news.

But the team struggled to fill the arena early this season, discounting upper-level tickets for certain games and selling partial season tickets for the first time, according to a December Forbes report on NBA team valuations.

“We’ve been doing OK, but you see the Suns’ sales down for the year and you see ours slow down also,” Houle said.

Despite the moneymaking correlation with the Suns, Cooper’stown has a few other circumstances that help to circulate cash flow.

Stephen Brown, executive director of the Center for Services Leadership at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, said customer treatment and value of food in relationship to price are key factors for restaurants to stay afloat in a murky economy.

Brown recalls his own experience at Cooper’stown being one where the employees made sure to “give you the feeling that they’re pleased that you’re there.”

“Whether it’s a restaurant, a shoe store or a pharmacy, you have to do more to stand out, and service is a way to differentiate yourself,” Brown said.

Cooper’stown prides itself on maintaining an atmosphere where “jocks and rock meet” since its opening in 1998. The servers’ Cooper-style stage makeup remind visitors it’s more than a sports bar.

Houle, who was been at Cooper’stown for about five years, said Alice Cooper stops by sometimes with his wife and kids. He said this gives Valley and international fans a reason to drop by on the chance of meeting the Arizona resident.

For Enrique Durazo and Abram Corona, who work about five minutes from the restaurant at the Motor Vehicle Division, the food is what keeps them coming back for more.

“We’re kind of new to it, so we’re experimenting,” Durazo said. “We’re trying everything on their menu.”

Perhaps the most popular item on the menu is “The Big Unit,” a one-pound, 22-inch hot dog that calls for bell ringing every time one is brought out from the kitchen.

Coopers’town customer Randy Gregory likes to get a meal before the game.

“At Cooper’stown,” he said, “I can get an entire meal for around $12, and that includes a beer.”