by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 9 April 2015
On Thursdays, starting at 8p, Norm’s Eatery & Ale House holds its weekly Trivia Night. Many places offer trivia, and Norm’s doesn’t lay claim to the biggest or the loudest. Rather, Norm’s Trivia Thursdays has, over its decade, become a steady staple of welcoming fun, and intellectually challenging, entertainment. In fact, it provides players with steady, comfortable play – much like the restaurant/bar that hosts it!
“I’ve always tried to be as open to the community as I can,” explained Steve Habecker, the owner of Norm’s Eatery – and the past Trivia Master, “Norm’s has tried to be a comfortable place for a drink or good food.”
‘It’s Fun!’
Habecker thinks this may be the 10th or 11th year for Norm’s Trivia. “I did it for the first 7 ½ years,” he explained about Trivia Master duties. “I did it, and tried to make it fun. It’s better that people know some of the answers, and don’t walk away feeling stupid.”
Dan Packard now serves as Trivia Master on Thursdays. He started as a sub for Habecker, and when he saw how much Packard loves doing it, Habecker felt safe passing the job along. “Now, he’s got his own following,” Habecker observed. Most weeks trivia will average about 17 teams, but Norm’s has had up to 32 teams when Habecker ran the game, with some customers standing outside, trying to figure out answers to the questions.
Trivia “pretty much takes over the whole place,” Habecker acknowledged, and those who come in for a burger or a quiet drink might find it inconvenient, but Habecker sees trivia as a worthwhile disruption. “It’s a small percentage of people that come in here and don’t know it is trivia night. We do have people that just stay,” he observed about the random Trivia Thursday customers, “It’s fun!”
Categories, And Questions
As Trivia Master, Habecker had to spend a lot of time thinking up four categories, and the 10 questions within each one. That meant writing a total of 40 questions for every trivia game. “One favorite was Song Lyrics,” he recalled about the categories. For this one, he would read off song lyrics in a monotone – to avoid any hint of melody – and teams always struggled with it.
“How you ask the question is very important,” Habecker explained. Long questions, or difficult-to-read questions, can slow the whole game down if you have to repeat it over and over.
He also found that playing to the crowd was important. Questions about 1970s or 1980s music might play for an audience of Gen-Xers, or vintage music lovers, but others would just stare at him blankly. He also found some categories could get too specific – a particular band or television show – and it was important to stay broad, and find categories that many people knew something about.
‘Spend Money Here’
Habecker started Trivia Thursday to grow his business, and he chose Thursdays to avoid competition with other trivia nights being played around the area, ten years ago. “Monday is maybe our slowest night of the week,” he acknowledged, but he wanted to offer trivia when there weren’t games being played at other area bars.
Norm’s Trivia does draw in a wonderful mix of people – of all ages, interests, income, appetites, etc. “We can’t do a minimum on drink orders,” Habecker said. They actually can, but Habecker and his staff don’t want to force people to spend money. “We don’t want to discourage anyone,” he explained, “I would appreciate that if you are going to come in here, you spend money here. We want you to feel comfortable here,” but buying drinks and food is what makes Trivia Thursdays at Norm’s possible.
Habecker has had a few times when players didn’t get it. One particularly skinflint team eventually got the message, Habecker reported, when “customers created peer pressure on a team that only ordered one soda.” Eventually other teams noticed when this one group of six spent nothing, week after week.
“Regular teams will tip the server if they win,” he said, “and most of the people are regulars to Norm’s.” While Trivia Thursdays does draw in many players week after week, Habecker and Packard do change up the trivia categories to make it easier for all teams to win. Few teams have a wide knowledge of all subjects – most have strength in certain categories (sports, entertainment, current events, etc.) and blind spots in others.
“I am not the most intelligent person in the world,” Habecker said of his love for trivia, “but I have a wealth of random worthless knowledge.”
‘Another Night Of Games’?
“We’ve talked about another night of games,” Habecker said, and he admitted that he’d be open to any other good ideas, but “Trivia is easy,” he said. He needs an idea that will draw in people, and keep them entertained. “We did music when we first opened, but it actually drove away business,” he said. “I’d be open for anything if it brings in a bunch of people.”
Of course, Norm’s does have other draws, besides Trivia. The drinks, and great food, have long brought people to the eatery. Also, the fact that people can visit Norm’s with their furry canine friends – if he/she behaves. “If it’s extremely aggressive, it’s gone,” Habecker said about the dog visitors. Dogs must also stay on the floor, and, “if it barks, we will talk to the owner.”
“Know that we get a whole lot of cute things in here,” Habecker, owner of three golden retrievers (including one named Norm,) observed. “If you don’t know dogs could be here,” when you come to visit, “you haven’t been paying attention.”
Also, Norm’s welcomes kids (up to 10p on Fridays and Saturdays) which makes it a great place for the whole family. Trivia Thursdays, which runs right up to 10p, can also be an all-ages event – or just a fun way for friends to gather together and show off their knowledge. Find out more by visiting Norm’s, or checking out the Norm’s Facebook page or the menu (and the rules for canine visitors) on the Norm’s website.
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