World Cup draws soccer faithful to C-Street

 Nearly all seats were filled at 8 p.m. June 16 at Mumbles1888 on Commercial Street – except for those moments when they weren’t. 

Fans were up and cheering throughout the night as Lionel Messi, soccer superstar and captain of the Argentinian team, pulled off a hat trick. That trio of goals propelled his team to a 3-0 win over Algeria in Group Stage play in the FIFA World Cup. 

Prior to the game, Mumbles1888 General Manager Bailey Turner wasn’t sure what kind of crowd to expect late on a Tuesday in summer. The business enjoys a boost from student customers when local universities are in session, and Mondays and Tuesdays are statistically the slowest nights of the week in the hospitality industry. 

However, Turner said every game of the World Cup has brought out customers, whether the kickoff has been at 11 a.m. or 11 p.m. 

“People show up every match, even really late,” he said. “We stay open for them.” 

Mumbles 1888 has been working to activate the east end of the Commercial Street business district from its spot at 504 E. Commercial St., where it opened before sunrise on Feb. 7 to welcome fans of British Premier League soccer. 

The bar is the brainchild of Neil and Christina Chanter, who own Springfield Brewing Co. and Ty Iechyd Da Distillery in downtown Springfield. It is Neil’s love of soccer that led to the establishment of the soccer-themed pub on C-Street. 

The street was activated in a big way Friday, June 12, with a World Cup kickoff block party all day, both outside and inside of Mumbles1888 and nearby in the district. 

The event included inflatables, games, live music and tailgating, and Turner estimated a turnout of about 1,000 soccer fans to celebrate the start of World Cup play. The night culminated in the U.S. opener – a 4-1 win versus Paraguay. 

Another event 
Justin Beiler, co-owner with his wife, Karen, of Eurasia Coffee & Tea LLC, helped plan and host the block party with Turner. Beiler said the block party was so popular that fans have asked for more. 

Naturally, the C-Street business community was eager to comply. With the U.S. team scheduled to take on Australia at 2 p.m. June 19, the party would continue, Beiler said. He said Rathbone Ace Hardware, Mumbles1888’s next-door neighbor, offered a covered area in back of the store – a space typically used for storage and, until now, filled with stuff – as an overflow viewing area for World Cup play. 

“It’s a caged area that’s covered from the sun, so you’ll be able to see the screen,” Beiler said. “We’re setting up as Springfield’s World Cup fan zone out there.” 

In advance of the event, neighborhood people were helping to clear out the area, setting up a screen and hanging world flags for the next watch party, Beiler said. 

A soccer fan who grew up in Vienna, Beiler is all in for all of it. 

On the day of his phone interview, June 17, Beiler said that he was up until 1 a.m. to watch Austria vanquish Jordan 3-1 in Group Stage play. 

“When Neil started coming around and saying he was going to open up a soccer pub across the street from us, I felt like that’s the best business that could have gone there,” he said. 

One notable aspect of the kickoff event, also anticipated for the watch party, is that the activity gets things moving on a part of Commercial Street that isn’t as frequently activated, Beiler said. Typically, special events are held in the area of the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge plaza, three blocks west of Mumbles1888 and two blocks west of Eurasia. Visitors park nearby and walk past the east-end businesses to get to the fun, Beiler said. 

“Friday, I was walking down to Pizza House to get pizza for my kids, and everyone was walking east to come to the party on the east side,” he said. “That was fun to see.” 

The people with businesses surrounding Mumbles1888 are fully on board to help with the event, he added. That includes Rathbone Ace Hardware, but it also includes Askinosie Chocolate LLC, with owner Shawn Askinosie providing power for screens and lights, and it includes the GLO Center – an LGBTQ community center – which is providing internet. 

“All the neighbors have come together and are making this what we hope to be a real asset for the community – something to pull us all together for the next five weeks,” he said. 

The occasion has also allowed the Beilers to preview a new product: homemade ice cream. In the near future, when the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge is expected to be open for traffic across the railroad tracks, Eurasia Coffee & Tea plans to sell the frozen confection from a window in the back, the part of the property facing the tracks. 

For now, soccer fans can buy ice cream in the front of the store, whether their flavor preference is traditional vanilla, or Askinosie chocolate, or a miso caramel swirl flavor based on a popular coffee product at the store. 

“We’ve got to do something unique if people are going to make the trip to Commercial Street,” he said. “We want to do something you can’t get somewhere else.” 

First-timers 
Last night’s crowd at Mumbles1888 also had a diverse group pulling together. Slightly quieter than the Argentinian fans was Ferhat Chaouche of Elkland, a first-timer at the establishment. Chaouche, who spent the first 28 years of his life in Algeria before moving to the U.S., said he had not been to the bar previously, but he was excited to find a place to watch the game. While the crowd howled when what looked like a first goal by Argentina was recalled, and again at what appeared to be a goal by Algeria – also soon recalled – Chaouche gave a couple of subtle fist-bumps. 

Others in Mumbles1888 also reported that the night was their first time in the establishment and on C-Street. Seated at the bar was a couple who were visiting the city from out of town and found a place to watch the game through an internet search. Ditto a table of four women of mixed ages, in from the town of Nevada to pick someone up from the airport and catching a game before heading home. 

Turner said World Cup play offers casual observers a chance to get to know the beautiful game. 

“Every match is exciting,” he said. 

He added that soccer is now the third most popular sport in the United States. This checks out with data from The Economist, which last year reported that soccer has overtaken baseball and lags only behind American football and basketball, with 10% of Americans calling it their favorite sport. 

“We think it’s going to keep climbing,” Turner said. “There’s something unique about it. It’s fun, and it’s a team-heavy game to watch. It really draws people in, and the World Cup is going to help step that up to another level.” 

Turner added that the bar is modeled in part after a St. Louis soccer bar called the Amsterdam Tavern. 

“They opened their doors to us and told us what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “Me and Neil are fans of the sport, and we knew a community of people was here, looking for somewhere to watch matches.” 

Drawing soccer fans to Mumbles1888 also draws new patrons to C-Street, Turner noted. He said when people at Friday’s block party were asked if they had visited the street before, at least three out of four said they either had never been there or hadn’t been in a long time. 

“We love that,” he said. “They get to see how cool our community is.”