Many of the bars and restaurants around town have added extra Track Town flavor to complement the U.S. Olympics Track & Field Trials during the event’s two week stay in Eugene. Posters of track and field stars and televisions tuned to sports channels seem commonplace.
But the downtown Rogue Ales Eugene City Brewery is pulling out all the stops in its support of the Trials. Apart from a $10,000 donation to Eugene 08, the brewery kicked off the events with a Eugene celebration at all of the Rogue-owned pubs.
“Track Town is about a town, not just Hayward Field,” said Jack Joyce, a founder of the Rogue River Brewing Co. He said he has supported track since he was a student at the University in 1960, and the Track Town events at the brewery are a way of showing that support.
In an effort to become “Track Town Central” for locals as well as the many visitors here for the Trials, the pub has opened up its doors around-the-clock and offers a breakfast menu including duck eggs.
The Eugene City Brewery has also started a shuttle service to Hayward Field, as well as pizza and beer delivery service, and has put all of its award-winning Track Town Ales on draft.
People seem to appreciate the service. Though the first days were slower than expected, by early evening Saturday the building was filled with patrons. Servers pushed past with trays laden with food and drinks, while customers at tables talked and laughed together.
In one area of the brew house, an Adidas representative set up a Wii console and a man and woman excitedly played the “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games” video game.
At a table outside, a group of people visiting for the Trials sat and enjoyed the evening. Tom and Faith Miller, of Pittsburgh, Penn., are the parents of Fawn “Deloma” Miller, a high school sophomore and pole vaulter competing in the Olympic Trials. They are accompanied by her high school coach Greg Slatcoff, and her NCAA coach Mark Hannay.
This is the second time they have come to the Eugene City Brewery, after finding out about the place from a pamphlet at their hotel.
“We’re doing just fine,” Faith Miller said. They are all fans of Northwest microbrews. The four ordered tasters of some of the 34 varieties of beer on draft, and they were picking out favorites. Hannay called the large number of choices “kind of overwhelming.”
The Raspberry Mead was Faith’s favorite, she said, while her husband liked the Hazelnut Brown Nectar.”There has not been one beer that I haven’t enjoyed,” Tom Miller said.
There was a point of contention, however. The Oregon Golden Ale seemed to strike the wrong chord with Slatcoff.
“You can quote me on this,” Slatcoff said with a grin. “This is the worst beer I’ve ever had in my whole life.”
To each his or her own.
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