CINCINNATI — Josh Clyde is not comfortable with 400 Jell-O shots. At $1 apiece, the pre-prepared stockpile here at Mount Lookout Tavern stands little chance up against a Bengals fan base that, over the last month, has waited outside this establishment for hours just trying to get in. Some have tried to climb through side doors and other openings before being dutifully brushed back by Clyde’s assistant manager, Lauren Jenney. Others drank well into the night on Saturday hoping they could extend their tab into Sunday as a shortcut to valuable bar space during a Bengals game. Clyde has received $1,000 offers for table space during Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup against the Rams (he declined, siding with the neighborhood regulars who have ridden with the bar all along).
A few weeks ago, this place became the accidental epicenter of the Bengals' magical run. Just a few minutes from head coach Zac Taylor’s home, Mount Lookout Tavern was just edging toward sanity on Jan. 15, wiping the lite beer tidal wave off its floor and settling in for the Bills game after the franchise’s first playoff win in decades. “Welcome To The Jungle” was mercifully out of plays on TouchTunes and then … Clyde received a phone call from the door man while he was running out to get ice because their machine couldn’t keep up.
“He said umm…there are some people here to see you,” Clyde, the tavern’s manager, says.
