A longtime favorite sports bar in East Lansing has been called one of the best “college bars” in the U.S. by The Athletic.
Crunchy’s Burgers & Beer on Grand River Avenue in East Lansing ranked No. 3, according to The Athletic, the sports publication of the New York Times. Crunchy’s bills itself as East Lansing’s original craft beer bar.
The bars on the list, which is based on staff voting, provide college students places to take their parents, grandparents and younger siblings, The Athletic said. The list leans toward dives with history that cater to a wide range of ages, and offer more than cheap drinks and sticky tables.
“The point of doing a list of the 10 best college bars is to give the reader a guide of places to check out if he or she ends up in one of these college towns,” the report notes. “It is not to identify the places in those towns that pack in the most college students.”
The top college bars across the country include:
The Airliner, Iowa City, Iowa (University of Iowa)
The Boot, New Orleans, Louisiana (Tulane University)
The Esso Club, Clemson, South Carolina (Clemson University)
He’s Not Here, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (University of North Carolina)
Jack and Dan’s, Spokane, Washington (Gonzaga University)
The Library, Oxford, Mississippi (University of Mississippi)
Linebacker Lounge, South Bend, Indiana (University of Notre Dame)
Nick’s English Hut, Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana University)
Wando’s, Madison, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin)
No. 1 bar The Airliner is oldest in Iowa City
The Airliner, 22 S. Clinton St., opened in 1944, according to its website, and serves drinks, burgers, thin-crust pizza and more.
The Iowa City Downtown District calls the Airliner the oldest bar in Iowa City, noting its “famous pizza” has kept it alive in the decades since opening.
The bar is about 1.4 miles from Kinnick Stadium, just across the Iowa River.
East Lansing’s Crunchy’s is down the street from MSU
Crunchy’s, founded in 1982, is less than a mile from Spartan Stadium at 254 W. Grand River Ave.
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The sports bar has a well-established history in East Lansing, is known for its half-pound Crunchy burger and “bucket of beer,” which works out to 270 ounces of drinks.
The bar also offers burgers, wraps, chicken wings and cocktails.
The bar features a number of televisions so fans can watch a variety of sports any day of the week.
What time is Michigan State football’s next game vs Youngstown State?
Michigan State’s Week 3 matchup against Youngstown State at Spartan Stadium is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Crunchy’s lands on The Athletic’s best ‘college bars’ in the US list