Bar games no trivial matter on Delmarva

“Which Flintstone character did not receive its own vitamin until 1995?”

“What Central American country is the southernmost nation in North America?”

“What is the largest living mammal in existence?”

Random questions like these clutter the minds of local restaurant patrons every night of the week as they participate in one of Delmarva’s fastest growing social outings: trivia night. Teams take on brain busters alongside their dinner and drinks at dozens of eateries, answering questions on a wide range of topics aimed to test players’ knowledge on everything from today’s popular culture and current events to general education questions dating back to their grammar school days.

“It’s fun. Whether you win or lose, you get to hang out with friends,” said Jason Rhodes, who plays trivia at The Greene Turtle in Salisbury most Wednesday nights. “You’re going to eat anyway, so why not come out and eat at trivia and have fun while you dine?”

Several different companies and deejays host live trivia nights throughout the area, but it is John Mixon’s Let’s Do Trivia business that has taken over the most venues. With 20 venues from Dover to Easton, Mixon deploys his hosts to multiple locations seven days a week.

The entertainer turned entrepreneur started small in 2002 with a now-closed restaurant in Rehoboth Beach. Although the restaurant faltered, the demand for trivia seeped into the community, and Mixon was able to expand.

“After I moved to Milton, I was looking at everything going on in beach community, and the one thing I saw missing was trend of trivia,” he said. “I think our trivia game is so successful because we focus our games on people having a good time.

“We’re a social event disguised as a trivia competition.”

Mixon employs a small staff of writers who devise different sets of questions for each night of the week. His main goal is to make sure no one feels intimidated, requiring writers keep about half of the questions at a low or intermediate difficulty level and to include questions suitable for a wide range of audiences and age groups.

“We really focus on the fun,” Mixon said. “We don’t think it’s very much fun to go out on a midweek night and realize how much you don’t know.”

Local restaurants hosting live trivia events have reaped the benefits of the trivia craze. At The Greene Turtle, server Sarah Nikolich said she loves seeing the familiar faces of team members who pack the bar and dining area every week.

“Trivia night at The Greene Turtle has sort of developed a following,” she said. “The same people, the same faces that we saw at the old store, are still coming here to see us on trivia night every Wednesday, religiously, and we sort of count on them to come in every week.”

Nikolich said the quiz game helps attract a different clientele to the restaurant from those who visit for Friday night pop music or weekend sports games.

“We get a lot of teachers and we get lawyers and people who work nine-to-five jobs and look forward to trivia on Wednesday night,” she said. “They’re very intelligent people who know lots of random kinds of facts, and that’s why they come to trivia.”

Other trivia hosts have also had success targeting local audiences. Downtown Salisbury venues, like Mojo’s and The Irish Penny attract Salisbury University students and nearby industry employees, while locations out near the beach, including Hooter’s in Ocean City and Hammerheads in Dewey Beach see large groups from across the bridge.

“I think it has been a trend. We’re definitely seeing a growth in the area,” Rhodes said. “Just about every restaurant or bar in Salisbury has some form of trivia, and that’s another thing that makes it great is that they’re all different."

Mixon said more than half of his venues have hosted trivia nights with the company for 7 years or longer. At Abbott’s Grill on Broad Creek in Laurel, trivia host Roy Scarborough said restaurants appreciate the business, but he and venue hosts most enjoy the sense of community the game creates.

“It’s really just about bringing the community together, bringing friends and family together. That’s what it has always been about,” he said.” Yes, it is a way for restaurants to improve profit and everything else, but at the end of the day, we enjoy making peoples’ lives better.

“If we can get people to come out once or twice a week and have fun, that makes my day.”

With local restaurants and bars packing people in on what would otherwise be quiet weeknights, Scarborough believes the demand for live-hosted trivia throughout Delmarva will continue to grow.

“It’s a strong market. There certainly is always going to be a need for it because it’s a way for restaurants to bring more people in. I don’t think trivia is going anywhere anytime soon.”

And, just in case you were curious, the answers were: Betty Rubble, Panama and the blue whale.

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Where to go for Trivia on Delmarva: 

Live Trivia on Delmarva

Abbott’s Grill (Milford) – Tuesdays, 7 p.m.

Abbott’s Grill on Broad Creek (Laurel) – Thursdays, 7 p.m.

Arena’s (Milford) – Fridays, 8:30 p.m.

Arena’s Airport (Georgetown) – Saturdays, 8:30 p.m.

Arena’s Deli & Bar (Rehoboth Beach) – Mondays, 7 p.m.

Bethany Blues (Lewes) – Thursdays, 7 p.m.

Delaware Distilling Co. (Rehoboth Beach) – Wednesdays, 8 p.m.

Grotto’s Grand Slam (Lewes) – Tuesdays, 7 p.m.

Hammerheads (Dewey Beach) – Thursdays, 8 p.m.

Hooter’s (Ocean City) – Tuesdays, 7 p.m.

Macky’s Bayside (Ocean City) – Sundays, 7 p.m.

Mojo’s (Salisbury) – Mondays, 8 p.m.

Nicola’s on the Avenue (Rehoboth Beach) – Tuesdays, 7 p.m. (seasonal)

Smitty McGee’s (West Fenwick Island) – Tuesdays, 7 p.m. (seasonal)

The Globe (Berlin) – Wednesdays, 7 p.m.

The Greene Turtle (Salisbury) – Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.

The Irish Penny (Salisbury) – Thursdays, 8 p.m.