Be first and be different. That’s what Coaches Corner Sports Bar & Grill owners John and Karen Maddaloni set out to do when they opened the restaurant in downtown Wetumpka seven years ago.
“Somebody told me in the food business when I first started, ‘the key to a restaurant is be first and be different,’” Maddaloni said. “So we were the first and we were different.”
John Maddaloni led the Wetumpka High School Indians football team to the Class 5A state semifinals in 1995, and he brings that same winning spirit to the restaurant at 203 Orline Street.
“The coolest thing is we’re more or less like a local gathering place. I know for me personally, the coolest thing has always been that I get to see people that were important in my coaching career that I know I wouldn’t see if I wasn’t sitting right here. Former players, teachers, former parents. I love that. That’s the best thing about it all,” said Maddaloni.
Located in the heart of downtown Wetumpka, Coaches Corner features a 3,000-square foot dining area, a scenic deck that overlooks the Coosa River, a game room for the kids and a banquet room for special parties and events.
Drawing inspiration from the Gulf Coast, Maddaloni occasionally features live music, but with more than 55 entrees on the menu, the food is the main attraction.
“We’re not fast food. We don’t cook anything until you order it. So people have to wait. But my thing was to have enough stuff going on so they don’t mind the wait,” he said.
Coaches Corner is best known for the Buffalo wings. There are 16 different flavors, ranging from the hottest, Flavor 911, to Boomyaki and Hoo Doo. On Thursdays, Coaches Corner hosts 50-cent wing night, but Maddaloni encourages patrons to arrive early to get a table.
“We sell a lot of wings; we definitely sell more wings than anything. I wanted to be a place that had a little more diversity about it,” Maddaloni said. “I always thought I didn’t want to limit being a place where you go to get just that one thing.
“Your girlfriend may want a steak, and you may want wings. Well, we’re the perfect place. We got both. You can try to have a little bit of this or a little bit of that.”
In addition to wings, the menu features a variety of burgers, sandwiches and wraps, salads and sides. Most lunch offerings are under $10, and dinner entrees, including seafood, chicken and steaks, are under $20.
The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. For information, call 334-452-3830 or visit the website at www.coachescornerbarandgrill.com.
