"We've received a lot of requests for a sports-oriented establishment," Jim Cheney said in October 2025, when Cambridge Square announced its first sports restaurant and bar to Chattanoogan.com. Cheney oversees marketing and leasing at the development off Lee Highway. He was describing one room. A year later, that request has turned into something closer to a map. One sports pub is open on the square, a second has a December date on Ooltewah Ringgold Road, and a third has been announced for Hunter Road. None of the three comes from a first-time operator. Each is run by people who already work in the restaurant business somewhere else.
Each one also sits on a different road, so the nearest one to your house this winter depends mostly on which side of Ooltewah you live on.
The first room went on the square
Game Day Social was the answer to Cheney's requests. Local restaurateurs Peter and Tiffany Gibson signed on at Cambridge Square in October 2025 with plans for a family-friendly, sports-themed restaurant and bar on the development's public square. They aimed to open in mid-December of that year. According to that announcement, the Gibsons run Sprinklez, a boutique ice cream shop in Cleveland. They have also worked in operations at high-end steak and Italian restaurants in Florida and North Carolina, and they planned to bring fine-dining service standards to a more casual room. The concept called for indoor and outdoor seating, screens throughout the space, kid-friendly fast service, burgers, custom sandwiches, specialty wings, salads, appetizers to share, several beers on tap, and wine and spirits.
It was running well before this football season started. In February 2026, Cambridge Square was promoting Game Day Social's Super Bowl wing special. In March, a follow-up post highlighted the kitchen's made-to-order food, which is fresh and never frozen. The restaurant's own website describes it as a family-owned sports bar and grill. It takes online orders and lists its address as 9453 Bradmore Lane, Suite 101.
The square suits a sports room. Development at Cambridge Square began in 2013, and it now has more than 45 commercial tenants, most of them locally owned. It sits less than a quarter mile east of I-75. A game that ends late still leaves a short drive home for anyone near the Lee Highway side.
A note on timing: the restaurant's website lists Tuesday as closed. Friday through Sunday run 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you're planning around a weeknight kickoff, check the posted hours before you head over.
Ooltewah Ringgold Road gets its own on December 14
The second sports pub is going about four miles of local roads to the south, in a different shopping pattern altogether. Beef 'O' Brady's is set to open at 1674 Ooltewah Ringgold Road on December 14, according to 1851 Franchise. Taylor Cochran is leading the new location. He already owns the chain's restaurant on Snow Hill Road.
That makes the Ooltewah opening an expansion by an operator who already knows this part of the county. The announcement describes a family-oriented sports pub built for families, sports teams, and neighborhood gatherings. The menu includes wings, Angus burgers, salads, sirloin, grilled salmon, a kids' menu, and a full bar.
On the 2026 calendar, December 14 falls on a Monday. That puts the opening in the last weeks of the college football regular season and right before the bowl games start. For households closer to the Ooltewah Ringgold Road corridor than to Lee Highway, it adds a second option that doesn't involve driving north through town.
Hunter Road and a Hixson menu heading east
The third room comes from across the river. Mike's Tavern, which has been on Highway 153 in Hixson, announced a second location at 5024 Hunter Road in Ooltewah. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported in July that the Ooltewah tavern is run by JPM Restaurants. Kane Weathers is the group's operations manager.
The Times Free Press described the plans as a 4,300-square-foot building with seats for 180 and a patio reached through a retractable garage-style door. The menu follows the Hixson tavern's. It includes fish and chips with housemade remoulade, brisket nachos, salmon, the Tavern Burger, onion rings, and weekend brunch. Local 3 News reported that the owners planned live entertainment along with food and drinks.
Weekend brunch and live entertainment on top of the menu point to a tavern meant for more than game nights. That fits Hunter Road, which sits on the opposite side of Ooltewah from Cambridge Square.
Three rooms, three roads
Side by side, the three places show the pattern. Each operator came to Ooltewah with a business already running, and no two of the three share a corridor.
| Venue | Address | Operator | Track record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Day Social | 9453 Bradmore Lane, Suite 101, Cambridge Square | Peter and Tiffany Gibson | Sprinklez ice cream in Cleveland, plus past restaurant roles in Florida and North Carolina |
| Beef 'O' Brady's | 1674 Ooltewah Ringgold Road | Taylor Cochran | Beef 'O' Brady's on Snow Hill Road |
| Mike's Tavern | 5024 Hunter Road | JPM Restaurants | Mike's Tavern on Highway 153 in Hixson |
In 2025, Cheney said Cambridge Square wanted "an environment, operated by local professionals with experience." The Snow Hill Road and Hixson operators who followed bring the same kind of track record to their own corridors.
The spread across roads matters as much as the operators. A sports bar on the square serves the Lee Highway and I-75 side. A pub on Ooltewah Ringgold Road serves the southern corridor. A tavern on Hunter Road sits on the other side of Ooltewah from both. For a household choosing a spot for an early kickoff or a late playoff game, that difference can mean a few minutes from home or a drive across town.
The bigger chains are landing at Hamilton Place
The largest new restaurant names in the area are going in at Ooltewah's edges, and that sets the local rooms apart. Ford's Garage opened to the public at 2102 Hamilton Place Blvd. on October 13, 2026, according to Chattanoogan.com. It pairs an automotive-themed setting with burgers, entrees, appetizers, craft beer, and cocktails. Franchisee TN Legends owns and operates it, and Ted Moats is managing partner. It adds another place to eat on the mall corridor. The three sports pubs above are inside Ooltewah itself.
Culver's is under construction in Ooltewah and expected to open in February 2027, the Times Free Press reported. Franchisee Ross Thomas also runs a Culver's in Elgin, Illinois. The Hixson Culver's belongs to a different franchisee. "I think we meet a lot of the family's needs when it comes to going out to eat," Thomas told the paper.
Two smaller openings round out the season, and both work for the hours before or after a game:
- Corona's, a Mexican restaurant at 2342 Shallowford Village Dr., offers dine-in, pickup, and delivery.
- Beignets & Brew, at 7019 Shallowford Road, serves specialty beignets and croissants with specialty coffees, teas, smoothies, "fizzies," and beer. Chattanoogan.com covered both openings in October.
Your winter game-day map
- Now through the end of the regular season: Game Day Social at Cambridge Square, with Tuesdays closed according to its posted hours.
- Monday, December 14: Beef 'O' Brady's scheduled opening at 1674 Ooltewah Ringgold Road.
- Hunter Road: Mike's Tavern's announced second location at 5024 Hunter Road, with its patio, brunch menu, and planned live entertainment.
- February 2027: Culver's expected opening.
At Bridge City Realty, we're a family-owned firm that keeps up with what opens along Lee Highway, Ooltewah Ringgold Road, and Hunter Road, because those corridors shape how a week in Ooltewah actually works. If you're thinking about which side of Ooltewah fits your routine, game nights included, we'd be glad to walk those roads with you. Start Your Home Search.
