The resurgence of trivia night at Mill House
Finding a way to stand out; A challenge most restaurants faced as businesses reopened after the COVID-19 shutdown. Mill House Brewing Company has been a well-known restaurant in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., hoping to create the best experience for customers as they walk through the door. The pandemic did not pause their motivation to continue their efforts, resulting in the reinvention of Brews & Brains, a Wednesday night trivia competition.
Mill House originally attempted a trivia night back in 2020, but like all social events, it was suspended. As the world began to open up, they pulled the trigger and restarted the event. “It was one of those things we weren’t going to let the pandemic stop us from something we want to do,” general manager Tanner Hollister explained.
Mill House hired Trivia Break to help with the event. Trivia break founder, Andre Nacmanie, has hosted Brews & Brains since Oct. 2021. He creates most of his questions himself and generates a fun environment for all. Hollister said he is consistently changing the theme, making it a different experience every Wednesday.
“The trivia community of Hudson Valley is tight-knit,” Nacmanie explained. He confirmed competition gets intense, and some people even hunt down trivia events around the area to play. While this was supposed to be a social event for Mill House to implement, it turned into an opportunity to grow the restaurant’s demographic.
According to Hollister, about 30 to 40 people come in each Wednesday night to play. It brings in a different group compared to who regularly comes in, but that was Mill House’s intention. “It’s always great to bring a new generation into Mill House and share the type of restaurant we are,” Hollister said.
Every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., Nacmanie’s voice booms over the microphone. “Time to see who the smartest person in the room is,” he jokes. He explains how the game will work. He asks a question, teams get four and a half minutes to answer, and the winning team gets a $50 gift card to Mill House. No phones allowed, just the collective knowledge of the people at your table. And with that, he reads off the first question, and music floods the room, awaiting the answers.
Theresa Valentine and Katherine Pozzuoli, self-proclaimed “seasoned pros,” were at Mill House’s most recent trivia night. Friends since Kindergarten, the duo came with their significant others, ready to compete.
Although Valentine and Pozzuoli have been trivia fanatics for years, the two do not prepare for the competition. “I just twist a bolt open and see what happens,” Valentine jokes. While some of their answers are admittedly ridiculous, the pair is also tactical with their trivia approach.
Each woman has their skillset: Valentine with her fond love of pop culture and music and Pozzuoli keeping up with day-to-day news. As the night continued, they celebrated correct answers with high-fives and enjoyed food and drinks to keep them going throughout the two-hour competition.
Mill House focused on creating a fun and inviting social event to bring people in, regardless of the pandemic. However, a night where you play trivia for two hours poses the question of drinking and driving. Hollister confirmed there has never been a problem with overly intoxicated participants. The constant interaction and the fun environment offers a distraction, and because many regulars come in and love the experience, their goal is to be as respectful as possible, said Hollister.
Mill House remains a Poughkeepsie, N.Y. favorite with great food and top-notch beer, but it is the new development of Brews & Brains that, “opened the doors to others who have not come into Mill House,” Hollister said. Mill House could have accepted the pandemic and ran business as usual. However, they were able to persevere. They evolved their restaurant into more than just food and created a social event that built a bigger community. They challenged themselves and found their way to stand out.
