ABOUT US

The Mercury News badge for best in SV2022

Spring 2022

MERCURY NEWS SAN JOSE

Being nominated and listed as The Best Sports Bar in Silicon Valley by the readers of Mercury News makes us feel great. We aim to please our guests and hold ourselves to high standards of hospitality and service.

Four women posing with a plaque in front of a bar

Winter 2021

METRO SILICON VALLEY

Rookies was nominated in 2021 by Metro Best of Silicon Valley for Best Sports Bar. Its always an honor when we are recognized as the best for doing what we love. Thank you!

A bar with a large screen displaying a baseball game

Summer 2021

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

We’re excited the Merc included us in their article ‘8 Great Bay Area Sports Bars for Watching Pro & College Football’. They said…’These days you can catch the game at a classic hangout, an upscale restaurant, or even a chic movie complex.’…and we’re thrilled that we made their MVP list for the entire Bay Area!

A group of people with masks posing in front of a bbq grill

Summer 2020

NEW SMOKER IN WILLOW GLEN

Since we love all of our fans, we invested in a top-of-the-line Traeger Smoker for the Willow Glen location. Not only does this world-class cooking machine create some of the juiciest tri-tips and chickens we’ve ever tasted, its super hi-tech and can be controlled by an app on our phones. Now, that’s smokin meats at its finest.

A group of women holding a check in front of a bar

August 2019

GOOMBAHS & SECOND HARVEST

On a gorgeous Hot August Sunday Night we partnered up with Silicon Valley’s very own Goombahs Car Club to help raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank at Rookies in Willow Glen. Goombahs Car Club had our parking lot packed with classic cars while guests enjoyed everything we have to offer in house. The event was off the hook and we’re happy to announce that we raised over thirteen hundred dollars for Second Harvest Food Bank.

Roochie's all-star game major league baseball

July 2019

All-Star 7th Inning Stretch

Take me to Rookies Sports Lodge, the best place in San Jose
Buy me some hot wings and ice cold drinks
I won’t care if I dust the whole thing
Let us root root root for the All Stars,
The best in the league its insane!
For its strikes, hits and hella of home runs
From the best in the game!

San francisco rovers viewing party

May 2019

SJ QUAKES VIEWING PARTY

SJ Quakes hosted a viewing party for the team’s match against the New England Revolution at Rookies in Willow Glen. The Earthquakes Brand Ambassador team was on-site to provide fans with giveaways and raffles for various prizes. Just another fun time for Rookies Fans!

A group of people posing for a photo under a tent, at golf event

April 2019

BASEBALL FOR KIDS CHARITY GOLF

When Coach Milligan called and asked us to Sponsor an event that supports both kids and sports, we said yes right away because we love kids and sports. This year Baseball for Kids Charity Golf Tournament at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club brought dozens of generous locals together to support the cause, and we are proud to be part of the awesomeness.

Best of silicon valley 2019

March 2019

SILICON VALLEY’S BEST SPORTS BAR

Humbled by the tremendous amount of community support we get from our awesome regulars and guests. We’re super pleased to announce that we won Silicon Valley’s Best Sports Bar from Metro Newspaper again, and we know that it’s all because of your votes.
THANK YOU!

A poster for the cinequest film and creativity festival

February 2019

PROUD SPONSORS OF CINEQUEST

We’re gonna hit the silver screen, grab our directors chairs, rub elbows with the pros on the red carpet and support the arts. Picture this, Silicon Valley’s Best Sports Bar meets Silicon Valley’s Best Film Festival. Things are looking pretty darn delicious!

Nhl all star game san jose jan 25

January 2019

NHL ALL-STARS IN SAN JOSE

Its not everyday that we get the National Hockey League’s Best of the Best in our backyard, and January’s NHL All-Star game at the SAP Center brought Downtown San Jose to life with hockey love and a very cool crowd.

voted 1 sports bar

DECEMBER 2018

#1 SPORTS BAR IN SJ BY FOURSQUARE

We were humbled to learn social media giant Foursquare ranked us #1 on their list of ‘The 7 Best Sports Bars in San Jose’. Its very cool to hear that Jacquelin loved our the Juicy Lucy burger and that Max enjoyed the nachos and wings. We love all of the tips and photos on Foursquare and thank everyone who ranked us number one!

sjpd pal

NOVEMBER 2018

SJPD PAL COMMUNITY SUPPORT

We at Rookies believe the children are our future. That we should teach them team activities and let them learn along the way. Show them all the beauty healthy activities possess inside. Give them some space and gear to make it easier. Let the children’s hard work and dedication remind us how we used to be. Because the greatest Love of all is community support to us. We’re proud to support the San Jose Police Activities League (PAL) non-profit organization.

preformance 12 month

OCTOBER 2018

100% PERFORMANCE – 12-MONTH REVIEW

2018 has been a fabulous year for us here at Rookies. Not only were we voted as The Best Sports Bar in Silicon Valley by both the Metro Newspaper and The Mercury News, but we have received 100% positive reviews directly from our private event guests and parties. We take loads of pride when it comes to accommodating our guests and receiving 100% positive reviews in the last 12-months is a good sign that we’re doing exactly what we set out todo. To Be Great. Cheers to you and thank you for all of the positive feedback!

celebrity sighting

SEPTEMBER 2018

CELEBRITY SIGHTING – POST MALONE IN #DTSJ

When Rap star Post Malone entered the building he had been saucin’, swaggin’ and ballin’ on all over San Jose. He reminded us that his mama called, saw him on TV, said that stuff done changed ever since he was on, and that he dreamed it all ever since he was young. And even though they said he would be nothing, he overcame these objections and now they always tell him congratulations! After all, Post Malone cheered for his team (Dallas Cowboys) and enjoyed a cold Bud Light. It was a pleasure meeting him!

royals all stars

AUGUST 2018

SC ROYALS ALL STARS

Here are a the Santa Cruz Royals Baseball Team All-Stars sporting their new jerseys with Rookies Pride. Being a locally family owned business ourselves, we take loads of pride in supporting the Santa Cruz Royals Men’s Senior Baseball team with some flashy gear. Plus, its always cool when they visit us for a celebration. Nice work All-Stars!

sv beer week

JULY 2018

SV BEER WEEK W/ 6 RIVERS BREWING

For the 2018 Silicon Valley Beer Week we had a Tap Takeover and Meet the Owner with Six Rivers Brewing and a special guest, San Jose native and owner of Six Rivers Brewing, Meredith Maier. It was a great time indeed, especially when KQED arrived to interview Meredith. CLICK HERE to listen to KQED’s 90-second podcast. Cheers!

mercury news

JUNE 2018

MERCURY NEWS – BEST SPORTS BAR

For lunch, Happy Hour, game time or family dinners, Rookies Spots Lodge delivers spirit, service and a good time. The Willow Glen spot – Where it all began – has 22+ HDTV screens including a 90-inch and three 80-inch screens, plus a tailgate room for private groups up to 45 people. The newest Rookies is located on the iconic, downtown corner of South First and San Fernando Streets, where it is gaining popularity for its patio for up to 60 peopled The Luxury Box – a private suite for up to 16 people. They can handle full-facility parties for up to 200! Menus feature sandwiches, pizzas, salads, tasty appetizers, a full bar, great beer and copious cheering.

metro newspaper

APRIL 2018

METRO NEWSPAPER

Voted Best Sports Bar – We’re so blessed to receive this award again and we couldn’t have done it without our awesome fans. From everyone here at Rookies, we thank you for Voting us as one of The Best Sports Bar in Silicon Valley again!

walk ms

FEBRUARY 2018

FUNDRAISER THANK YOU LETTER

Thank you so much for making the donation to M.S. from the auction you sponsored. It was a nice surprise to get Andy’s email to advise me that the donation was made to my teams walk this year. Thank you so much. It was such a lovely event the MS people did to kick off our 2018 walk. A fun bar on the inside, and our area was perfect for us. The food was delicious…and I’m a wine fan but know my son is likely to visit after I told him about it for your beer and sports. Thank You! Linda

our gridiron constituion

JANUARY 2018

OUR GRIDIRON CONSTITUTION

We the people of Rookies Spots Lodge, in order to create a most excellent football viewing experience, insure delicious food, provide cold beers and cocktails, promote crowd cheering, and secure the blessings of many TV networks, do ordain and will show every college and professional pre-season, regular season, conference, seasonal bowl, Wild Card, Playoff and Championship game…..because we love Football!

alumni golf class

OCTOBER 2017

BELLARMINE ALUMNI GOLF CLASS

We love supporting our community and our guests as much as we can. This year we sponsored a hole at the Bellarmine Alumni Golf Classic and besides it being a successful fundraising event, we all had a blast. Fore!

open table winner choice

AUGUST 2017

OPENTABLE DINERS’ CHOICE AWARD

Rookies has been selected by OpenTable diners’ as one of the best. The OpenTable Diners’ Choice Award winners are selected according to real feedback from diners like you who booked through OpenTable. Ever since we opened our doors, the community has shown us so much love and support. Getting cool awards like this is humbling and makes us work harder knowing our guests love what we do. Cheers!

santa cruz royals baseball

JULY 2017

SANTA CRUZ ROYALS BASEBALL

We love our communities and get lots of enjoyment out of participating with and sponsoring the Santa Cruz Baseball Club. The Santa Cruz Royals are an amateur adult wood-bat baseball team founded in 2015, playing in the San Jose Mens Senior Baseball League Dunn Division…and they love visiting us after games. Go Royals!

san jose and metro newspaper

MAY 31, 2017

SANJOSE.COM & METRO NEWSPAPER

Headliner in SanJose.com’s Nightlife section and found in the May 31, 2017 issue of Metro Newspaper, we’ve been featured again for something cool. The idea that we had 1-of-2 Lagunitas Firkin Kegs of the ever so tasty 12th of Never (that we tapped on June 1st for the first game of the NBA Finals with Warriors and Cavs) was good enough for the newspaper that Voted us Best Sports Bar in Silicon Valley to write about.

mercury news cocktails

MAY 30, 2017

MERCURY NEWS COCKTAIL CHRONICLES

When Sal Pizarro enters the building, be ready for some solid reporting on cocktails and the boozy things. In his most recent article about us, Sal breakdown our Cocktail Menu, describes our ambiance and makes his suggestions to Mercury News readers.

best things california

MAY 15, 2017

BEST THINGS CALIFORNIA

We were voted as one of the Best Sports Bars in all of California. Sitting at #8 in the entire Golden State, the folks at BestThingsCa.com gave us a nice mention. Cheers!

san jose sharks viewing party

APRIL 12, 2017

SAN JOSE SHARKS VIEWING PARTY

When the Sharks call you and ask you to be the Official Location for the first game of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, you say yes. We had a blast and the San Jose Sharks fans were loving it too.

soccer game viewing party

MARCH 25, 2017

REVIEW: SOCCER GAME VIEWING PARTY

“Ricky did a great job coordinating with me before the event. He even had the big table moved out of the Luxury Box to better accommodate the large crowd I had (18 people). We had specifically asked to watch a soccer match on FS1 so they had to use the direct stream to the big TV in that room. They had tested it out earlier in the day to make sure it worked which showed excellent preparation. For the actual party, he had the feed going about 1/2 an hour before the match which gave us time to watch some pre-game, the national anthem, etc.. Claudia and her trainee, Sophia did a great job serving the party. I will definitely recommend friends have their events here. Thanks for everything!”

fehr and peers happy hour

MARCH 24, 2017

REVIEW: FEHR AND PEERS HAPPY HOUR

“We appreciated being able to reserve a section for our group, even with the craziness of the NCAA tournament. Our server took great care of us and it really was beneficial to have her designated to our area. Thank you.”

great birthday party

MARCH 22, 2017

REVIEW: GREAT BIRTHDAY PARTY

“It was a great experience! There are a few things I wanted to mention: 1. The happy hour was great! Great prices. 2. People enjoyed the appetizers we ordered! 3. Great drink selection. 4. The staff and service was very kind.5. We really appreciate getting to use the back patio at no cost and with no minimums! 6. Ricky was very accommodating and gracious with changes we had with timing. I look forward to having future events here!”

MARCH 21, 2017

KTVU CHANNEL 2 NEWS MARCH MADNESS

All NCAA events at the SAP Center in Downtown San Jose are non-alcoholic and KTVU Channel 2 News stopped by to see how business was doing. We had some cool folks from out of town visiting and lots of locals enjoying the March Madness games with us. It was a blast!

the table of st joseph

MARCH 20, 2017

REVIEW: THE TABLE OF ST. JOSEPH LA TAVOLA DI SAN GIUSEPPE

“Amazing collaboration with the rest of the downtown restaurants in celebration of our city’s name: Saint Joseph/San Jose Together we fed 400 people from the homeless, business, and faith community. A statement in solidarity!”

winner best sports bar voted by you

MARCH 15, 2017

METRO NEWSPAPER

Voted Best Sports Bar in Silicon Valley – We’re honored to receive this award and we couldn’t have done it without our awesome customers. From everyone here at Rookies, we thank you for making us The Best in Silicon Valley again.

private events in downtown

FEB, 2017

REVIEWS – PRIVATE EVENTS IN DOWNTOWN

“SJSU Wine Tasting – Service was great, very friendly!”
“Cencal Volleyball Meetup – Atmosphere was great! Our large party appreciated Ricky’s effort”.

mayor sam office

JAN 31, 2017

REVIEW: MAYOR SAM LICCARDO’S OFFICE

“The server was great – she was involved just the right amount. And the food was great, too. We loved it!” (Jim Reed, Chief of Staff to Mayor Sam Liccardo)

vmc foundation

JAN 26, 2017

REVIEW: THE VMC FOUNDATION

“AMAZING reception party on all counts! The VMC Foundation thanks you for hosting this celebration. We hope to be back very soon! Gather is awesome. Your staff are rock stars!”

sanjose.com article

DEC 29, 2016

SANJOSE.COM ARTICLE

Rookies: A Big New Player in the Downtown Sports Bar Scene by Josh Koehn: “As far as Silicon Valley sports bars go, one would be hard pressed to find more pixels per square foot than the new Rookies”

mercury news article

DEC 11, 2016

MERCURY NEWS ARTICLE

On the burger menu is one rarely seen in these parts: the Juicy Lucy, a south Minneapolis creation. It’s a big burger with a core of melted cheese instead of cheese melted on top.

san jose grand opening

DEC 10, 2016

ROOKIES DOWNTOWN SAN JOSE GRAND OPENING

The grand opening of our second location in Downtown San Jose was a remarkable event. With fun events like hourly raffle prizes, guest appearances by city officials and the San Jose Downtown Association and a ribbon cutting with Mayor Sam Liccardo, it was a blast and we’re super happy to be Downtown San Jose.

metro bar guide

JAN 19, 2016

SANJOSE.COM & METRO BAR GUIDE

Willow Glen’s Rookies Sports Lodge is a cut above your average sports bar. By Sal Pizarro: “This is a true neighborhood hangout….Rookies opened in February 2010….in what used to be a Straw Hat Pizza in the Carriage Square shopping center on Meridian Avenue.

metro newpaper award

MARCH 2015

METRO NEWSPAPER AWARD

Voted third place Best Sports Bar in Silicon Valley. This year the Metro had segmented Silicon Valley’s regions and we came in 3rd overall Best Sports Bar in the entire Silicon Valley. Very cool!

metro news review

AUGUST 30, 2011

MERCURY NEWS REVIEW

Willow Glen’s Rookies Sports Lodge is a cut above your average sports bar. By Sal Pizarro: “This is a true neighborhood hangout….Rookies opened in February 2010….in what used to be a Straw Hat Pizza in the Carriage Square shopping center on Meridian Avenue.