The newest addition to a heap of Cullowhee businesses is Cullowings Sports Grill, located on Little Savannah Road just across from the Western Carolina University campus, which opened on Aug. 15.
Owned by Jamie and Dwight Winchester and managed by Daniel Parris, Cullowings is a unique addition to the sports bar scene in its close vicinity to the college campus.
Offering over 30 draft and 70 bottle beer choices, Cullowings’s unique location as well as its large food and drink menu forecast a positive future for the brand new sports grill.
Bottle beers range from $3 for popular favorites like Budweiser and Coors to $5 bottles for selections like Stone IPA and Victory Hop Devil.
Draft beers range from the cheapest selection at $2.25 for PBR to $4.50 for Fat Tire and Dales Pale Ale.
Cullowings will offer beer specials Sunday through Thursday, which includes “Sunday Buckets” for $11 of Budweiser or Bud Light, “Michelob Mondays” with $2 Michelob drafts or bottles and Amber Rock Ultra draft or bottles, “Pitcher Tuesdays” with $5 PBR or Budweiser pitchers, “Crafty Wednesdays” offering $3 craft beers, and “Pitcher Thursdays” with $5 pitchers of Budweiser or PBR.
For the classier drinker, Cullowings will also offer $3 glasses of wine, which include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Moscato, Pinot Grigio and White Zifandel.
Cullowings also offers a wide selection of food items to accompany their drinks.
Some appetizers and starters include cheese sticks, pretzel bites and onion rings, which range in price from $4.99 to $6.99
There are also some more interestingly named menu items, such as “Fear the Speir,” which is named after WCU head football coach Mark Speir and includes two whole dills, hand cut and Cullofried with a side of house ranch. “Cullofried” is not a special frying method, but just a play on words for the fried menu items.
Also included on the menu are bacon and cheddar fries named after former Catamount football standout Brad Hoover, a Black & Bleu Burger with blackened seasoning and bleu cheese crumbles, and “The Q,” a BBQ sandwich named after WCU hardwood great Anquell McCullom.
All sandwiches and burgers are served with homemade baked potato chips with seasoning that are a great compliment and given in large portions. No menu item exceeds $7.99, offering students and locals a chance to enjoy the game without breaking the bank.
This reporter was treated to the Cullowings Wrap, priced at $6.99 and stuffed with marinated grilled chicken breast, lettuce, and tomato. Hailed as the Cullowings signature wrap, the Cullowings Wrap is both fresh tasting and taste bud pleasing.
For wing lovers, Cullowings offers a wide variety of tasty sauces, including Mild to Catatonic Cullowing, sweet chili, Polynesian pineapple glaze and cinnamon chipotle, as well as dry rubs like Cajun, lemon pepper and Jamaican jerk. A dozen wings go for just under $10 while the more hungry customer can chow down three dozen for just under $24.
The sports grill itself is also a great atmosphere. From nearly a dozen large flat screen televisions to a custom Catamount painting on the wall by Eddie Redskull of Redskull Tattoos on Old Cullowhee Road, Cullowings is both unique but also pays homage to the university located so close to its doors.
From a large selection of beers to a well-priced and delicious food menu, new freshmen arriving on campus as well as returning seniors will find something to enjoy at Cullowings Sports Grill.
For more information, contact Cullowings Sports Grill at (828) 293-5800.
