Champions Sports Bar — Restaurant in Biddeford

I came to Champions Bar & Grill on a Tuesday night in early July. I travel Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts for work. On overnights I often look for a local sports bar for dinner. It’s a plus if there’s pool or karaoke. Champions has both and the pool is free. They also have great bar food at a great price point. The clientele is friendly and mostly locals. Very welcoming crowd.

Now let’s talk about Kelynda and Rachel the dynamic duo. These lovely ladies make this place tick. From the moment I walked in Rachel made me feel like I was at my local bar. Happy with a welcoming smile. And Kelynda always smiling, warm and welcoming. Their work ethic and ability to control the room was impressive.

Part of that may be Andrew, the gentle giant. I would not want to be the one to make him angry. Yes he is the room control officer, lol. Sounds better than bouncer. But don’t make the big guy have to demonstrate what he’s capable of.

Then there’s Carly the Manager of this small but seasoned crew. She oversees the team and takes the weight off Mark’s shoulders. You can see where the work ethic comes from. It’s because the ladie’s work as a team. It’s pretty cool to watch if you appreciate a great small business that understands what it takes to be great .Happy, committed, hardworking employees. Oh ya Kelynda is the newest member of the team and she’s been here 10 years. This speaks volumes .

Then there’s Derek the Karaoke/ DJ that keeps the crowd entertained throughout the entire work week. That’s right Karaoke Monday through Friday. A lot of very talented singers that come and most are the local folks that frequent the bar. This is my third time here in 10 days and will go nowhere else when I’m in the Portsmouth area .

Last but certainly not least is owner and founder of this local watering hole , Mark Blake. I met him the 2nd time I came for dinner. One of the best owners I ever met because his team is so good he never had to move from his seat. It speaks to the teamwork that makes the establishment run like a well oiled machine.

This is my knew home when I’m in the Portland area. Thank you team...

I went for simple drink was in a good mood when I got there whenever I go to a bar I only order one thing and that’s a long island, they have two types of Long Island drinks Blue and regular which is the (coke/pepsi), I told the bartender I wanted a regular one she took a small glass out and I told her I wanted a bigger glass , she started to say how I said I wanted a regular one so at that point I realize she didn’t know what I was making reference to when I said regular meaning the color not the size , if she said the one I should’ve said what “tall” that simply means “short” would be the opposite , she started to mumble about “you said regular so how am I supposed to know you wanted a tall drink “in a rude tone , so I’m confused because I’m not a confrontational person so I said when I said regular I meant coke she started to say there is no such thing as a blue Long Island , got really loud I didnt even raise my voice I was just trying to get her to understand what I meant ,she got even louder saying I should move from infront of her let her serve the people behind me , threw the glass down talking about I should go to the next bartender blah blah like she think a grown man is going to take orders from her talking to me like a child , the second hand embarrassment I felt knowing everybody was looking because she is the top of her voice , I literally just walked out and took a 20 minute drive down to Portland and the craziest thing they knew exactly what I meant when I said regular , I will never go to that bar again how can you be a bartender and not know they have different variants of Long Island and when being corrected you want to get loud and insulting, it’s a “okay” bar but the bartenders make the experience the worst this my first time ever doing a Google review I was so pissed, you’re better off going to Portland with younger and more understanding bartenders not old people that hate...

I drove an hour to find a karaoke place. You can see they are singing but no one explains how you find a song or turn it in to the host. He just pointed at a QR Code, not like I could have heard a word he was saying. This place was loud. Like front row at a concert, ears aching, looking for napkins to stick in your ears hoping to avoid permanent damage loud and sadly they only have coasters. We sat at a tall two top bar table for about ten minutes and we weren't acknowledged by bar staff at all. So I went to the bar to scream my order at her over the blaring music. I'm no punk I was front row at some amazing shows but there is no need for this bar to be amphetheater loud at all. They had some good singers but even Eddie Vedder doesn't need a Pearl Jam song that loud. It wasn't like he needed to have it that loud to cover up horrible singers either people didn't suck at all most were pretty good. When I finally got their attention both of the bartenders were helpful and nice. I thought it was silly for both of them to stand back there when new confused people sat at tables waiting for them every ten minutes or so and others had near empty drinks. Sometimes you gotta come out from behind the bar. Which they did but only to sing. So you bus your tables and carry your drinks hoping some of the very nice but a little sloppy customers don't try to get you to dance with them or want to scream something nice and hug you so you spill your drinks. The highlight of our evening was a guy who wanted to ask us something but would lean in and just start giggling uncontrollably. He wanted to play rock paper scissors for no reason but he was so damned happy how could we deny him anything. I would have loved to have gotten to know any of the fun loving group of people there that night. It's my loss truly, but I couldn't hear a word over the insanely loud karaoke. Turn it down, and...