Odds are you’ve heard or seen the College World Series markerboard that tallies which fanbase from the eight participating teams is leading the Jell-O shot challenge. Nebraska Public Media’s Aaron Bonderson reports on one business near the stadium that’s seen a spike in foot traffic and social media clout since the College World Series tournament moved from Rosenblatt Stadium to Downtown Omaha 15 years ago.
Aaron Bonderson: I spoke with Kevin Culjat, owner of Rocco’s Pizza and Cantina, about the famous Jell-O shot challenge, how important the College World Series is for businesses in Omaha and preparations for the College World Series.
How long have you been in the business?
Kevin Culjat: My entire life. I’m third generation in the business, my grandfather had four bars, my father built nine, and I’ve built 13. So we’ve been doing this for a long time.
Bonderson: The idea to sell Jell-O shots started with manager McEvoy. He worked at the bar Good Nights, which sat where Rocco’s does today.
Culjat: When we took over and opened Rocco’s, he asked if we could do that again. I said, well, I think that’s a good idea, but let’s go with Jell-O. It’s easier, we’re not mixing stuff up. We put a shelf up. We put some colored shots up with Jell-O, and we kind of went with it. And it’s actually going on for longer than people think. So the second year we were doing that, Arkansas was in town.
Bonderson: And Arkansas fans could drink — or eat, I guess? On the team’s postseason march, one fan bought more than 600 shots.
But that only scratched the surface. With shots flowing and jiggling, Culjat decided to donate one dollar for every Jell-O shot sold to a food bank near the campus of the drinker’s choice. The shot costs $5. By 2023, the owner of Louisiana-based chicken finger chain Raising Cane’s set the record, buying 6,000 squishy shots at one time. By the end of the tournament, LSU Tiger fans purchased more than 68,000.
Culjat: In five years, we’ve donated a little over half million dollars to food insecurity, which we’re really, really proud of. People seem to like it. They have fun with it. Last year, it was kind of nice. We went down to Baton Rouge to LSU, and we got some letters from some other people, and you know, you forget that when you know everything started to change, you know, with the new administration, a lot of things got cut, and like at LSU, they told us that we were their only singular donation for the year.
With this year marking the 15th World Series in Downtown Omaha, several businesses have thrived next to the stadium and the new baseball village filled with vendors. Culjat talked about the nuance of the double elimination tournament’s “if necessary” games.
Bonderson: Another 50 cents per shot gets donated to an organization fighting food insecurity in the Omaha area. And now McEvoy tracks the shot tally per team on a marker board and keeps fans updated on social media, with LSU still holding the all-time record. How big is this 10 or 11 days for businesses down here, not just Rocco’s, but for everybody?
Culjat: It’s massive for all of us, you know, within the 10 block area here. I mean, I think our numbers the last couple years are anywhere from 38% to 45% of your whole year you make in 12 days. You know, and you’re dependent upon some things. Last year was kind of an off year. We didn’t get any Thursday games, so you lost two Thursday games there. We got a rain out on Wednesday night, so they didn’t play Wednesday night, and then there was no extra championship game. You know, when you’re counting on X amount of games, you lose three — but it was still obviously awesome. And, but it’s big, I mean, it’s what everybody down here gears up for. It’s a big chunk of money in a short period of time. It’s fun. You know, the staff loves it. They all make great money. And it’s cool to see the people that come every year. We’ll know 30% of the people here, whether their teams are here or not, that just come here every year for their vacation to be a part of this.
Bonderson: Culjat says sales also depend on the teams participating in the series. Southeastern Conference fans love baseball, and five of the eight teams competing this time around come from that league. So Culjat is bullish on how this year could go.