Where there’s Santa, there’s Christmas, and when hundreds of Santas plan to run through State College’s bars, there’s bar openings.

Champs sports grill apparently wanted to add another drinking destination to the bar tour and opened its doors just in time for the annual Santa Crawl. The restaurant’s newest location at 139 S. Allen St. has been undergoing construction all week, evidently in preparation to be able to open the bar for the event.

“I’ve had plenty of people ask me about a bar special, so I’ve lined one up for you – and it’s literally a BAR special not a drink special,” somebody posted on the Santa Crawl website.

Doors opened at 5 p.m. and Champs was added to the 10-11 p.m. bar crawl slot with the Allen Street Grille, Zeno’s, and Pickle’s. Though the restaurant was ready to go for the Santa Crawl, it’s unclear whether or not it will remain open for good or if a grand opening will occur at a later date. Employees declined comment to the CDT about the restaurant’s opening, but a post on the Santa Crawl Facebook event makes it seem as though Champs only opened for the bar crawl.

It was first rumored in May that Champs would be filling the Allen Street location left by Chili’s, and by July the deal went through and the liquor license was applied for. The restaurant was reportedly scheduled to open in October.

Champs held open interviews last week and will continue to do so this week, with opportunities to interview on Monday and Tuesday, December 14 and 15, from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. The Allen Street location is the third for the sports grill, with restaurants also on North Atherton and in Altoona.