Music, sports, food: Everything's available at the Stratford Inn Thursday, Mar. 24 2005 By Daniel Durchholz Special to the Post-Dispatch For decades, the Stratford Inn has stood in its spot along I-44, across from the Chrysler plant. In an earlier incarnation, it was a Ramada Inn that slowly went to seed. But in recent years, owner Michael Scauzzo has worked at remodeling and revitalizing the hotel and its facilities. Where once it was easy to take the place for granted as just another part of the landscape of gas stations, fast-food restaurants and industrial concerns dotting that stretch of road, it may be time to pull over and take a closer look. Or, at the very least, give the bar a go. The Stratford Bar & Grill has been serving up cold beer, hot food, live music and sports on TV for some time. But in the past year or so, bar manager Steve Kissell has redoubled those efforts. That's especially true in terms of live music. In addition to local groups, Kissell has added numerous tribute bands to the mix. The coming weeks - most often, on Saturday nights - will see acts imitating the likes of the Beatles, Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Led Zeppelin, Poison (the tribute band is called, amusingly, Posin), Scorpions, Guns N' Roses and Kiss. Classic rock and country artists with national followings also perform at the Stratford (albeit in the large ballroom adjacent to the bar, not the bar itself). Among the acts that have already played there are country music's original gangsta, David Allen Coe; KSHE Klassics Show perennials Gypsy and Mason Proffit (both of whom are returning to the venue soon); country-rock group Confederate Railroad; and pop-metalists Firehouse and Jani Lane (late of Warrant). Also recently featured in the ballroom: "The Men of Playgirl" dance revue. (Feel free to make your own joke here.) The first thing you notice when you enter the large, rectangular room are the TV monitors - dozens of them - which are showing all manner of sporting events, some in HDTV. Kissell says there are 52 monitors now, though he has plans to expand that to 75 in the future. The Stratford subscribes to numerous satellite-TV sports packages, so chances are - if there's a football, baseball, basketball, hockey or motor-sports contest (or even more esoteric events) to be seen - it can be seen there. For those who would rather participate in sports rather than simply watch them, the Stratford has trucked in tons of fine white Florida sand to form three sizable sand-volleyball courts out back. The courts are lit for night play and cooled by a sprinkler system to keep the sand from getting too hot in the summer sun. Spring league play begins on April 4 (summer and fall sessions also exist). More information is available at www.stlvolleyball.com or by calling 314-905-1102. Back inside, an enormous bar, perhaps 60 feet in length, dominates one side of the room. Happy hours are held from 2-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, with prices increasing incrementally by the hour. In conjunction with the current NASCAR season, Sundays will feature racing on the tube and happy hour all day. Ladies nights are Tuesday and Thursday; for a $5 admission fee, women drink for free. The Stratford's kitchen operates during the same hours as the bar. The fare is standard bar fare: appetizers such as chicken wings, toasted ravioli, nachos and peel-and-eat shrimp; salads; burgers, brats, and chicken, fish and steak sandwiches; and pizzas. All of it is reasonably priced. A daily all-you-can-eat lunch buffet is served from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Elsewhere in the bar are a half-dozen foosball tables, four pool tables, a selection of video games and a number of poker tables (a Texas hold 'em competition is held every Monday night). Most of the seating is on barstools placed around high tables throughout the bar. There are a handful of booths near the pool-foosball area. Finally, if you prefer surfing the Internet to any of the bar's other activities, you can do that, too, if you bring your laptop. The Stratford is a wi-fi hotspot. One other feature of the Stratford Bar & Grill deserves mention, though perhaps not an explicit one. Should you realize that you've had too much fun in an evening's time or find some other reason to take advantage of the situation (nudge, nudge): Hey, the hotel is right there. Stratford Bar & Grill Address: 800 South Highway Drive, Fenton Phone: 636-343-5757, ext. 367 Web site: www.stratfordbar.com Hours: 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-midnight Sunday Smoking: Smoking allowed throughout Credit cards: All major cards accepted Wheelchair access: Good