By Benyamin Davidsons

Aaron Rodgers flexed his muscle to help boost a lower-Manhattan Green Bay Packers bar struggling amid the Coronavirus shutdown.  Kettle of Fish, a go-to spot for Packers fans in Greenwich Village, has not been able to open up again since the wide-spread shutdown in mid-March.  While it can serve drinks to go, there is no parking lot or space for patrons to be served outdoors, which has left the bar without income and at risk of permanent shutdown.

As reported by the NY Post, the 36-year-old National Football League quarterback for the Green Bay Packers took to Twitter last week to share the bar’s GoFundMe link and support the establishment.  The star quarterback boasts 4.3 million followers on Twitter, which gave the GoFundMe campaign a big jolt in the right direction.  As of Monday night, the campaign had reached $54,000 out of its $100,000 lofty goal.  Rodgers shared a photo of himself at the bar last year, with the caption, #savethekettle #.

“We were absolutely thrilled,” to have Rodgers’ help, said owner Patrick Daley, 65.  The bar, built in 1950, has a reputation as being a hangout for the likes of Bob Dylan, Norman Mailer and Jack Kerouac.  Daley had started out as an employee at the joint and ended up buying it from the previous owners.  The no-frills establishment gradually turned into a hot-spot for Packers fans, with an especially large crowd on NFL Sundays.  “It’s a full-fledged Packers bar on Christopher Street,” said Daley, who moved to NY in the 1980’s from the home of the Packers, Wisconsin.  Kettle of Fish’s future is now at stake, particularly if the NFL season is interrupted, or if the bar can’t open its doors to fans for the games.

Last April, on the first day of the NFL draft, Rodgers had visited the pub during a short trip to New York.  “He was just gonna stop at the kettle for 10 minutes” on his way to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Daley recalled.  Instead, “he stayed for 45 minutes and cancelled his flight.”

“We had a ball,” Daley said, adding praise for his celebrity patron. “He’s really a cool guy. He was modest, self-assured, great sense of humor.”  Dalay said he started the fundraiser for the bar, caving to regular patrons who begged him to take action to ensure the bar’s future.  “It definitely gave us a really good push,” Daley said, referring to Rodgers’ involvement.