ARLINGTON, Texas—If you walk in the front door of Division Brewing on any given Wednesday night, you might see a quiet environment with a couple of people having drinks and pizza, but if you make your way to the back, you’ll likely be greeted by a bustling community of teams settling in for a night of trivia.
By 7 p.m. nearly every seat on the patio and in the brewery is filled. Groups are huddled over the answer sheet, some answer confidently while others second guess themselves. A mix of laughter and groans cuts through the room as the host reads off the questions, his voice carrying over the conversations going on. For two hours every Wednesday, the sense of community feels immediate.
Division Brewing, located at 506 E. Main St., was opened in 2015 by Wade Wadlington and Sean Cooley. For more than a decade, the spot has been carefully curating beer and an environment where people can connect in Arlington.
Pubguys Trivia Night on Wednesdays
Division Brewing introduced “Pubguys Trivia Night,” held every Wednesday from 7 p.m.-9 p.m., in October 2020 as a way to get people back in the door again after pandemic restrictions loosened. General Manager Arty Ortiz said things started slow, but a combination of Division’s pizza, the record store it also owns and word of mouth helped to grow the event.
“People love to get to know each other, get to know your neighbors, get to know your friends, and build more connections with anybody else that’s around,” Ortiz said.
The creation of mobile phones and social media has made it easier than ever to reach people, but the price humans pay is fewer in-person interactions.
Research done in March by the University of Missouri-Kansas City and University of Arizona found that, since 2005, the average person speaks approximately 338 fewer words per day. Over the span of a year, the total reaches 120,000 fewer words per person.
The decline doesn’t just result in quieter days but signals fewer opportunities to build relationships, share ideas and connect face-to-face. Trivia night pushes back against the trend, giving people a reason to put down their phones and engage with the people sitting across from them.
Provides a regular opportunity to hang out
Arlington resident Garrison Locke, 25, said he and his friends are there every week because it allows them to hang out regularly with other community members while answering questions and drinking one of the 15 craft beers on the menu.
Locke said the people who play are smart and passionate, leading to some good competitive games. He said his team took home 7th place one weekend and was happy with it. They came back the next weekend and took 7th again, proving their performance wasn’t a fluke.
In his time attending Pubguys Trivia Night, Locke said his favorite part of the night is the host.
“He puts a lot of heart into it, and he’s really good at what he does,” Locke said. “For kind of a small brewery, it’s cool to get somebody that good.”
At the center of it all is Fort Worth resident Stephan Fornal, the voice behind the microphone each week who keeps the game moving and energy high.
Fornal said he started hosting after he and his wife became regulars at the Dr. Jeckyll’s Beer Lab trivia night. Curious about breaking in, Fornal reached out to the owner of Division Brewing and landed the role.
He’s been hosting trivia night at Division Brewing since 2020 and said he has watched it grow from a slow post-pandemic restart into a packed weekly event filled with regulars and first-time players alike. Though he hosts trivia night at other bars, the Arlington institution stands as his favorite.
“People crave a place where they can come together as a community in person and talk and interact with a very large variety of people,” Fornal said.
As the final scores are read and teams come to terms with their placement, the energy in the room doesn’t disappear right away. Some groups linger, finishing up conversations or discussing early rounds while others are already planning their return in the following week.
