CINCINNATI -- One afternoon last month, a tall, familiar-looking man ducked into Allez Café in downtown Cincinnati for a meal.
Joe Flacco was hungry. The 18-year NFL veteran quarterback and Super Bowl MVP had recently relocated after the Cincinnati Bengals acquired him via a trade with the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 7. With his wife, Dana, and their five children home in New Jersey, Flacco sidled up to the bar for an experience that is gaining in popularity.
He ate alone.
"I used to see guys sitting at a bar by themselves or just sitting by themselves and eating and [being like], 'Man, I feel so bad for that guy,'" Flacco said recently. "You almost want to go join him.
"Now I realize that dude was in heaven."
When Flacco stopped in at Allez Café, nestled in the Over-The-Rhine district of downtown Cincinnati, casual NFL fan Kile Yurchak immediately recognized him. Instinctively, Yurchak welcomed Flacco by name as if he were a regular. Flacco ordered a side salad and a turkey sandwich on focaccia bread.
Facing the bar that features exposed brick and a collection of plants that range from a Pothos potted plant to a spider aralia, Flacco settled in for a quiet meal like so many other locals.
"I used to see guys sitting at the bar by themselves eating and I used to feel so bad for them and now I realize that dude was in heaven."
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) October 22, 2025
Not many of us can relate with being on a new team, in a new city, without our family, but many of us can relate to this. pic.twitter.com/FhSgSe6Jd8
"It's people that are in the same position as he is," said Yurchak, who runs the front of house at Allez. "You work down here. His job is down here, just like a lot of people's are."
A few blocks away, Chris Craft was enjoying a similar experience. Craft, who works for a grain company, was in town from Birmingham, Alabama, ahead of a planning meeting for a milling convention Cincinnati will host next year.
Staying a few blocks away, he fired up his phone, looked for a place to eat at and settled on O'Malley's In the Alley, known as the second-oldest bar in town. As he finished off a basket of wings and a drink in the late afternoon, he shared the same sentiments as someone who has played in 204 NFL games and been named a Super Bowl MVP.
"It just lets us know we're all human," Craft said. "We're all built the same. We all have the same challenges, and we all need the same things.
"Sometimes, it's personal space, and sometimes it's interaction with people."
Jeremy "Ugly" Hale, a longtime worker in the service industry in Cincinnati, has seen celebrities navigate the solo-dining space over the years. Oftentimes, sports figures and athletes enjoy the solitude. Others, such as comedians and social media influencers, might prefer a more interactive setting.
"For instance, with Flacco, I know he has five kids, so he wants to come out by himself," Hale said. "The last thing I want is to have a whole bunch of people hounding him."
Of course, Flacco has never been one who demands a pristine dining experience, given his noted love of McDonald's.
By all accounts, Flacco has been nothing but approachable when visiting spots around Cincinnati. Whether it's at Delwood in Mount Lookout, an area where Bengals coaches are frequently spotted, or getting coffee at Deeper Roots on Fourth Street, Flacco blends in as well as a 6-foot-6 man can.
When Flacco makes his twice-daily trip for coffee, the order remains the same: black drip with a little room for half-and-half. And for Olivia Roebuck, a former financial adviser-turned-barista, Flacco has the aura of someone who has been around the town for a while.
"It's like he's always been coming here," said Roebuck, who noted that Flacco joked that if football doesn't work out, he wouldn't mind working at Deeper Roots.
The Bengals traded for Flacco to serve as a placeholder until starter Joe Burrow, who is spotted much less frequently in public, is ready to return from his turf toe injury. That might be on Thanksgiving against the Baltimore Ravens.
In the meantime, Flacco is enjoying the seventh NFL city -- Baltimore, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Cincinnati -- he has represented.
"I'd rather be at home, sitting at the dinner table with my kids and hearing what the hell they were talking about all day," Flacco said last month. "But if you have to do it, you might as well take advantage of it."
So far, he has taken advantage of his on-field opportunity with great success. Even if the Bengals haven't won much -- losers of six of their past seven -- Flacco has been very productive. He's sixth in passing yards per game at 258.6 and in a loss to the Bears on Nov. 2, he became the first 40-year-old in NFL history to throw for 450 yards and four touchdowns in a game.
Off the field, Cincinnatians treat Flacco as one of their own, despite the fact that he has been in town for only a handful of weeks.
"He's a part of it, even if it's just for a season," Yurchak said. "He's a part of our city for at least the next couple of months."
And if you see him dining alone, save your pity. He's in heaven.