Fall is officially in full swing, and you know what that means - football season is back! While your center might already offer great game day deals, taking your food and drink operations to the next level will have people naming your bar as the game day hub.
In 2019, the average viewership for any regular-season NFL game was nearly 15 million. To top it off, college football brought in an average of 10 million viewers per game, while many more headed straight to the stadium.
Americans spend about $56 billion (about $170 per person in the U.S.) each year on attending sporting events. There are more than just chicken wings when it comes to businesses tackling their slice of the game day pie. The deals are huge, the beer is cold, the food is never-ending, and the experience is more important than ever. While watch parties at a friend's place have always been popular, fan-goers are eager to get back out and socialize on game day.
A big way to start building the game day experience at your center is by adding to the theme. One that always strikes a chord with me (I'm not a breakfast guy, but I am a bacon guy!) is to start frying up the pigskin. Pigskin pizza, pigskin potatoes, pigskin nachos. Not only does bacon add a premium, but due to the curing process, it is inherently salty. This means that it is paired perfectly with a thirst-quenching beer deal.
During games, not everyone is looking for a hefty meal. Currently, there are many popular small plates making their way to bars around the country that are easily stored and prepared. Currently, one fan favorite is fried mac and cheese balls, which can be bought frozen and quickly thrown in the fryer. They are affordable to keep on the menu and can be sold at a higher price by simply adding a side of your center's “secret sauce.”
While we are talking about cheese, a steaming hot plate of nachos is still as big a hit as ever, and some restaurants are elevating the game with a profitable success. The only thing better than a plate of nachos is a tower of nachos that feeds the whole table! You can get creative by adding any topping or sauce to your favorite cheese, from barbecued pork to buffalo chicken — just make sure you stack them high to have fans showing their friends their game day feast!
There's big money in the big game, so do not leave money on the table — leave food!
Football gives you plenty of ways to leverage coupons. Designate certain types of pizza at 30% off when the home team wins or providing a 10% discount on a certain beer for every touchdown. A little more fun than conventional game-day discounts.
Take Flight
We all know Americans drink a lot of beer, and in 2018 that number was 6.3 billion gallons. Sometimes you want to try something new, but do not want to throw your beer cash on a pint you might not like. Beer flights are showing up on bar menus all over the country, and they are a huge hit for those that consider brewing an art form.
The concept is simple: the guest orders a beer tasting flight, four 3- to 4.5-ounce samples of the customer's choice that add up to about a pint (give or take a few sips). The delivery is important too; while a paddleboard is most popular, many establishments customize flight boards to match the style or atmosphere of their location.
Ideally, the beers should be in order from light to dark beers; starting with darker beers that have more serious tones could overwhelm the lighter beers. A big part of this concept is having a great bartender who knows ale and can accurately describe to customers what the best options are for their personal taste.
Not only do flights bring in the booze bucks, but when everyone at a table orders their own flight, it is sure to attract more customers when they see servers delivering a mix of brilliant amber and gold glasses of suds.