Learning About Restaurants

Posted on: 30 August 2019

Like most tavern owners, you probably have no problem attracting customers on the weekend. If you own or manage a sports bar, however, attracting business during the week can be difficult. Here are five tips to draw in patrons during the week.

1. Create a Game

There may not be a football game on Tuesday or Wednesday, but that doesn't mean you can't entice customers and appeal to their sense of competition. Mid-week is a great time to hold a friendly game of poker.

Another option is to hold a weekly or biweekly trivia contest. Encourage customers to gather teams to vie against one another. Grant the winning team a gift certificate or drink chips for your establishment so they have a reason to come back.

2. Sponsors Sports Teams

If local sports are popular in your area, even if it's just the home-grown high school football team, sponsoring them can help you gain business from parents and other fans.

3. Participate in League Sports

Shooting pool and throwing darts are mainstays in many sports bars. Join your local tavern league and encourage your patrons to play for you. Participating teams usually rotate which establishment they play at each week, but the home team almost always starts and finishes the evening at their home bar.

4. Boost Summer Business

Summer often creates a lot of competition for sports bars. People are gone camping, attending festivals, concerts, and other outdoor events and often don't want to be holed up in a dark bar.

You can encourage your customers to come around by putting together a softball team or throwing a golf outing. Another option is hosting adult kickball games at the local park. You can also use your sports bar as a central spot for meetups, such as bike riding or hiking groups.

5. Open Earlier and Stay Open Later

A lot of sports bars don't open until late afternoon. If you serve food, you're potentially missing out on lunch clientele. Look at the businesses around your establishment and determine if there is enough of a customer base to open for lunch each day.

Patrons who never stopped to drink in your bar may show up for food if they work nearby. If your sports bar is located in an industrial area, it may even pay to open in the morning and catch the 3^rd shift workers when they get done in the morning.

Staying open until bars close every night is another great way to garner business. Many bartenders close early on slow evenings. Don't allow your employees to decide when they close. If your doors are open and every other bar is closed, people will come to you.

For more information on sports bars, consult a resource in your area.