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Why Bars and Restaurants Should Have Arcade and VR Games

By Nick DiMatteo, Fortyfivegames Just about everyone has a favorite drink of choice, be it a coffee beverage, a soda, or a mixed drink. Sometimes the drink misses the mark when there is a human element involved in its making, but sometimes it hits the spot perfectly. For me, it was an Arnold Palmer I ordered at a beach side restaurant in Key West. It’s a simple drink (half iced tea, half lemonade), but that first sip was amazing. The tea was perfectly brewed with a just right amount of sweetness balanced by the tangy sour of the lemonade and with the perfect amount of ice that hit the right temperature. I was blown away and wanted to keep drinking it, but I was a little hesitant. Sometimes, that first taste doesn’t follow through the whole drink, but that is [...]

By |2023-06-05T09:10:32-04:00June 1st, 2023|Guest Management, Sports Bar Management, Sports Bar Technology|0 Comments
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Prepping Your Sports Bar for Outdoor Entertainment

Summer is here – finally! And with that comes warmer weather and increased interest in hanging outdoors. Having an outdoor seating area is great for any restaurant, but it can a truly unique experience for sports bars. Who doesn’t like the idea of sitting outside, enjoying their favorite beer or frozen drink, while watching the big summertime games with friends? An outdoor sports bar area can make for a unique and memorable experience for your guests, but it does take a little extra legwork than your run-of-the-mill outdoor restaurant patio. You’re not just seating guests and dropping off their food and drinks; you’re trying to create a magical place to watch sports. Here are some things to consider as you prep your sports bar’s patio for outdoor entertainment. You Need Plenty of TVs We’re starting with the no-brainer. [...]

By |2023-05-25T10:36:18-04:00May 25th, 2023|Guest Management, Sports Bar Management, Sports Bar Technology|0 Comments
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Overview of the ERTC for Sports Bars

To say the restaurant industry took a wallop during the sweeping COVID-19 shutdowns is putting it lightly. That may be doubly so for sports bars who had no games to show, no guests to entertain, and were less likely to have a pre-existing delivery program already in place. We felt the strain and no doubt you felt it, too. So, if you’re still open and operating, congrats! You weathered one helluva storm. And you deserve a little help and reward for navigating those rough seas. And, amazingly, the Federal government agrees, which is why they implemented the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) program. GET YOUR FREE CONSULT What is the ERTC? https://youtu.be/yYEcC8RgK88 The ERTC is a refundable credit that businesses can claim on qualified wages, including certain health insurance costs, paid to employees. It was designed to incentivize companies to [...]

By |2023-02-24T13:53:39-05:00February 24th, 2023|Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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Which Sports Do Americans Follow?

For years, we’ve been saying the number one reason why sports fans come to visit your bar is to watch sports. But which sports? Unless you’ve polled your own guests or done some sales vs. games analysis, you’re probably running more on gut instinct. Instinct is good, but instinct backed with some data is even better. Recently, Statista ran a survey with American sports fans on what professional sports they follow. Mind you, what the national average is might not match up with what happens locally, so definitely do your own due diligence, but this info is a nice starting point. You will find more infographics at Statista Football is King Unsurprisingly, football remains America’s favorite sport to watch, dominating the survey with 75% favorability among the survey participants. And while just having the games available to show will bring [...]

By |2022-08-31T09:48:47-04:00August 31st, 2022|Guest Management, Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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Exploring Intricacies of Opening a Sports Bar

By Hannah Butler, Contributor Most often, those people who appreciate the excellent atmosphere when watching sports strive to open a sports bar. This is a rather interesting business niche, which can become very profitable. It is worth noting in advance that sports bars have many differences from ordinary bars and gastronomic places. We will consider the features of opening this particular case and its internal subtleties. Looking ahead, let's say that marketing in this area is of increased importance. The niche is pretty competitive. Should You Franchise a Sports Bar or Go Solo? The franchise is a popular business method nowadays. In simple terms, a franchise is a transfer of rights to use branding, logos, signs, menus, drinks, and food. Under a franchise, its owner leases his brand to another businessman or entity who uses it on the basis of [...]

By |2022-06-07T12:32:57-04:00June 30th, 2021|Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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No, The Sports Bar Isn’t Dying

The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. --Mark Twain If we can take any solace from this dubiously ascribed quote, it’s that while the sports bar industry is in trouble, it is unlikely disappearing for good. The months since March 16th of this year (when the NBA tipped the first domino of sports cancellations) have been a roller coaster of disruptions on which we are heading downhill again, as winter arrives and the COVID-19 virus rages. An article in Sports Illustrated (SI) attempts to pay homage to the essence of the sports bars of old, but sadly also paints a bleak picture of what’s to come. Fortunately, we don’t buy into their morbidity and think the ending narrative of the sports bar isn’t quite ready to be written. SI Paints a Grim Outlook We must begin with the [...]

By |2022-06-07T12:41:45-04:00December 3rd, 2020|Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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Pros & Cons of Preventive Maintenance for Sports Bars

By Veronica Wallace, Contributor Sports bars and sports-themed restaurants have been in a tough spot since the outbreak of COVID-19. Not only did they get walloped by closures and operating restrictions, but sports shutting down for a large portion of the year mean one of their biggest selling points was gone. To stay afloat, sports bar operators need to make decisions about their budget. Does every appliance or machine really need annual maintenance? We’ve all been there: you go to start the car after a long winter, and your engine greets you with silence. At this point, you realize that you forgot about last year’s tune-up, which, at the time, you thought would be fine. Now, it’s going to cost you a couple of thousand in repairs instead of $50-$100 for the tune-up. This case illustrates the benefits of preventive [...]

By |2022-06-07T13:15:42-04:00November 5th, 2020|Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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7 Sports Bar Interior Design Tips

By Sina Sadeghpour, Contributor Sports bars are supposed to offer their guests and fans an experience and atmosphere that is as close and exciting the live event itself. They should enjoy everything from cheering their favorite teams and meeting and socializing with other fans to the drinks and food on your menu. In that light, an exceptional interior design and fitout should go a long way in enhancing the popularity of a sports bar. Before getting down to the basics of sports bar design and decor, the first thing that should always be top of mind when making decisions is the guest experience. A sports bar operator’s main goal should always be customer’s enjoyment of everything offered. And that includes the design of the sports bar. Getting Started with Your Sports Bar’s Design When designing the interior of your sports [...]

By |2022-06-07T12:52:06-04:00March 16th, 2020|Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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How to Generate an ROI on eSports Tournaments

Part Six: Managing and measuring your return on investment (ROI). A lot is going into the planning, marketing and execution of your sports bar’s first eSports tournament. But once the dust settles and you’re assessing the results, you need to determine if your efforts brought success or did you just spin your wheels for no return. That’s why we thought a thorough review of what success looks like from multiple angles will help you stay on the path towards that success. You must always remember that success is defined in marketing ultimately by sales, but that can’t tell the whole story. If your goal is to fight slipping sales, you might find that your sales stabilize, but don’t grow. Changing a downward trend could be seen as success, but sales growth might not be the accurate measure. The same is [...]

By |2022-06-07T13:03:09-04:00August 12th, 2019|Alternate Sports Programming, Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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How to Plan & Execute a Great eSports Tournament

Part Five: Planning and Goals Every great sports bar event starts with a plan and running an eSports tournament is no exception. This post will help you form the foundation of your event and keep you on track for the duration of your commitment to eSports. It’s important to understand what you’re looking to accomplish and how to reach your ultimate goal -- bring eSports fans through your doors and to entice them to return. Running an eSports tournament requires a great deal of coordination and teamwork, so let’s get started on how to get there. Planning – Does Your Sports Bar Have Everything You Need? To effectively pull off a successful eSport tournament, you are going to need banks of computers or consoles with multiple gaming setups. How many screens and controls depends on what game you’ve selected as [...]

By |2022-06-07T13:04:14-04:00August 5th, 2019|Alternate Sports Programming, Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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Preparing for Your Fan Club’s Offseason

By Nathan Hirsch & Symon Perriman We hope you have already learned a lot from FanWide’s Guide to Starting and Growing a Fan Club in your Sports Bar. You should now have all the best practices you need to pick your teams, promote your events, host amazing game watch parties throughout the season. Next, we’ll give you some post-event guidance to engage your guests once the season ends. Keep in Touch with Fan Club Leaders Throughout the season you should have already been asking for regular feedback from attendees about how to make their events better. Make sure you ask again once the season is over so you can address any issues which could prevent the group from returning next year. Agree to stay in touch with the organizers and club leaders, and send them a message every few months [...]

By |2022-06-07T13:07:33-04:00July 25th, 2019|Sports Bar Management|0 Comments
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Beta Test Our New ‘Q Score’ Program

When SportsTV Guide started in 2003, we delivered 90% of our service via fax machine. That number has flipped to under 3% of our subscribers in the intervening 15+ years. The technology we employ today has profoundly changed the quality and reliability of our product and we see a bright future in further leveraging technology to improve our product and its value. To that end, we are ecstatic to inform you all about a beta test we are undertaking to validate a new feature. We are inviting current STVG subscribers to help us vet our new Q Score program that will rate game quality for all events listed on your SportsTV Guide. The Q Score will help sports bar operators and managers identify the best matchups and games for their establishment to show. If you want to see this powerful [...]

By |2022-06-07T13:09:14-04:00July 22nd, 2019|Sports Bar Management, Sports Bar Technology, Sports TV News|0 Comments
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