What’s Behind the Immense Year-round Popularity of Sports Bars?

Not many businesses have year-round appeal, but a sports bar and grill is one of them. Why? What attracts people to those types of establishments more than fancy-pants, white tablecloth restaurants, especially when the bar serves incredible food? The answers are actually more down-to-earth than you might expect because being in the bar business is all about getting to know people – and what they’re looking for when they go out for the evening. 

For some of us, there’s nothing more laid back than going to a sports bar and having the bartender pop open your favorite beer before you even sit down to shake hands. Sometimes, it’s not even about watching the game at all because you can’t beat the atmosphere. If you do it right, good vibes almost flow naturally.

Still, new bar Franchise Owners might not know the ins and outs of the business, so here’s our take on why sports bars are popular hangouts year-round, regardless of the season.

It’s better than going to the game (or staying at the house)

Think about it this way: it’s not like every sports franchise sells out every game. There are usually tickets available, even if you have to get them through a 3rd-party broker online. Not only that, but it’s not that expensive to go to live games nowadays. So, why do so many people choose to go to their favorite sports bar franchise instead?

The honest answer is that going to an electric, laughter-filled bar is 100 times better than sitting 100 yards away from the action in a packed stadium. You meet all types of people in a bar – all types of sports fans – and that’s what makes it a blast! It’s all about offering an experience like no other on top of excellent service and a wide selection of microbrews, cocktails, and local favorites.

Also, chew on this idea for a bit: people could easily stay at home and watch the game in full HD with screeching Bose surround sound, all right from a leather recliner in a man cave. They could also go to the grocery store and get their favorite beer at a lower price and drink it in the comfort of their own home – yet they still go out to a sports bar.

If you do it right, people will enjoy your sports bar franchise more than the game itself because you’re providing a unique entertainment experience. That’s really the whole secret.

Social life

Never underestimate how common interests can bond people together, even total strangers. Let’s say you have a Cleveland Browns fan that comes in every Sunday like clockwork because it’s the only place in town he can watch his former hometown team play. Remember that the NFL is pretty rigid about which games it broadcasts in certain markets, so what happens when another Browns fan comes in out of the blue with a tattered Bernie Kosar jersey?

Usually, they’ll high-five each other like they’ve been life-long buddies after every big run or an incomplete pass, even though they’re total strangers – at least at the beginning of the game. By the end of the night, those two guys can become genuine friends, and they’ll keep coming back too – and bring their friends, co-workers, kids, wives, pets, and anyone else who cares to get out of the house for an evening.

But why? What’s driving that kind of consumer behavior? It’s because places like bars are central to certain people’s social lives, and it doesn’t have anything to do with drinking alcohol. People will always want to connect with like-minded people with common interests, and sports bars couldn’t be a better place to find that social bond, which brings us to our last point.

KYP – Know your people

Sports bars are immensely popular year-round because bar owners can customize the concept to the local market, which is incredibly difficult in other businesses. Know your people, and you’ll never falter in a sports bar because everything starts with building up a regular clientele.

You already know where to tilt your concept if you open up a Shuckin’ Shack near a college town. If you’re opening up in a more urban area, it’s a little more tricky because you’ll have a far greater range of people to satisfy from just about every demographic and walk of life you can imagine.

And a simple sports bar franchise can bring them all together.

The catch is that you can’t open up a boring bar and expect the business to come in like the tide every weekend. The atmosphere and the menu at Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar will be way more energetic than anything else in town, so you have to be ready to serve the sports bar crowd.

If you get off to a good start, you’ll have a packed bar top for every big game and a whole community of sports fans to introduce to each other. The Shuckin’ Shack crew can help you get that good start, thanks to our dialed-in bar franchise business model, our expectation-shattering supply chain management system, and a wide selection of eclectic menu offerings that are frankly better than what the other sports bar chains can hope to offer in their wildest dreams!

Care to ride the wave and open a bar franchise that people flock to year-round for sports, seafood, and an escape from the everyday routine? Click here to learn more.