Bars and Restaurants: Getting the Most Out of Super Bowl Sunday

The Super Bowl is a huge deal, there’s no doubt about it. It’s a huge day for businesses across the board because Americans simply love to spend their money on or in preparation for Super Bowl Sunday.

According to statistics from last year, an average Super Bowl viewer spent almost $78 on the event. This includes sometimes splurging to buy new television sets, spending tons of money on team merchandise and of course, food and beverages. In total, Americans spent over $14 billion for the Super Bowl last year.

The fact that many Americans will eat their weight in pizza and chips and down outrageous amounts of beer on that day obviously makes it a very special event for bars and restaurants as well. Obviously, it’s an event that no such establish can afford to ignore.

Of the 75% of Americans who plan to watch the game, almost 80% will be spending their hard earned money on copious amounts of food and drinks. It’s your job as a bar or restaurant to find ways to ensure that many of them will be spending this money at your establishment.

Here are some tips on how to increase your profits on Super Bowl Sunday.

Offer Delivery and/or Takeout

One of the biggest battles for bar and restaurant owners is getting people to chose to go out instead of staying in and either hosting parties of their own or attending Super Bowl parties being thrown by friends and relatives. Almost 50 million cases of beer will be purchased on Super Bowl Sunday for private gatherings.

But the fact of the matter is that you don’t really have get them to spend the night in your establishment in order to make money off them. If you can’t beat them, join them.

We’re not saying you should close down shop for the day and throw a party of your own, not at all. But if all these people are going to be getting food for their parties anyway, why not try and convince them to buy the food from you?

If you are a restaurant or a bar that offers food, make sure that you are running Super Bowl promotions and getting the word out about them. Hit your social media pages hard, run ads in locals papers and advertise your Super Bowl promotions throughout January to get the word out.

Offer deals that are going to be irresistible. Look at it from this potential consumer perspective: Would you rather save some money and go with the regular old pizzas and chicken wings from a fast food chain that you have every year, or throw in a couple more bucks and get a one-of-a-kind Super Bowl menu from a cool local eatery?

Get creative with your offer, promote it effectively and the orders should start rolling in.

It’s also a good idea to offer an additional discount for people who order two or more weeks ahead of the Big Game. You’ll be able to schedule workers more efficiently when you have a better idea of how much food you are going to need to make and/or deliver that night.

If you’re a bar that doesn’t offer any type of catering, don’t sweat it. It’s not the end of the world. There’s still going to be some 13 million Americans who are going to want to go out to their favorite local spot to catch the game. Focus instead on getting them to come to your bar by using some of the following methods.

Offer Competitive Pricing

The reason so many people choose to throw private parties is because it’s cheaper. It’s a lot cheaper and more convenient to simply bring your own beer to a party than it is to have to shell out money for every round at a bar.

That’s why you need to get creative for that night and offer some discounts and group deals that are going to entice people.

Look at it this way: The advantage of going the party route is that it is cheaper. The advantage of a restaurant or bar is that it’s more convenient.

You’re not preparing your own food or fetching your own beers from the fridge. You’re being served all night and bst of  all, you don’t have to worry about your college-aged cousin getting sick on your carpet.

By making the option of going to a bar or restaurant more affordable than usual, you’re swinging most of the “pros” your way. Consider going the “all you can drink or eat route.”

Set an appropriate price and charge at the door. You can also offer discounts for people who want to reserve a spot at your establishment ahead of time.

Most of the time, people don’t go out to watch the Super Bowl on their own. Offer special group deals and package pricing to get them in the door in larger numbers. You can run a promotion that offers increasing discounts as the number of people in the party rises.

Make the Menu Match the Game

One of the coolest ideas for Super Bowl promotions is offering thematic menus. For example, if the Broncos make it to the Big Game, tailor the menu for that night to include some Denver specialties. Serve some Denver sandwiches, buffalo burgers, or wild game dishes. See if you can get some craft beer that’s local to Colorado for the tap.

If the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl, put New England clam chowder on the menu and sell dollar pitchers of Sam Adams. You really can’t lose, no matter what you choose.

This type of promotion works for two reasons: Firstly, if none of the competing teams are local, these menu ideas will be somewhat exotic to the locals. Secondly, the fans who live locally but are originally from those regions of the country your menu is representing will want to come to your place to see how good you are at preparing their favorite hometown dishes.

Get Interactive

Your work is not over once the game has begun. You need to keep the customers animated throughout. The best way to do that, both in bars and restaurants, is by offering specials related to what’s going on in the game.

For example, you can offer dollar shots every time someone scores. You can offer drink and food specials during halftime to keep people spending even when the players are taking a break.

Get creative and find ways to not only keep customers ordering food and drinks non-stop.

Provide Non-Football Options

Believe it or not, not everyone likes football. Why not take advantage of that demographic as well? There are surely people who are going to want to get out of the house in order to get away from a Super Bowl Party. Make your bar a restaurant a safe haven for them.

While it might not be a very judicious idea to ignore the Super Bowl altogether, you could offer one corner of your bar as a “non-football sanctuary.”

Dedicate a couple television screens to alternative programming and offer up very un-football menu options like French cuisine and wine, for example, for the people who want a respite from the pigskin-related insanity.

Throw an After Party

Here’s another thing about house parties that you can take advantage of if you’re smart. There are many party animals who have no intention of just packing it up and going home once the game is over.

It is estimated that 1.5 million Americans call in sick on the Monday after the Super Bowl and 4.4 million will come into work late because they partied super hard on Sunday night.

For a lot of these people, the house parties were just a pre-game. They drank and ate a lot for cheap at the party, now it’s time to go out to a bar or restaurant and continue now that the game is over.

You can offer drink specials after the game is over to both keep the customers you already have firmly planted in their bar stools and attract newcomers looking for a place to continue their Super Bowl fiesta.