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What makes a sports bar a favorite place to visit?


Shlomonard
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A local feel to it, by that I mean something that makes the customer feel like this is his bar and it represents him as a part of the town/city. A place that has a great view to at least a couple TV's from every table whether it's packed or not. Same with the food, besides burgers and other American type stuff make sure to have some local favorites as well. My personal favorite places are the ones where a bunch of college buddies can go hang out as well as a family of four for dinner. Hope that helps

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I frequent a sports bar if either there are a lot of TVs playing a lot of different games, or, when my team is actually playing, I can go there and actually get sound for the game. After that it's about what they have on tap and if the food is decent - a lot of appetizer type offerings so that when I go with a bunch of people we can just share the stuff.

 

End of the day, I want to be able to see a TV - especially if the bar is really crowded - and have a beer.

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I am pretty much echoing the sentiments of those above, but I really can't stand when I go to a place for a game and A. I can't see a TV, B. the TVs are tiny, or C. there is background music on so loud that I cannot have a conversation with my friends or hear the TV.

 

Besides that you have to have wings with like 10 flavor options or more, various domestic and imported beers, a nd prices need to be fair. If you're going to charge me $5 for a beer I will watch the game at home with a case that costs $25-30 bucks.

 

Also, game time specials help.

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There are two sports bars where I used to watch NFL games that do very well for one reason (BTW is moved to another area and that is the reason I don't frequent either bar anymore).

 

The reason: The bars are the central watching locations for out-of-town football fans. One bar I went to was where huge amounts of Pittsburgh Steeler fans and Washington Redskins fans went to watch games. The bar is located in the Dallas, Texas area.

 

The moral: reach out to a fan club of an out-of-town team and treat that group really well. The word-of-mouth advertising and guaranteed, loyal customers can't be beat.

 

Also, make sure the food is good. Both bars had really good food. Beer is beer. But really good food will get even casual sports fans to want to come back and dine at your bar.

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Figure out how to make your own beer and make it well. I have a sports bar about 2 minutes away from me with a friendly environment and they usually have 6-7 of their own beers available along with 12-15 Guest Drafts, and they also have a ton of bottled selections. They don't sell domestic which makes them unique. That's something I realize most sports bars are missing is that unique feel to it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

First off, ya gotta have great specials. If you're charging 4-5 bucks for a draft, I ain't goin to your place. Second, the food. You need wings, burgers, baskets of fries, skins, ribs, poppers, fried pickles and some good slaw. Get a good mix of local, domestic and imported beers on tap as well.

 

Third, TVs in the pisser. This is very important. There's no feeling like the knowing you're not going to miss a second of the action no matter how much you drink. Don't worry about putting TVs in the stall doors though, if ya can't shit before you go out, you don't deserve to watch the game. And sports bars are no place for women, so don't even have a restroom for them.

 

Fourth, plenty of TVs, and make sure your employees have remotes. There's nothing worse than going to a bar and asking someone to put a specific game on, and them not doing it. You can get some serious repeat business by getting the Sunday Ticket, Extra Innings, Game Plan etc. Just make sure to be able to show whatever game, whenever it's asked for so that you can make everyone happy.

 

Lastly, and most importanly of all, NO FUCKING MUSIC!!!! I absolutely, cannot stand, going into a bar and having to scream at whoever I'm with just to be able to have a conversation. I don't just mean backgroud or pre-selected music, I mean no music at all. As soon as you put a juke box in, you're going to have a shit ton of dbags playing Journey songs because they think it's cool or that Journey is a good band (never have figured out which one it is).

 

Good luck. If you're near Cincinnati and you take all this into consideration, let me know. I'll check out your place sometime. If you follow the no music part, then I'll be a regular.

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  • 4 months later...

Good cheap bar food,Sports related decorations,Multiple Tvs(flat)all sport channels and feeds depending on season,being able to smoke inside or a decent patio that can handle the seasons,If its an area specific place then a nice feel of that franchise,being able to look anywhere and see the action,cold multiple beer selection,couple of sports related video games or quarter machines(punch game)...its kinda hard to establish a sports bar and retain longevity tho...good luck on your venture

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