For a sports bar to succeed, it needs to attract customers when there’s no major sports event airing.
Hospitality expert and “Bar Rescue” host Jon Taffer has argued that sports bars cannot rely on game-day traffic alone because major sporting events only drive business a limited number of days each year. “Sporting events only fill the bar 70 days a year, so you need to have great food and emulate the energy of the game,” he told Sports Illustrated
That’s a simple lesson that many sports bar operators haven’t learned, and it has driven once-thriving chain Champps Kitchen + Bar to the brink. From more than 60 locations nationwide, Champps has shrunk to just a handful of restaurants following years of bankruptcies, ownership changes, and store closures. Recent franchise filings indicate the brand may now have as few as three locations remaining.
Champps closes another location Champps has closed its location at Eastview Mall in New York after 20 years. The mall’s owners made it clear that they wanted the sports bar operator to stay. “We tried to get Champps to stay; it was entirely their decision to leave. We did not raise their rent.