A watch party at Tom’s Watch Bar in Inglewood, California. | Photo courtesy of Tom’s Watch Bar
Spain took the trophy at the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup tournament last weekend. But how did restaurants and bars do?
The numbers for the six-week tournament are just starting to trickle in, and a full economic analysis is expected to take time. But results so far indicate the global event injected healthy sales growth for U.S. foodservice outlets, though perhaps more so in cities that hosted games.
Globally across all industries, Bank of America (a FIFA sponsor) said the tournament boosted economic spending by an estimated $40 billion, of which about $20 billion was in the U.S.
Earlier this year, Technomic projected U.S. restaurants and bars would see a $1.9 billion incremental increase in total foodservice sales during the 78-game tournament, including both away-from-home occasions and at-home watch parties, for which consumers were ordering delivery or getting catered. That estimate also included sales from the 1.1 million to 1.2 million foreign tourists expected to spend money on food and drink this summer, 700,000 of which would likely not have come, if not for the World Cup.
Operators and data collectors said the global soccer event proved to be highly social, drawing crowds that ate and drank with enthusiasm.
The 18-unit Tom’s Watch Bar, for example, which launched a ticketing system prior to the World Cup, said it sold roughly 5,000 kegs of beer through the tournament (not including the final game). The most popular brand systemwide was Modelo, and burgers and wings were the top-selling menu items for watch parties.
The first week of the tournament was a record sales week for Tom’s (though they declined to give specific numbers), in part because there were so many games in the early weeks. But Tom’s co-founder Brooks Schaden said the sports bar chain sees a similar effect during the month-long March Madness games, with early days driving the most excitement.
“Things naturally taper off,” he said. “From a business perspective, more games happening at once, plus the initial excitement of the kickoff, tends to beat out a few, bigger marquee matchups later in the tournament.”
Not including the final, the biggest sales day for Tom’s was June 19th, which had four games, including the U.S. versus Australia. Plus, it was a Friday.
The second-biggest sales day was July 5 (Mexico v. England and Brazil v. Norway).
There was some sales dropoff after the U.S. was crushed by Belgium in a 4-1 defeat on July 6 that ended dreams of at least making it further in the tournament (few expected the U.S. to actually win the trophy).
But Schaden said Tom’s still expected sales would be 25% higher on the remaining game days, compared with non-World Cup days.
Time slots were also a factor. Later games were held during the day, likely to accommodate prime time in Europe. That, however, meant less drinking in the U.S., Schaden noted.
Point-of-sale provider TouchBistro, meanwhile, said sales grew 3% at more than 7,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada during the tournament.
That didn’t necessarily reflect an increase in traffic, TouchBistro said. But guests came in at different times, in bigger groups, and ran bigger tabs.
The average check was $44 during live match hours, which was $11 more than the average for non-match hours, with guests tipping 1.5% more. And during the typically quiet 4-5 p.m. time slot, sales surged 30-40% when a game was on, TouchBistro said.
Prior to the tournament, many skeptics feared U.S. consumers would stay home to watch the games. And many did.
But they also ordered delivery.
The delivery data platform Sauce, for example, said restaurant delivery orders across the U.S. increased 18% during the June and July period, compared with last year.
The most ordered menu item: Pizza (not surprisingly), with orders spiking in the 30-minute period before matches started, and the 30-minute period afterward.
Pizza delivery orders increased 30% during the tournament, said Elliot Hool, Sauce’s vice president of marketing. “It’s the sports food,” he said.
But burger orders increased 12%, he noted. The average order was roughly between $62 and $70.
Hool said World Cup package deals offered by restaurants were particularly popular. “People don’t like to think too much,” he said.
The New York City Hospitality Alliance asked its members how they did during the World Cup in a survey. The association said 63% of respondents reported increased sales.
That’s after about half (49%) made investments in upgrading TVs and audiovisual equipment for the tournament, and 54% hosted watch parties.
In Los Angeles, reports indicate that restaurants and bars across the city did well during the tournament, especially around SoFi Stadium. In Miami, restaurants reported more mixed results.
But non-host cities, like Richmond, Virginia, also reported a boost in business.
John Plew, founder and CEO of the 12-unit Thirsty Lion Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails, said the tournament boosted momentum in June and July, which are typically slower months.
Sales were highest during U.S. games, though the unit in Dallas (a host city) was one of the best performers. Plew said units in cities with a Major League Soccer team (like Portland and Denver) fared better than those without (Phoenix), probably because they are more “soccer-centric,” he said.
With the first U.S. game on a Friday, Thirsty Lion saw a 7.1% increase in sales year-over-year, Plew said. The second U.S. game saw a nearly 14% increase in sales, and up more than 11% for the third game. And the sales increase topped 46% for the last U.S. game on July 6.
After that, sales dropped back down to single-digit increases for the rest of the matches, but they remained positive, he said.
But, now that the tournament is over, what should restaurants do for the rest of the year?
The World Series is coming (in late October). And, if restaurants did their job well, they will win repeat customers.
Hool said the immediate aftermath could be an opportunity for restaurants to pull in some dine-in business. After weeks of watching soccer on TVs at home and ordering delivery, people might like to get off their couches and walk about a bit, he said.
“The wife is probably saying, ‘Can we finally go out to dinner?’”
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