Running a sports bar with no sports
It’s all about creating the right atmosphere, energy, Toronto bar owners say
On a quiet weekday afternoon, Will Johnston was prepping the small but colourful patio seating at the front of Duke’s Refresher + Bar on Front Street East, near the St. Lawrence Market.
For the first time in three-plus months, Johnston, the general manager of the bar, had seats available to customers. It’s just 10 seats for now, with dividers available to shield you from the person next to you. It’s a far cry from the business his bar was doing in early March, when he could expect 400 to 500 customers on a busy night and was anticipating a packed house for St. Patrick’s Day.
“We were fired up,” Johnston recalled. “We loaded up the beer, loaded up the food, got the staff all ready to go. We weren’t taking reservations or anything, but we knew people would fill up the place. Then sure enough, that afternoon (March 16), they said, ‘Hey, all restaurants are closed in Toronto.’ ”
The 10 chairs out front are a baby step for his business, but Johnston is trying to make the most of it. Toronto moved into Phase 2 of its reopening on June 24, allowing restaurants with patios to serve customers. Duke’s got its patio up and running on June 25 and saw a 20 per cent sales increase compared to takeout sales that day a week earlier.
The takeout-to-patio-service dance is one that many restaurants in the city are navigating. But sports bars are in the difficult spot of trying to change their dance steps on the fly. Even if the NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS get off the ground in the coming weeks, there are no guarantees that COVID-19 won’t interrupt or completely derail their seasons.
The biggest issue for sports bars in Toronto will be that they need to not just be functional in Phase 2, but need to have the city advance to at least Phase 3 of reopening, when dining in would presumably become an option.
The pandemic has sports bars across the city and around the world grappling with the same issue: Can sports bars work without sports?
“Part of the draw for sports bars is definitely the sports, there’s no denying that,” said Andrew Kaiser, the co-owner of the Dock Ellis, a sports bar on Dundas West that’s been open almost seven years.
“Given the fact that more than likely it’s going to be, at most, 50 per cent capacity inside, filling all those seats I don’t think is going to be much of a problem. Definitely, the big sporting events helped us hit 100 per cent capacity. Now the question is, will 50 per cent capacity pay the bills without any kind of support?
“That’s a whole other question.”
Franco Tascione is the chief operating officer for social brands at the Recipe Unlimited Corp., which owns, among others, Bier Markt. At Bier Markt’s Esplanade location, they have three patios on the property and are capable of seating about 120 people now.
The staff wear masks and every other table is left open to give customers the appropriate space. Inside, where Phase 3 and the big screens await, it’s all about creating the right atmosphere, regardless of what may or may not be available.
“If for any reason sports shouldn’t come back, that doesn’t stop us from (making the restaurant a destination),” Tascione said.
“When guests are sitting in a restaurant, you want to have that atmosphere, that excitement, that energy. Part of that excitement is created by our employees, but imagine walking into the restaurants and you have all these great employees, but none of the TVs are on, no sound is on, no music, no lights, nothing. It just feels very flat.”
Tascione points out that there’s a stage at the back of the Bier Markt on the Esplanade. He sees opportunity there, too.
“Streaming live music and streaming things such as events that will create that atmosphere in the restaurant, which I think is important. If for any reason sports shouldn’t come back, that doesn’t stop us from doing all those things,” he said.
Johnston sees challenges ahead for his place and other sports bars. It will be difficult even at 50 per cent capacity when people get together and their inhibitions come down and they start clumping together.
He says he and his staff will have to keep people in check. It won’t be fun, but he doesn’t want outbreaks and bar closures like we’re seeing in the United States.
“It’ll be a lot of work to try and keep people away from each other,” he said. “There’s no dancing, there’s no singing on the patio. It’s going to be like a version of ‘Footloose’ in a sense.”
The owners insist there’s still more to a good bar than the games on TV.
“People are social beings. We can’t hide from that or escape that,” Kaiser said.
“A lot of what we do and a lot of what our industry does is make people comfortable, and have people in close quarters and share memorable events, especially in sports bars. People are aching and they’re dying for that level of human contact that I think a good quality sports bar gives.
“Before bars we were all sitting around a campfire sharing food and drinks anyway, right?”