The Bar and Restaurant Super Bowl 2027 Plan

By Rob Bruni, founder of OpsEdge Hospitality, twenty years running restaurants, bars, clubs and resorts. Updated November 2026.

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest food days of the year, and most of that food is eaten at home. For a dine-in restaurant it is often one of the slowest Sunday nights of the year. For a sports bar with a watch party, or a kitchen that sells wings and party trays to go, it can be one of the best. In 2027 it also lands on Valentine's Day. This guide covers what the day really looks like, how to pick your play, a free planner for wings, fryer time and kegs, and a countdown from the conference championships to kickoff.

The 2027 game: Super Bowl Sunday is Valentine's Day

The game is at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 pm Eastern (Ticketmaster). It is the first Super Bowl ever played on Valentine's Day. Plan the night around your own time zone: in the East the game runs from about 6:30 to 10 pm, right through the heart of dinner; on the West Coast it ends around 7 pm, leaving a full Valentine's dinner service after it.

What the day really looks like

• Dine-in drops. Toast's 2024 data showed 16% fewer transactions than an average Sunday, a 9% smaller average check, and dine-in traffic down 20%. During the game itself, sales at 7 pm were down 47%. (Toast, 2024 data)
• Takeout holds. Takeout held steady while delivery dipped 9%. Guests order food for the party and pick it up.
• Wings win. Wing orders rose 87% over an average Sunday and the average wing check rose 18%. The National Chicken Council projected Americans would eat 1.48 billion wings during the 2026 game. (National Chicken Council via The National Provisioner)
• Alcohol falls. Wine sales fell 45%, gin 27% and beer 17% compared with an average Sunday. Most fans stock the bar at home.
• Bars beat restaurants. An older Avero study of the 2017 game found bar sales down about 22% and restaurant sales down about 30% for operators who stayed open, with delivery up about 15%. (Avero)

The lesson: Super Bowl Sunday rewards a plan, not a normal Sunday schedule. Decide what kind of operation you are on February 14 and staff, order and market for that, not for the average.

Pick your play

Many operators run two plays at once, for example takeout wings from the kitchen and a watch party in the bar, or Valentine's in the dining room and the game in the bar. That works only if each one has its own menu, its own staff and its own space.

The wings, fryer and keg planner

The fryer number usually matters more than the wing number. If takeout alone needs five fryer hours and every order is due between 3 and 6 pm Eastern, you cannot cook it all in the window. Cap preorders at what the fryers can produce, par cook and finish to order, or add capacity with a combi oven or a second station. The par level calculator and the event bar and keg calculator help with the rest of the order.

Takeout and party trays

• Sell it ahead. Open preorders as soon as the matchup is set on January 31 and close them a day or two before the game. Preorders let you order product, schedule prep and staff to a known number instead of a guess.
• Keep the menu short. Wing counts in fixed sizes (24, 50, 100), two or three sauces, a couple of sides and a tray or two. Bundles are easier to cook, pack and price than a full menu.
• Sell pickup windows. Give every order a 15 or 30 minute window, cap the number of orders per window to your fryer output, and stop taking orders when the windows are full.
• Pack for the drive. Vented containers so wings stay crisp, sauce on the side for big orders, ranch and blue cheese counted per order, and labels that match the ticket.
• Run the pickup like a station. A dedicated pickup shelf, one person checking orders out, and a text when the order is ready keep the line out of the dining room.
• Decide on delivery apps early. Third party orders compete for the same fryers. Many operators pause or limit delivery during the preorder windows.

Running a watch party

• Sell reservations. Reserved tables with a cover that includes food or a first drink, or a food and beverage minimum, turn an unpredictable walk-in night into booked revenue. Hold a few tables for regulars and walk-ins.
• Test the screens and sound. Every screen on the right channel, sound on for the game and the halftime show, a backup streaming option, and no dead seats. Test the week before, not at 6 pm.
• Build a game day menu. Wings, shareables, a few handhelds and buckets of beer. Keep it short enough that the kitchen can fire it fast at halftime, when everyone orders at once.
• Set the bar for speed. Buckets, a short draft list, a batched game day cocktail and a couple of zero proof options. Stock the backbar and the walk in before kickoff so nobody leaves the well during the game. The bar opening guide covers setting up to par.
• Plan the quarters. Food rushes before kickoff and at halftime; drinks slow in the fourth quarter. Schedule cuts and the last kitchen order around the game clock, not the wall clock.
• Give them a reason to stay. Squares, prizes and halftime specials keep the room full in a blowout. Check your state's rules before running any game with money or prizes.

Pricing wings and packages

• Know your wing cost. Wing prices move. Cost a portion from your latest invoice, not last year's, with the recipe costing guide, and include sauce, dressing, celery and packaging for takeout.
• Price to a target. Use the menu price calculator to set wing and tray prices at your food cost target. Toast saw the average wing check rise 18% on game day, so guests expect bigger orders, not discounts.
• Order early. Lock in your wing order and price with your distributor two weeks out. Ask for a confirmed delivery date in writing and know your backup supplier.
• Price packages from the bar plan. For a cover or minimum, cost the food and the expected drinks per guest first, then add margin. The private events pricing guide covers building a package that makes money.
• Bundle instead of discount. A 50 wing tray with sides and sauces raises the check and speeds the line; a percentage off just lowers the price.

Valentine's and the game under one roof

Most operators will have both crowds this year. The Valentine's Day 2027 restaurant plan covers forecasting covers and the prix fixe; here is how the two fit together.

• Before kickoff: early Valentine's seatings from midafternoon, booked to finish before the game. In the East, close the book for romance by about 5 pm.
• Split the building: dining room for couples with its own menu and music, bar and patio for the game with the sound on. Separate staff and separate kitchen tickets if you can.
• After the game: a late Valentine's seating for couples who watched first. On the West Coast this can be a full dinner service.
• Saturday the 13th: sell Valentine's dinner on Saturday to couples who want to avoid the game entirely. Many will book it.

Staffing and responsible service

• Staff to the play, not the day. A watch party needs bartenders and runners from an hour before kickoff to the end of the game. A takeout program needs fryer cooks, packers and a pickup lead from late morning. A Valentine's room needs servers early and again late.
• Schedule to the forecast. Build hours from the reservation and preorder counts by hour with the scheduling guide, and stagger cuts after the fourth quarter.
• Run a pre shift. The menu, the pickup process, the halftime plan and the cutoff plan. The pre shift meeting guide has a ten minute agenda.
• Plan the cutoff. A long game and a lot of beer is a combination that needs a plan: certified bartenders, food in front of guests, free soft drinks for designated drivers, and rideshare pickup points posted. Check your state's rules on drink specials and packages.

The countdown

1. Now through mid JanuaryPick your play. Price the takeout menu and watch party packages, decide how Valentine's and the game share the building, and set up preorders and reservations so they can open the minute the matchup is set.
2. Sunday, January 31Conference championships. Open preorders and watch party reservations that night, and announce the plan on your site, email list and social channels.
3. Week of February 1Confirm wing, beer and packaging orders with delivery dates in writing. Test screens and sound. Post the schedule for game day and Valentine's.
4. Week of February 8Close preorders by Thursday or Friday. Lock prep quantities, fryer schedule and pickup windows. Set pars for the bar and the walk in.
5. Saturday, February 13Receive and count everything, prep sauces and sides, label takeout containers, and run Valentine's dinners for couples avoiding the game.
6. Sunday, February 14Pre shift, stations set to par, takeout windows on time, kickoff at 6:30 pm Eastern, halftime rush, last call plan, and cleanup.
7. Monday, February 15Presidents Day. Count the bar and the walk in, record wings sold, takeout orders, covers and drinks per guest, and write down the three things to change next year.

Next on the calendar: St. Patrick's Day and the basketball tournament share the same week in March, and Easter brunch follows on March 28. See the full 2027 restaurant and bar calendar for every date, with what to do each month.

FAQ

When is the Super Bowl in 2027?

Super Bowl LXI is on Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 pm Eastern (3:30 pm Pacific) on ABC and ESPN. It is the first Super Bowl played on Valentine's Day, so most restaurants and bars will be planning for both on the same day.

Is Super Bowl Sunday busy for restaurants?

For most dine-in restaurants it is slower than a normal Sunday. Toast's 2024 data showed 16% fewer transactions than an average Sunday, dine-in traffic down 20% and sales at 7 pm down 47%, while takeout held steady and wing orders rose 87%. Sports bars with a watch party and restaurants that sell takeout wings and party trays do best.

How many wings should I order for the Super Bowl?

Start from your forecast: dine-in guests times wings per guest, plus takeout orders times wings per order, plus a buffer of about 10%. Party wings run roughly 10 pieces per pound, so 4,000 wings is about 400 pounds, or ten 40 pound cases. Check your fryer capacity too; it is often the real limit.

Should a bar charge for a Super Bowl watch party?

Many do, either with a cover that includes food or a drink, or with table minimums for reserved seating. A paid reservation guarantees revenue on a night when walk-in traffic is hard to predict. Price it from your costs and check your state's rules on drink packages before you sell them.

How do I run Valentine's Day and the Super Bowl on the same night?

Pick a plan by space and kickoff time. Run early Valentine's seatings that finish before kickoff, split the building with the dining room for couples and the bar for the game, or run a late seating after the game. In the Eastern time zone the game runs from 6:30 pm to about 10 pm.

How far ahead should I take Super Bowl takeout orders?

Open preorders as soon as the matchup is set after the conference championships on January 31, and close them a day or two before the game so you can order and prep to a known number. Give each order a pickup window so the line and the fryers stay manageable.

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