If you’re a sports fan, chances are you’ve visited a sports bar a time or two (or maybe on several hundreds of occasions).
If you like watching games, matches, races, tournaments, whatever, sports bars are fun. They offer opportunities to relax with friends (or friendly strangers), eat some unpretentious comfort food, have a few beers, and watch the action – often with better views, and certainly more close-ups, than you’d ever get attending a sporting event in person. (Here’s the best bar to watch football in in every state.)
Whether it’s a neighborhood watering hole with a single TV perched above the liquor bottles and a few domestic beers on tap or a multi-level mega-operation with whole banks of high-def screens and an extensive menu of good things to eat and drink, there’s probably at least one sports bar near you. And while an independent local hangout might have more character, if you’re looking for razzle-dazzle, big crowds of (you hope) like-minded fans, and state-of-the-art viewing facilities, you might prefer an outpost of one of the major sports bar chains that are spread across the country.
To compile a list of the 20 biggest sports bar chains in America, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the 2023 Top 500 published by the top food-service trade publication Nation’s Restaurant News. The publication sources data on annual sales, number of locations, and other metrics through a partnership with the food industry research and data company Datassential. We considered only chains identified as “FSR [full service restaurant] Sports Bar” in the NRN listings.
These establishments aren’t just bars, in other words, but rather restaurants where you and your family or friends could have a serious meal and not think about sports at all, if that’s your desire. On the other hand, they’re all well-equipped to serve sports fans, with both plenty of oversize flat screens broadcasting the action and lots of easy-to-eat bar food, like pizza, burgers, nachos, and maybe most of all chicken wings – which are practically synonymous with sports bars. (It’s no accident that eight of the establishments on this list have “wings” in their name.)
While you’ll have to live in certain parts of the country to enjoy some of these chains (you’ll find Jefferson’s only in two Midwestern and three Southern states, for instance), others – like Dave & Buster’s, Hooters, and above all Buffalo Wild Wings – are almost everywhere. (Here are some regional restaurant chains we wish were national.)
20. Pluckers Wing Bar
> Total U.S. units: 28
> Sales (2022): $74.1 million
> Change over 2021: +14.60%
19. Jefferson’s
> Total U.S. units: 31
> Sales (2022): $53.9 million
> Change over 2021: +20.00%
18. The Greene Turtle
> Total U.S. units: 32
> Sales (2022): $76.8 million
> Change over 2021: +4.10%
17. Duffy’s Sports Grill
> Total U.S. units: 33
> Sales (2022): $153.1 million
> Change over 2021: +13.9%
16. East Coast Wings
> Total U.S. units: 34
> Sales (2022): $60.7 million
> Change over 2021: -0.70%
15. Bubba’s 33
> Total U.S. units: 37
> Sales (2022): $51.3 million
> Change over 2021: +13.10%
14. Quaker Steak & Lube
> Total U.S. units: 38
> Sales (2022): $86.7 million
> Change over 2021: +17.00%
13. Wild Wing Café
> Total U.S. units: 39
> Sales (2022): $138.7 million
> Change over 2021: +34.60%
12. Roosters Wings
> Total U.S. units: 41
> Sales (2022): $179.1 million
> Change over 2021: +12.5%
11. Hurricane Grill & Wings
> Total U.S. units: 42
> Sales (2022): $55.4 million
> Change over 2021: +11.30%
10. World of Beer
> Total U.S. units: 47
> Sales (2022): $103.4 million
> Change over 2021: +10.7%
9. Wings & Rings
> Total U.S. units: 62
> Sales (2022): $141.9 million
> Change over 2021: -0.30%
8. Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux
> Total U.S. units: 71
> Sales (2022): $300.3 million
> Change over 2021: +18.8%
7. Wings Etc.
> Total U.S. units: 78
> Sales (2022): $112.5 million
> Change over 2021: +7.10%
6. Twin Peaks
> Total U.S. units: 89
> Sales (2022): $488.6 million
> Change over 2021: +23.0%
5. Miller’s Ale*House
> Total U.S. units: 96
> Sales (2022): $560.8 million
> Change over 2021: +22.7
4. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
> Total U.S. units: 141
> Sales (2022): $203.9 million
> Change over 2021: +3.0%
3. Dave & Buster’s
> Total U.S. units: 142
> Sales (2022): $670.5 million
> Change over 2021: +54.4%
2. Hooters
> Total U.S. units: 310
> Sales (2022): $975.2 million
> Change over 2021: +16.8%
1. Buffalo Wild Wings
> Total U.S. units: 1,242
> Sales (2022): $3.9 billion
> Change over 2021: +5.9%