How Smashburger Founders’ Sports Bar Chain Is Reshaping The Game-Day Experience

Forbes

Since launching six years ago, Tom’s Watch Bar has grown to 18 locations by catering to fans on their way into or out of stadiums—with dozens more on the way. Welcome to the best seat not in the house.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2025/09/18/how-smashburger-founders-sports-bar-chain-is-reshaping-the-game-day-experience/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, how Smashburger Founder's Sports Bar Chain is reshaping the game day

00:05experience.

00:08With its technologically supercharged ordering system and some speedy servers, Tom's Watch

00:13Bar can get food to your table less than eight minutes after the ticket is rung up, and can

00:18bring you a beer in under two.

00:21The Sports Bar Chain's expansion only seems that fast.

00:25Since launching with four locations in 2019, Tom's Watch Bar has grown to 13 restaurants

00:30in 2024 and 16 this year.

00:34In mid-September, that number climbed to 18 as the chain unveiled its plans for its two

00:38newest venues in Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

00:42And there are more on the lineup.

00:44Tom's is aiming to open two more outlets in 2025 and another 10 to 13 each subsequent

00:49year.

00:51Despite a crowded market featuring established chains such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Beefo Brady's,

00:57and Walk On's Sports Bistro, not to mention scores and scores of local watering holes,

01:02Tom's Watch Bar has seen its core business revenue rise about 4% over last year, and its

01:07run rate, factoring in the new locations, has soared past $100 million, with its outlets

01:13averaging more than $6 million in sales.

01:17Every store is also profitable, with restaurant level margins exceeding 25% on average, and

01:22all 18 locations company owned.

01:26That sort of success is notable in a tough segment where the once mighty Hooters is looking

01:31to rescue itself from bankruptcy, after it filed for Chapter 11 in March and abruptly closed

01:36more than 30 of its roughly 300 locations.

01:40Tom's appeal includes an elevated menu offering lobster tacos and craft beers, and its dedication

01:47to a 360-degree viewing experience on game day, cramming each restaurant with more than

01:52100 televisions tuned to multiple sports around the country.

01:57But Tom's strategy isn't just about the sports on its screens.

02:00It's also about the athletes playing nearby.

02:04Of Tom's now 18 units, 15 are adjacent to a stadium or arena, capitalizing on the foot

02:10traffic being generated by a nationwide trend toward building up the neighborhoods surrounding

02:14sports venues.

02:16Developments that often feature both commercial and residential real estate, and are sometimes

02:20known as entertainment districts, ballpark villages, or sports-anchored mixed-use districts.

02:26Co-founder and co-CEO Brooke Shaden says, quote,

02:30All of our demand is driven by sports.

02:33We've looked at a lot of quasi-suburban-type locations, where there's a lot of people,

02:37really attractive demographics, fit our customer profile, but they're crickets by 730.

02:43That's probably not going to work very well for us, even though all of the data would

02:46point to it.

02:49Tom's Watch Bar was born in 2014 as Tom's Urban, an upscale diner concept from experienced

02:55restaurant operators within the Denver-based family office SIF Partners.

03:00Tom Ryan, its eponymous co-founder, had helped introduce Pizza Hut's stuffed crust and served

03:05as a McDonald's executive.

03:07Rick Shaden, Brooke's cousin, ran Quiznos for 15 years.

03:12Together, they founded Smashburger in 2007.

03:16After selling that chain to Jollibee Foods Corporation, which bought a 40% steak in 2015 at a $335 million

03:23valuation, and then spent $100 million to acquire another 45% in 2018, Ryan and the Shadens turned

03:31their focus to their four Tom's restaurants, three at casinos in Connecticut, Las Vegas,

03:36and Washington State, and one in the entertainment complex surrounding the Lakers and Kings Home,

03:41known as Crypto.com Arena, in downtown Los Angeles.

03:46Brooke Shaden, whose background is in private equity and investment banking, and who served

03:51as chief financial officer before officially taking on the co-CEO title last year, says,

03:56quote,

03:56What we started noticing is, as we added some TVs, and because we were in a sports environment,

04:02all of a sudden we were really busy on a Monday.

04:04With that early success, the co-founders, including Shannon McNeil, a former Texas Roadhouse and

04:11Darden Restaurants executive, who joined in 2018 to run operations, and is now co-CEO

04:16alongside Shaden, decided to rebrand the Tom's concept in 2019.

04:22Their survey of the sports bar landscape made them confident that there were easy ways to

04:27stand out.

04:28For full coverage, check out Brett Knight's piece on Forbes.com.

04:34This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes, thanks for tuning in.

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