PBR Bar sticks close to the bull-riding series’ working-class brand, with a heavy dose of country and rock music.PBR
The Professional Bull Riders’ branded bar concept reaches its 10th anniversary this week, pouring another round while similar ideas linked to other sports properties went bust.
The Endeavor-owned bull-riding series opened the first PBR Bar with real estate developer The Cordish Cos. on April 10, 2008, in Kansas City, and the concept is now used at nine bars throughout the U.S., with a 10th coming later this year.
The venues also typically close for several days during the week when demand is lower.PBR
Executives from the PBR and Cordish say the key to the longevity has been staying lean and taking an unabashed approach to focusing on the Americana brand traits of the PBR.
“With the PBR concept, we now have a tremendous track record of sustained success,” said Reed Cordish, principal and partner of The Cordish Cos.
Branded Effort
It’s been mostly tough sledding for branded dining and entertainment ventures linked to sports properties.
■ The first NASCAR Café (later renamed NASCAR Sports Grille) opened in 1997 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Other locations opened in Nashville; Orlando; Las Vegas; Greensboro, N.C.; Hampton, Va.; and Sevierville, Tenn. The final locations closed in 2014.
■ The first ESPN Zone opened in 1998 in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Other locations later opened in Atlanta, Denver, Chicago, Las Vegas, Times Square, Washington, D.C., and Downtown Disney in Anaheim. The Disneyland restaurant is the only one that hasn’t closed but will do so this year as the park develops a “Star Wars” attraction. Disney said the restaurant might re-open in 2021.
■ WCW Nitro Grill was a professional wrestling-themed steak house that operated at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from May 1999 to September 2000.
■ WWF New York (later renamed The World) was a WWE-owned themed restaurant/nightclub in Times Square from 1999-2003. Another WWE establishment, WWE Niagara Falls, operated in Ontario from 2002-11.
■ The first Fox Sports Grill opened in Scottsdale, Ariz., in November 2002. Other locales opened nationwide, with the San Diego location still open.
■ The first PGA Tour Grill opened in 2014 at San Diego International Airport. Since then locations have opened at airports in Boston; Denver; Honolulu; Savannah, Ga.; El Paso, Texas; and Greensboro, N.C.
Source: SportsBusiness Journal research
Cities with a PBR Bar location are Kansas City; Las Vegas; Baltimore; Louisville, Ky.; Hampton, Va.; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Atlanta; and Norfolk, Va. The Las Vegas location is operated by entrepreneur Jonathan Fine, who originally introduced the PBR to Cordish, and it’s the only one of the bars that is not run by Cordish. The 10th location is slated to open later this year at the Rangers’ “Texas Live!” entertainment complex in Arlington.
The PBR licenses its brand logo to Cordish, which operates the restaurants, and the arrangement includes revenue-sharing opportunities, according to Sean Gleason, PBR chief executive.
The highest-grossing PBR Bar is at the St. Louis Cardinals’ Ballpark Village complex, where the location grosses approximately $5 million a year in revenue, according to a source. The original Kansas City location, which is adjacent to the Sprint Center, grosses around $3 million a year.
The bars focus on the PBR working-class brand, going heavy with country and rock music. Most don’t serve food and focus instead on creating a party atmosphere with drinks only. They close during the middle of the week when demand is lower.
“We were fortunate to look back at other concepts that had come and gone, and one of the key learnings was, ‘Go with the brand,’” Gleason said. “We chose to go to venues that were party-focused and a place to have a good time.”
The bar is heavy on experiences, as the locations are stocked with more than 100 costumes for staff members who are trained to do nearly 50 different line dances. Three staffers will dress up as sailors, pull up stools to a table and sing “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” or some will dress in cowboy shorts and boots and dance to “YMCA.” The bar also holds what it calls “Freedom Friday,” where it honors military members and first responders and often plays Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.”
While separate entities from the PBR itself, the bars do cross-promote with some of the league’s partners. Ford and Jack Daniel’s are two recent examples.
And, of course, you can ride the bull.PBR
Next up? Detroit, where Cordish and the league are trying to open a bar at the Detroit Red Wings’ new mixed-use development around Little Caesars Arena. New York City, Nashville and Denver also are under review.
“Looking back at the concept Cordish laid out (10 years ago) and reviewing the plan, the decisions we made seem to be right today,” Gleason said. “Not a lot of bar/restaurant concepts can last that long without refreshing or changing direction, (but) we’re still going strong.”
