national · macro

Independent restaurants adding World Cup drinks and merch to menus

Original headline: “How independent restaurants are leaning into World Cup frenzy”

Why this matters

Independent restaurants are capitalizing on World Cup buzz by adding tournament-themed items, and the mix skews heavily toward beverages: 65 percent of additions from March through May were drinks, with another 27 percent merchandise. That means most operators are finding the low-friction play is a themed cocktail or mocktail, not a full menu overhaul. If you run a bar program or have any sports-adjacent foot traffic, there is a short window to capture incremental spend before the tournament ends.

What to do

Add two to three tournament-themed drinks to your menu this week and post them on your socials before the group stage ends.

Reveal Newsroom · Auto-published from restaurant-dive →

Published Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:08:03 GMT