Seattle bars and restaurants booming with World Cup, but the tip rate is down

Along with the fans celebrating the USA victory over Australia in their recent World Cup match at Seattle Stadium, bars and restaurants had plenty to celebrate too.

Restaurant and bar sales volume on that Friday rose 51% compared to a typical Friday, and there were 56% more transactions, according to Toast data from establishments within a 5-mile radius of the stadium.

Beer sales, predictably, were way up, at 212%, as were such health-food staples as hot dogs (+228%), and nachos (+87%). With the game starting at noon Seattle time, omelettes also were up (74%).

In a blog post about the data, Toast explained that it focused on Seattle not for its singularity but rather as a “snapshot” of how host cities are impacted by the matches. But the post also noted that the match was the federal holiday Juneteenth, “which meant many people in Seattle weren’t working and were free to go out near the stadium.”

What wasn’t up was the tip rate, dropping from a typical Friday of 17.2% to 16.4%, with Toast noting on its blog that “some fans may be visiting from countries where tipping is not part of the culture.”

Recognizing that cultural difference, restaurant trade associations have advised bars and restaurants in host cities including Philadelphia and Kansas City to automatically add tips or service charges to tabs, often around 20%.

A broader Bank of America Institute analysis of not just restaurants but all spending from June 10–21 found the total spending was up 6.3% YoY, much of it driven by non-locals, whose spending was up 16.7%.

“It’s not even halftime yet,” the June 25 post said, “but the tournament is already delivering an early goal for host-city economies.”