How to prepare your café for match nights
Published
On match night the room fills in twenty minutes, everyone orders at half time and everyone wants to pay at the final whistle. These nights pay well when they are prepared. Here is a simple method, from the week before to counting the till.
Start the free trialA week before: the fixtures and the screen
Write down the matches that really fill your room: the big Botola derbies, the national team's games, the major European cup nights. Not every match is equal. A Tuesday kick-off at 5 pm does not bring the same crowd as a Saturday night final, and it does not need the same team.
Check the subscription, the TV, the sound and the projector days ahead, not an hour before kick-off. Sit at the back tables and on the terrace to see what the guest sees. A guest who cannot see the screen does not stay to the end and does not order again.
Decide whether you take bookings. If you do, set a cut-off time, for example thirty minutes before the match, after which the table is released, and say so when people book.
Stock: plan for what sells fast
On match nights, sales focus on a few products: water, soft drinks, juice, mint tea, nus-nus coffee and something to nibble. Note what sold during the last big match and order with a margin. Hearing "we're out" in the 60th minute spoils the guest's night.
Prepare everything you can in advance: glasses washed and stacked, ice, lemons cut, mint sorted. If you serve msemen, sandwiches or fries, cut the evening's menu down to what the kitchen sends out fast. A short menu is quicker and makes fewer mistakes.
Keep change in the till. Match night bills are often small, paid in cash, and all at the same moment.
The team: one clear role each
Add staff if the night is worth it, and give each person a zone: the room, the terrace, the counter. A waiter who knows which tables are theirs does not leave a table waiting because they assume a colleague has it.
Hold a five minute briefing before opening: tonight's prices, what is sold out, who takes payment, who runs the bar. Repeat the basic rule: every order is written down before it is made, even when the bar is overflowing. Unpaid drinks get lost in the rush.
Prices and minimums: say it before, not after
Many cafés charge match prices or set a minimum spend per table. Guests accept it on one condition: they know before they sit down. Put it at the door and on the tables, and say it when people arrive.
Keep one simple rule for the whole room. Different prices by table or by hour cause arguments at payment time. And go back to normal prices the next day: a morning regular who pays the match price does not come back.
During the match: half time and the final whistle
While the game is on, guests watch the screen, not the waiter. Walk the room in quiet moments, not during an attack, and offer the second round before half time.
At half time the bar runs flat out: simple drinks first, tea after. If something runs out, tell the whole team so nobody keeps offering it.
The final whistle is the riskiest moment because everyone stands up at once. Take payment during the match where you can, especially on the terrace, and put someone near the exit for the last bills.
After closing: count and take notes
Count the till and compare it with the night's sales. Write down what sold, what ran out and what was left. Those notes feed straight into the next big match.
Ask the team what got stuck: a forgotten table, a sold-out item, a queue at the bar. Fix one thing at a time. The usual mistakes are well known: changing prices without warning, keeping the full menu on a rush night, letting anyone take cash with no rule, and writing nothing down afterwards.
Putting it into practice with Tablilo
With Tablilo, guests order from the QR menu at their table, even at half time, without waiting for a waiter. Match mode applies match prices to the whole room, with an optional minimum order per table, and switches itself off at the start of the next day. A manager can turn it on from their phone.
Drinks go to the bar screen, dishes to the kitchen screen, and each waiter gets the calls from their own tables. A table closed without payment alerts you at once, and the cash difference shows at the end of service. You can try it free before the next big match.
Related features
- Match mode for cafés: match prices and a table minimumMatch night at the café: match prices for the whole room, a minimum order per table, automatic stop the next day. Turn it on from your phone.
- Waiter app for restaurants and cafésA waiter app on each waiter's own phone: personal PIN, orders to confirm, table calls and the day's tips. Nothing to install.
- Kitchen display screen (KDS) and bar screenA kitchen display screen on any tablet: drinks to the bar, dishes to the kitchen, tickets that change colour and a 'Prêt' button that alerts the waiter.
- Reports and anti-theft alerts for your tillRecorded cancellations, tables closed unpaid, cash difference, accountant export and a manager login: see what happens in your café, even when away.