Super Bowl Prep: Menu Trends and Tips for the Big Game

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the year’s first big business spikes of the year, and the independents that win it don’t win by getting fancy. They win by getting focused: repackaging what already sells, forecasting the surge, and using smart guardrails so the kitchen doesn’t melt down at kickoff.

Ahead of Super Bowl LIX on Sunday February 8, 2026, SpotOn analyzed Super Bowl-related items added to independent restaurant point-of-sale menus between Dec 2024 and Feb 2025,  and found that operators overwhelmingly treat the Super Bowl business like a fast-paced, high-volume holiday: 81 percent of Super Bowl items were added between January and February. The key to success is to lock in your game-day menu, prep and order workflows early, then spend the final weeks driving pre-orders and tightening execution.

Here’s a few practical insights from independent restaurants to guide your planning for Super Bowl LX based on menu data from SpotOn, plus tips along the way.

Build a “Throughput Menu,” Not a New Menu: The most successful Super Bowl menu formats aren’t brand-new inventions. They’re packaging strategies: SpotOn finds the most popular formats for Super Bowl menu items included bundles, platters or catering (30 percent); drink or alcohol related (25 percent) and chicken or wing items ( 25 percent). Guests aren’t asking you to become a different restaurant for one day, they’re looking to you to make it easy to feed a group quickly.

• Tip: Don’t invent new menu items. Re-package best sellers for groups as a throughput strategy. Turn your top movers into game-day bundles: “Wing + fries + dip,” “Pizza + salad + 2-liter,” “Taco bar kit,” “Family meal for 4,” etc. The goal isn’t culinary novelty; it’s fewer decisions, faster production, higher check averages.

Operationally, this is your moment to streamline. Fewer modifiers. Fewer one-offs. Fewer items that require special setups. Anything that slows the line or introduces new complexity will open you up to late orders, refunds, comps, and unhappy guests.

Make Quantity Explicit So Guests Order More, and Your BOH Team Stays Sane: One of the most telling insights from SpotOn’s analysis: 22 percent of all Super Bowl menu additions included an explicit number (counts/oz). For wings and chicken items, that number jumped to 46 percent. And that’s not an accident. On Super Bowl Sunday, guests are doing mental math: “How many wings for eight people?” “Is this enough queso?” “How much should we order?” When your menu answers those questions, guests add items with confidence, and your kitchen gets a more predictable production plan.

• Tip: Use quantity-specific items for easy upsells and predictable prep during peak demand. Instead of “Wings,” sell “20-piece,” “40-piece,” “80-piece.” Instead of “Nachos,” sell “Nachos for 4” and “Nachos for 8.” Instead of “Beer,” sell “6-pack special” or “party bucket.” This also makes it easier to run limited inventory: when you sell in standardized units, you can cap those units without chaos.

  

Use Dips as the Easiest Margin Driver on the Menu: If you want one “add-on” category that repeatedly shows up as a low-lift game-day winner, it’s dips—including recurring standouts like Buffalo Chicken Dip. Why? Dips feel indulgent and sharable, play well with bundles, and don’t usually require complex execution. They also attach naturally to high-volume staples like wings, chips, fries, sandwiches.

• Tip: Dips are a high perceived value, low operational risk add-on ideal for game-day. Put dips in the bundle, then offer “upgrade/add another” prompts: extra ranch, queso, guac, buffalo dip, spinach artichoke. Keep items tight and prep streamlined. You’re aiming for fast upsells that don’t slow the line.

Determine Your Super Bowl Strategy: Watch Party vs. At-Home Catering: SpotOn’s geography data reveals two distinct plays restaurants used last year. Both are wise, but they require different menus, staffing, and sometimes tech setups to make sure your strategy makes sense for your concept, team and guests.

In Texas, restaurants leaned hard into beverages: 60 percent of items added were drinks or alcohol, including premium upsells like tequila bottles in Houston and 16 oz. beer specials in Dallas–Fort Worth. That’s a watch-party mindset: maximize in-house check and beverage attachment. Meanwhile, New York restaurants went catering-first with 85 percent of menu items leveraging bundles or platters. That’s an off-premise mindset to win bulk orders, pre-orders, and pickup throughput.

• Tip: Cater your Super Bowl menus to your goals and guest expectations. Ask yourself, am I chasing in-house check growth or off-premise group orders? If you’re going big on dine-in, tighten table service friction (Handheld POS, QR scan + pay, simplified food menu) and build beverage incentives. If you’re going big on off-premise, build pre-order windows, pickup logistics, and bundle-first takeout and delivery through your first-party online ordering system.

Add the “Hometown Hook,” but Keep Execution Tight: In 2025, restaurants in Chiefs and Eagles territory focused on a tight, predictable core menu (draft specials, wing packages) and then layered in a few creative, local nods like a T. Rav 20pc of toasted ravioli and iconic Philly cheesesteaks. That’s the smart way to do themed food: one or two distinctive items that generate buzz, surrounded by operationally-proven sellers.

• Tip: If your home team is headed to the Big Game, expect demand for items that pay homage to regional cuisine or the team, just be strategic so your core offerings stay easy to execute. In other words: don’t theme your whole menu. Theme the marketing, add one hero item, and let your best sellers carry the volume.

While we’re just getting into the playoffs, the Super Bowl menus for this year are going beyond wings and beer without overcomplicating their menu. SpotOn is seeing early signals that some operators are expanding beyond the classics, with an uptick in barbecue and brisket among early planners. That can be a great differentiator if it matches your current equipment, prep systems, and staffing. If BBQ is already in your wheelhouse, lean in with a brisket bundle or slider platter. If it isn’t, don’t force it on the highest-stress day of football season.