Just in time for Kings season, Tom’s Watch Bar opens in DoCo with banks of TVs
Tom’s Watch Bar is finally open with its rows of TVs stacked across the establishment for 360-degree sports viewing.
The first Northern California location of the Denver-based sports bar chain opened on Monday in Downtown Commons, a few yards from Golden 1 Center’s north entrance, two years later than the originally planned opening date.
The delayed opening was the result of the COVID-19 construction shutdown, followed by supply chain issues, founder Tom Ryan said at an opening party Tuesday night.
He said his company had signed a lease in 2019 for the 6,300-square-foot space, with the opening scheduled in October 2021, just before the start of the Sacramento Kings basketball season.
“All the frustration disappeared Monday morning when we finally opened,” Ryan said.
Now, the sports bar will be open for the first preseason game on Sunday, when the Kings play the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. NBA basketball action will return to Golden 1 Center on Oct. 15.
Several hundred people attended the opening night party for Tom’s Watch Bar, which is under Polanco’s Cantina at 414 K St.
The establishment features more than 400 indoor and outdoor seats, a full food and drink menu, and will be open daily from 11 a.m to midnight.
A Kings experience
Ryan said he wants the sports bar to be the next best thing for fans who can’t attend games in person at Golden 1 Center or when the Kings are on the road.
He said Tom’s Watch Bar will try to replicate special Kings fan events with the feel of the arena, including music and lights. He said the Sacramento Kings Dance Team or the team’s mascot Slamson will visit, if they are available. The bar will also feature sports memorabilia contests with prizes and autograph signings from former Kings players, he said.
Ryan said a DJ will also be part of the entertainment at the special game nights.
The full menu includes specialties such as a prime rib sandwich for $23.95, a variety of chicken wing platters at $16.49 and a poke bowl featuring ahi tuna and sticky rice for $20.99
American beers on tap start at $8.99 for a 12-ounce Blue Moon Lightsky. A 24-ounce Corona Extra, for example, sells for $13.99. A variety of specialty cocktails will also sell for $13.99.
The Sacramento location is the 10th for Tom’s Watch Bar. The chain opened its first location in the L.A. LIVE complex in 2014.
Sports bar and more
Shannon McNiel, the chain’s president andchief operating officer, said he expects the Sacramento location should provide yearly revenue of $7 million to $8 million, which is the average revenue for chain locations. He said the Las Vegas location takes in the most revenue at $18 million a year.
McNiel said the Sacramento location cost more than $2 million to build and will employ about 150 full-time and part-time employees.
Even though Tom’s Watch Bar is aimed at sports fans, Ryan noted that the classification can be broad.
He said the viewing room will mostly show mainstream games, but said more than 100 TV screens leave room for what Ryan calls “obscure and outrageous sports.”
He said that includes e-sports as well as the international competitions that sports-starved viewers began tuning into early in the pandemic, such as Japanese cup-stacking or Thai snake wrestling.
Tom Sports Bar
Address: 414 K St., Sacramento
Hours: 11 a.m to midnight seven days a week.
Website: tomswatchbar.com
Phone: (279) 202-6010.
This story was originally published October 5, 2023 at 11:22 AM.