As the FIFA World Cup draws to a close, Santa Barbara restaurants and bars are gearing up for the final two games of the quadrennial soccer tournament.

Businesses that have routinely hosted crowds throughout the World Cup told Noozhawk they plan to bring on extra staff and open their doors early in preparation for the third-place match and World Cup final.

The third-place match is set for 2 p.m. Saturday between France and England, while Spain will face Argentina in the final, scheduled to start at noon on Sunday.

With the World Cup hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico, businesses said they’ve seen an uptick in crowds compared with previous World Cups.

Jamie Magee, a manager at Baja Sharkeez, said the 2022 World Cup was “wonky” because many of the games were shown at early hours of the morning.

“We’ve been pretty consistently busy for this World Cup, no matter the team,” Magee added. “This year, it’s been almost nonstop.”

The Santa Barbara Public Market has seen hundreds of people come to watch big games. The market has even made room for overflow outside if crowds exceed expectations.

“Busy is an understatement,” property manager Natalie Ramos said. “It’s been really energetic and fun, with a lot of different groups of all ages coming to cheer on their teams.”

Some businesses in the community have become well-known for their soccer watch parties. The Press Room — an English pub that has been in operation for 31 years — is now a consistent hot spot for viewing soccer games, according to its owner, England native James Rafferty. 

However, it wasn’t always like this. 

“When we first opened, I was told nobody wanted to watch football,” Rafferty said. “When we opened, I went around on a bicycle with flyers to every hotel, motel and told the owners that you have a lot of Europeans here, and they want to see football, so they sent them to us. It used to be only us showing them (the games). Now, everyone does it.”

Buena Onda Empanadas, an Argentinian restaurant that has been open since 2015, is expecting a large crowd on Sunday as Argentina reached its second consecutive World Cup final. 

Matias Requena, co-owner of Buena Onda, said the restaurant has been very busy during the tournament’s knockout stages.

“We’re staffing up for Sunday. … We’re expecting 400 to 500 people,” Requena said. “It’s going to be a huge party.”

Some spots have held raffles or auctions for prize items for the games, including Baja Sharkeez. The State Street business has given out jerseys, soccer balls, scarves and, for bigger games, coolers and speakers.

For every World Cup and Euro, The Press Room auctions off the flags of countries participating in the tournament, usually raising $2,000 to $3,000. This year, it is auctioning off 48 flags.

One of Rafferty’s friends’ wives has multiple sclerosis, he said. In her honor, 50% of the audition proceeds will go to a multiple sclerosis charity, while the other half will go to local nonprofit La Casa de la Raza.

Fans in the Community 

Marco Giampietro, a worker at Buena Onda from Córdoba, Argentina, said he has attended every one of the restaurant’s watch parties. 

“It was an experience. Every new watch party, it’s more new people coming because they know that we celebrate here,” Giampietro said. “I love spending time here with the people.”

England native Gareth Kelly has watched every English match during this World Cup at The Press Room.

“This is my home away from home,” Kelly said. “The watch parties were fantastic.”

Business owners and managers expressed gratitude for what the World Cup means for them and the community. 

“The cool thing for us, and probably for most of these restaurants and bars, is that we have employees (who) are from a lot of these countries, so they’re stoked,” said Joey Sommerville, general manager at Joe’s Cafe. 

“A lot of people are not soccer fans when this thing starts, and at the end of the World Cup, you see these people just as into the games as everybody else,” Somerville added. “I like to see the people that had nothing to do with soccer in the first week, and then now they’re coming in here and going, ‘God, can we get a seat for the final?’”

Some businesses see people come in from Los Angeles or even the Bay Area to watch some of the games. 

“People are really passionate. … Two English guys have come up several times from Los Angeles to watch the games here,” The Press Room’s Rafferty said. “One ladies’ World Cup final, when I got there at 7 in the morning, there (were) two girls in the doorway, and they (had) driven through the night from Las Vegas to watch the final here.”

Ramos, property manager at the Santa Barbara Public Market, said the market is “stoked.”  

“It brought the community together, and it was really neat to see all the different people and their jerseys and everyone cheering for their teams, especially our own staff and all the employees that work at the different restaurants,” she said. “I think it brought a lot of camaraderie, and our staff has been having a good time, meeting new people.”

For some, hosting watch parties means the world. 

“Being able to host watch parties here, it’s an honor,” said Requena, co-owner of Buena Onda. “To get all the people and get them all excited for one of my passions, which is soccer, at my establishment — it’s all I could ask for.”

Below are a few places to watch the World Cup final and the third-place game. Many more places have been showing the games throughout the tournament. Know of more? Email us at news@noozhawk.com. 

• Santa Barbara Public Market: 38 W. Victoria St.
• Buena Onda Empenadas: 724 E. Haley St.
• The Press Room: 15 E. Ortega St.
• Arlington Theatre (final only): 1317 State St.
• Dargan’s: 18 E. Ortega St.
• Finney’s Crafthouse Santa Barbara: 35 State St., Suite A
• Baja Sharkeez: 525 State St.
• O’Malley’s Bar: 523 State St.
• Joe’s Cafe: 536 State St.