The end of summer typically marks the beginning of a down period for local restaurants and bars, particularly those in tourist-heavy Waikiki.

But for those that make an investment — and not an insignificant one — in pay-per-view or satellite sports entertainment, it's not difficult to keep the good times rolling.

Round Table Pizza in Waikiki subscribes to Oceanic Time Warner Cable's UH Sports package, which includes eight University of Hawai'i football games. It also subscribes to the ESPN GamePlan package, which features collegiate football contests from around the country, virtually assuring a solid crowd every Saturday.

On Sundays, regulars and tourists flock to take advantage of the restaurant's subscription to DirecTV's exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket package.

It features up to 14 games per week, the NFL Network, Player Tracker (for fantasy football players), highlights on demand, and enhanced game coverage.

"The sales don't see a giant increase because football season kicks off just as we're coming off of summer, when the tourists start to taper off, but it does go up a little bit, maybe a couple of thousand dollars a game," said Round Table general manager Jerry Putnam. "It draws more locals in."

A typical football crowd at the restaurant averages 120 to 170, Putnam said. The restaurant will likely exceed that in the first weeks of the season.

"It's definitely busy at the start of the season because people are excited after waiting all summer," Putnam said. "The buzz for UH football is big right now with all the national exposure."

Having ESPN GamePlan helps Round Table maintain a steady flow of customers even when the local crowd thins out during UH home games.

"It's not as busy during home games, because people want to experience the game live, which I totally understand," he said. "It's great to go out and support UH in person. It gets really busy when they have an away game."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.