This holiday season, make your dining experience even better by adding some thoughtful touches to your usual operations. Make this holiday season the best one yet and end this year off great. ’Tis the season to indulge in the most delicious food and spread holiday cheer.
Offer limited time traditional dishes like a take on the Italian “feast of the seven fishes”. Promote your limited-time Pesce al Forno or Paccheri con Sugo di Mare. Buone Feste!
People tend to indulge in sweet treats more during the season, so offer limited time desserts in addition to your usual options. Offer desserts like tiramisu, cheesecake, cannoli, cookies, and more. Don’t forget to let them know they can take it to-go! We offer to-go single serve desserts, such as cheesecakes and tiramisu. See ways to spice up your dessert menu here.
During the season of gifting customers may choose to give a friend one of your certificates. Not only does this bring revenue for you, but allows someone to come to your location who might not have otherwise. This person may come back even after their gift certificate runs out of balance because they enjoyed your food. Consider having a contest to give a certificate away. Direct them to do something, such as follow you on Facebook and Instagram for a chance to win a certificate to your restaurant. Lastly, promote your certificates by giving them the offer that for every 50 dollars you spend on certificates, you’ll receive 5 dollars off. People love supporting local businesses and this is the perfect way for them to do this.
Communicate to your customers that their extra change goes towards a particular charity in your area. They could choose to “round up” their meal total to the nearest dollar. You could also host a fundraiser night where a percentage of the sales go to a local charity or non-profit. Lastly, a great idea is to collaborate with a local charity to hold a clothing drive at your location where a bin is provided and customers put donations inside such as outerwear or canned goods.
Create a thoughtful package of maybe your jarred homemade sauce or pasta. Additionally, you could create a “Snow Day at Home Pizza Kit” for kids to enjoy on a day stuck inside. Another kit idea is a cannoli making kit including red and green sprinkles or M&Ms. For gift boxes or kits, make sure each look like a gift-- use a colorful and festive lining or a decorative ribbon on top to give it that extra special feel.
Brighten up your space and set a warm ambiance with some string lights and decorative signage. You may choose to use generic “Happy Holidays” decorations to be as inclusive as possible or highlight several popular holidays among your customers.
Let your customers know what you’re up to on social media. Post a photo of your decorated dining area or raise awareness of your gift certificates. You could also post signage around your restaurant. Finally, don’t forget to send out a thoughtful happy holidays message in a post on your social media channels.
