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Mother’s Day Restaurant Ideas

Apr 21st 2017 - Guest Blog, 

Mother’s Day Restaurant Ideas

happy mothers day

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to show your mom, grandma, or any other female role model how much you appreciate her. And there’s no better way to do so than treating her to a delicious meal at an inviting restaurant. The most popular holiday for dining out, Mother’s Day falls on May 14th this year and offers a great opportunity for restaurants to bring in new customers. For a few tips and tricks that can help you maximize your restaurant’s business potential on Mother’s Day, continue reading.

Mother’s Day Brunch

mothers day brunch

Since Mother’s Day brunch is just as popular as dinner, it’s imperative for restaurants to allocate the same resources to late morning and early afternoon hours as they would to the dinner rush. This means if your restaurant usually opens in the afternoon, it’d be in your best interest to alter your hours for Mother’s Day and open in the late morning. Also ensure your restaurant is equipped with enough chefs, servers, and bus boys to handle the influx of hungry customers. Furthermore, the kitchen should be stocked with even more food, drinks, and ingredients than usual.

Brunch meals like eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, and waffles are generally inexpensive and offer greater profit margin than lunch and dinner items. Yogurt with fresh fruit is another popular option that’s a crowd favorite and easy to make. If you’re looking for a way to simplify your Mother’s Day operation, try offering a buffet-style set-up by using countertop buffet warmers. Depending on your preference, this allows your staff to serve customers or customers to serve themselves.

Mother’s Day Dinner

mother's day dinner

It’s important for your staff to maintain its professionalism and enthusiasm during brunch and throughout dinner. If possible, consider giving your staff a longer break than usual so they can get sufficient rest between the brunch and dinner time rushes. This is especially applicable to restaurants that extend business hours for the holiday, since their staff will not be accustomed to working such long shifts.

For a special holiday treat, utilize a unique dinner menu that features great deals and delicious delicacies. Ideally, the appetizers and entrees offered should be prepared in advance to ensure optimal kitchen efficiency. This will also help lead to quick table turnover and consequently maximize revenue. Regardless of the Mother Day specials you choose to offer, know your customers will appreciate you going the extra mile.

A Small Gesture

If you’re feeling generous, consider offering all the moms dining in your restaurant a special gift. Whether you decide to give flowers, assorted chocolates, a bottle of wine, or a free dessert of their choice, presenting each mom with a gift is a great way to ensure they leave your establishment brimming with joy and eager to tell everyone about their wonderful experience.

Decorations and Seating

mothers day flowers

Since spring will be in full bloom for Mother’s Day, it’ll be easy to find beautiful flowers that create an enchanting atmosphere. Just make certain to display your flowers in a vase that does them justice. For dinner time, use candles to provide an alluring atmosphere for diners. If your restaurant usually has TVs playing, you might want to turn them off for the special day. This will make for a more intimate dining environment.

The outside temperature will likely be warm on Mother’s Day, enabling you to utilize outdoor eating areas like patios. If you’re expecting a packed restaurant and have spare space, stock up on extra seating and folding tables to help ensure each of your patrons is served in a timely manner. Don’t forget to give your folding tables a little style by using a table cover.

Drinks

mimosas

Since brunch and dinner time will both see large rushes, your restaurant should offer appropriate drink specials for the different meals. During brunch, you’re best-suited to offer glasses of Mimosas, Bellinis, Bloody Marys, margaritas, screwdrivers, Irish coffee, sangria, spiked iced tea, and various beers. When dinner time rolls around, switch the specials so they include evening drinks like wine, martinis, and manhattans.

Getting the Word Out

restaurant marketing

You’ll want to inform your regular customers and other potential patrons of any Mother’s Day plans your restaurant has. The further in advance you make your plans known, the easier it is for people to plan. Posting detailed fliers in and around your restaurant is a great way to notify local residents of your holiday celebration. If possible, include special drink and food offerings on the flier that will appeal to patrons. Should the opportunity arise, servers and bartenders should relay the restaurant’s plan to customers.

A more modern way to spread the word is by leveraging social media. Especially if you’re active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, posting virtual flyers could be all you need to ensure your restaurant is packed all day and all night.

Requiring Reservations

reserved

By encouraging customers to make reservations in advance, you help ensure your restaurant’s Mother’s Day operation runs as smoothly as possible. If patrons show up to your restaurant hungry and ready to eat, they will not take it well if there’s an extended wait before they can be seated. In fact, they’ll likely be hesitant to return to your restaurant in the future. Make it clear through fliers, social media, and word of mouth that your restaurant is booking tables in advance of the holiday. When blocking out time slots, assume patrons will spend a few more minutes at a table than usual for the special occasion.

Make this Mother’s Day a celebration people won’t soon forget. Since the holiday is such a busy time for restaurants, it’s essential not to fret about the number of customers you draw. Patrons will show up—if for no other reason than people eat out on Mother’s Day. So what really matters is providing a quality experience for each and every patron. Doing so can help ensure he or she will want to come back and spend future holidays at your restaurant.

mothers day celebration