10 Ways to Improve Restaurant Summer Business

Are you feeling the pinch of summertime in your restaurant? It's early July, the temperatures are rising, kids are off from school, people are planning lots of outdoor events, picnics, neighborhood parties, trips and many of them are free, plus there's the pool and the beach. Have you already read our Summer Tips to Increase Restaurant Business? Hopefully, you have and you've started to implement some of those ideas. How do you compete with everything happening during the summer and get customers to your business? It's a tough question, no doubt. We'll share 10 ways to improve restaurant summer business so you can not only stay in business but, have a profitable summer.

     First, here's our scenario: we're located in the downtown area just not on the main drag, we're not on the water but nearby, we're a casual fine dining restaurant with a cosmopolitan atmosphere of copper walls, granite counters and bar, imported fabrics and glass walls separating the bar and dining area, a wood floor bar with soft seating areas and the best price and quality for a Samsung Plasma 51" flat screen tv we added for customers - which we highly recommend you add somewhere in your restaurant, large windows to see the outside,
an open kitchen concept for customers to have a seat and watch the chef prepare meals or to just say hello and have a cocktail and a unique outdoor area that is only accessed from the inside of the restaurant. Find your perfect outdoor furniture with our Best Outdoor Patio Sets Review and get one now if you don't have these in your restaurant somewhere - create it indoors if you must! Our building is connected to apartments and offices without any other retail or service business and the office workers are out and gone by 4-5pm. We only serve dinner since the parking area is full of office workers during the day making it impossible to serve breakfast or lunch.
      It's truly a lovely space, it's contemporary, art deco, sharp, looks expensive (an it was) and sometimes that hurts our summer business. Let me explain if that's confusing.

     Summertime is not when customers/guests want to typically get dressed up for a meal or to meet up with friends. Our space lends itself to cooler temperatures and dinner with a show or play that is happening and most of those events are in the spring, fall and winter. We do get the traveling customer that is looking for a local restaurant instead of the chain style places to eat and we've developed a loyal customer base of locals that join us at least a couple times a week for dinner.Time to get creative to think of other ways to draw in customers.

     Here are ten ways we improve our summer business, cut costs and maybe you can use some of these suggestions or maybe it will get your own creative juices flowing. 

Pick up a subscription to Food & Wine Magazine.  We love the articles, photos and get awesome ideas for our menu to offer for specials in every area of our own restaurant.


     * We make flyers to place on all the apartment doors announcing our free delivery to the apartments with a copy of our latest light fare summer menu.
     * Start a twitter account and follow other people in your area or nearby. Post your daily specials or at least weekly make a tweet about anything special happening in your business.
     * Start a facebook page for your business and do the same.
     * Update your own website with menus, photos and posts about your business, specials, events, outdoor dining, etc.
     * We ask our neighboring businesses if we can place our flyer or menu in their business and in exchange, we post their flyers or business cards in our restaurant.
     * We created a beautiful outdoor area with patio tables and chairs and highly recommend it if you have any way at all to offer a place for customers to eat outside. Any sidewalk area or other outdoor space can and should be used in the summer.
     * We close on the holidays during summer (and many others too, we'll share in later posts) because it's just not worth it to open for Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and it not only cuts our costs for labor and utilities - it gives the staff the holidays off and they love it.

     ** We started a martini club since our bar is gorgeous and we offer many signature martini drinks. You can do something similar or copy this idea. Do something similar with beer, cocktails or if you don't have a liquor license, do this with desserts or appetizers. Choose a slower day of the week that you want to increase business on - Monday - Thursday works best usually. We love this martini glass by Libby and you get a dozen 8oz martini glasses for under $20!, it's strong and sturdy, etches good, no stems to break. This Libby stemmed martini glass is also a favorite for those that must have a stemmed glass and an 8oz martini glass for  $36 a dozen. Or, use a Z-stemmed martini glass just for these special customers in your club that is a 7.5oz martini glass for $40 a dozen.
               On a business card we make ourselves on our computer we named the martini club, it describes the plan: buy three martinis, get the fourth one free, buy three more martinis and get a free sample of any of our martinis, (use this mini martini glass with stem 3oz for just $45 a dozen) buy another martini and get your own free martini glass to take home, buy three more martinis and get your name etched on your personal martini glass that we keep on a shelf or customers can take home. (they bring their glass back in or just keep it with you).  We use this Dremel Engraver for etching martini glasses for under $19, works great on glass and has a template to help. Each business card has the customer name handwritten on back and we keep it in a file box. Customers love the martini club and women mostly join with their friends and they talk about it - gotta love word of mouth advertising! Order your supplies now for the martini club and create your flyers, add it to your social networking sites and by the time your new glasses and tools arrive, you'll have customers in the door! It works, it's fun, it's unique and people will talk about your restaurant! Yes, it's true.

     * Make your own business card with a special offer on it and get out and meet customers where you shop and do business. Give a card to new people to try your restaurant: the offer is maybe $5 off your next visit (with or without an expiration date). A business card size is easy for you and those you meet instead of a coupon flyer that could get lost. Most people keep a business card in a wallet. This is the best deal on Avery business cards for $12/250 cards and Free Shipping. We use a lot of these and recommend you do too!! Pass them out to your staff too and have them give to the post office teller, cashiers, gas attendants, grocers, friends that haven't tried your restaurant yet. It works to bring you new customers in the summer months.
     * Offer discounts on parties during the summer. For example, 10% off your total bill when you book your birthday, anniversary, class reunion, bridal or baby shower or wedding in June/July/August with minimum of 20 guests. Book early and get a free sheet cake or balloons. Give customers an incentive to do business with you during the summer months. You may love this idea so much that you repeat it several times a year! Don't forget to read our Discounts for Restaurants and why we want you to give discounts to customers.

  We hope these 10 ways to improve your restaurant summer business will help you. Don't miss more ideas in our Summer Fun for Restaurant Owners with Top 7 Ways to Increase Summer Business and Crazy about Bacon. Please let us know which of these you plan to implement in the comment section or offer other ideas for our readers too.

Until next time, Cheers!