Start Your Promotion
Now It’s important to start advertising your holiday offers as early as possible; most restaurants begin promotional efforts in November. The sooner you get word out, the sooner reservations and orders will begin rolling in, giving you more time to prepare. Send out emails to your loyal clients, pass out fliers in local businesses, and utilize social media to your full advantage. Invest in high-quality images of your dishes—never underestimate the power of a great visual.
Consider Seasonal Staff
Your staff is likely going to be much busier than usual with catered events and in-house events on the docket. Make sure you have the wait staff you need to handle the holiday rush. Seasonal hires are a wonderful way to handle an influx of business; with little commitment and immediate help, your restaurant will be well-prepared to handle any upcoming parties and functions. If you’re looking for seasonal staff, start with college and high school job posting boards. They typically don’t expect high wages, and are often available during holiday breaks. Once you have your hires, be sure to train them all at the same time. Training new employees can be time-intensive, and group sessions will allow you to avoid individual training seminars. You may consider adopting an iPad-based POS System like ToastTab to help reduce training time and simplify the cashing out process.
Alcohol Sells
Alcohol sales make up a bulk of restaurant revenue, but during the holidays, your alcoholic beverages can be a make or break factor when it comes to booking events. Make sure you have the right resources and vendors, and consider creating signature cocktails that will match the theme of the occasion, whether it be casual or black tie. Don’t serve alcohol in your restaurant? You’re missing out on lucrative revenue. Many restaurants cite alcohol sales as a significant portion of their overall profits. If you do want to serve alcohol during your holiday shindigs, you’ll need to secure the right permit, which can take weeks or even months to find. For example, in a populous state like California, the quota of liquor licenses issued has likely been met; this means you must pursue permits from a private seller which can result in absurdly high prices. However, this investment is often worth the return, so consider your options as the holidays approach, and keep in mind what alcohol sales could do for your business year round.
Be Prepared for Massive Delivery Orders
Don’t forget to prepare for delivery orders as well as events. Many holiday parties occur at home, but hosts and hostesses prefer to have food delivered, rather than spend their time in the kitchen and miss out on their guests. To prepare for these orders, consider putting together a special menu list that includes party platters to choose from. Add a variety of finger foods, and make sure to have a variety of flavors to appeal to a wider audience. Make sure you have plenty of drivers on hand to make sure all of your orders get out on time. If you haven’t done large scale catering before, you’ll likely need to invest in food packaging items to ensure the food stays fresh and warm en route.Maintain Your Brand
While it’s important to acquiesce to customer requests, it is important to maintain your restaurant’s brand. Would hosting a formal affair in your casual restaurant be off-putting to other patrons and confuse your staff? Would you have to go above and beyond to get decorations up to par with customer requirements? Stick to what you know, with a few adjustments for a happy balance that will serve both your business and your holiday event guests well.
top image credit https://www.timeout.com/washington-dc/christmas
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