The good news is that You can make your restaurant a success with the right marketing strategies.
It’s not magic, just data. We crunched the data from more than 10,000 bars and restaurants. What’s the result? The result?
The bars that were open on Halloween last year saw an increase of 26% in the number of tickets sold and 15% in sales. This makes Halloween Halloween even more exciting.
Redesign your menu
Halloween is the perfect time to showcase autumnal flavors on your menu. Talk to your chef about using seasonal ingredients such as pumpkin, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and apples.
You can offer a special menu for the entire month of October. Try a Halloween-themed menu the week prior to October 31. You can have special items on sale during Halloween weekend, with a price per item.
Takeout Specials
Taking into account all types of restaurants, there was an 11.37% increase in takeout sales on Halloween Sunday, 2022, as compared to the Monday before. This is all you need to know to increase your takeout options this year in order to satisfy more hungry customers. This could include:
- Popular takeouts are discounted
- Buy one, get one free
- Takeout only items
Boos: Don’t Forget Them!
Cocktails are the key. Online searches will yield a variety of Halloween-themed cocktails using ingredients that most bars have on hand.
Lightspeed’s Halloween 2022 report showed that mixed drinks and shots were the most popular with patrons. Spirit sales in North American bars increased by 68% over the previous week. Cocktail sales increased by 34%, while wine sales fell by 17%.
Here are some cocktail ideas that will get you started.
Here are some ideas to get you going:
- Grenadine can be used to simulate blood in drinks and shots.
- The crimson color of cranberry juice is perfect for vampire-themed drinks
- Dry ice can be consumed, and it leaves a beautiful smoke trail.
Not enough time? No time? You can temporarily rename some bestsellers in order to give them a Halloween flair.
Use your POS in the days before Halloween to create reports showing which items are selling the most. You can give your restaurant an exciting Halloween feel by simply renaming some menu items. You can make puns with your menu items.
- Edamame is now Edamummy
- Transform your cold cut into a Char-cut-erie Board
- Bat wings and chicken wings
- If you get stuck, add adjectives such as “haunted” and “frightful”.
Partners with local businesses and attractions
- Halloween is the perfect time to partner with local attractions that offer seasonal activities. It’s no secret, either, that pumpkin is a favorite of consumers. This is especially true in the Northeast US, where pumpkin-related sales increased by 3,164% from July to October. Sales of pumpkin-related goods increased by 2,824% in the South and 1,737% in the Midwest.
- Offer to post rebate flyers in your bar if there is a costume shop nearby. These local shops will promote your restaurant in exchange.
- It builds community when you work with local businesses. This also increases your customer base and creates future partnerships.
Decorate your dining room.
- This is your chance to be extra creative.
- Dim the lights and place some artificial spiderwebs to create an eerie atmosphere. Use small pumpkins, either plain or painted, as centerpieces to give your event a farmhouse feel.
- Are you ready to take things up a level?
- You can hang paper skeletons on the wall
- Place jack-o’-lanterns in the restaurant
- Spread plastic spiders across your tabletop
- For extra inspiration, visit a decoration store before Halloween. If you know what you want to do, you can find more inspiration on Pinterest.
Play the music
- You can even play seasonal music in your dining room. You can play low-volume creepy music or create an atmosphere of celebration with a themed soundtrack if it is appropriate. Spotify may already have curated playlists. Remember to listen to it before playing it to your customers!
Style your staff
- You can create a memorable and fun experience by asking your staff to dress for Halloween. Costumed staff are a common sight at neighborhood restaurants. This is a good way to generate some publicity.
- Choose a theme or let your staff choose their costumes individually. You’ll showcase your restaurant as a place where people want to go for Halloween.
- Dressing up boosts morale and prepares everyone for an evening of excellent service.
- As always, bars, fast-casual restaurants, and other venues are gearing up for Halloween with special events, promotions, and more staff.
- Rohit Sharma is the General Manager and Operations partner at Bar 404 in downtown Toronto. He says, “We’re ready.” There will be many guests arriving at the same time. We want to have enough hosts to accommodate everyone.
- Sharma encourages his employees to join in the fun by creating seasonal cocktails or dressing up for work.
- You can promote your staff to wear black and orange if your business does not require costumed employees. This is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit.
Host an event that will make you giddy with excitement.
- You can boost your sales by hosting a Halloween Party at your restaurant.
- Halloween is also a favorite of adults. Are you looking for a party that is family-friendly or kid-friendly? There are dozens of activities that patrons can participate in:
- The pet costume contest is a cute twist on the classic costume contest.
- Pumpkin carving contests
- Guess how many candy candies there are in the jar.
- Prizes include gift cards, vouchers, and a bottle of wine.
- You can focus all your marketing efforts on one night by hosting a Halloween party.
- Your event does not have to be a competition. Table Rock Coffee Roasters in Branson, Missouri, hosts a pumpkin-painting night for its customers.
Promoting in-store and online
- No magic spell can be used to increase business. You can use two powerful tools instead: social media and word-of-mouth.
- Printouts can be used to tease the arrival of a Halloween-themed menu. You can give them away to other local businesses.
- Announcing Halloween events on social media is an excellent way to get the word out. Share your plans with your followers on all platforms that you use to promote your business.
- Recess, home of Chicago’s biggest patio, is hosting an event themed on Nightmare Before Christmas.