Are you ready for summer, sun and happy customers?
If not, then you should read along. We’ve made some suggestions for what you can do to make your restauration ready for summer.
You can update the menu in your restaurant. The summer is an obvious time to serve light and fresh dishes that fit the season, the weather and the heat. It’s the fewest who want to eat a heavy and warm soup on a hot summers day. Consider to add some delicious salads, sandwiches, smoothies, fish etc. to your menu. It’s also worth considering to make a special summer menu with offers to attract customers.
you can prepare your outdoor areas. It’s nice to be sitting outside in summer, so giving your customers that opportunity is obvious. You might need more tables and chairs, canopies or parasols. Maybe even a heat lamp for when the sun goes down and it gets more chilly. Clean it all up nicely so it’s ready for summer.
In addition, it can be a good idea to use a self-ordering system for outdoor dining. This can make it much easier for your customers to order without having to go inside or for your servers to constantly keep an eye outside. The system works in such a way that there is a QR code on the respective table, and your guests have the opportunity to view the menu, order, and pay all at once. Then an order appears in the system - in this way, you have saved one work process and the customer can order more easily and be more inclined to order more, because it doesn't require waiting for a waiter or having to go inside themselves.
You could also make new summer drinks or cocktails that fir the season. It could be drinks made with local goods in season, maybe the drink is just delicious and fresh or maybe you have a signature drink and modified it to a summer drink. There are endless posibillities and you just have to try it out and see what works for you.
It can be to your advantage to extend your opening hours, if it’s possible. In that way you can take advantage of the light nights and the long summerdays.
Market your restaurant. This can be done on social media, your website or a third place - it’s only your imagination setting the limits. You can market your summer menu or your facilities. It could also be an option to offer special discounts for the customers to build their loyalty towards your restaurant and enhance the chance of them coming back. In extension you could also decorate your restaurant and create a good summer vibe.
You can arrange events or different types of entertainment. It could be live music, different tastings, theme nights or something completely different - the only limit is your imagination.
It could be a good idea to implement online booking, and ordering systems, so it’ll be easy for the customers to know if there is room at your restaurant. With this the chance of your customers going in vane is a lot smaller and it decreases the chance of a bad experience for your customers.
Those were some suggestions for what you can do to make your restaurant ready for summer 😄