With October in full swing, we are embarking on a very special time of year. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. But, for many people, it’s all about preparing for Halloween! As a restaurateur, you should be taking advantage of the annual spooky celebration. Halloween is one of the most fun occasions of the entire year.
In a blog from last week, we pointed out some ways to scare up new business for your eatery in October. They included offering Halloween-themed discounts, creating a creepy environment and partnering up with another business. What else can you do to make your eatery a Halloween hot spot? Here are four more haunting ideas:
1. Offer spooky menu items.
Transition some of your popular menu items into more spookily-named offerings. Create a new Halloween menu that offers whimsical choices like Frankenburgers, Spookghetti and Bat Wings. Be sure to promote this new menu online via social media and your website.
“Don’t forget to get creative with your drink menu as well,” reminds Allen Graves of Bloom Intelligence, “And consider adding dessert items like pumpkin pie, carrot cake, or a multi-person ‘death by dessert’ item. And remember, nothing is hotter right now than pumpkin-spiced <insert any food or drink item here>!”
2. Launch a “Kids in costume eat free” promotion.
Needless to say, the Halloween season is one when people of all ages dress up in spooky and ghoulish costumes. Welcome more families into your restaurant by offering free meals to children who show up in their Halloween costumes. As Phil Kendall of RotaCloud points out, “Kids eat free” is a common tactic in the hospitality industry. It always involves at least one hungry parent and kids eat far less than adults.
“Put a twist on this classic promo at Halloween by inviting parents to bring their costume-wearing kids to dine with you on certain days (or between certain times if you have a lull or a rush hour),” suggests Kendall, “You could even take photos of the best costumes (with parents' permission, of course) that come through your door and share them online — those proud parents are bound to give you a few likes and retweets!”
3. Host a Halloween costume party.
At this time of year, it’s almost always party time! People love getting dressed up in their Halloween costumes for fun nights out on the town. Why not make your place of business a go-to location for a fun Halloween party? Graves encourages restaurant owners to get the word out via social media, email and word-of-mouth.
“Make sure your front-of-house staff inform all patrons of your Halloween party plans and consider printing table tents and signage to help promote your ideas,” he advises, “On Halloween, encourage your wait staff to come to work in costume, and make sure to give out prizes to customers with the most authentic, the scariest, the funniest and the most outrageous costumes of the evening.”
4. Make the payment process easy for your customers.
At Unity Payments, we proudly offer Canadian merchants a variety of high-quality payment terminals to enable them to accept credit cards and debit cards. They include the Poynt Newland 910, the Ingenico Desk/5000, the Ingenico Move/5000 and the Poynt C Smart Terminal. To learn all about your options, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761. You may also email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
