This year, the spring season officially gets underway on the morning of Tuesday, March 19th. That gives us just under three weeks of winter to go! The cold and snowy season generally feels like the longest one of the year. So we’re pretty happy to be welcoming back the return of warm and sunny days.
Spring is a great time of year, by the way, for your restaurant to grow its patronage. What steps will you take to get your eatery to offer fun times in the springtime?
Launch a new spring menu.
Although we admit that this tip probably belongs in the “no brainer” category, it should be stressed that catering your menu to the new season is a wise choice. Take advantage of the joyful spirits of spring-lovers by launching a menu that focuses on items that are popular during this time of year.
To welcome spring, shift your focus away from heavy soups and put lighter salads in the spotlight. “A good spring salad should take full advantage of the in-season veggies to create a current dish,” says Thomas Board of Yelp For Restaurants, “Source the most crispy lettuce you can find and mix in arugula or cilantro for a bit of kick. A chicken salad with a lemony dressing works great as a filling main meal. Don’t forget your vegetarian clientele as well.”
As well, consider adding smoothies to your restaurant’s brunch or weekday breakfast menu. Give fruit-based desserts the spotlight instead of heavier chocolate-based items since they evoke the freshness of the spring season.
Offer up some Easter treats.
This year, the Easter holiday long weekend takes place during the last weekend of March. It’s a good idea to start marketing specials surrounding this special time of year. It’s also wise to utilize your restaurant’s website to communicate that your establishment can cater to everyone’s Easter celebration needs.
As Cherryh Cansler mentions on FastCasual.com, customers wanting special treats in honour of Easter may wish to order such desserts as the Easter Egg. She describes it as “a raised yeast doughnut filled with chocolate Bavarian cream and topped with peanut butter and a vanilla frosted egg on top.” Easter Sprinkle Cake is another popular choice you may wish to make available. It’s “a plain cake doughnut dipped in vanilla frosting and Easter colour sprinkles.”
Provide weather-based discounts.
Play on the fact that warmer days are on the way. Give people added incentives to celebrate warm and sunny days by offering them discounts based on the temperature. For great, in-the-moment, effective restaurant marketing on social networks, put up warm weather specials. These will be warmly welcomed by everyone who is newly excited about the rising temperatures and wanting to get out of the house.
For example, you may wish to advertise 15% off select items on days when the temperature is 15 degrees Celcius or higher!
Make the pay-at-table process a quick and easy one.
The sleek dual-screen smart payment terminal from Unity Payments can help you to do that! Equipped with our POS solution, your restaurant can optimize the checkout process, increase customer satisfaction and loyalty and drive revenue growth. To learn all about it, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
