How Your Restaurant Can Be a Mother’s Day Destination
Mother’s Day — the busiest day of the year for restaurants — is coming up quickly with Americans expected to spend a record $35.7 billion, $4 billion higher than last year. Sharing a special outing with family is on top of many moms’ wishlist for a Mother’s Day gift and dining out has become traditionally a top revenue driver for most restaurants.
So what is your restaurant doing to prepare for Mother’s Day to be a top dining destination in your area? We’ve rounded up some of our favorite ideas from Tripleseat customers to inspire you to go above and beyond for mom.
1. Plan a special Mother’s Day menu
Offer something a bit more noteworthy for your Mother’s Day menu whether you offer brunch, lunch or dinner. You could offer complimentary glass of bubbly or a scrumptious dessert to all moms who dine at your restaurant. Consider special pairings of cocktails and appetizers to make your menu stand out. What mother wouldn’t love a mimosa and a charcuterie board? Make sure to offer kid friendly options as well. Highlight your special menu in your marketing to get people excited.
Chicago-based Tripleseat customer Swift & Sons Steakhouse leverages the Mother’s Day business and offers a thoughtful menu with a family-style brunch and a prix fixe menu featuring many elegant recipes for breakfast favorites. To get the word out they promote directly on their website and social channels.
2. Embrace the Mother’s Day theme
Think about how you can shape your offerings to appeal to your guests. Could you rename menu categories or offerings to focus on Mother’s Day? For instance, “Nom Noms for Mom” would definitely make guests a bit more intrigued in your restaurant.
If you are a venue that offers more than just food, what can you do to appeal to these special women and their families on this day? Make sure to include these thematic offerings in your marketing to be a place for Mother’s Day.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s 41 locations have created a Mother’s Day experience and centered their movie and menu offerings to be all focused on mom – all you have to do is buy the tickets! They’re showing movies like ”Legally Blonde,” “Mama Mia,” and a “Mother” movie trilogy. Alamo Drafthouse also created a special brunch menu for each movie and drink pairings.
3. Offer upgrades to be a popular Mother’s Day restaurant
Because your guests are looking to make this gathering special, they will appreciate any upgrades you offer such as:
- Flower arrangements or a flower stem
- A box of chocolates for mom
- Pairing your Mother’s Day dining with a good cause
- A bottle of champagne or wine
- Bottomless drinks
- A wine pairing or signature drink to complement the menu
- A gift certificate to give to mom
- A special off-menu dessert or shareable appetizer
4. Create a Mother’s Day experience
This year is all about experiences. Why not offer up something a bit different this Mother’s Day? There are so many opportunities to entice guests and be a Mother’s Day destination. Market experiences for moms such as:
- Private kitchen tours
- Meet and greet with the chef
- Live music or playing a special playlist
- Pairing the meal with an activity, such as painting, a wine tutorial, or a centerpiece arrangement class
- Partnering with local businesses, such as a spa or gift shop, to offer a bundled experience
Uncorked Kitchen & Wine Bar in Centennial, Colo., has cooking classes lined up for Mother’s Day. The whole family can learn how to make tagliatelle with roast chicken, asparagus, peas, and roasted red peppers in white wine sauce and have plenty of mimosas without using every dish in the kitchen at home.
Make mom’s day — all year round
Whatever your restaurant offers for Mother’s Day this year, it is sure to attract more business to your restaurant. Keep in mind that you don’t have to stick to Mother’s Day weekend to focus your promotions on celebrating moms. Think of offering family-centric promotions or events throughout the year and use Tripleseat to manage group bookings and private dining. Schedule a demo today to learn more.
