Making it in the restaurant business can be tough. At a minimum you need to make sure your food is top quality, the service is excellent and your restaurant is clean and inviting. But there can always be slow days and sometimes it can be hard to get your message out there in such a competitive space. Stand out from the crowd by engaging with potential customers and give your business more visibility! Use these ideas to get out, have some fun, and show potential customers what your establishment has to offer.

Rent a Food Truck!

The best way to get your food out there is to go and engage with potential customers! Renting a food truck can allow your business to gain attention from customers outside of your immediate area. Or try going to a charity or community event and give out some free beverage or food samples to locals, and tell people who you are and what your business will be offering.

Try our selection of disposable and eco-friendly tableware to serve up everything from sliders, hors d'oeuvres, and bruschetta, to salads and soup. For fries or onion ring samples, use serving boats and give your dishes a unique look, or serve up mini desserts with tasting cones to allow customers to eat small bites on the go, and admire your presentation.

Use picks and skewers to add some fun and excitement to dishes. After all, presentation is key when trying to attract new customers! Colorful straws and napkins are also a must-have to add some color and fun to dishes.

Disposable products are a must when serving samples to make service a breeze and reduce cleanup time. Try our eco-friendly portion cups to easily pass out samples in a compostable cup.

Create a loyalty program

The best way to get your food out there is to go and engage with potential customers! Renting a food truck can allow your business to give out some free beverage or food samples to locals, and tell people who you are and what your business will be offering.

If you run a café, try a free coffee program where after so many cups the next cup is free. That could be just the thing you're missing to turn casual morning coffee shoppers into daily customers. If you run a meal prep company, maybe you have a loyalty program where customers return cleaned containers to be re-used to earn points or get discounts. The possibilities are endless!

Go Social

Using social media to your advantage is an easy way to see customer reviews, advertise new specials or theme nights, and announce new dishes! This helps to keep customers informed and engaged with your business. The more customers feel you care, the more likely they may be to invite friends to your restaurant's Facebook group, or share your restaurant’s news and updates on social media. Giving out online coupons, or advertising special nights is another way to get customers excited and keep them coming back for more.

Collaborate with local businesses

Collaborating with other local businesses can be a great way to drum up excitement and bring in more customers. Consider partnering with a nearby brewery, winery, or coffee shop to offer a special menu item or promotion. Maybe the café down the street has a famous dessert, but close in early afternoon - that would be a great opportunity to partner up and add it to your supper dessert menu.

Collaborating with other local businesses can also bring you closer with the community around you. Consider teaming up with non-profits and worthy causes. You'll have the peace of mind of doing a good deed, and customers will love supporting a business with a clean conscience. Collaborations bring in customers from all businesses involved and can expose your restaurant to a whole new audience.

Host events

Hosting events is an excellent way to get people excited about your restaurant. Consider hosting events like live music performances, trivia nights, and wine tastings. These events will bring in customers who may not have considered your restaurant before, and it's an opportunity for them to have a great time and experience your food and service. Events are also easy content for your social media presence.

Having a section of your restaurant that can be rented for businesses and individuals to host events can also be a great way to build up your rapport with new customers. Private and semi-private spaces with catering are always in demand for holiday parties and business staff events. If a business hosts an event at your restaurant all of those employees are potential new regulars!

Take Advantage of Sporting Events

Is there a sport tournament in your area or a major sport event coming up? Add some of our sports picks to your dishes, make sure to put the game on and advertise a sport night to take advantage of the event! If your local sports team is playing consider creating drink and appetizer specials on game nights. Bonus points for decorating in team colors for the event.

Make sure to advertise these events online and use reversible write on boards and place them outside your establishment to advertise the daily specials and upcoming events. Getting someone artistic to create fun and stylish designs will help make them eye-catching and fun to look at!

Offer Online Ordering

Continuing our trend of going online, take your take-out or delivery service online too! It’s not just for introverts -customers love having the option to quickly order their usual, or check out a menu no matter where they are. This also helps to alleviate any stress put on your staff when trying to answer phones instead of carrying out their primary tasks.

Use our selection of cutlery kits, take-out bags and our varied selection of take-out packaging to serve up signature beverages, pizza, dessert, soup, salad, and entrees with ease! Having these products available reduces time spent packaging orders, and is guaranteed to give your restaurant the edge it needs to create a great take-out service.

Thank You!

Saying a simple “Thank You” to customers after a meal can make all the difference! Show customers that you value personal interaction and make a point of encouraging staff to engage with customers.

Offer moist towelettes, mint toothpicks, or tasting cones with candies to customers after their meal as another way of saying “Thank You”! These simple measures are a great way to offer convenience and quality service that is sure to impress.

Have some fun and take advantage of CiboWares’ selection of products to show off your establishment’s quality service, food, and beverages! Looking for more quality products to make your establishment a success? Be sure to check out our Take-Out Packaging and our picks buying guides.