Chicago has been festively dyeing the Chicago River green as part of their St. Patrick's Day celebration for over 60 years. That's one big way to celebrate the holiday, but there's more than one way to pay homage!

Everyone loves to eat at a restaurant that feels festive no matter what time of year it is. St. Patrick's Day is no exception! It's a fun holiday that gives you the perfect chance to create an atmosphere that matches.

Part of the fun of running a restaurant is decorating and tweaking the menu to reflect the current holiday. Are you wanting to create the perfect holiday atmosphere in your restaurant this year, but you're not sure how to?

Read on for some of our best restaurant tips and tricks on how to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in your establishment.

Create a Greener Menu

Everyone knows St. Patrick's Day is all about the color green. Everywhere you look on this holiday, you're bound to see pops of green in window shops and restaurants.

One great way to incorporate more green in your restaurant is to create special St. Patrick's Day foods.

You can come up with new, interesting dishes for the day that are green or pay homage to traditional Irish meals. You can also easily add green food coloring to a lot of regular menu items.

For the special day, add Irish meals to your menu. Items like Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage, colcannon, boxty, and Irish pasties.

You can add edible green dye to menu items you already regularly serve, too. Add dye to pancake and waffle batter, mashed potatoes, whipped butter, cookie dough, ice cream, and white sauces.

You can even let your customers know that you're environmentally green by listing the eco-friendly products you use in your restaurant.

Be Prepared with Equipment and Staffing

One of the most important things to remember when it comes to restaurant management on holidays is to be prepared.

Being fully prepared means thinking about preparation from every angle. This means making sure you're fully staffed with more workers than you would normally schedule.

It also means ordering more supplies and food for the holiday beforehand. The last thing you want to do is miss out on potential sales because you weren't prepared with enough food in your kitchen.

Don't just schedule more workers on the holiday and think the job is done. Make sure to have a meeting with your staff a few days before. Go over the projected amount of customers expected on the holiday to prepare them.

Make sure your staff knows about every special or green menu item, customers are bound to ask about them.

Have a plan for restocking items like to-go boxes or bags, wrapped cutlery, clean menus, and clean glasses for the bar.

The last thing you want is for your employees to be waiting on items, which then means your customers are waiting longer than usual.

Don't Skimp on the Decorations

One of the best St. Patrick's Day ideas for creating a fun environment is to make sure your restaurant looks as festive as possible.

This can be done easily with plenty of decor and adding the color green where you can.

Try simple differences, like replacing regular tablecloths with green tablecloths or table runners.

You can also buy decor for your tables, like festive signs or centerpieces. You can even sprinkle green confetti if you don't mind cleaning the mess!

Green crepe paper can easily be draped around doorways, along your ceiling, or be left to hang down.

You can find inexpensive four-leaf clover wreaths and place them on doors or hang them on walls. You can also buy balloons in different shades of green and gold to display anywhere they won't be in the way.

Rainbows are also a great way to add color to your decor if you want to break up the sea of green. Rainbow banners would look great over an archway or against a wall. You can even put a pot of gold at the end of it!

It's also a great idea to tell your staff to feel free to add pops of green to their usual uniform.

Create Special Drink Deals

St. Patrick's Day is a great time to come up with drink deals. This holiday is known for being a favorite to share some beverages with loved ones. Why not give them deals as a great incentive to spend more?

A tried and true drink for the holiday is anything that involves some Irish whiskey! You can't go wrong with buy-one-get-one deals or even buy-one-get-one-half-price.

It's also a great idea to make your drink deals with drinks that are the color green. You can easily add dye to drinks and decorate them with green sugar around the rim or place a green umbrella in them.

Green beer is also always a winner on this holiday. Customers love to see holiday favorites and will surely be incentivized to buy more if there's a deal on them.

If you're worried about overselling your deals, consider making a happy hour for them. Perhaps make sure your deals only last for two hours during the afternoon or at night.

This way, there's less of a chance of over-serving alcohol and everyone still gets a chance to try your drink deals.

Running a Restaurant for Holidays and More

Running a restaurant during any holiday is a fun, festive time. Now you know some of the best ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at your restaurant!

For more great ideas about running your restaurant or stocking up on the essentials, make sure to visit our blog page today!

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