Top tips for a successful Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is a great opportunity for restaurants to win over the hearts of a large number of people. Make sure mum enjoys her special day and your venue could become the family’s first choice for future celebrations.

Fill more tables in your restaurant

Given the amount of external publicity in the build-up to Mother’s Day, this is one event that should sell itself. Most venues are packed out. So make it easy on yourself for once. Display an attractively-presented menu at sensible prices and the customers should come to you. If they don’t, then alarm bells should start ringing and you may need to consider changing your offer

Don’t overcharge
Offer your menu a set price and make it reasonable. Don’t try to charge evening prices at lunch time. Remember that mums are great housekeepers and that includes the finances. If it’s not good value for money, she’ll tell you. Worse still, she won’t tell you, won’t come back and will tell everyone else!

Consider multiple sittings
Unless you can bear to turn away business, consider multiple sittings. Set service times at 12 noon, 2pm ,4pm and 6pm. Run a continuous service throughout the day and close early in the evening so you can put your feet up! Doing this accommodates diners with different schedules for the day e.g. late lunch after a walk, early lunch before taking mum bowling, early dinner for mums with young children etc.

Gain time in the kitchen whilst adding value to the meal
Put free nibbles on the table - mixed canapés, crostini, bruschetta, artisan breads, dips - anything that the waiting staff can put together easily and that presents well. This not only adds value to the meal but gives the kitchen a head start. That extra ten minutes could make all the difference between a good and bad service. Give the nibbles to the customers straight after they’ve ordered but not before.

Be child friendly
It’s reasonable to expect a lot of children on mother’s day, so ask at the time bookings are made so you know how many adults to cater for. Have a special kid’s menu featuring quick and easy dishes e.g. chicken goujons ready crumbed in the freezer and pre-cooked sausages in the fridge. Think about including some of your main dishes in child-sized portions with prices reduced accordingly. And remember, it’s never a good idea to charge too much for kids’ meals.

Help mum to relax
Help young mums relax by providing kids with drawing materials or setting aside a supervised area inside or outside for them to play. Even hire a professional entertainer if you’ve got space but away from the main dining area as mothers whose children are grown up may not appreciate the noise!

Consider a theme
What about a sixties or seventies theme? Remind mum of when she was young. Music, food and even prices!! Put up a few posters featuring yesterdays’ pop stars and play background music from the same era

For more Mother’s Day ideas including sample menu, go to http://promohelp.co.uk