Father’s Day brunch: Menu and marketing ideas for your restaurant

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Father’s Day is a treat for Dad, and an opportunity for family members to show just how much they care about him. While appreciated, traditional gifts like socks, underwear, or a tie tend towards the utilitarian or humorous. But just like on Mother’s Day, taking Dad out to enjoy a special meal is an excellent way of displaying affection. So, we urge restaurants to consider offering a Father’s Day brunch as a way to make Dad—and his family—happy.

Restaurateurs don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make Father’s Day brunch work. Classic brunch and breakfast foods work well to please the majority of fathers on this special day. Naturally, you’ll want to arrange your menu to suit your own style and locale, but there’s no need to overthink things. That’s why dads (including yours truly) appreciate the socks and underwear—it’s just nice to be the center of attention sometimes.

So, let’s go through some of the best Father’s Day brunch recipes for your menu, as well as some of the best ways to attract customers on this special day.

Father’s Day brunch menu ideas

The brunch concept gives restaurateurs a varied palette to paint with since basically any entree can qualify as brunch if you put the right spin on it.

Compared to a Mother’s Day brunch, we humbly suggest that a Father’s Day brunch be less complicated. Breakfast essentials like crispy, crunchy bacon, French toast, waffles, hash browns, fried eggs, bagels, and the like can be supremely satisfying when done well.

A brunch buffet works well to suit all tastes, since everyone has their favorite brunch food. Depending on your expected footfall and restaurant style, a buffet is an effective option—especially when working with high-profit margin items like scrambled eggs or breakfast casseroles.

If your restaurant is either in the Southwest or has a southwest feel to it, leaning into a mix of BBQ and Mexican classics can win dads’ hearts. Indeed, this combination makes for a delicious buffet. Just remember that the BBQ needs to be prepared well ahead of time, and when supplemented with a taco bar can provide enormous variety.

The main point here is to provide a way to make as many dads happy with their brunch as possible. Everyone has their own favorite breakfast, so giving a wide variety of ( inexpensive) options will help a dad tick his boxes. Whether he wants buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup, cinnamon rolls, eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce, chorizo and egg tacos, or even fried chicken, none of these particular options are high on the ingredient cost list (except maple syrup, of course).

When creating a buffet, deciding what not to put on it is just as important. Generally speaking, around 10–15 dishes should be plenty to cover your bases.

What direction you specifically choose to take depends on a number of factors, but a Dad’s Day Buffet (hey, that rhymes) is a solid idea that most fathers can get behind.

Father’s Day brunch marketing ideas

Knowing just what to do for Father’s Day is a perennial problem for many. One can reasonably expect that fathers won’t organize their own celebrations for the day, unless it involves their favorite pastime. Restaurants that offer a Father’s Day brunch can be the tailor-made answer to this annual dilemma.

The point of a Father’s Day gift is never about the material value of the gift. An unofficial poll of fathers you know would indicate that the sentimental value of the day is by far its most valuable appeal. A poll published in the Independent indicated that while most fathers do want something for Father’s Day, they don’t want anything extravagant—and indeed, a family meal topped the list of desires. A brunch at a restaurant is just the ticket.

Social media marketing: early and often

Consequently, getting the word out early and cementing an idea in potential customers’ minds are of the utmost importance. By starting marketing as soon as possible, you can help alleviate the “don’t know” factor by planting the seed of your Father’s Day brunch and allowing it to grow.

Marketing on social media can be a huge boon in this case. Someone who’s not even thinking about Father’s Day yet could see your ad or promotion while scrolling through social media and lock the idea in. If so, customers could opt to take Dad out to your restaurant as a way to demonstrate their love rather than getting a traditional albeit useful Father’s Day gift.

Special promotions

Unique promotions can help entice customers and make the day that much more special. If your restaurant has a good wine selection, for example, adding a special wine bar for tastings could be a valuable draw for enology enthusiasts. The same could be said for a bloody mary bar, which has long been a favorite at brunches.

Offering your own Father’s Day gifts can further encourage customers to choose your destination to make Dad happy. These can reflect and enhance your brand, potentially turning one-time customers into repeat customers.

What might this look like? If you’re a steakhouse, for example, offer a branded gift box that could include a knife set, grill tools, or spices. A sports bar could offer hats, shirts, or maybe even socks. Mexican or BBQ restaurants could offer bottles of salsa, hot sauce, or BBQ sauce. Whatever the gift, it needs to represent your restaurant, so hopefully, it will remind customers to return.

Promotions for grandfathers

Grandfathers are fathers too, of course. Making a unique promotion for grandfathers can help them bask in admiration they may not have expected. This promotion can be something as simple as “grandfathers eat free” or “free drinks for grandfathers.” The main point here is simply to recognize them—because there’s no Grandfather’s Day yet.

Make it fun

There are a number of ways to increase the entertainment value of the day. Showing sports events, hiring a band, or conducting raffles can make a standard event memorable. Whatever event you choose to have, make sure it does not force fathers to participate in something they don’t want to, since many fathers want the day to simply relax and enjoy time with their family.

Make Father’s Day work for you and customers

Whichever direction you take for your Father’s Day brunch, you’ll need a clear path to help grow your brand. Having all cylinders firing and keeping staff on the ball will ensure your restaurant stands out. Robust FOH software systems are critical for making a good impression on Father’s Day—and any day at all.

A great example of that software is Yelp Guest Manager, which links all aspects of your front-of-house. Want to see how it works and just how much it can give you a leg up? Reach out to us for a free demo and we’ll show you around. Maybe you can even brag to your dad one day about how much it’s helped your restaurant.