Father’s Day marketing for restaurants: Food, events, and promos

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Father’s Day represents a prime opportunity for restaurants to draw in customers looking to celebrate dear ol’ dad. At the same time, the playbook for Father’s Day can be a bit tricky, especially when compared to the well-established trends of Mother’s Day. Fathers are famously hard to buy gifts for, which is why gift guides are popular. So, what kind of Father’s Day promotions can work to pull a crowd? What should Father’s Day marketing for restaurants look like?

A Father’s Day celebration can be straightforward and still thoughtful—many dads will simply be happy to be on the receiving end of affection on this special occasion. Create some Father’s Day specials for menu items, consider some special events, market them widely, and watch customers line up. First though, you’ll want to understand just who you’re talking to.

Understanding the Father’s Day audience

Your target audience for Father’s Day will be a broad one indeed. Father figures of all types will be celebrated—dads, grandfathers, uncles, stepdads, and so on. Since dads are unlikely to take themselves out or plan their own celebration, the prime audience for Father’s Day promotions will be families. Partners and adult children especially will be the ones who arrange any Father’s Day celebrations. So, when creating your marketing materials, keep in mind the ones who read and act on it will likely not be the dads themselves.

Keep things fun and lighthearted, push emotional connections, and create vibes that the whole family can enjoy. For food and events, cast a wide net and go right for what dads want: hearty meals, unique experiences like craft beer tastings, or entertainment like live music. Give dads a chance to bond with their families, so consider just how convenient you can make life for families with discounts and group specials. A celebration of fatherhood is often a multi-generational affair, so expect large groups.

Pre-Father’s Day prep

Before beginning any Father’s Day marketing, you need to decide on a special menu, the vibe you’re aiming for, and what to expect from your staff.

Menu planning

Luckily, it doesn’t take a lot of thinking to create dad-centric Father’s Day restaurant promotions. Hearty dishes like BBQ, steak, prime rib, and any combination of meat and fire is a home run of an idea. Stick to Father’s Day themes like grilling, sports, or pub vibes. Seafood options are valuable as well—more relaxed atmospheres can do well with fish and chips or shrimp jambalaya, while more upscale restaurants could tend towards surf and turf or oyster specials. Consider a prix fixe menu that includes a hearty meat dish as the entree and includes drink pairings with each course.

Fun, shareable finger-food appetizers like these hit the right vibe:

• Loaded BBQ nachos
• Bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers
• A variety of sliders
• Taco platters
• Grilled sausage skewers
• Buffalo chicken dip
• Smoked salmon
• Stuffed mushrooms
• Beer battered onion rings
• Classic chicken wings

Charcuterie platters can be a smash hit too, especially for a Father’s Day brunch with sharing baked into the equation.

Some families will want to celebrate at home but won’t want to cook. Offering special takeout menus centered around sharing-platter appetizers can boost sales and attract new customers.

Create fun drink specials to liven up your Father’s Day menu as well. Craft beer pairings, whiskey tastings, or wine specials are all on target. Consider adding non-alcoholic mocktails for dads who don’t drink, or lean into high-end ginger beer or house-made sodas.

Vegetarian and vegan options do need to be available for families, as some 4% of Americans are vegetarian (though only 2% of men). Keep kids in mind, too, with easy-to-eat options like mini burgers, mac and cheese, or fried fish.

Ambiance and theme

Making a fun, family-friendly atmosphere is key to a successful Father’s Day. Since it’s in June, make the most of your patio if you have one. Restaurants don’t need to over-decorate or lean too heavily into vibe manufacturing—dads often sniff out cheesiness or inauthenticity. Classic rock and jazz can work well for music, or hire a live band to provide entertainment.

Staff training

Staff can make the Father’s Day dining experience one to remember and keep any gathering cheerful. Emphasize warm, celebratory service, like acknowledging dads personally and paying extra attention to them. Train staff to upsell Father’s Day specials and recommend pairings, like a special craft beer or cocktail to go along with their meal. Ensure staff know what groups to expect from reservations and pay special attention to returning customers—check guest profiles to identify previous favorites.

Father’s Day marketing ideas

A successful Father’s Day requires a solid marketing campaign that starts early—the beginning of June is a good time. Restaurant marketing can get creative to drum up anticipation, so here are some ideas to start.

Digital marketing strategies

• Create open-ended polls on social media to drive engagement. Ask questions like “What’s your dad’s favorite dish?” and pay close attention to the results for potential ideas.
• Host a social media competition for the best dad joke. Results can be gauged by the number of likes a joke receives. The winner can receive a gift card or free meal.
• Share beautiful photos and videos of dad-oriented dishes like steaks and burgers, including videos of chefs making them.
• Share user-generated content (with permission) like user’s photos from last year’s Father’s Day celebrations.
• Yelp Guest Manager users can drive reservations with unique booking links on social media posts—share these in each social media post.
• Update your restaurant website to make a landing page featuring Father’s Day specials, reservation links, and event information.
• Partner with influencers to broaden your marketing channels.
• Offer Father’s Day dinner as a gift idea—in many ways it’s the perfect gift for families that don’t know what to get Dad.

Email marketing

Start your Father’s Day marketing campaign in June. Send a series of emails starting at least two weeks before Father’s Day. Include early-bird reservation specials, last-minute deals, and reminders to reserve in advance. Highlight gift card promotions to drive sales, and feature specials and events in emails. Lean into Father’s Day email subject lines in your email campaigns, emphasizing discounts and specials. Offer coupons and discount codes for those on your email list—customers love to feel in the know!

Father’s Day promotion ideas

Many restaurants will be aiming for the same market, so discounts and special promotions are a must. Some promotion ideas include:

• Dad-specific deals like “Free dessert for dad with any entree” or “Free cocktail for dads dining with family” or simply “Dads eat free” are simple and resonate with customers.
• “Free beer” is one of the most popular word combinations in English. “Cheap beer” is not far off. Specials like $1 beers all day long can perk up a lot of ears.
• Create group discounts to encourage family dining, like 10% off groups of 4 or more.
• Giveaways for dads including merchandise like mugs, T-shirts, or hats can be attractive and help your long-term marketing by getting your name out there.
• Offer special Father’s Day gifts like high-quality bottle openers, spatulas, mugs, or tumblers.

Special events

Hosting a Father’s Day event can help a restaurant stand out from its competition. These can range from food-centric events to competitions and family activities. Some creative ways to event-ify Dad’s day include:

• Offer a Father’s Day brunch buffet with classics like bacon, pancakes, and a decked out bloody mary station.
• Offer beer and whiskey tastings, potentially in partnership with local breweries and distilleries. Invite brewers and distillers over to introduce their goods and discuss how they’re made.

• Plan kid-friendly events or Father’s Day contests like dad-and-kid trivia games or lawn games like cornhole and bocce ball.
• Pair with a local charity to drive donations and build connections in the community. Organizing a raffle in support, with prizes like gift cards and restaurant merchandise, can pair well with other Father’s Day promotions.

Making the most of customer engagement

Creating the best Father’s Day experience goes beyond great food and events. Repeat visits and loyalty mean restaurants truly get to know their customers. Using data and guest profiles, restaurants can personalize their interactions and gather feedback to continuously improve. Deep relationships between restaurants and their customers is what keeps business ticking.

Personalizing marketing to individual loyal customers makes those customers feel valued. A personalized email that reads “Celebrate (Dad’s name) with our Father’s Day BBQ platter” is likely to be read and remembered. If you know a customer’s preferences based on past purchases, recommend a special or make them a unique Father’s Day offer.

Gather feedback from your customers to fully understand the customer experience and optimize your Father’s Day service for next year. Short, automated surveys like those available to Yelp Guest Manager users can pair customer responses to their unique data, providing invaluable insights.

Closely monitor review sites like Yelp for indirect customer feedback about your Father’s Day event and respond wherever possible.

Drive reservations with Yelp Guest Manager

Restaurateurs have a powerful ally on their side with Yelp Guest Manager, and it shines especially bright on special days like Father’s Day. Reservations across many channels—social media, the Yelp app, and your website—are only a few clicks away for customers, and they’re automatically handled by the system. Including a direct call to action across all your marketing channels encourages early reservations, which in turn guarantees sales.

Since many families don’t know what to get their father figures, promoting your Father’s Day meal or event is the perfect gift in itself. Offer yourself as a solution, make it a fun day for Dad, and watch the customers roll in.

Yelp Guest Manager handles reservations with grace, and its front-of-house service matches. Smooth service ensures happy families, and fond memories keep customers coming back. Reach out to us for a free demo to see how Guest Manager can work for you and keep customers pleased.