How to Prepare Your Restaurant for Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is the most popular day of the year to dine out. On such a busy day, it is important to optimize operations and add personal touches to make your diners feel extra special while they celebrate.
We spoke with leading restaurant operators about how they prepare for Mother’s Day. Here’s what they had to say:
Our highest priority is to make moms feel special on Mother’s Day. We acknowledge moms first and give them a red rose during her meal. We also never put the check in front of moms at the end of the meal even if they are the person paying.
We make operational adjustments as well. We increase turn times, bring in extra chairs and configure tables to accommodate large parties.
-Jay Perrin, director of operations at Blu Jam Cafe, Los Angeles
Mother’s Day is a busy day for our restaurant. We staff heavily to handle the crowds. We also like to make moms feel appreciated by giving them a little treat and offering a festive drink special. I also decorate the restaurant with fresh flowers.
-Ixchel Acosta, general manager at Eats, San Francisco
Mother’s Day is special for everyone. It’s a celebration of women and appreciation. Whatever we can do to make the day even more memorable is our pleasure. We make sure parties are greeted within first minutes and also take drink orders in that amount of time.
-Michael Stackleather, co-owner at POST, New York City
The key to turning tables for Mother’s Day is always maintaining the speed of service. If you are greeted quickly, receive drinks quickly, food etc, then when it comes time to pay no one feels rushed out. It feels like the natural flow of service. That being said- having extra staff to keep up with the speed is a wise investment.
For Mother’s Day in the past we have given out tulips- but now we do a complimentary Mimosa or Orange spritz- something that doesn’t get tossed afterwards.
–Tara Lawler, general manager at Bubby’s, New York City
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, are you prepared for the extra rush? Average wait times on Mother’s Day are 45 minutes. With Yelp Waitlist, diners can add their name to the waitlist and check their place in line directly from the Yelp app.
“My diners no longer wait outside my restaurant’s door. They get to wait where they want and that is the best customer experience possible,” Jay Perrin, director of operations at Blu Jam Cafe.
Yelp Waitlist can help you seat more guests and reduce chaos on busy holidays. With an effortless waitlist, diners walk away happy and are more likely to return.