The 4 absolute best restaurant marketing event ideas

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Get ready to spice up your space with restaurant marketing event ideas that pack a punch and require minimal prep. Whether you’re looking to fill seats on a random Tuesday or build big buzz for an upcoming weekend, the concepts we’ll discuss here are time-tested winners that’ll keep customers coming—and coming back.

It’s easy to fall into a rut in the restaurant business, and the best way to break out of that is to add some flair to the calendar. Incorporating special events like trivia nights, tastings, themes, and music pairings into your restaurant marketing plan keeps you, your staff, and your customers emotionally invested—wins all around.

1. Trivia night

Friends enjoying their time together at a burger restaurant.

Who doesn’t love flexing their knowledge over some drinks and food? Trivia nights are a reliable arrow in the entertainment quiver to transform a humdrum weekday into a packed house of cheering teams. Better yet, running a regular trivia night means you’ll likely end up with loyal customers looking forward to the quiz each week (or month, or however frequently you choose). Those regulars will bring their friends and, voila, you have a batch of new customers to hopefully repeat the process with.

Here’s how to start:

Get a free trivia app like Kahoot or hire a charismatic local host for $150-$500 to keep the energy high. The host will do all the planning for you while you provide the venue and food. Teams will be loyal to trivia spots they like, so finding the right host will be money well-spent.
Pick a theme for the quiz. This could be general knowledge (like Trivial Pursuit) or something more specific like sports, local lore, or fandom-tailored themes like “Star Wars” or “Friends.”
Plan 3-4 rounds with 10 questions each. To save time and build competition, have teams mark each others’ papers at the end of each round, with the host tallying the scores.
Set up team tables for 4-6 people and have special offers for drinks like beer or margarita pitchers, and offer discounts on appetizers like nachos or wings.
Offer a prize for the winning team—drinks, gift cards, free meals, or loyalty program rewards. Gift cards tend to work the best for business because teams will come back to spend them.
Start at 7 p.m. on a quiet night like Wednesday, and aim for around 2 hours, letting people get home early.

Promoting trivia night

Post your trivia night on social media platforms regularly and a few days before the special event with hashtags like #trivianight or #drinknthink. Drop an Instagram reel or TikTok with a sample question and encourage customers to respond, driving user-generated content.

Fire off an email marketing campaign with a subject line like “Think you’re smarter than your friends?” with a link to your reservation page.

Post QR-coded flyers at your establishment and at local businesses you have partnerships with, and put placards on each table.

Take photos of teams in action at quiz night and share them across your socials and on local Facebook groups. Tag the players and encourage them to share their scores (if they’re good enough) to get their friends to come. Start a leaderboard and watch the competition grow!

2. Limited-time tastings

Help potential customers feel treated with exclusive one-night-only tasting events. These should build serious FOMO and leave taste buds tingling—with the commensurate word-of-mouth following the event. Whether it’s a craft beer flight from a local brewery or a tasting of your chef’s new signature dishes, limited-time tastings are an opportunity to pack the house and show off culinary swagger.

To get the ball rolling:

Plan 1-2 months ahead to give your kitchen staff ample time to prepare and marketing efforts enough time to build buzz.
Build a 3-5 item special menu making new menu items out of ingredients you either already have or that are seasonal and fresh. Bonus points if they’re locally sourced—that’ll help with your restaurant marketing.
Invite customers to make an early reservation via your email list or sell tickets via Eventbrite. Cap reservations at your capacity to ensure you don’t overcrowd while building a “get it while you can” feel.
Have your chef explain the tasting for new menu items or have your bartender or a chatty server explain drink tastings, along with fun facts.
Invite foodie influencers that your target audience follows, and build a partnership with them for paid social media posts that build your brand awareness.
If you have a private dining room or secluded area, host the event there for that VIP feel. Host it for around 2-3 hours—long enough to be worth it but not too long to lose customers’ attention spans.

Promoting limited-time tastings

Build social media hype with high-quality photos or slo-mo videos of dishes cooking or drinks pouring. Add a countdown for even more anticipation: “Only 2 more days to grab your spot!”

Pitch a quick blurb to local news outlets or message local food bloggers to push your promo—fire far and wide and see what sticks.

Team up with a local distillery or brewery for the network effect. Their loyal customers may be keen to discover a new spot!

3. Seasonal themes

Group of friends enjoying a theme night at a restaurant together.

Each season offers its own built-in themes to work around, all of which can contribute to restaurant marketing event ideas. Restaurant owners can make the most out of events like Valentine’s Day or can create their own. A luau or taco festival can take place anytime in the warmer months. A short-term makeover of a restaurant menu and décor can rile up your customer base and make for a fun dining experience.

Some ideas to consider:

Take 2-4 weeks to prep and advertise—restaurant owners don’t need to break the bank or neglect day-to-day operations for a special event.
Create a seasonal menu (Hawaiian BBQ for summer, mulled wine and charcuterie platter for winter) and price entrees at a flat rate.
Decorate, but don’t blow your budget: $200 should get you enough leis and tiki torches for a Hawaiian BBQ.
Set up a photo-worthy backdrop to encourage user-generated content that cements your online presence.
Run the event for 3-5 days, ideally over the weekend for max turnout.
Add at least one signature seasonal beverage to keep the vibe humming.

Promoting seasonal themes

Train your staff to hype up the event to customers a week or two before it begins—you’ll want word-of-mouth to spread.

Pair your seasonal theme nights with a special happy hour for each day of the event. Consider adding freebies (like leis for Hawaiian night or Santa hats for Christmas) so customers have something fun to walk away with.

Set up flyers at nearby shops and put banners outside your restaurant announcing the event.

Offer a social media competition for the best photos or videos of the event, with prizes ranging from a free dessert to free meals or merchandise.

Customize your customer loyalty program to reward repeat visits during your special event: Have escalating rewards from the first time customers visit through the last, with a free entree as an example of a reward for visiting each night.

4. Local music pairings

Band performing live music at a restaurant.

Live tunes and tasty food are a consistently popular idea. Local music pairings pair up a hometown artist with drink and food specials that keep the night rocking. Restaurants can play a key link between homegrown talent and would-be fans, establishing themselves as a pillar of the community.

To get a solid live music pairing night:

Plan out 2-4 weeks in advance, reaching out to your favorite local artists and building buzz.
Pair the tunes with specials based on music type. Consider alliterative or memorable titles like “Jazz ‘n’ Jambalaya” or “Blues & Brews.” Offer drink and food specials that fit the theme with special pricing.
Schedule for a weekend night like Friday or Saturday, around 6-9 p.m. at an outdoor area or in a corner of your restaurant.
Keep it free entry to pack the place and get a good atmosphere going for the musician(s) while making bank on food and drinks.
Give the artist some social media shoutouts throughout the week—you want their fans to come!

Promoting live music pairings

Use the artist’s music in social media marketing campaigns (with their permission, of course). Share their clips and tag them with hashtags like #(yourcity)nightlife or #(yourcity)livemusic.

Blast your email and SMS lists with “Live tunes + drink specials this Saturday” along with a reservation link to drive early bookings.

If you intend to make live music a regular thing, stream a segment of the gig on Instagram Live. Ask guests to tag you and the artist for a chance to be reposted.

Share positive reviews following the event and consider adding live music-related SEO terms to your restaurant website.

Overall restaurant marketing strategies for events

So, potentially hosting events beyond just birthdays turns out to be one of your bright restaurant promotion ideas. That’s great! Build and expand your audience with the following strategies to make the most out of your special events:

Aim for slow nights like Monday-Wednesday for tastings and trivia to shore up your bottom line, but go for big blowout nights like weekends for live music and themed events to pack a full house.
Keep your budget lean and don’t blow it on promo material and new ingredients. Repurpose ingredients when possible, lean on digital promotions, and tap local talent like influencers or business partnerships for low-cost collaborations.
Build scarcity as much as possible—FOMO is your best friend when building hype.
Nab customer contact and data early and often to drive repeat business. Add to your email marketing and SMS list with opt-in perks like a free dessert or free drink.
Team up with other businesses like breweries, local farms, and local artists to spread the word.
Track your metrics. Monitor reservations, sales, and social buzz to see what’s working in your restaurant marketing ideas and what could use improvement.

Wrap up your restaurant marketing event ideas with Yelp Guest Manager

A server holding a tray of assorted canapés.

The customers are coming, the lights are on, and your kitchen is busy. What’s next to make the best restaurant experience possible for your customers?

Simple: Make your service impeccable, and make the customer experience a positive one from the very first moment they hear of you. The best way to do that is with Yelp Guest Manager, the top-of-the-line front-of-house management system that makes life easy for everyone involved.

Customers can find you and make a reservation or hop on a waitlist at the push of a button. Restaurant owners can automate a significant part of the busywork while aggregating valuable customer data to make smart decisions with. Staff can save time running back and forth between terminals and tables—and that’s just the start.

Give us a shout for a free demo and we’ll show you the ropes. Your next special event will be stronger with the best software supporting your team.