Tons of ideas for hosting restaurant events in your space

Regular walk-in diners and reservations are the bread and butter of any restaurant, but special events can boost sales, attract new customers, and give you an excellent reason to market your restaurant. Special theme nights and unique dining experiences add a certain pop and sizzle to your brand in ways you may not have considered. As anyone in the restaurant business knows, the more customers, the better—and regular events can help newcomers turn into regulars.

Not every event is perfect for every restaurant. Smaller cafés or quiet fine dining restaurants may not be a good fit for open mic night. And a special menu for Valentine’s Day might not work wonders in a karaoke bar.

Still, whatever the size and style of your business, there are restaurant event ideas that are sure to boost your revenue. Hosting events is a surefire way to get you noticed on social media and bring in new customers for something unique and different.

Here are some ideas to help you get started with different event planning ideas.

Holiday restaurant events

Some holidays are perfect for hosting events in your restaurant. Valentine’s Day is the perfect example. Competition is always fierce, but as the second most popular holiday for restaurants, there’s plenty of business to go around.

To stand out from the pack, make sure you do something unique. While coupons don’t necessarily say “romance” to most people, complimentary appetizers or drinks can be a gentle encouragement to bring customers in the door. Prix fixe menus or new menu items also make for good promotions.

Alternatively, plenty of businesses have taken the opportunity to turn Valentine’s Day on its head by catering to singles. Speed dating and other dating events are a good way to turn a slow bar day into a fun and successful evening.

The only busier day than Valentine’s Day is Mother’s Day. Like Easter (another favorite), brunch is the big seller.

The biggest of holidays are low-hanging fruit for restaurant promotions. There’s always competition for Father’s Day, for example. But the less well-known holidays provide great opportunities for events that will really stand out.

These days there is a holiday to play to every restaurant’s strength. If you make great potstickers, celebrate World Dumpling Day on September 26. A special happy hour to celebrate National Beer Day on April 7 of each year is sure to grab attention for most bars and restaurants, especially if craft beer is a big part of what you sell.

As good as it may sound to be the best restaurant for the biggest of holidays, it can really pay off to make the most of smaller holidays that the competition isn’t paying attention to.

Year-round restaurant events and theme nights

Special events don’t have to be limited to holidays or performances. Try a theme night to create an atmosphere that’s more fun than usual.

The key idea with any theme night is to make something special out of what would otherwise be ordinary.

Live music

Probably the oldest type of restaurant event, live music is a surefire crowd pleaser. A small group of local musicians can enhance a dining experience in any type of restaurant, not just bars.

Taking things a step further, community events can be another good way to raise your profile and make connections as well. Events like open mic nights and comedy nights are basically free advertising for restaurants. Many bars and casual restaurants can bring quite a few new customers in the door by hosting aspiring comedians and musicians, sometimes at no expense to the restaurant.

Cocktail and wine tastings

If you’ve got a solid wine menu or talented bartenders, offering a wine tasting event or the same for cocktails is an excellent way to get attention—especially if you offer special deals. Either option makes for easy advertising.

The timing can be important here, too: While weekends are classic days to get customers in for some beverages and delicious food, offering specials on weekdays can help boost business on otherwise-slow days. So, if Tuesdays are your weakest day, consider a Tuesday tasting to let your bartenders show off.

Decade nights

Decade nights can definitely be cheesy but they can definitely be fun, too. These work best in a pub or bar setting rather than a restaurant.

Consider a special offer for customers who dress up in the garb of your chosen decade. Pairing the event with a live band can be beneficial, but isn’t entirely necessary, as customers can make requests from your digital jukebox.

Decade nights are usually best for the weekend, but if you’re in a college town with many young customers, for example, Thursday is often a popular party night.

Sports events

If you’re running a sports bar, sports events are a no-brainer. But other establishments can make sports events a night, too, even if sports isn’t your focus. A good rule of thumb, however, is this: The more upscale your establishment, the less you should do sports events. So, a low-key family restaurant or pub can certainly feature local sporting events, especially if they’re a high-stakes game—like if your local team is in the playoffs.

During important games, many customers choose where they go specifically because they know they can get a good view of the game. Make sure to have the volume and closed captions on, as there’s few things more frustrating to sports fans than being forced to watch their game on mute or missing the play-by-play announcer.

Big games can be an excellent night for food and beverage spots, so be sure to plan ahead and post on social media to catch that sports-loving crowd.

Trivia night

Trivia nights are uniquely well-suited to pubs and bars, and—when done right—can be a recurring affair that draws in regulars week after week. Trivia nights are usually done weekly and often mid-week, ending early enough for customers to get home at a reasonable time should they need to work the next day.

To hire a trivia host, look up local hosts in your area or ask around for a referral. Running a trivia night is harder than it looks — you don’t want just anyone up there. It’s a delicate balance of question difficulty, a fair scoring system, and keeping the crowd entertained.

Work out your chosen host’s pay rate beforehand. Some may be happy with a free meal and drinks if they’re just starting their trivia hosting gig. Discuss any parameters you have around off-limits topics and language to avoid any awkward situations.

Just how far you want to go with trivia night depends on your facilities and audience. Some establishments go all-out, with PowerPoint presentations, video questions, music rounds, and more. Others are more low-key, with simple pen and paper and a host with a microphone. In many cases, trivia nights can draw die-hard fans and may find you customers you never knew you needed.

Singles night

Hosting a singles night can be a good way to get new customers in the door who may, hopefully, become regular customers, especially if they come back as couples. You can offer events like speed dating or board games or pair the singles mixer with wine or cocktail tastings.

Like some of the other events above, singles nights work better in an atmosphere that’s relaxed and geared towards adults and not families. So, a bar-restaurant/bar and grill would be a good venue, whereas a family restaurant or a fine-dining establishment would likely not be.

Private events

Some restaurant owners see private events as a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they’re a great source of revenue and exposure. On the other, they can be an added challenge for your kitchen and front-of-house alike.

Bringing in a group for a corporate event is a proven way to boost sales and bring in new customers as well. A large group of diners is always good news for the bottom line, and having event spaces for private events will make sure you have room for them.

On top of that, corporate events bring in customers who haven’t heard of your business. Or perhaps they’ve been meaning to try it. You add a new sense of accessibility for these customers and hopefully create a fun experience they can’t wait to try again.

Charity events are another great way to promote your brand and boost sales at the same time. These aren’t always private events, and can bring in new customers who are interested in the charity. It’s always good for business to have your name associated with a good cause. And charity events are likely to leave new customers with a warm impression of your business.

Other groups fit into this category too. Sports teams and social clubs are other associations that can bring a lot of steady business and goodwill your way.

Social media and good old-fashioned personal networking are great ways to reach out to different groups who might love to have special events at your restaurant.

How to market your restaurant for events

The world of restaurant marketing has changed rapidly over the last few years, as anyone in the restaurant industry has likely noticed. Video went from being just for YouTube to being all you see when you open Instagram. Hashtags are phasing out on some platforms and omnipresent on others. Filters went from dog ears to deepfakes. Trending sounds and dances abound. So, keeping your marketing strategy fresh and especially focusing on restaurant-specific digital marketing is the way forward for growing your brand.

You’ll want to direct your marketing efforts to both loyal customers and potential customers alike. One of the first ways you’ll want to stand out to customers is to have your restaurant brand well established: Your color palette, logo, typeface, vibe, and everything else.

Having a well-built restaurant website for delivery orders and menu viewing is non-negotiable, as is presence on multiple social media platforms and email marketing based on email lists you develop. Pairing up with local influencers can help you take a leap forward with social media marketing on TikTok or Instagram, especially if you establish a good working relationship with them.

Crucially, you’ll need to know your target audience. Who are your main customers? What demographic do they fall in? How much do they like to spend? How often do they visit your establishment? All these questions can help you understand your customer base and thus develop your marketing plan.

Of course, there’s no more valuable marketing than word-of-mouth. Pairing up with local bloggers, other restaurateurs and local business owners, and more can help get the word out about your establishment and get customers in the door.

Let Yelp help you enhance your event profile

We’ve talked about some of the more popular (and some of the most overlooked) types of events for your restaurant, and a few pointers on management to help with hosting events. So, how can Yelp help you with special events?

When diners are looking for places to dine near them, they look to Yelp, which offers significant reach. Yelp reaches 9x more diners online than OpenTable.*

If you need a marketing boost, Yelp Connect helps get the word out about special events from holiday promotions to live music performances. While social media, email newsletters, and ads are great ways to get the word out, Yelp can do a lot to promote your events.

Yelp Guest Manager takes things a step further, seamlessly integrating with other services that bring your event to life from top to bottom. With Guest Manager, you can integrate reservations, waitlist management, Kiosk, and more.

Using Yelp can do wonders for promoting your business. We’d love to help you build your customer relationships through special events, marketing, and integrated software solutions. To find out more, schedule a free demo with one of our experts.

We look forward to talking about how Yelp can work for you!