No matter why you celebrate Easter, whether it's for the chocolate, for its religious significance, or for the family tradition, it is an incredibly special time of year. It can also be very busy for restaurateurs. According to the National Restaurant Association, Easter is the fifth busiest holiday for American restaurants. With Easter right around the corner, it's a great time to offer creativity and fun restaurant promotions to both loyal regulars and new customers alike.

Easter, observed on April 17th this year, represents many things to many people. In most countries, Easter is celebrated with family gatherings and a festive meal. Your business can connect with and delight customers and attract new guests by offering special promotions, a new, exciting Easter menu, and family-friendly events for Easter.

Have a look at these few ideas that will help you keep your restaurant’s Easter celebration hopping!

1. Devise Themed Menus

Easter classics like lamb roast and mashed potatoes are always a hit, but customers can prepare those at home. Think out of the box and come up with something different, which is hard to resist! Consider these:

• A vegetarian spread consisting of tofu artichoke risotto, veggie tart, asparagus bowtie pasta salad, red pepper quiche and minted spring pea soup
• Finger foods like petit fours , tomato bruschetta, and tiny smoke salmon canapes
• For desserts, offer spiced carrot cake, Ombre waffles topped by whipped cream, Chocolate hot cross buns!

2. Organize the old favorite egg hunt

According to the National Restaurant Association, restaurants with Easter-related activities for kids were likely to attract 14 percent of potential customers. Indulge your customers in an Easter egg hunt which not only the kids but the adults will also enjoy. You can hide promotions and special offers in the eggs.

There is no reason why you can't participate in the fun even if you only accept orders online. Embedding surprise voucher codes into certain products or giving clues to help customers find the secret code on site is a simple way to increase sales. Using secret prizes and clues across your entire website is a fun, engaging way to boost your website traffic.

3. Invite Guests to meet the Easter Bunny

This is a very effective marketing strategy for attracting the family crowd. There is no better way for parents to ensure their children have a fun dining experience than to meet the Easter bunny. You could also advertise free Easter pictures, which would be a really great bonus for families who take yearly photos at Easter. Ask them to upload these photos on Social Media and tag you, thus creating a good visibility online!

4. Offer an Easter Buffet

You can offer a self-serve buffet at your restaurant if regulations permit it and if you think that your customers will enjoy it. This can prove to be a real-crowd puller. Prepare the classics like bacon, scrambled eggs, and potato wedges, and don't forget to include a few salads.

Put an Easter twist on your brunch buffet with desserts like bunny- and egg-shaped cookies. They're easy to bake and look great with pastel-colored icing, and they'll brighten your guests' day.

5. Host a Three-Course Easter Dinner

Your Easter dinner venue doesn't have to be a fine dining restaurant for your guests to enjoy a memorable event. A three-course meal with glazed ham or roasted turkey will work for most restaurants.

It's a tried and true idea to host a three-course dinner on Easter weekend, particularly if you're not open earlier to capitalize on the brunch rush. Create an atmosphere that will attract both families and couples.

6. Donate the proceeds of your Easter event to an aid organization

Easter is a public holiday, so why not help those in need by donating the profits to the Salvation Army, St. Vincent's or another nonprofit organization.

You’ll be doing a good deed, and which might end up giving you a good PR in return. You can ask the customers to make some donations by setting up a small hoarding near the restaurant's reception or somewhere prominent, and to your social media channels. This will also make you customers aware about your goodwill.

7. Organise a social media contest

Social media competitions offer a win-win situation. You will be able to increase your audience on social media and engage potential customers more effectively. With social media competitions, you can attract a lot of people to your business.

For example: If your restaurant is located in a gorgeous locale, hold a photo contest at your venue so that people will stop by and enter. Ask them to post a 'selfie' of themselves at your venue having fun or gorging on food on their social media channels. Make sure your business is tagged with a hashtag unique to your venue and the Easter holiday. This will bring more engagement. A cash prize, lucrative vouchers or a free meal are sure to generate buzz and excitement.

Word-of-mouth can flourish, generating interest in your brand, location, and what you have to offer. The only thing it takes is a little advance planning and a clear marketing strategy.

8. Bring in potential customers with email marketing

A compelling, eye-catching email should not be underestimated. You should put your existing database or email list to good use by telling your audience what you have planned. Reach out to those you may not otherwise have access to, and also bring back the old customers.

Make sure they know what you have to offer. Send them an email with a voucher they can use in-store for something 'free' or to get a discount. Ask them to share it with friends, so that their friends are aware of your offer.

9. Give Away Easter Baskets

Offering your guests baskets filled with goodies is a great way to add a little sweetness to their day.

Consider bringing your restaurant's distinct flair into the Easter baskets. For example, you might include homemade condiments like sweet tarts, milk chocolate Easter bunnies, carved ham and ofcourse deviled eggs. Or, you might brand the basket as a meal kit that contains all of the ingredients to make a specific dish. Have fun and don't be afraid to be creative!!

10. Easter activities for the kids (and adults)

These Easter activities will keep the kids entertained while the parents are enjoying a cocktail or an after-dinner drink.

• Offer paper egg cut-outs and crayons for the kids to get creative and decorate.
• Make your own Easter quiz or activity sheet.
• Host an Easter dress-up competition for kids

With all these ideas and facts about Easter, you're ready to welcome your guests in the best way possible!

Ending Note

Fortunately, you don't have to implement all of these tactics at once. You can combine more than one to good effect. This season should be exciting and fun for both you and your customers, so don't forget to plan ahead and have a properly aligned promotional in-store system such as Restolabs!

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