It’s crazy how things can change in a year. Give your customers a taste of normalcy with fun events at your bar or restaurant, made with safety in mind. These ideas can help bring customers back into your establishment and even attract new ones.
With these events, be sure to adhere to social distancing requirements and follow all rules set to keep your business and customers safe. Every state is different in what they are allowing businesses to do and not to do, but with a little tweaking we think these ideas can be done safely and successfully wherever you are located.
Shake up your schedule and try some of these out this season!
Add to your atmosphere and press play on your live music line-up again! In most states, large concerts are still not allowed but you can give your customers a taste of live music in your establishment. Whether you have an indoor or outdoor set-up, make sure to situate your band or musician with distancing regulations in mind. You’ll also want to be mindful of how customers will be seated or standing by the music to avoid crowding. Offering live music, especially those popular local bands, is a great way to bring customers out to you!
Outdoor Happy/Yappy Hours
With traditional patio season upon us, it’s always a great time to start up your happy or yappy hour (bring your own dog) in your outdoor space again! Nothing brings out a socially-distanced crowd better than discounted dishes, drinks, and/or dogs. Set up your patio area into pods, with high top tables and other seating an appropriate amount away from each other. If your patio isn’t something you’ve used in a while, don’t forget to add signs that detail your mask policy. You’ll also want to make sure to update your prices here as well to reflect any increases from your suppliers since the last time held an event like this.
Trivia Nights
Test your customers’ knowledge with trivia night! While super popular over the past few years, trivia is the perfect event to bring back because it’s easy to have customers distanced with their teams. Be your own question master or partner with a trivia DJ to make your game come to life. Make sure to have your kitchen and bar up and going while the game goes on, many customers make this a whole night!
Food/Drink Tasting Trails
Partner with other food or drink establishments on your block and create your own tasting trail. Get creative and come up with a tasting menu that showcases your offerings, while also adding specialty items to pique customer interest. Events like this are easy to space out because you can set ticket limits and the time spent at each place, especially if you are planning this event during a traditionally slow time for your business. Not only does this bring customers through your doors, but it increases foot traffic for those in the area as well. Plus, by working with other businesses, you may gain new customers with this experience!
Paint/Craft Class
Bring out your creative side for a painting or craft night! If this is not something you have offered in the past, there are many services that will come to you to host these kinds of events so all you’ll need to worry about is selling tickets and what food/drink to include for the occasion. Like in your restaurant now, make sure event-goers are spaced out, creating a pod for each part. This is another great event to plan during a time you might normally be slow or closed to get the most out of your space.
While normalcy is still somewhere on the horizon, we hope these event ideas will inspire you and your restaurant’s social offerings. It can be tricky to see what you can do, but these ideas are a great starting point to bring in your regular and hopefully some new customers as well.
