Restaurant Specials Ideas: Discounts and Promotions You Can Offer

Your restaurant seems to be ticking off all the boxes. The food is top-notch, the staff is incredible, and the location is perfect. Your customers know it, but don’t you wish that more diners knew it? 

As a business owner, you’re on a constant quest to grow your business and acquire new guests. This is where marketing, and more specifically, restaurant promotions come in. 

Restaurant deals, daily specials, and promotions are a happy bonus for your regulars and a great way to attract new business. 

Limited-Time Offers and Menu Specials

A limited-time offer gives you a chance to experiment with your menu without having to commit. And specials are an opportunity for your kitchen staff to play with new dishes and showcase seasonal offerings.

When thinking about seasonal menus, 45% of Americans are most likely to consider seasonal flavors and ingredients to be fresh, and 78% consider seasonal dishes to be a treat.

Creative Restaurant Specials Ideas 

Seasonal Menu Items

PSL, anyone? 

As soon as the first end-of-summer chill creeps in, there’s one thing on everyone’s minds: the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. The premium, seasonal, while-supplies-last drink launched in 2003, and has had a cult following ever since. 20 years later the drink is still going strong, with reported annual sales of 20 million PSLs in 2022. 

While they stay tight-lipped about sales of specific drinks, it’s estimated that Starbucks has made up to $1.4 billion from the latte alone, not to mention the variations they’ve debuted over the years. So take a lesson from the latte, by trying something new or seasonal, and watching customer interest grow.

Supporting a Good Cause

How about using limited-time offers as a way to do good in your restaurant’s community?

In 2021, on National Pizza Day the Jersey Pizza Boys owners and the nonprofit Slice Out Hunger called on area restaurants, as well as others across the U.S., to donate at least 10 pies to local shelters and soup kitchens. For one day only, when customers bought pizza, these restaurants donated to charity. This is a great way to boost sales and goodwill.

So take action. Pick a historically quiet week and offer up a special offer such as a free dessert, or appetizer to customers who bring along a non-perishable donation for a cause. Sweets for being sweet. It’s a simple incentive that can generate business and help encourage a positive culture and environment within your restaurant.  

You can even integrate these actions into your long-term business plan. Diesel Cafe in Somerville, MA, gives back daily. In August 2018, they joined forces with a Massachusetts-based non-profit called More Than Words. It’s an organization aimed to empower at-risk youth and young adults through business, as a means of personal empowerment. 

Diesel built out a mini bookstore within their restaurant. It’s operated and managed by More Than Words, and all of the proceeds go directly to the non-profit. This space exposes More Than Words to Diesel’s customer base and encourages customers to buy a book, stick around, and maybe order another cup of coffee while they read.

The Eternal Chef's Special

Chef's Table in Brooklyn doesn’t have a menu. Instead, there are rotating selections chosen by the chef each morning. 

This enables you to announce your daily menu as an exciting restaurant marketing event. You can promote the menu on Instagram, send it out in your newsletter, or even run a gift card promotion where you give out one free tasting meal on social media every day. 

Running a special like this will also naturally attract first-time customers. These types of special menus attract food bloggers and influencers from all over. Your promotion strategy can then stem naturally from social media posts and word of mouth from others about these daily specials.

Loyalty Programs for Discounts

According to a survey by Lending Tree, about 80% of American consumers are members of at least one loyalty program. Forbes spoke with Howard Schneider, who’s an expert in the loyalty marketing space. He said that “Customers will remember their experience with a brand long after they’ve forgotten a discount,” which are words that any restaurateur would be wise to take to heart. 

Loyalty program members are your restaurant's best friends; they’re loyal customers. They see value in visiting often, and they’ve also likely opted in to receive regular content (personalized emails, text messages, push notifications) that keep your business at top of mind. 

Loyalty stamp cards are old news, so modernize this promo by syncing up with a loyalty program management tool. You’ll keep things streamlined for your staff and your customers, and the tool will make it easier for your members to earn rewards.

The coffee shop strikes again- Starbucks has a loyalty program that is divided into different tiers. As you order through the app you earn “stars” that get you free add-ons, drinks, and free meals. By implementing a points system based on dollars or goods, you’ll encourage repeat customers by rewarding them for spending. The Starbucks loyalty program enjoys 24.2 million members in the US, making it one of the most successful customer loyalty programs ever introduced. Starbucks attributes 40% of its total sales to the Rewards Program and has seen store sales rise by 7%. The app also notifies users of new menu items, offering specials, and holiday season drinks.

Don’t forget that when a customer is close to earning loyalty rewards, they’ll spend 39% more than they usually would. Let your loyalty tool help you track your best customers and uncover what promos motivate them to return to your business.

Always keep your loyal customers informed about upcoming local events, giveaways, and limited-time offers, and you’ll set yourself up for success. After all, repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers do - so keep them up to date.

Limited Time Online Ordering Offers

Today with the increasing popularity of online ordering and takeout, restaurant owners may want to consider offering special offers to boost their off-premise dining sales. Note that you might not want to host online specials or discounts during your busiest hours, and instead on those days when your restaurant is a little slower.

Here are some online ordering incentives to offer customers:

• If your restaurant offers free delivery during slower times, you can almost certainly increase your sales. In fact, 95% of consumers say they would love free delivery by any means. This deal can be made manually with an outsourcing app like UberEats or through your own delivery drivers. 

• Any type of coupon such as 10% off, BOGO (buy-one-get-one), or lunch combo deals.

• Offer discounts for special events, such as discounted wings on Super Bowl Sunday or brunch items on mother’s day.

These deals may be especially effective during weekday lunch hours when employees have time for a lunch break.

Specializing in Specials

As you test out certain promo styles, don’t forget to keep an eye on your POS information. You’ll be able to quickly tell which specials are bringing in customers and dollars, and which are less effective. Refer to this data when you’re gearing up to launch that seasonal, gotta-have-it, upsell masterpiece, and the task of restaurant staff scheduling to handle the crowds of excited customers will be a breeze. And by the way, listen to those customers. The best food deals are the ones that your guests will engage with, so record and implement guest feedback. 

Now that you’re armed with a few unique restaurant promotion ideas to highlight what makes your restaurant special, you’re poised to keep your profit margin increasing.