Special Events Guide for Restaurants and Bars

Special Events are an incredibly effective way to introduce your restaurant/bar to new customers, bring back loyal customers, and pack the house on what would otherwise be a slow night. They also have the benefit of being very effective uses of Google and Facebook/Instagram ads.

Make the Most of a Special Event

Before hosting a special event, make sure that the operation is running smoothly. Special events are a powerful marketing multiplier.  A big crowd with bad service will just multiply a bad reputation and result in negative reviews on Google Reviews, Yelp, and TripAdvisor.

Make the event about your customers, show you care about them. Show the customers a good time and the restaurant will gain a new following and loyal following.

Make sure the event fits with your ideal customer profile. A fine dining restaurant would want to host a monthly book club or murder mystery dinner. Bars should look at things like a cornhole tournament, trivia night, or large meetup group that centered around socializing.

Create multiple opportunities and a benefit to joining the restaurant’s newsletter. Offer a discounted door fee, drink, or appetizer in exchange for their email address. Down the line, you can feature menu specials and let them know about other events.

If possible, film the event and post clips to Facebook, Instagram, and/or Youtube. You might also want to capture still pics and post them to social media or hang them as decorations on the wall. Just make sure you have notices posted that filming will take place and the appropriate legal releases.

Monthly or Weekly Events

These are great for bringing in customers on a regular basis. Depending on the event, it also encourages more repeat visits from the same set of customers.

Below are some suggested events to consider.

Trivia Night

Restaurants/Bars pay a small fee to companies like DJTrivia, Trivialogy, or DJTurnUp who in turn send out a live personality to host a trivia tournament for a few hours. This can easily bring 50+ people on a regular basis. Note, restaurants typically pay for prize awards as well.

Equipment Needed: Multiple TVs
Frequency: Weekly
Repeat Customers for the Event: High

Mystery Dinner

Pay a small fee to companies like The Murder Mystery Company or I’m Puzzled who send live actors to play out a murder mystery experience over dinner.

Equipment Needed: None
Frequency: Weekly/Monthly
Repeat Customers for the Event: Low

Host a Meetup Group

Meetup hosts a wide set of groups who cover just about any topic you can think of – board game groups, book clubs, hikers, spiritual, industry socializers and more. Attendee count will depend on the size of the group. I’ve been to events with as few as 5 people, and others that have over 80 people.

Equipment Needed: Usually none
Frequency: Weekly/Monthly
Repeat Customers for the Event: Medium to High (depends on the group)

Singles Events

Hosting singles events from Lock and Key and Jigsaw Dating or a speed dating night will typically bring in a few dozen people.

Equipment Needed: None
Frequency: Monthly
Repeat Customers for the Event: Low to Medium

Karaoke Night

These are great for Thursday to Saturday night.

Equipment Needed: Small karaoke machine to fancy stereo setup
Frequency: Weekly/Monthly
Repeat Customers for the Event: Low to Medium

Cornhole Tournaments

Great for the warmer months and establishments with a large patio. Get a DJ to make it a really lively event.

Equipment Needed: One time purchase of a few sets of cornhole games (Boards + bags)
Frequency: Monthly
Repeat Customers for the Event: Low to Medium

Sponsor Youth Soccer, School Sports, or another Club

These are great for community engagement and talking about on social media. Sponsorship can be contingent on having the season ending team party at the restaurant.

Equipment Needed: None
Frequency: Monthly to Yearly
Repeat Customers for the Event: Medium to High

Red-Letter Days

Red-letter days are those of cultural significance. Think St Patty’s Day, Cinco De Mayo, or Halloween.  Hosting special events on days that everyone knows about  – New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, etc – are easy days to draw in a crowd and charge premium pricing. People are already looking for something to do. It only requires aligning the menu and dining experience with the customers’ expected festivities and a bit of marketing.

Regional Events

Hosting events on dates of regional significance are second set of red-letter days to consider. Things like the Sacramento Republic FC home opener, the A’s home opener, and Pride Parade, are natural events to connect with the community. Music festivals Country in the Park, Aftershock, and Golden Sky Festival bring 10,000s of people to the region who stay in hotels as far away as Folsom and Roseville.

National Sporting Events

Major sporting events – like the Super Bowl, March Madness, or World Series – make for a third set of dates that are great for hosting special events. These can even be used by non-sports bars. An escape the Super Bowl special can be a great way to attract people who want to escape the hype.

National Food Days

By now, you have probably have heard some of these. National Burger Day (May 28), National Pancake Day (Feb 28), etc. are a great way to bring in customers who are looking for a particular dish. The day sells itself.