With Father’s Day just around the corner, restauranteurs will be doing all they can to take advantage of an event that should help raise cover numbers for at least one night.

The National Restaurant Association has discovered that dinner is the most popular meal for those who choose to dine out on Father’s Day. With that in mind, we’ve put together a few ways any restauranteur can make the most of Father’s Day:

Offer surprise gifts

For those who have already booked a Father’s Day meal with you, why not surprise them on the day by presenting gifts when they call for their bill?

A bottle of ale, discount voucher for their next visit or box of chocolates will not only go down well when presented, it’ll prompt the guests to share the news of how wonderfully unexpected you were with their friends. And who knows where that’ll lead!

Host a music evening

Live music is an increasingly common experience for restaurant goers, but if your establishment is yet to invest in the services of a live band to entertain its guests, Father’s Day could be the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Get in touch with a couple of local bands and see if they’d be up for a special Father’s Day music evening. Pick the right kind of music and make enough noise about it on Twitter, and you should see an increase in cover numbers on the night.

Extend it to ‘Father’s Week’

Why limit yourself to just one day of increased business come Father’s Day?

By instead creating a ‘Father’s Week’ where the menu choice, offers and drinks selection are uniquely tuned to a male audience, you should be able to capture the attention of guests who decided to stay at home on the day itself.

Invite a famous chef or cocktail maestro

If you’re lucky enough to work for a chain restaurant owned by a big-name chef, or have connections that give you access to such people, take advantage by inviting them to make an appearance on Father’s Day.

If you don’t reside in those circles (don’t worry – very few restauranteurs do), you could instead employ the services of a cocktail master who will add a touch of pizzazz to Father’s Day by creating a focal point at the bar (and that should raise wet sales, too!).

Use social media on the day to your advantage

Let’s assume you’ve done everything you can to publicise the benefits of spending Father’s Day at your restaurant and you now have a bulging diary.

The work, of course, really begins on the day itself, but beyond the hustle and bustle of the waiting and kitchen operations, you have a real opportunity to show the world how you’re spending the day with your guests.

Use Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to take live photos and videos of your Father’s Day guests enjoying their meals (with their permission, of course). If you can, get a quote out of them as they’re leaving and you’ll be able to create a story of the day which resonates far and wide.

Those that didn’t book will hopefully see exactly what they missed out on, and if you can make just as big a noise next year, you should find that cover numbers rise yet again.

Have we missed any obvious Father’s Day restaurant marketing tips for restaurants? If so, let us know in the comments section, below!

Image credit