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Time for Celebration After the hellish year that was 2020, people are looking for any and every way to celebrate and create happiness in 2021. Use this as an opportunity to come up with special menu items or meal deals that will draw customers in and keep them coming back.

There are many national holidays throughout the year that can be celebrated, as well as smaller, national, and international days of foodie fun like Grilled Cheese Sandwich day coming up in April. Plus, there are national awareness days and weeks that can be great to incorporate into your business. Jumping on board things like NZ Sign Language week can be a fun and feel-good way to demonstrate your business’ contribution to the community, as more and more consumers are deliberately choosing to spend their money with ethical brands that give back.

The next nationally observed days coming up in

New Zealand are Easter (Good Friday on Friday

April 2nd, Easter Monday on Monday April 5th) and ANZAC day (Sunday April 25th).

EASTER EATS

Easter is a popular time for people to eat out, especially brunch or lunch on Easter Sunday. Easter can be one of the most profitable weekends of the year, especially if you market your hospitality venue right.

Here are some Easter promotion ideas for your café or restaurant:

OFFER A PRIX FIXE BRUNCH MENU

To save some energy in your kitchen, prix fixe (fixed price) brunch menus are a popular option for restaurants on Easter Sunday. By reducing the number of items on your restaurant’s menu, your BOH will be able to keep up with the demands of the holiday and provide a higher quality experience for diners. Take your most popular menu items or brainstorm some creative cuisine to give your customers a special experience.

ADD EASTER SPECIALS TO YOUR MENU

This is an easy way to give your menu a little Easter tweak, This could involve adding a few Easter specials (themed or not) to you’re a la carte menu or making some homemade hot cross buns for your café counter.

HOST AN EGG HUNT

Transform your venue into an Easter wonderland with little more than some decorations, a photocopied treasure map, mini-Easter eggs, and a smile. Print out flyers and promote them around your local neighbourhood, in your window and near your POS terminals.

To ensure you’re not simply giving away free Easter eggs, cost of entry to the hunt could be a coffee or menu item.

HOLD A SOCIAL MEDIA COMPETITION

A social media competition is a win-win, it will build your social media audience and engage potential customers.

Choose something simple like a photo competition, ask customers to send in a picture of their favourite thing about Easter or Autumn. Or if your café or restaurant is particularly Instagramable, you could get customers to take a selfie within their favourite spot in the shop or of their favourite menu item.

You don’t have to go all out with the prize either, a meal voucher is often enough to generate some buzz.

CREATE AN EGG-CITING COCKTAIL MENU

While Easter is a very family-friendly holiday, don’t forget to offer something special for the adults. Use some clever Easter terms to create a cocktail menu that your customers will love. From drinks made with lavender or lemonade to fun twists on mimosas or Bloody Mary’s, they will be sure to brighten up everyone’s Easter Sunday.