Top 3 Things Restaurants Should Do to Prepare for a Sumptuous Summer (in Chicago)
Image by Alex Haney on Unsplash
1. Know Your Strategy for Hiring Seasonal Help
Some restaurants can experience seasonal fluctuations in traffic. More foot traffic, anyone? This means that if summer is a high-volume time for you, it is time to get started thinking about seasonal hiring. Keep in mind the following tips:
Start early! Post jobs now (if you haven’t already) this will give you advance time to screen and assess potential candidates.
Referrals! Ask your current team members (those you love) for their best referrals. Who would they love to work with so that they can help recruit and onboard for this summer season?
Who do you want back? Are you keeping in touch with the seasonal team from previous years, college students, for example, so that they may come back to help fill in the spots you’ll need help with this summer?
Tip: Consider how the Eate Digital platform can help you to track your YOY traffic volumes so that you can plan for hiring needs.
2. Create New Summer Eats and Drinks
Summer is a great time to add seasonal variety to your menu. Consider the following ideas as you ideate and create your summer menu plan.
Summer brings with it heat. And thirst! Everyone is looking for something to sip on in the sizzling summer months. Consider adding a creative twist to your summer drink menu. Watermelon Mint Martini, Cucumber Cooler, Ginger Peach, Bourbon Mule, Raspberry Basil Gin Smash, Happy Trails Bar has that on their summer 2024 drink menu! But it isn’t all alcohol, Starbucks just added the Summer Skies drink to their summer menu! What’s your creative summer thirst quenching surprise?
The heat in summer months can also inspire an interest in other cold menu items. How about a creative salad creation?
Summer also brings with it a tantalizing assortment of freshly grown vegetables. Local farmer’s markets invite chefs to create farm to table specialties. Consider sourcing fresh ingredients for your summer creations.
Tip: Consider how the Eate Digital platform and analytics can help you to maximize your menu.
3. Style Your Space for Summer
Outdoor seating is a summer must when the space is available. This means spring cleaning the patio space, if you have patio space available and checking that your outdoor furniture is spruced up and ready for summer seating
Streamline your checkout process. If you are expecting an influx of summery drink requests and a lineup for on-the-go orders, or an influx of summer takeout orders, consider how you might craft your space to accommodate this seasonal traffic.
Lastly, the vibe of your space will inspire your guests to appreciate the summer. Beyond the menu, are there items of interest that you may add to the table, fresh flowers, or other summer surprises that may offer a nice experience twist to treat your guests?
Tip: Are your guests already using the Eate platform?
Summer is just around the corner, about a month and a half away, but it isn’t too soon to start to prepare! A sumptuous summer starts by simply having the seasonal help you need; summer menu items, and space that is styled to welcome your summer guests.
Eate Digital Platform
Eate Digital’s mission is to help operators to benefit from smarter, more centralized ways to manage their business and the guests that interact with those businesses.
Restaurant operators typically deal with multiple legacy platforms that add complexity to their operations, negatively impact their operational burden and increases their fixed costs against already thin margins. With so many systems, restauranteurs do not get additional intelligence on their operational performance or their guests' habits, behaviors and preferences.
Eate changes that, by creating a simplified platform, that streamlines operations, centralizes revenue streams, and enables unique experiences for guests while obtaining the right data needed to drive operational, financial, and marketing decision-making.
