DCRS Solutions, Uncategorized
How To Host Your Restaurant’s Outdoor Event This Summer
Summer is a time for spending time with family and friends, enjoying the weather and going to summer events, such as those hosted by your restaurant. An outdoor event is a big opportunity to show off your restaurant and attract new and returning customers while generating extra revenue and attention.
Find Out How A Cloud-Based POS System Can Streamline Your Restaurant
Hosting outdoor events this summer requires lots of planning and budgeting, so be sure to follow these tips to make it an event to remember.
Decide Who Will Be Attending Your Outdoor Event
Is this outdoor event open to the public or only select guests like those from your loyalty program? You will need to decide who will be attending before you announce your event. This will help you set your budget, event location, and menu so you can set and stick to realistic goals.
Speaking of budget, what foods will you serve? Will there be entertainment like live music? Answering these essential questions will go a long way in making your restaurant’s summer event a success.
Curate An Appropriate Menu For The Event
Much like takeout orders at your restaurant, create an event menu that will not only attract customers but hold up well outside. Pick foods that can be easily transported, reheated and assembled at the location of the event.
Remember that the menu should also be very limited and consist of items you know customers will buy so you can avoid food waste. This means restricting the menu to your most popular items!
Always Observe Food Safety Standards
Always observe food safety regulations when serving food at your restaurant’s outdoor event this summer. This means keeping foods at a safe temperature, preventing cross-contamination, and including allergen information.
Hot and cold foods should not sit out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour in temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit).
For cold foods, replace ice as it melts while draining off the water and keep coolers closed as much as possible. For hot foods, keep them well insulated at or above 140 degrees.
Use Mobile Payments With Cloud POS
Since you are not in your restaurant, you will need an alternative method for dealing with payments. With a mobile cloud POS like Toast and Mobilebytes, you can accept payments on the go with the information remotely transferring to your restaurant’s database.
You can then review the information to see how well your event performed, what menu items were the most popular and a plethora of additional data points to help you plan for future events.
Train Employees On Correct Behavior During An Outdoor Event
Just because you are not in your restaurant doesn’t mean customer service standards should change.
Encourage employees working at the event to have fun but to remember to maintain professional standards, such as treating customers of all ages with respect, greeting and seating customers promptly, managing customer disputes, etc.
Outdoor summer events can be a great way to generate buzz for your restaurant, and as long as you properly prepare, your guests are sure to have a great time!