Restaurants only get one chance to make a first impression. After months of painstaking planning and countless hours of hard work, your restaurant is finally ready to open. The quickest way to now consolidate your presence in the community is by holding a restaurant grand opening event.

After a well-executed restaurant grand opening, you may never have to spend a penny on marketing…ever! Arrange a poor grand opening, and you might be marketing yourself for a very long time.

The most difficult part about this entire ordeal though, is coming up with simple yet effective ideas that will guarantee you a successful grand opening.

To help we have provided you with some simple steps that will be much more effective and set your event apart from the rest.

– Create a Proper Plan for Grand Opening :

Before your restaurants’ grand opening, make yourself sure you have a proper grand opening plan in place for that day. Being prepared ahead of time allows you to focus, create unique launch party ideas, and enjoy the big day when it arrives.

-Pick a day for your event
-Select a time frame
-Recruit volunteers or hire employees
-Select entertainment
-Set a budget
-Decide on a style of service

– Start with a Soft Opening :

What better way to decrease your nerves and work out any kinks before the big grand opening day than with a soft opening filled with the friends and family you know and love. This gives you and your staff a chance to iron out any kinks before you open your doors to the public.

You may even want to host various soft opening events, tailored to a specific group of people, such as:

-Friends & Family
-Vendors
-Local Business Owners
-Influencers

– Offer Grand Opening Promotions:

Its very important to offer your grand opening attendees something that they will want badly enough to come to your event. On your grand opening menu, be sure to offer a taste of your own dishes that best summarizes your restaurants’ offerings.

For the sake of promotions:

-You might offer samples of your specialty dishes or
-You might offer some discounts on the dishes or
-You might give buy one get one deals or coupons for free products on next visit.

– Partner with a Charity:

Partnering with a local charity not only helps you increase the coverage your grand opening event but also help solidify your relationship with the public. By associating your grand opening event with a charity, you show that you are willing to support local causes. If possible, attempt to partner with a charity that is somewhat related to your brand/business.

– Decorations:

We think you will definitely want to decorate your restaurant in honor of the grand opening event. This includes printing massive banners to drape across the front of the restaurant, and placing signs and balloons around the venue. The attractive decoration will help generate interest within the community

– Live Entertainment:

A grand opening is not complete without some entertainment, so make sure you have some arranged for the grand opening. Try scheduling the entertainment in advance to have time to build excitement leading up to the opening.

– Have Multiple Events:

Holding multiple events ahead of your restaurant grand opening is a great way to generate hype. Invite local press or business owners for a private tour of your restaurant along with dinner to increase excitement for your official launch. Alternatively, host a friends and family night to allow your staff to show their loved-ones what they’ve been working on.

Conclusion

For restaurants the opening event is not just a inauguration function but much more. Its the only chance where you can initially put you ahead of others and if you get success in doing so then in your journey ahead you need not worry much. Above are some ideas related to grand opening of a restaurant that can you can use to make your restaurants’ opening a grand one.