10 Quick Winter Restaurant Promotions That Will Heat Up Sales

As the year draws to a close, you get one last chance to increase end-of-year sales and ensure customers will follow you into the new year. To attract new and returning customers this cold season, here are a couple of winter restaurant promotions you can implement on the spot.

10 Winter Restaurant Promotions to Boost End-of-Year Sales

1. Serve traditional winter dishes

Rule number one of winter restaurant promotions is to adapt your menu for the season. As the weather changes, so do our food cravings.

Winter is all about warm, filling, comforting dishes that make you forget about the cold outside, such as:

• Soups
• Stews
• Casseroles
• Curries
• Winter vegetables
• Roasts
• Pudding
• Homemade bread

For more winter menu ideas for restaurants, check out our full guide.

Create a winter menu for your restaurant website from scratch by following the steps in this video:

2. Offer discounted winter restaurant specials

With a winter menu in place, you need a way to draw your customers’ attention to the new dishes. What better way than to offer a discount on all winter specials?

Find out how you can set up this promo or many others in seconds using our restaurant promotion templates:

3. Create winter lunch specials bundles for delivery

When the weather outside is frightful, a lot of people prefer to order lunch at the office or home instead of going out to eat.

Cater to that crowd by adding lunch bundles and combos to your menu at a fixed attractive price.

Easily create your own lunch combo offer by following the steps below:

4. Target families with irresistible restaurant offers for the whole family

When the winter holidays draw near, people want to spend more quality time with their families. And one of the ways in which they do that is by going out to eat or cozying up at home with some takeout.

Attracting families to your restaurant this holiday season is easy with winter restaurant promotions like buy two winter specials, and get one free.

5. Create a winter tasting menu to test-run your Christmas dishes

Tasting menus are a win-win promotion strategy. Customers get to sample more of your dishes, and you get to test them without spending a fortune on ingredients and see if they become a favorite.

We recommend doing this if you plan on keeping your restaurant open on Christmas Day. Test out the Christmas menu in advance to ensure it will be an overwhelming success.

6. Organize a winter buffet on Christmas Day

Are you looking for ideas for promoting your restaurant this Christmas? Instead of serving your usual dishes in the typical format, organize a buffet featuring popular Christmas dishes that customers can share with their friends and families.

Here are some winter buffet menu ideas that will make your restaurant the talk of the town:

• Cranberry baked brie bites
• Brussels sprouts with bacon and shallots
• Glazed ham with pineapple chutney
• Sweet potato casserole
• Honey-glazed spiced carrots
• Cider-braised pork shoulder
• Peppercorn-crusted rib roast
• Garlic and herb pull-apart bread
• Gingerbread roulade with eggnog cream
• Pecan pie brownies

7. Spice up your winter bar menu

Regardless of whether your restaurant has a dedicated bar area or you just have a limited drinks menu, give it a winter twist to delight customers and increase beverage sales.

From warm apple cider to hot cranberry punch and Swedish glogg, think of traditional winter flavors you can incorporate into your drinks menu.

Remember to include some options for people who don’t consume alcohol, and if you serve alcohol at your restaurant this Christmas, do so responsibly.

8. Brainstorm a brand-new café winter menu

If you’re familiar with large coffee shop chains like Starbucks, you already know they capitalize on the winter season with winter coffee specials such as Gingerbread Latte, Caramel Brulée Latte, or Eggnog Latte.

But you don’t necessarily need to come up with entirely new winter coffee drinks if you’re not a coffee shop.

Simply give customers the option to add traditional winter flavors to their regular coffee, such as gingerbread, cinnamon, caramel, white chocolate mocha, peppermint, pumpkin spice, or chestnut.

Follow these steps to learn how you can customize your dishes with add-ons like toppings, syrups, and more using our online menu builder:

9. Enable customers to book a table for your winter festivities

If you’re going to be open around the holidays or on Christmas, you need to know how many people to expect so you can organize shifts accordingly.

The best way to keep track of that is to encourage customers to reserve a table in advance if they want to make sure they get a spot.

Make your job even easier by also allowing customers to pre-order their Christmas meal when they book a table. That way, the food will be ready for them when they arrive, and you can prepare it in advance.

10. Keep the good times going with January restaurant promotions

While it’s normal and advisable to focus your winter restaurant promotions on December and the holiday season, that doesn’t mean you should stop all promos come January.

In fact, you should look at key winter restaurant trends and see what you can do to increase sales at the very start of the year.

For example, highlight your healthy, vegetable-based dishes to appeal to customers who have made the resolution to eat healthier in the new year.

Wrapping It up

Every new season is a chance for your restaurant to get noticed online and offline with the help of creative menu items, exciting offers, and irresistible surprises. End the year with a bang by implementing these winter restaurant promotions into your restaurant’s marketing strategy.