With the rapid growth off-premise dining has seen in the last few years, restaurants can expect a number of patrons to opt for take out and delivery services this Halloween. It's essential to get creative with your off-premise services and bring a festive feel to every order to help your business stand out from the competition. We've created a detailed guide that features five Halloween off-premise dining ideas for restaurants to guarantee your customers have a spook-tacular dining experience.
1. Create A Halloween Menu
A couple of weeks before Oct. 31, you should consider releasing a themed menu to get your business and customers in the Halloween spirit. Offering limited-time menu items helps attract new customers while giving regulars something different to enjoy. When creating a themed menu, think of the Halloween flavors everyone gets excited about, such as pumpkin, apple, and caramel. You can incorporate these flavors into your menu and provide them with spooky names to make them stand out.
You can also incorporate jack-o'-lanterns, witches, bats, and other things associated with the holiday into your menu. For instance, you can pair sandwiches with Halloween skewers or bake pumpkin-shaped cookies. Encourage chefs to come up with unique Halloween drinks and dishes so you can provide customers with a fang-tastic menu.
2. Offer Halloween DIY Drink Kits & Meal Kits
Numerous individuals like to host get-togethers at their homes for an intimate way to celebrate the holiday with family and friends. Offering DIY drink kits and meal kits for off-premise services provides you with the perfect opportunity to expand your customer base. For instance, people hosting parties may not have enough time to prepare entrees or side dishes for guests because they got caught up decorating their homes. Having Halloween-themed drink and meal kits available allows patrons to not stress about cooking while providing them with a fun and interactive way to enjoy meals or drinks. Follow the steps below to create a DIY Halloween meal or cocktail kit that is easy to follow:
- Create festive cocktail and meal kits: To entice customers to enjoy drink and food kits in their homes, think outside the box with your offerings. Most customers want to try something unique but in season. You can consider creating a themed cocktail, entree, or dessert kit that features Halloween flavors to attract patrons.
- Label ingredients: Some of your customers may not be able to distinguish ingredients in kits that look alike. Labeling ingredients will prevent patrons from mixing up condiments or herbs.
- Include instructions: When creating instructions for customers on how to make meal or drink kits, put yourself in the shoes of someone with no cooking experience. Make the instructions simple to follow and include information on cooking equipment or kitchen tools they may need.
3. Offer Spook-Tacular Promotions
Whether it's free delivery or discounted menu items, customers are always looking to save money when opting for off-premise dining. With the countless options patrons have available for take out and delivery, create Halloween promotions to ensure they choose to order from your business. Below is a list of off-premise dining promotions you can implement to attract customers:
- Free delivery
- Free desserts for children
- 31% off themed dishes
- Halloween happy hour
- Goodie bags in every order
- $10 off when you spend $100 or more
Remember, a number of people are looking to order a lot of food and drinks for their Halloween parties. When deciding which business to order from, many patrons consider prices. This makes it important to create holiday promotions for large orders.
4. Use Themed Packaging Supplies
Your customers eat with their eyes, and the first thing they see when they receive their orders is the packaging. To create a great first impression and elevate the aesthetics of meals, consider using Halloween take out containers. Themed packaging supplies allow you to complement your limited-time menu items and enhance your customers' overall off-premise dining experience. Patrons will appreciate the details you take in making their Halloween orders special and may choose to order from your restaurant for their next holiday party.
5. Dress Up Your Off-Premise Dining Services
When customers pick up their orders at your operation or when delivering food to their homes, you typically interact with them for a few seconds or minutes. Although it may not seem like much time, the interaction impacts your customers’ overall take out or delivery experience. To prove to patrons that your business is going above and beyond to provide them with a memorable Halloween, we’ve created a list on how you can spookify your off-premise dining services:
- Encourage employees to wear costumes: Most individuals associate Halloween with costumes. Allow your staff to dress up to provide off-premise customers with a taste of your business's Halloween spirit. You can create a costume contest for team members and give a prize to everyone's favorite costume.
- Decorate your establishment: Decorate the entrance, pickup area, and dining area with festive decorations. Customers picking up their meals will immediately notice the time you took to provide them with a unique take out experience. They will remember that and may consider ordering take out or dining at your establishment next Halloween.
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Dress up vehicles: Your delivery vehicle likely features a car-top sign or vehicle wrap that promotes your business. Decorating your delivery vehicle with themed stickers, themed lights, or cobwebs a couple of weeks before Halloween will show locals that your business has spirit. This may encourage them to order meals from your restaurant for their Halloween get-togethers.
Advertise Your Restaurant’s Halloween Offerings
You may implement all of these wonderful Halloween ideas for your restaurant, but what good does that do if customers don't know about it? This makes it vital for you to advertise your plans for the holiday. Use social media to post photos of your Halloween menu items, decorated delivery vehicles, and dressed-up employees. Making your online presence felt and showing customers your unique Halloween offerings will encourage them to order take out or delivery from your business.
You can also use your website or social media to inform guests about your spook-tacular promotions. Include details of your Halloween plans, so customers are well-informed of everything your off-premise services have to offer.
Make Halloween Special For Every Customer
Most restaurants solely focus on making Halloween memorable for dine-in customers. While it's crucial to understand how to make Halloween special for dine-in customers, you should also consider your off-premise customers. Take out and delivery services have seen substantial growth over the last few years, and providing them with a festive dining experience will help increase your customer reach and sales. Simply use themed packaging supplies, create DIY meal kits, or create a Halloween menu to bring your Halloween spirit to customers' homes.
