One of the biggest holidays is here again to ring in the summer season – the Fourth of July. A record high of 70% of U.S. adults say they are comfortable dining out once again and 84% plan on celebrating this Independence Day, making it a fantastic opportunity to drive traffic to your restaurant.
America celebrates its freedom during this holiday, but people are also celebrating freedom from stay-at-home orders and COVID restrictions this year. Nonetheless, you can also expect many red, white, and blue activities going down, including barbecues, color-themed desserts, festive and boozy drinks, and so much more.
Do you have this year’s holiday promotions in place? To help, we’ve rounded up our top promotions and ideas to attract customers and make your restaurant patriotic this Fourth of July.
1. Promotions & Discounts
Customers are always looking to save some green during the red, white, and blue festivities. Offering a discount, holiday specials, or a free drink is a great way to draw in traffic and boost your holiday sales.
For example, let’s look at some popular Fourth of July promotions that have been done in the past:
- Firehouse Subs offered their rewards members a chance to earn 1,776 bonus points when they purchased on July 4th, as a tribute to the U.S.A’s founding year.
- Krispy Kreme introduced ‘Indoughpendence Day Doughnuts’ featuring special edition donuts such as the Strawberry Sparkler and Original Filled Freedom Ring Doughnut, and BOGO Free Dozens.
Here are a few ways to expand on the ideas above and apply them to your restaurant:
- Offer free delivery on online ordering with the code “FIREWORKS.”
- Give a discount of $4 off online orders using the code “JULY4.”
- Sell a bucket of beer or seltzers for $17.76.
- Create a holiday menu that features items for $7.04 (America’s birthday).
- BOGO beer or burger specials.
2. Festive Menu Specials
The Fourth of July is the perfect opportunity to highlight iconic American food and some fun red, white, and blue items. Creating festive food & drink specials will help set your restaurant apart from those who aren’t celebrating.
Update your holiday menu to feature your best hamburgers, chicken, and other BBQ essentials like mac and cheese. For drinks, you could do mimosa or cocktail flights featuring red, white, and blue flavors. Some other ideas are:
- Strawberry/Blueberry Mojitos
- Watermelon or Strawberry Margarita – add a Tajin rim and make it spicy!
- Sangria with white wine – incorporate any red and blue fruit
- Strawberry Daiquiri – a classic summer drink
- Mermaid Lemonade – Blue Curacao, Rum, and Lemonade
- Toasted Marshmallow Shots
- Red, white, & blue Jello Shots
3. Emphasize Your Beer
Did you know that July 4th is the top beer-drinking holiday? On this day alone, Americans spend over $1 billion on beer.
Consider offering $2 off beer during happy hour or partnering with a local brewery to sell a limited-edition patriotic beer. You could even run some discounted growler specials so customers can take extra beer home with them to continue the celebration.
Guests want a beer that’s going to be refreshing and pairs with all their BBQ. Consider adding summer wheat beers, pale ales, IPAs, and lagers to your beer list.
4. Host a Contest or Giveaway
Contests and giveaways are a great way to boost engagement from your customers around the holidays. Specifically for the Fourth of July, here are some contests you could run:
- Hot dog eating contest
- Contest for most patriotic apparel
- American-themed trivia night
- Have guests create patriotic names for your dishes
- Karaoke contest of classic Independence Day songs
- Kids coloring contest of the American Flag
Some Fourth of July giveaways ideas are:
- Four gift card giveaways of $50 to represent America’s 50 states
- Vouchers for four free drinks
- Grill-at-home BBQ Kits – Steaks, burgers, buns, etc.
- Festive decorations package – American flag paper plates & napkins, decorative streamers, sparklers, etc.
5. Offer Holiday Meal Kits
During last year’s Fourth of July, restaurants discovered the importance of offering meal kits for families and parties that wanted to celebrate at home. As a result, family-style meal kits are part of the norm now for restaurants, and you should be promoting them for the holiday weekend.
6. Be Kid-Friendly
Most families are going to be seeking out restaurants that offer something for their kids. One thing you can consider doing to be more kid-friendly is by offering red, white, and blue crayons and a blank placemat for drawing. You could turn this into a kid’s contest for drawing a patriotic picture, as listed above.
Offering a festive kids menu can also help you attract families through your doors featuring items such as mini corn dogs, tater tots, and red, white, and blue desserts.
7. Welcome Guests on Your Patio
Patio season is in full effect, and what better way to attract guests than by offering the best view in town for fireworks? Embrace and highlight the view of your restaurant’s patio if you can see nearby fireworks. Promote your restaurant’s view via social media, and make sure to let your guests know to make reservations because seats will fill up fast.
The Fourth of July is often spent outside celebrating, and regardless if you have views of fireworks or not, having a patio is a significant advantage.
8. Decorate & Let Staff Dress Up
Catch the eyes of celebrators with Fourth of July decor in your restaurant. The decor is something that you can go all out for or do subtly in small ways. For example, any streamers or balloons that are red, white, or blue and American flag-inspired decor are easy go-tos.
Lastly, let your staff take a day break from their standard uniforms and let them break out their most patriotic attire. Having all your staff dressed up is great to show off on social media and can help you promote you’re open for the holiday.
It’s time for a celebration
The Fourth of July is sure to see big crowds with many customers not visiting their favorite restaurants or bars for over a year. Use the promotions and ideas above to sparkle some festive flare in your restaurant and entice your guests to spend the holiday with you.
Stay safe, and cheers! Mad Mobile wishes you a Happy Fourth of July.
