It’s March, which means Mother's Day is fast approaching. For restaurants, this is an opportunity to create memorable dining experiences for your guests.

It also means you should begin promoting any special Mother’s Day dishes or events to families planning to dine out. 

According to 2023 research by the National Retail Federation (NRF), 84% of the US population celebrates Mother's Day.

But that’s not all. NRF research also found that Mother’s Day spending more than doubled from $15.7 billion in 2007 to $35.7 billion in 2023.

Among the top ways consumers celebrate Mother’s Day is by buying gifts and dining out. This is an opportunity for restaurants to entice guests and increase seasonal sales.

Keep reading to uncover Mother’s Day ideas for your restaurant, along with preparation tips. After all, no one likes last-minute prepping and decisions.

Dining out on Mother’s Day: The Stats

Many consumers like to take their mothers out for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

Roughly 27% of adult consumers in a 1,000-person survey in the US said they’re planning to dine out on Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, 18% plan to order takeout, while “some” said they “plan to do both on Mother’s Day,” according to the National Restaurant Association.

Of those planning to eat out, several said they were on the lookout for special menus and discounts. 

In terms of food, 46% of diners searched for “special Mother’s Day menus,” while 44% “hoped for a free add-in for mom.” Add-ins varied from special cocktails to desserts to flowers to chocolate. In addition, 41% said they wanted a Mother’s Day discount.

It’s worth noting that customers celebrating Mother’s Day said lunch (48%) and dinner (45%) were their top choices for dining out. Meanwhile, 30% opted for brunch, and 21% said they’d go for breakfast. 

Prepare your restaurant for Mother’s Day

To stand out on Mother’s Day, you need to make a few preparations to get guests to come on that specific day or around that time. 

Why would guests celebrate Mother’s Day at your restaurant rather than any of your competitors?

Here are several tips to help you prepare for the big day.  

Create a social media marketing campaign

Start by developing a social media campaign that targets potential guests and encourages them to make reservations through Facebook and Instagram, or your website. 

Include enticing, visually appealing images of your restaurant on that special day along with potential offers.

Send a special newsletter

If you send a monthly newsletter to your guests and readers, make sure you promote your Mother's Day offerings.

Use colorful designs to make your restaurant newsletter stand out. Give your guests a sneak peek of your Mother's Day plans, including images of your restaurant's dishes, changes in setting, among others. 

Don't forget to add your reservation widget for Mother's Day so guests can book directly from your newsletter.

If you’re using SerVme, our UTM link feature will help you track the number of people who clicked your booking link along with other details like how many people booked.

Create an email marketing campaign

Email marketing lets you communicate efficiently with your guests. Create an email campaign specifically for Mother’s Day, highlighting your deals, offers, and discounts.

Unlike your newsletter, restaurant email campaigns should have a single target or call-to-action. In this case, it’s getting more bookings for Mother’s Day. 

If you’re using SerVme, you can use the auto-tagging feature to segment guests and send different email campaigns to different guests.

Create an SMS campaign

Not all guests respond to email campaigns. Understand your guests’ behavior and decide whether you should send them an email or SMS marketing campaign. 

Sending an SMS campaign gives guests the opportunity to make plans to dine at your restaurant.

Be sure to include a booking link in your SMS campaign to increase reservations for Mother’s Day breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.

Prepare a special Mother’s Day digital menu 

Creating a Mother's Day menu is a great way to attract both new and returning customers to your restaurant. 

To do this, select new menu items and add them to a special-themed digital menu for that special day.

As seen in the survey by the National Restaurant Association, 46% of respondents wanted “special Mother’s Day menus.” 

With digital menus, it’s easy to cater to customers’ needs. You don’t need 10 dishes. But creating 2 main courses, a couple of desserts, and a few beverages can do wonders.

Not only that, you can get guests to tell you about their favorite dishes and beverages. You can also ask them to make recommendations using automated guest surveys, through platforms like SerVme. 

Guests in the National Restaurant Association survey also noted they wanted restaurants that offered “free add-in[s] for mom.” These could be anything from special chocolates, flowers, desserts, or cocktails. 

Adding chocolate desserts to your Mother’s Day menu can be a win-win for guests looking to try limited-time menu items and celebrate a special person in their lives. 

Alternatively, you can create a complete dining experience with a special full-course Mother's Day menu, including soup, salad, a main course, dessert, and a beverage.

You can use SerVme’s ticketed-menu feature to collect full in-advance payments for full-course Mother’s Day menus.

Give priority booking to regulars

Got regular, loyal guests who visit your restaurant frequently? Or maybe you have VIP guests with average checks. Give those loyal, VIP guests preference when making an online booking. 

Create an email or SMS campaign specifically for them and let them book tables before everyone else. 

Reduce wait times with reservation software

Waiting in line for a table at a restaurant or discovering there are no available tables can be very frustrating (and embarrassing). Especially if you’re taking your mum or family out to lunch or dinner. 

Avoid the lengthy waitlist and wait times for your guests and make their Mother’s Day dining experience memorable with reservation management software, like SerVme.

Let guests know they can book in-advance with a few clicks. Not only will they not have to wait to be seated, but also they don’t need to exert any effort to make a booking. 

If you’re using SerVme, you can also get guests to join your waitlist. Communicate with them with SMS messages so they don’t wait in line and share your digital menu to speed up ordering. 

Mother’s Day ideas for restaurants

Now, let’s look at ways to increase reservations for Mother’s Day at your restaurant. 

Offer free desserts or beverages

The most important thing to remember about Mother's Day is that mothers deserve to be treated with kindness, whether it's through thoughtful gifts, delicious food and drinks, or even a complimentary meal or dessert.

Give guests what they’re looking for and include special add-ins for those treating their mothers to a special meal. Add-ins can include special or free beverages or cocktails, chocolates, desserts, or something else. 

To make the celebration even more special, consider offering a dessert or a drink on the house. Or go all out and provide a free meal for the ‘mom’ in the group. 

Don't forget to advertise these promotions on your online menu so that customers who order online can take advantage of the Mother's Day deals.

Hold special events

Mother's Day is a wonderful opportunity for families to come together and enjoy a meal at a restaurant. 

Make the dining experience even more special by hosting an event with live music or a band. 

Make sure you start marketing this event at least two weeks in advance and collect guest bookings and deposits. 

This way, you can ensure that you have a full house and know when seats are available for walk-in guests.

Create a chocolate or dessert tasting event

If you have a large dessert menu, you can do a sampling platter for guests on Mother’s Day. 

Offer a chocolate-tasting experience, then ask mothers about their favorites from the platter. Then create a free personalized box of mini chocolates or desserts containing Mom's favorite flavors from the tasting.

Conclusion 

Mother’s Day is an important celebration whether you’re in the Middle East or anywhere in the world. Mothers should be celebrated every day for the sacrifices they make. But we’ll settle for Mother’s Day for now. 

You can take your Mother’s Day dining experience a step further and ask guests, or mothers, about their birthdays. Add the information to your guest CRM so you can send personalized emails and offers ahead of their birthdays to increase guest retention and repeat business.

If you’re in the Middle East, Mother’s Day will coincide with Ramadan in 2024 and 2025. You can incorporate Mother’s Day ideas with Ramadan restaurant ideas for a flavorful dining experience. 

Want to see how a reservation and event management software like SerVme can help you? Book a quick demo to learn more.

SerVme helps you take and manage online reservations, online and in-person waitlists, build and manage your restaurant CRM, increase customer loyalty, create digital menus, and much more. 

Book a quick and free demo call today!