MustHaveMenus Blog - Menu Design and Restaurant Marketing Ideas

As part of last month’s interface redesign, Facebook subtly launched a new feature: a blue search bar at the top of your news feed offers to search “Restaurants Nearby.” A user can instantly browse a list of restaurants in the area, and then click through to those restaurants’ Facebook Pages to see hours, menus, and ordering information. With thousands of restaurants already in the system, Facebook is positioned to compete with Yelp, UrbanSpoon and Google for that irresistible market: becoming the go-to tool to help consumers decide where to go for dinner tonight.

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Restaurant celebrates Mother’s Day with live music, gift cards & more

May 12th will be the first Mother’s Day at The Black Rose, which has been open just 7 months under its new name. But it’s not manager Scott Meland’s first Mother’s Day in the restaurant business. “It’s an exciting day—very busy—and I really enjoy seeing all the families together.” One of his chefs always works on Mother’s Day as a way to remember and honor his mother who died 4 years ago. It’s a day that tugs at heartstrings, that’s for sure.

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Our team has been thrilled to hear all your enthusiastic feedback about our new Print Services, and we’re always looking for better ways to serve our restaurants. This month we’ve launched three helpful new print options:

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More than 75 million people take Mom out to eat on Mother’s Day, making it the busiest dining-out day of the year. How can you entice them to celebrate at your restaurant on May 12th? Here are 5 great ideas for making Mother’s Day memorable this year.

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April might be light on holidays this year, but you can still find great opportunities to run promotions this month. Creative promotions help you build community spirit, give your regulars a little variety, and draw new diners to fill the seats. From spring flavors to tax day to community events, we’ve got 6 great ideas to make April a profitable month.

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This month, we’re excited to announce our gift to you – Gift Certificates are now available for pro printing! This hot product is a simple low-cost marketing tool. A little sign on your hostess stand lets loyal diners know you offer gift certificates, so they can share their enthusiasm for your restaurant. Your customers get to share their favorite cuisine, and you gain new diners. Win-win!

It only takes about 30 seconds to customize our gift certificate templates with your restaurant’s info. When you order prints, you can opt for numbering (and you choose the starting number). They’re printed on sturdy, glossy paper and trimmed to size. Our printer even includes snazzy gift envelopes that say “a gift for you” in a fancy font.

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Easter is a big family holiday, and it’s increasingly common to celebrate the occasion by dining out. With a little planning and some great Easter designs from MustHaveMenus, you can make Easter Sunday a memorable feast for your customers.

Hop To It

Brunch is the most popular meal for dining out on Easter Sunday, which is a profitable opportunity for restaurants. Whether you opt for a buffet, prix fixe holiday menu, or just a few Easter specials, you can feature upscale versions of traditional breakfast dishes, such as brioche french toast, eggs benedict or spring veggie omelets. Smoked ham and leg of lamb can be roasted in advance and carved to order. And morning cocktails—mimosa, bellini, bloody mary—are an easy upsell.

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Last year, we brought you a popular post called Five Restaurant Menu Design Fails. It was very popular and we thought it was time to bring up a few new ways that menu design fails can hurt your business. But this time we’re offering some surefire fixes to keep your menu top-notch and top of mind.

Menu Design Fail #1 – Scratching through or “whiting out” prices instead of creating a new menu.

Sure, it’s easy, but what impression are you putting forth for your customers? When you don’t keep a source file easily accessible, this may seem like the only option if you suddenly need to change a price or take something off the menu.

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