Great Ways to Celebrate the Birthday of Your Restaurant, Cafe or Bar
People love to see a business thrive, especially regular customers who have watched your journey. An annual birthday celebration is a great opportunity to share the joy and strengthen loyalty. Not sure of the exact date? No worries, just make one up! Once you’ve decided, here are some simple ways to spread the word – social media and photos are your best friends for this!
ABirthday Week, Not Just One Day: milk this for all you can – start promoting in the week before, so people take notice. You could even do a countdown sign – 7, 6, 5, 4…
Birthday Decorations and Atmosphere
Decorate the Place: Change it up with birthday decorations – balloons, streamers, and banners to make it feel festive. Blow up balloons and tie them in bunches, or use the foil ones if you want floating helium balloons – they don’t go down overnight. Staff in birthday party hats? Why not, it’s just for one day 🎉
Big Thank You Signs: In the window – get stick-on letters from a signage shop or a mega-sized poster. When sending out bills, Include your business card with a sticker on the back explaining that it’s your birthday and why you are proud. Or print a special slip with this information – make sure people know why it’s a big deal.
Live Music for a Day: Keep it low key but noticeable – acoustic guitar works best for this, let the guitarist take requests, and of course they sing Happy Birthday on the hour! This is great content to post as Reels or on TikTok.
Sing Happy Birthday: your staff do this for customers, now’s the time to do it throughout the special day. OK, not in the middle of peak hour, but you get the idea. We are hard-wired to respond to this music with a smile and a cheer, so play it up! There are many other Happy Birthday songs (eg Stevie Wonder) – post the YouTube videos of these on Facebook throughout the week.
Birthday Gifts for All
Birthday Cake on the Day: Square cakes are much easier to cut into small pieces, or prepare dozens of tiny cupcakes. Bright icing and a candle – everyone gets a piece.
Candles, Candles, Candles: On all desserts on the day, and maybe there are a couple of big candles on the counter. Label them for what they are, so people don’t think it’s a religious ceremony (!).
Gifts for the Customers: A voucher given out on the day, a free beverage or appetiser – something that will make an impact. Red envelopes also work a treat – bringing people back like a boomerang.
24-Hour Photo Booth: Hire a photo booth with fun props and a branded backdrop for guests to take pictures and share on social media with your #birthdayhashtag
Drink Specials: Offer birthday-themed cocktails or special deals on popular drinks – invent a new one that’s only available on special days like this.
Charity Fundraiser: Partner with a local non-profit or sporting team. Donate a portion of the day’s proceeds or add $2 into a big jar for every customer, whatever’s affordable. Make this part of your existing community support program.
Bring Suppliers to the Party: If there’s a charity event included in the celebrations, suppliers are often happy to provide products to support it in return for recognition – milk for the coffees being given away for a donation, or packaging for the mini-birthday cakes.
Play Up the Nostalgia and the Journey
Boast About Some Numbers: ‘In the two years we’ve been open, we have served more than 100,000 happy customers, poured 36,000 beers and used 1500 kg of strawberries’. You get the idea: the numbers are light-hearted and meant to impress. 100,000 customers over 2 years is still only 1000 per week – maybe your number is more?
Share Old Photos: Put an album together on a noticeboard, or better yet, on Facebook and Instagram. Show them from the beginning: construction work, the old kitchen, the first espresso machine, and some of the original staff. Plus, milestones since then – there are tons of pictures! Create a slideshow video for social media; they’re easy to make, just ask one of your young staff.
Throwback Menu: Offer a couple of the most popular dishes from when you first opened – maybe some are still on the menu?
Customer Stories: Ask customers to share their best memories at your restaurant on social media – send a reminder through your newsletter, and a prize for the best ones will jog some memories.
Where Are They Now? Tell people about staff who’ve moved on (the nice ones), and how many people you’ve employed over the years. It’s another reminder of the value of hospitality, and what you contribute to the area – a major employer.
#Hashtag it: On Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, set up a #hashtag just for the occasion and have an Instagram competition for the person who posts the best photo tagged #BeachsideBirthday (eg for Beachside Cafe).
People love to see a business thrive, especially regular customers who have watched your journey. An annual birthday celebration is a great opportunity to share the joy and strengthen loyalty. Not sure of the exact date? No worries, just make one up! Once you’ve decided, here are some simple ways to spread the word – social media and photos are your best friends for this!
A Birthday Week, Not Just One Day: milk this for all you can – start promoting in the week before, so people take notice. You could even do a countdown sign – 7, 6, 5, 4…
Birthday Decorations and Atmosphere
Decorate the Place: Change it up with birthday decorations – balloons, streamers, and banners to make it feel festive. Blow up balloons and tie them in bunches, or use the foil ones if you want floating helium balloons – they don’t go down overnight. Staff in birthday party hats? Why not, it’s just for one day 🎉
Big Thank You Signs: In the window – get stick-on letters from a signage shop or a mega-sized poster. When sending out bills, Include your business card with a sticker on the back explaining that it’s your birthday and why you are proud. Or print a special slip with this information – make sure people know why it’s a big deal.
Live Music for a Day: Keep it low key but noticeable – acoustic guitar works best for this, let the guitarist take requests, and of course they sing Happy Birthday on the hour! This is great content to post as Reels or on TikTok.
Sing Happy Birthday: your staff do this for customers, now’s the time to do it throughout the special day. OK, not in the middle of peak hour, but you get the idea. We are hard-wired to respond to this music with a smile and a cheer, so play it up! There are many other Happy Birthday songs (eg Stevie Wonder) – post the YouTube videos of these on Facebook throughout the week.
Birthday Gifts for All
Birthday Cake on the Day: Square cakes are much easier to cut into small pieces, or prepare dozens of tiny cupcakes. Bright icing and a candle – everyone gets a piece.
Candles, Candles, Candles: On all desserts on the day, and maybe there are a couple of big candles on the counter. Label them for what they are, so people don’t think it’s a religious ceremony (!).
Gifts for the Customers: A voucher given out on the day, a free beverage or appetiser – something that will make an impact. Red envelopes also work a treat – bringing people back like a boomerang.
24-Hour Photo Booth: Hire a photo booth with fun props and a branded backdrop for guests to take pictures and share on social media with your #birthdayhashtag
Drink Specials: Offer birthday-themed cocktails or special deals on popular drinks – invent a new one that’s only available on special days like this.
Charity Fundraiser: Partner with a local non-profit or sporting team. Donate a portion of the day’s proceeds or add $2 into a big jar for every customer, whatever’s affordable. Make this part of your existing community support program.
Bring Suppliers to the Party: If there’s a charity event included in the celebrations, suppliers are often happy to provide products to support it in return for recognition – milk for the coffees being given away for a donation, or packaging for the mini-birthday cakes.
Play Up the Nostalgia and the Journey
Boast About Some Numbers: ‘In the two years we’ve been open, we have served more than 100,000 happy customers, poured 36,000 beers and used 1500 kg of strawberries’. You get the idea: the numbers are light-hearted and meant to impress. 100,000 customers over 2 years is still only 1000 per week – maybe your number is more?
Share Old Photos: Put an album together on a noticeboard, or better yet, on Facebook and Instagram. Show them from the beginning: construction work, the old kitchen, the first espresso machine, and some of the original staff. Plus, milestones since then – there are tons of pictures! Create a slideshow video for social media; they’re easy to make, just ask one of your young staff.
Throwback Menu: Offer a couple of the most popular dishes from when you first opened – maybe some are still on the menu?
Customer Stories: Ask customers to share their best memories at your restaurant on social media – send a reminder through your newsletter, and a prize for the best ones will jog some memories.
Where Are They Now? Tell people about staff who’ve moved on (the nice ones), and how many people you’ve employed over the years. It’s another reminder of the value of hospitality, and what you contribute to the area – a major employer.
#Hashtag it: On Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, set up a #hashtag just for the occasion and have an Instagram competition for the person who posts the best photo tagged #BeachsideBirthday (eg for Beachside Cafe).
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