Restaurant event ideas that fill a quiet Tuesday

Every restaurant has a night that does not pay its way. Often it is early in the week: the kitchen is fully staffed, the lights are on, and the dining room is a third full. The temptation is to throw a discount at it. A better answer is often an event: a reason for guests to come on that particular night, which brings people who would not otherwise have come and gives the regulars something new.

Not every event works, and some cost more than they bring. A quiz that fills the room with people buying one drink each, or a discount night that moves Friday's guests to Tuesday at a lower price, can leave a venue busier and poorer. The events that work are the ones that suit the venue, fit what the kitchen can do on a quiet night, and are judged on what they earn rather than how full they make the room.

This guide sets out twelve restaurant event ideas that tend to work midweek, what each needs, how to promote them, and how to tell whether one made money. It also names the two formats that lose money almost every time. Every figure in it is an example.

A midweek event has one job: to bring in guests and spend that the night would not otherwise have had, at a profit. That sounds obvious, but it rules out a lot. An event that fills tables with guests who would have come anyway on another night, at a lower price, is not adding trade; it is moving it and discounting it.

Before choosing an event, look at the night it is meant to fill. How many covers does it usually do? What is the average spend? What does it cost to open? Our guide to quiet night trade covers how to read a quiet night honestly, and it is the right starting point.

A fixed menu of small courses, often showing off seasonal dishes or a new direction, at a set price. It sells a reason to come, the kitchen can plan exactly, and the margin per head is usually good. It needs a chef who enjoys it and dishes that can be plated in numbers.

A chef from another kitchen cooks for a night, alone or with yours. It brings their following as well as yours and makes the night feel like an occasion. It needs planning, a clear split of costs and takings, and a kitchen that can work with a visitor.

A set menu matched to a producer's wines, beers or spirits, with the producer present to talk about them. It suits venues with a serious drinks list and sells drinks well. Producers and suppliers will often help with the promotion.

A cuisine, a region, a season or a single ingredient as the theme for a set menu. It needs little extra beyond menu planning and can run monthly. Keep the theme close to what the kitchen does well.

Guests watch or join in as the chef prepares a few dishes, then eat them. It suits smaller groups and venues with a suitable space, and it can be priced well. It needs careful planning for safety and allergens.

A regular, communal evening with a set menu at shared tables, often for a loyal group of guests. It builds a community around the venue and fills the room predictably.

Done well, with a food offer built in, such as sharing plates or a set supper, it can fill a quiet night. Done badly, it fills the room with guests buying one drink. The difference is the food.

Acoustic sets, jazz or local musicians, with dinner. It suits some rooms and some audiences, and it can extend the evening. It needs the right licence and permissions where you trade, and a sound level that still allows conversation.

A night for local residents, businesses or a local cause, with a set menu. It builds goodwill and regulars, and local groups help spread the word.

Invite regulars and newsletter subscribers to try the new menu before it launches, at a set price. It rewards loyal guests, tests the dishes and creates talk.

An early sitting designed for families or for guests who want to eat before something else, with a menu and timing to match. It fills tables that would otherwise be empty at six o'clock without discounting the later sittings.

An evening only for guests on your mailing list or your regulars, with something they cannot get otherwise: a special dish, a tasting, a chance to meet the team. It costs little to promote and strengthens the relationship with your best guests.

Two formats appear on many lists of event ideas and lose money far more often than they make it.

The first is the deep discount night: half price on food, two-for-one mains, a heavily discounted set menu with no other reason to come. It attracts guests who are looking for a bargain rather than for you, many of whom would not return at full price, and it often moves your own regulars from a full-price night to the discounted one. Our guide to fifteen restaurant promotion ideas that are not 2 for 1 covers better alternatives.

The second is the event that fills the room without food: a quiz, a screening or a talk where guests come for the entertainment and buy one drink. The room is busy, the staff work hard, and the till barely moves. Build food into the ticket or the format, or do not run it in a restaurant.

The best event for a venue is one that fits what it already is. A wine bar suits producer evenings and tastings. A family restaurant suits early evening offers and cookery for children. A neighbourhood bistro suits supper clubs and new menu previews for regulars. A venue with a strong chef suits tasting menus and guest chef nights.

Start from three questions. What do our best guests already love about us? What can the kitchen do on a quiet night that it cannot do on a busy one? Which of our guests would come out on that particular night for a reason? An event that answers all three is far more likely to work than one copied from another venue's list.

Ask the team too. Chefs, bartenders and servers often have ideas for events they would enjoy running, and an event the team is excited about tends to be better than one imposed on them.

Partners make events easier and reach further. A wine producer brings expertise, stock and sometimes a following. A local brewery, a bakery, a cheesemaker or a farm can co-host an evening built around their produce. A guest chef brings their own audience. A local club, charity or business group brings people who already know each other.

Agree the terms in writing: who pays for what, how the takings are split, who promotes the event and how, and what happens if numbers are low. A clear agreement keeps the partnership friendly and makes the next event easier to arrange.

A quiet night is quiet for the kitchen too, which is an advantage: there is time for a set menu, a tasting or a demonstration that would be impossible on a Saturday. But an event still needs planning.

Our guide to plate cost shows how to cost each course.

The floor team makes or breaks an event. Brief them on the format, the timings, the menu and the drinks, and give one person responsibility for the event as a whole. If guests are seated together, plan the room so that service flows. If there is a speaker or a performer, agree when they start and how service works around them.

Make sure the team knows how the event is priced and what is included, so they can answer questions and sell the extras, such as matched drinks, without awkwardness.

Price events from what they need to earn, not from what feels right. For a set-menu event, add up the food cost per head, the drinks if included, any extra costs such as a guest chef's fee or a performer, and the margin you need, and set the price from that. Then check it against what guests would expect to pay for that kind of evening.

Decide whether to sell tickets in advance or take bookings as usual. Tickets give certainty and reduce no-shows, which matters for events with a fixed menu and limited places. Normal bookings are simpler and suit informal events. If you take payment in advance, be clear about refunds.

Event marketing for a single venue does not need much money. It needs a few weeks' notice and the channels you already have.

Give enough notice. Two to four weeks is usually right for a ticketed event; a week can be enough for an informal one.

After each event, judge it on numbers rather than atmosphere. A full, happy room is pleasant; it is only a success if it earned more than the night would have otherwise.

A simple check:

An invented example: a Tuesday usually does 30 covers at 38 a head, about 1,140 of sales and perhaps 820 of gross profit. A winemaker dinner does 44 covers at a set price of 65 including matched wines, 2,860 of sales and about 1,700 of gross profit after the wine and food costs, with 150 of extra costs. The event added about 730 of gross profit to the night, and several guests booked again within the month. That event earned its place.

Sometimes an event does not sell as hoped. Decide in advance what you will do: a minimum number below which a ticketed event is moved to another date, with refunds or transfers offered, or a plan to run it smaller in part of the room. Moving an event a week before is better than running it to a half-empty room that disappoints everyone.

If an informal event is quiet on the night, run it anyway and run it well. The guests who came deserve a good evening, and a quiet first event is often how a regular one begins. Note what might have helped, such as more notice, a different night or a different channel, and try again.

One event creates a busy night. A regular event changes the week. A monthly supper club, a weekly tasting menu or a seasonal producer dinner becomes something guests plan around and look forward to, and the planning gets easier each time.

Start with one format that suits the venue, run it a few times, measure each one, and keep it if it earns its place. Add a second only when the first is established.

A year of events is easier to run, and to promote, than one event at a time. Sketch a calendar at the start of the year: a regular monthly format, a few seasonal highlights around the produce and occasions that matter to your guests, and space for the occasional collaboration.

Mark the nights that most need help, usually early in the week and in the quieter months, and put events there. Leave the busy nights alone; they do not need an event, and an event there may take tables from guests who would have come anyway. Share the calendar with the team, so the kitchen can plan menus and the floor can mention upcoming events weeks ahead.

The best events strengthen the relationship with the guests you already have. A new menu preview for regulars, a members' evening or a supper club gives loyal guests a reason to come on a night they would not normally choose, and makes them feel valued rather than marketed to. Our guide to regulars and how a venue makes them on purpose covers the wider approach.

Events also bring new guests, and the best way to turn them into regulars is to invite them back: an email after the event, with consent, and a reason to return.

An event can be supported by modest promotions, the kind of short-term incentive that Wikipedia's article on sales promotion describes, without becoming a discount night: a welcome drink for early bookers, a reduced price for a second ticket bought by a regular, a small gift for guests who bring a friend. Keep promotions specific, time-limited and tied to the event, so they add to it rather than replace it.

servearound handles the parts of an event that run through your tables, your guest list and your emails. Guests book a table for the event on your booking page as they would any night, and the event's set menu can sit on the point of sale so orders reach the kitchen by course. In Campaigns, an email about the event can go to guests who have opted in, or to a segment of them, such as your regulars.

Analytics shows covers by day and the menu report shows what sold, so you can compare the event night with an ordinary one. servearound does not sell event tickets or take prepayment today, so ticketed events are sold separately and the guests' bookings added to the floor plan. See the reservations module.

Formats that give guests a reason to come on that night and suit the kitchen: tasting menus, producer dinners, guest chefs, themed menus, supper clubs, new menu previews and regulars' evenings.

Deep discount nights and events that fill the room without food. Both create a busy room and a weak till.

Add the food and drink cost per head, any extra costs such as a guest chef or performer, and the margin you need, then check the price against what guests would expect to pay.

Two to four weeks for a ticketed event, about a week for an informal one.

For events with a fixed menu and limited places, tickets give certainty and reduce no-shows. For informal events, normal bookings are simpler.

Compare its gross profit, after extra costs, with what the same night would usually leave, and look at whether it brought new guests who returned.

Start with one regular format, monthly for example, measure it, and add another only once the first is established.

Some do, such as live music or extended hours, depending on where you trade. Check the rules with your local authority before announcing anything.

Yes, especially events for existing guests, such as new menu previews and supper clubs, and follow-up invitations to new guests who came to an event.

A midweek event should bring in guests and spend the night would not otherwise have had, at a profit. Formats that work include tasting menus, guest chefs, producer dinners, themed menus, cookery demonstrations, supper clubs, quizzes and music with food built in, community nights, new menu previews, early evening offers and regulars' evenings. Deep discount nights and food-free events lose money almost every time.

Cost the menu, plan the kitchen and the floor, give the event an owner, and promote it through your mailing list, social accounts, team and partners with a few weeks' notice. Judge each event on the gross profit it added compared with an ordinary night, and on whether new guests returned. Then run the ones that work regularly, so a quiet night becomes one guests plan around.