Stand Out with Weird Holidays: October
by David Klemt
Want to stand out from from other restaurants and bars in your area? Then commit to keeping it weird.
Several “holidays” are set against every date on the calendar, and October is no exception. These holidays range from mainstream—Halloween, anyone?—to food-centric to weird.
Pay attention to the latter to raise eyebrows, carve out a niche for your restaurant or bar, and attract more guests. Why do what everyone else is already doing?
Of course, you shouldn’t try to celebrate every holiday, weird or otherwise. And this month’s list in no way includes every odd holiday.
Focus on the days that are authentic to your brand; resonate with your guests; and help you grab attention on social media.
For September’s list, click here.
October 3: National Boyfriend Day
I’m pretty sure you understand exactly what this holiday honors and how to encourage guests to celebrate it. Invite people into your restaurant or bar to treat their boyfriend to a bite, drink, and good time.
October 6: National Noodle Day
Do you have noodles? Like to sell them to guests? Enjoy creating LTOs and specialty noodle dishes? This is the holiday to celebrate all of your favorite things with your guests.
October 8: National Fluffernutter Day
Ah, Fluffernutter. Marshmallow fluff resonates with a lot of people, particularly ’80s and ’90s kids. National Fluffernutter Day is the perfect holiday to leverage nostalgia, creative cocktails and desserts, cooling temperatures, and candy.
October 9: National Motorcycle Ride Day
One of the best parts about cruising in a group on motorcycles is stopping to refuel at a restaurant or bar. Encourage your bike-riding guests to begin, take a break during, or end their group ride at your venue.
October 11: National Kick Butt Day
No, this isn’t a day about literally kicking any butts. Instead, this holiday is about motivating people to take the necessary steps to realize their dreams and achieve their goals. Encourage your guests to take steps to reach their goals and celebrate doing so at your business.
October 13: National Emergency Nurse’s Day
Nurses always deserve our thanks. However, I think we can all agree that the past 18 months have been particularly difficult and overwhelming for nurses. Offer the emergency room nurses (all nurses, really) an amazing food or drink promotion to thank them for all they do.
October 15: National Grouch Day
While this holiday focuses on letting people let their grouch flag fly, operators can take a different direction. Why not offer people a place and promotion to get out of their funk through great food, amazing drinks, and a fantastic time?
October 17: Wear Something Gaudy Day
I mean, this holiday is two weeks out from Halloween—people are willing to make any excuse to dress up.
October 21: Get to Know Your Customers Day
Do you really want to boost your bottom line? Get to know your customers. Really, this holiday is for you. Use this day to implement guest data-collecting practices and train your team to obtain this valuable information. Learn more about why and how to build a guest database on episode 51 of Bar Hacks with Matt Plapp.
October 25: Sourest Day
There are multiple ways to approach Sourest Day. Some say it’s about eliminating the “sour” people in our lives. Others use it to enjoy sour candies which, admittedly, is perfect for Halloween month. For operators, promoting sour beers and cocktails is likely a winning strategy.
October 29: National Breadstick Day
Unless someone is counting their carbs strictly, everyone enjoys a breadstick. In reality, not many people have the discipline to enjoy just one. If you’ve got breadsticks on your menu, you know what to do on this holiday.
Image: Dan Parlante on Unsplash