Program for Unique Holidays: October 2024
by David Klemt
Do you want to stand out from from other restaurants and bars in your area? Change how you think about your October holiday programming.
Several holidays are set against every date on the calendar, and this month is no exception. These holidays range from mainstream to esoteric.
Pay attention to the “weird” or unique holidays to raise eyebrows, carve out a niche for your restaurant or bar, and attract more guests. Why do what everyone else is already doing? Why program only around the same holidays as everyone else?
To provide a handful of examples, October boasts celebrations of the cheeseburger, the double cheeseburger, cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, beer, and guacamole. Those are fantastic F&B holidays sure to appeal to your guests. However, you can still celebrate some “out there” holidays to get people’s attention and draw them to your business.
Of course, you shouldn’t try to celebrate every holiday, strange or otherwise. Focus on the days that are authentic to your brand; resonate with your guests; and help you grab attention on social media.
You’ll find suggestions for promotions below. However, the idea behind our monthly holiday promotions roundup is to inspire you and your team to get creative and come up with unique programming ideas.
For our September 2024 holidays list, click here.
October 1: The New National Taco Day
That’s right; National Taco Day has changed! You can read my article addressing this change here for more details, but what you need to know is that from today onward, National Taco Day will always fall on a Taco Tuesday.
October 2: Walk Your Dog Week
If your venue is dog friendly, and you operate in at least a decently walkable city or town, this is a great week to invite your guests to pop in for a dog treat, a bite, and a drink with their best friends.
October 4: Plaidurday
This day is dedicated to plaid. Plaid shirts, plaid pants, plaid shoes, plaid hats, plaid coats, plaid scarves, kilts featuring a tartan… If it’s plaid, encourage your guests to come by your place while they’re wearing it.
October 11: It’s My Party Day
Okay, this is an odd one. Really, it’s all about nostalgia. Technically, it’s about people revisiting their sweet sixteen parties, which is incredibly specific. Personally, I’d tap into your understanding of your guests and come up with a nostalgic theme that will appeal to them. After all, October is all about dressing up and themed parties.
October 12: National Motorcycle Ride Day
If your venue is motorcycle friendly, encourage your guests who ride to organize a ride, with a stop at your business to relax and refuel.
October 15: National Chicken Cacciatore Day
Recently, we addressed the importance of putting your spin on classic comfort foods. Chicken cacciatore, a recipe that’s about 600 years old, certainly falls into this category; it’s a classic comfort food, and your kitchen team can certainly put their own take on it.
October 21: Apple Day
We also addressed applejack, America’s first native spirit, just yesterday. Sure, you can do caramel apples or apple pie to celebrate this day, but I think you should bring your bar team into the mix, and create an LTO menu featuring applejack cocktails.
October 24: National Food Day
It sounds like this holiday is incredibly open ended, doesn’t it? A blank slate for any cuisine or food item you want to program a holiday promotion to leverage.
However, it’s specifically focused on featuring natural foods. For tips on how to build a natural, farm-to-table menu, check out KRG Hospitality chef consultant Nathen Dubé’s article here.
October 25: Chucky, the Notorious Killer Doll Day
I’ve included this because, wow, is it specific. It’s also a great day to play the Child’s Play movies and Chucky television show, within the confines of the proper licenses, of course.
October 30: National Candy Corn Day
Candy corn sucks, and if you agree (which means you’re correct), you’ll use this day to campaign against this food crime against nature.
Image: Ivan Bertolazzi on Pexels
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