Friday, January 24, 2025
Most of the walk-in lunch and happy hour business you will get will be from workers and individuals who work near your restaurant. They don’t typically have time to travel a distance during lunch and certainly, for Happy Hour, they like the convenience of sometimes walking down the steps and out the door and right into your place. But these people park in the morning and head right into the office punch the clock and start their day. Some may have been in the building for months and never stepped foot in your dining room. They are too busy doing everything else that they need to do, before hurrying home at day's end.
When we opened one of our restaurants, we were on the first floor of a ten-story office building with a second six-story building adjacent to us. There was a parking garage and every day, people parked, walked out, and went right into their buildings. We wanted them to know about us and develop them as new customers. We are talking 1800 people, and that’s the basis for a lot of great lunches and Happy Hours!
So. We pre-selected some days and ordered some really fun, but inexpensive coffee mugs with our name, web address, and phone number. We set up a table in the courtyard where people had to walk by us to get into their building. We filled the coffee mugs with freshly baked donut holes and two strips of “Candied Bacon”. Thick-cut bacon that we brushed with Brown Sugar. We had a $6.35 coupon (more about that later) to use for lunch or happy hour, a lunch menu for ordering to go, and a nice logo napkin made for a great little handout. Now, when people were walking our way we’d wish them a hearty “Good Morning” and ask if they wanted a little snack to take to their office. We got a pretty good response and people actually sent other employees down to get the prize. People can’t be angry with you for wishing them Good Morning and offering something delicious for free. It was a great means of introduction.
Some of the folks kept the mug and had it in their office and it reminded them that we were right downstairs. Some used the menus over the next two weeks to try us out for lunch. And we became a very popular Happy Hour destination for the folks in our buildings.
So, what do you want to do? Maybe stop in the office and tell them that you have a bag of burritos for their lunch, maybe you have a tray of pasts and plates so that the staff doesn’t have to run out or offer something that you can turn into a breakfast treat. Or set up outside at lunch and announce that the food is free as long as it lasts! Whatever you do, get to know the folks around you and start with a great big…Good Morning!
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Father of Five , married to the love of his life for over 40 years and a business Card that reads; “The Idea Guy”, Steve lives in a world of creativity. He attended the University of Maryland where he majored in mass communications that help to fuel that creative streak. His Foray into Hospitality and his creative ideas and concepts has allowed him to have fun all of his professional career. He has owned five award winning restaurants and that has fueled his passion for “thinking out side of the box”. His restaurants have received accolades including “Top 100 in America” and Steve was named the State of Maryland’s “Restaurateur of the Year”. Steve has a passion for Philanthropy and his Restaurant Group has helped to raise over 7 Million Dollars for Charities. He is passionate about writing, public speaking and Maine Lobster with drawn butter.