Starting a restaurant takes hard work and dedication to your dream. If you’re working hard to create a vegan restaurant, you must build a clientele that celebrates your niche and embraces your vision. The tips below can help you boost visibility in your community.
1- Use Challenge Coins to Promote Support for Local Businesses
A single vegan restaurant will likely have strong connections to local vendors and other small businesses. A wonderful way to build camaraderie between your business and other is to use challenge coins.
Your chosen challenge coins could be used as currency among like-minded businesses. Challenge coins earned or purchased at your business could be used to get a discount at a local tea shop. You could set up a rotating schedule of challenge coin discounts between your restaurant and a local bookstore, farmers market or even a yoga studio.
2- Grown Your Own Produce to Build Excitement
Social media can also be put to terrific use to promote your vegan restaurant. If you’ve got the space, start a garden to grow your own produce. As seasonal favorites come into flower, you could start a countdown to let folks know that strawberries will soon be ripe.
This is also a wonderful chance to do a bit of educating. If you have a supplier that has a table at a farmers market and you’re going to feature dishes that contain okra or eggplant, make sure you post images of these beautiful plants. For those who have never gardened or never harvested their own veggies, you could use this opportunity to educate your clients and build excitement.
Share your special treats with local businesses by sampling. If you know that there’s an accounting firm down the street from you, drop off a small basket of vegan muffins or cookies to share and make sure you leave business cards and your to-go menu. Many businesses with professionals that need to work through lunch will appreciate your ability to feed the masses with good food.
3- Offer Space for Like-Minded Groups and Individuals
If your restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch, it may make sense to open your facility for specific groups in the evenings. You could host book clubs, coffee tastings or a class on growing your own medicines.
You can also make space for others in your community to build their own businesses. Now is also the time to consider catering or putting together special food packages for a local bookstore or a painting party business. If your facility has extra storage spots, you could even make a space for a spiritual group to meet or bring in a speaker with expertise on healthy living.
Your vegan restaurant can become a pillar of the community by offering space to fans of healthy living. You can also build camaraderie between your clients and connections with other small businesses by using challenge coins to boost sales. Increasing your social media presence with regular postings about upcoming vegan treats will boost your visibility and draw in new clients.