In such a competitive industry, even top restaurants have to work on building sales each year. So we asked the operators who earned a spot on Restaurant Business’ Top 100 Independents ranking what worked for them this past year. By far, special events were the most popular tactic for growing sales, with everything from holiday celebrations to in-house-specific events. Here, a list of the specific events that worked, along with the three other top means for boosting sales.
Special events
Lunch-and-learn events
—Tao Downtown, Tao Uptown, Lavo NY
Wine week and Kentucky Derby party at Wollensky’s Grill
—Smith & Wollensky
Chinese New Year events in early part of the winter
—Buddakan NY
Wine week
—Quality Meats, Quality Italian
Opening for brunch on holidays when we would not normally be open
—Le Diplomate
Word of mouth
Concierges, word of mouth and repeat business
—Old Ebbitt, The Hamilton
Word of mouth
—Prime 112
Education and personal recommendations
—Tao Las Vegas
Websites/social media
Updating website image
—Bottega Louie
Social media
—The Hamilton
Smart partnerships
Partnering with corporate neighbors
—Bob Chinn’s
Strategic partnerships and participation in citywide culinary programs
—21 Club
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