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If you are a restaurant, cafe or bar, you SHOULD be celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day….and Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, Groundhog Day, National Ice Cream Day and any other day you can jump on to increase sales.  You don’t have to be a bar and sell green beer. McDonald’s has practically built an icon with Shamrock shakes.  I’m dating myself but do you remember Uncle O Grimacey? I wonder why McDonald’s no longer uses overweight monsters to market their food programs???

Every year McDonald’s spike shake sales for their normal vanilla shake by adding what is basically green corn syrup.  Brilliant from a marketing point of view!  And don’t even get me started on the sheer genius of selling potatoes, carrots, cabbage and rye bread (with a side of corned beef) as an entree.  What is cheaper than cabbage, potatoes and carrots??? I guarantee the food costs on that plate make your accountant and Uncle O Grimacey smile!

Ok, so you don’t sell beer or entrees?  What about breakfast items like irish tea, scones, bangers?  How about irish oatmeal or Baileys Irish Cream french toast?  For lunch you can easily go with the classic rueben or bangers and mash and irish stew.  Get creative or just Google recipes and copy them.  And easiest of all, make sure your serving green desserts and drinks of several types.  Customers like to try new things, celebrate silly holidays and have fun.  Build fun and food around your place and your customers might just kiss you for it!

Two last bits that are a MUST:

Make sure you advertise your events and/or specials at least 2-3 weeks in advance. In house advertising is fine as long as it’s prominent (i.e. windows, table tents, bar, menus, check book).

Make sure the staff is in on the advertising campaign, knows whats going on, tastes the new items and works to sell them to every customer!