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Blog / April 7, 2023

9 Mother’s Day Marketing Ideas To Make More Money At Your Restaurant

mother's day restaurant ideas
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Molly Weinberg

Mother’s Day is approaching, which means families are going to be dining out and spending more to celebrate Mom. This annual tribute to Moms is a $31.7 billion industry that’s celebrated by 84% of the population. You should get your piece of the pie.

Here are nine Mother’s Day marketing ideas to help you maximize revenue this year.

1. Offer Upgrades

Upgrades allow guests to add-on services, gifts and special menu items to their reservation to customize their dining experience and make Mom feel loved.

Using a reservation system that allows you to offer upgrades during the booking process and collect pre-payment is a great way to earn additional revenue before the guests even walk in the door. Plus, it’s a convenient and easy way for guests to know they’ve handled this treat for Mom before their arrival.

The National Restaurant Association survey found that, when deciding on a restaurant to dine in, consumers want specials and discounts. Examples of upgrades include:

  • Flower arrangement at the table
  • A box of chocolates for Mom
  • A bottle of champagne waiting at the table
  • A wine pairing to complement the meal
  • A special off-menu dessert at the end of the meal


Here’s what the upgrade process can look like in real life when using a reservation system that has upgrade offerings pre-built into the platform:

mother's day restaurant idea upsell

2. Create Unique Experiences

With 57% of spenders putting their money toward a special outing for Mom, why not offer up something different than their normal dining experience? Food is still the focal point of a restaurant, but the total ‘experience’ is quickly becoming just as important. This is especially true when you consider who will make reservations for Mother’s Day: Millennials. According to a recent SevenRooms study, nearly three out of four millennials prefer to spend money on experiences rather than material goods.

Here are a few unique experiences to consider:

  1. Craft a mom-inspired cocktail for a special toast 
  2. Incorporate flowers into a new dessert item
  3. Give a flower to every Mom who dines with you
  4. Offer private kitchen tours 
  5. Book live music to play softly in the background
  6. Pair the meal with an activity, like painting, cocktail tutorials, pasta-making or succulent and other plant arrangements 

There are endless opportunities to wow your guests on this special holiday — but to guarantee reservations, you must make these experiences known to guests during booking. Customize what your guests see when they search for reservations, highlighting specific time slots for your Mother’s Day experience, and showcasing details on the offering including a description, pricing and photos.

3. Encourage Reservations

Speaking of reservations, allowing your guests to pre-book your planned experiences or a seat at your table can help ensure you avoid long wait times. If you’re offering a special menu, reservations also give you insight into how much you’ll need to order to eliminate food waste. Ensure that you have set cut-off times for pre-purchasing experiences to ensure a sufficient amount of inventory is available.

To see other types of experiences in action, check out SevenRooms’ guide, 3 Tips for Driving More Revenue from your Reservation Book.

4. Offer a Special Mother’s Day Menu

Brunch is a tried-and-true go-to for curated “special occasion” menu ideas, but consider building a special breakfast or dinner menu. According to the survey, 45% of families planned to go out for dinner, while 30% met for Mother’s Day brunch, and 21% for breakfast. 

Remember that your special menu doesn’t have to follow the traditional order. If you’re looking to spice up your Mother’s Day brunch or dinner offerings, consider creating a chocolate-tasting menu paired with champagne or berries. Even better, send mom home with a box of chocolates that she customized herself based on her favorites from the tasting.

5. Send Your Loyal Customers an Early Offer

It’s important to share your Mother’s Day specials with the world, but it is a nice perk for your most loyal guests (i.e. your VIPs) to let them in on the news first. And communicating with your most loyal customers often sees the best engagement. Consider broadcasting your Mother’s Day marketing ideas and Mother’s Day menu to your loyalty members via email or SMS messages.

mother's day brunch

Pro tip: A personal message goes a long way! SevenRooms’ Email Marketing solution built for restaurants gives you the option to send personalized messages at scale.

mother's day menu idea

6. Post an Event on Social Media

Market Mother’s Day as an event at your restaurant and advertise your special offers on social media. Establish a start and end time, and craft an event description detailing your activities, specials or Mother’s Day restaurant promotions. Export the names and emails of your top guests and target them with paid marketing on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

When you’re setting up these restaurant marketing campaigns across your channels, we recommend using a special URL or adding parameters to help you track the campaign’s success. This helps you know which channels showed the best return on investment (ROI).

7. Make It a Mimosa Morning

Mimosas, fruit juice and charcuterie are among the fastest-rising ingredients and flavors for Mother’s Day. To bring more Moms through the door, offer mimosa drink specials (or make them bottomless) that pair perfectly with breakfast and brunch items.

8. Execute Off-Premise Online Ordering

Some Moms might prefer to stay at home and relax their big day. Make it easy for loved ones to spoil them with a scrumptious home with delivery and pickup option.

Offer online packages that provide a three- or four-course meal at home, complete with flowers, champagne and dessert. Print out special cards with a QR code to a celebratory playlist or a Happy Mother’s Day message. Or add in surprise-and-delights, like creamy cheesecake or a simple but stunning bellini recipe, helping make Mother’s Day at home extra special.

mother's day brunch


FYI:  SevenRoom’s online ordering platform helps you seamlessly accept and execute to-go meals by taking payments ahead of time to guarantee revenue. Plus, by using direct technology to facilitate these orders, you’ll have access to all the data you need to welcome guests back for other special occasions, like Father’s Day in June.

9. Gift a Second Visit

While you’ve got your customer’s attention, why not cement your place in their minds as the “go-to” celebration spot? Offer your guests who dined with you on Mother’s Day complimentary gift cards to score a discount on their second visit — say, for Father’s Day, graduation day, or future birthdays. This is one of the easiest strategies to capitalize on the holiday traffic and keep customers coming back to your restaurant.

These are just a few ideas of how to creatively maximize your reservation book this Mother’s Day. The Mother’s Day marketing ideas described above can be applied to any holiday where people think about dining out.

For more information on how to make holiday experiences and upgrades a part of your booking process, schedule a demo with SevenRooms.

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