Upon walking into a restaurant for a meal you’re met with an overwhelming number of signs. Signs displaying important information for the business to operate and to build atmosphere can be seen throughout the building. Whether it’s a permanent need, like displaying your restaurant name and logo, or a temporary one, like displaying daily specials, restaurants of every type use some kind of signage, every day.
While permanent signs serve an incredibly important role in a restaurant, temporary signs rule the building just by sheer number. Either for promoting certain specials, new menu items, or even specials; temporary signs carry a lot of potential revenue with them. We’ve worked with a lot of restaurants on many occasions to provide them with temporary signage to promote specific marketing decisions, and through our experience we’ve laid out some ideas on different forms of temporary signage for your restaurant.
Advertising a Grand Opening
To kick off the opening of a business right, you’ll need to promote your Grand Opening as much as possible to get your seats filled throughout the day. While there are many ways of promoting your Grand Opening to your surrounding area, signage one of the best means to accomplish your goal. Use eye-catching signs all around town and on your building to gain attention and build hype.
Possibly the best way of promoting a restaurant’s grand opening is by using banners. Our cost-effective banners are durable, water and weather resistant, incredibly easy to install and remove, and made out of some of the highest quality available. Print “Grand Opening”, “Now Open”, or “Coming Soon” written in big letters that will grab anyone’s attention. A big plus for using banners is that it’s nearly impossible for people not to see it because of their size. Banners are generally affordable and flexible in hanging or mounting as per your needs.
Finally banners can also be used for temporary purposes by using velcro, allowing for a banner to be used multiple times. Swap out dates, times and specials with smaller banner pieces that attach to the bigger banner with velcro.
A cheaper option for quick advertising are yard signs. They can be stuck in the ground right in front of the restaurant, on one of the corners of the property, or even around town to get the maximum coverage. The nice thing about yard signs is they’re easy to transport, store and put up. The message can be printed double-sided, so it doesn’t matter which side people see them from.
Promoting Deals, Specials, Menus and Drinks
All restaurants offer some form of deals and specials almost every day, like happy hour or special daily menu items. Whatever the restaurant offers they’ll need a quick and easy way to display and change those specials and unique menu and beverage offerings. Outlined below are some ways to display these in a restaurant and the pros and cons of each type.
One of the most popular options, chalkboards, are a great option because their relatively cheap. They’re light enough to easily move them around your restaurant and even hang them from a wall. Use colorful chalk and someone who has nice, legible handwriting to help it stand out and be read by customers.
To give the chalkboard an extra bit of pop the restaurant name and logo, or some other design, can be printed on it to draw people’s attention. Additionally, a chalkboard cut to any shape want, so why make one boringly square? Plus, cutting the board to a specific shape doesn’t cost anything extra!
Window graphics can be used to promote specials and promotions, just like a chalkboard, but with the more in-depth process of installing these on windows, we recommend these are used for promotions that are scheduled to last awhile. Place these facing outward on the front window or on the entry doors for customers to see as soon as they walk in. Clear window decals are great because they don’t obstruct light or visibility. On top of using these to promote the restaurant they can also be used for visual appeal. Create a unique, themed graphic and have it placed on the windows.
Functional Signage
Another important category of signage needs within restaurants is temporary functional signage. This can cover many different needs but most often covers aspects of the restaurant that are currently out of order or out of service. For example a static cling, foam board, or even a rigid plastic sign could easily be put on a bathroom door to let patrons know it is currently out of service, under repair or temporarily being cleaned. Likewise, soft drinks and condiment sections as well as play areas also regularly need such signage. Other options include chalkboards as previously discussed or the more popular plastic a-frame signs seen when there are wet floors due to cleaning or spills.
In all of these situations professional signage that is also reusable is far better than a simple piece of paper taped to the malfunctioning fountain drink machine or bathroom. Not only will this reflect well on the company but should build confidence in the business that it is well run and being looked after rather than hastily dealt with or completely ignored.
As you can see, and most likely already know, there are many needs for temporary restaurant signage and an assortment of types of signage to choose from. Restaurant type, specific use and budget will help narrow your options and ultimately determine which sign type you go with. As the restaurant owner, it’s your responsibility to make sure you have and use the right kind of signs to easily and quickly promote your regular menu, food specials and all the other announcements you might have to make. Any restaurant owner would also do well to find affordable signage that not only meets the constant needs of their unique situation but does so in a professional manner.