How to turn around a restaurant business.
Turning around a restaurant can be a difficult task, especially in smaller communities and neighborhoods. But it can be done. To turn around a restaurant business, you’ll need to do some tricky marketing.
What follows is a plan to turn around a restaurant business based on more than 30 years of marketing experience in the foodservice industry.
Short Term Stop the Bleeding, Drive Traffic
Fix Internal Culture First – Immediately
Many times, what’s driving people away is internal problems. High turn over in staff, internal admonishment, and problems with employee worker satisfaction. The fact is, if you’re going to turn around a restaurant business, you will need to start by taking a good look at your own staff first.
- Have a deep look as the owner: if employees are quitting because of a manager, even if that manager follows orders, they may be the wrong fit culturally. A team that hates their leader is a poison pill.
- Consider retraining or letting this manager go and start again. There is an only saying: Never Hire Anyone You Can Fire. Sometimes, before you can turn around a restaurant business, you’ll need to turn around your staff.
- Hold one-on-one stay interviews with remaining staff to identify root causes and stop further turnover. Let them be heard. When people think they are being listened to, they tend to respond. And you may find out things you’ve never thought of.
Emergency Visibility & Community Reconnect Blitz
Here’s the difficult part. In order to turn around a restaurant business, you will need to spend money on marketing and advertising. This won’t just be for social media either. It may include a menu makeover (done professionally), and may also include other incentives like discounts and offers for your guests.
- Targeted Google Ads & Facebook Ads in a 5-mile radius of your store(s):
- Promote a “Come back and taste why we’re the best” offer — e.g., Buy 1 large pizza, get the 2nd half off (or similar depending on your product offering).
- Add urgency: This month only!
- Local Press & Social Media Push:
- “[Location] is getting crowded — but here’s why you can still win!” Write a short press release or article and push it out locally and on social media.
- Film a 30-second owner’s video from the kitchen, talking about the passion behind the food. If you’re uncomfortable with that, get a manager or server to stand in front of the camera for you. But video is king.
- Email & SMS the List: Use his existing email/SMS lists for a “we’re still here, and better than ever” campaign.
- 3-part sequence: heartfelt message → special offer → last chance.
Turn Customers into Advocates
To turn your restaurant business around, do everything you can to engage with some of your top customers. Get them to come in, and get them to bring a friend. And especially, do what you can to get higher review ratings.
- Incentivize 5-star Google Reviews, especially in any business (where they’re getting drowned out).
- Give diners a free dessert or $5 off the next visit when they show a posted review (just don’t tell anyone you did that).
LONG TERM (Next 12–18 Months are crucial): Stability, Growth, Market Leadership
Once the new manager is in place, and they are well trained, it’s time to let them run the business. Here is a pivotal point in your thought process. Because this is the hardest part of turning around a restaurant business: Knowing when to work on the business rather than in the business.
Ideally, the restaurant should run better without you in it. But that will only happen if you’re doing your job by training great people and then letting them do their thing.
But you do have an ongoing role in the business. The following are important things you will be responsible for.
Operational Reset + Training System
- Implement a weekly leadership check-in (could be 30 mins virtual). Use this to:
- Align the teams.
- Set standards.
- Solve people’s issues before they explode.
- Create a basic training system for all roles — videos, PDFs, checklists — so when someone quits, you’re not starting over from scratch.
- Allow your Manager to lead some of these meetings, but make sure they are on the same track as you.
- Make sure the message is clear, and that it is being carried out correctly.
- Never conflict with your manager in a meeting. Do that in private.
Digital Domination in Local Search
- The biggest threat right now is visibility. Your competitors are now dominating Google Maps.
- Fix NAP listings (Name, Address, Phone)
- Add 10+ new local backlinks
- Weekly Google Business Profile photo posts, new reviews, and Q&A updates
Make sure to rank in 30-60 days with consistency.
Brand the Business with a “Local [restaurant style] Hero” Strategy
- Position your business as “The [business style] of [your city, town, etc.]” — the original, local, family-owned spot with quality you can taste.
- Use your story: “before the chains, before the churn — there was [your brand].”
- Community involvement:
- Sponsor local sports teams
- Run a “Product for a Year” contest
- Invite people in for kitchen tours and event nights (entertainment, music, comedy, cooking, etc.)
Menu Optimization for Profit
- Use our expertise: conduct a Menu Matrix™ if you haven’t already.
- Raise prices 5–10% on bestsellers.
- Reformat the menu visually to increase average check
Final Thoughts
Turning around a restaurant business is no easy task. But it is possible with the right marketing and food consistency. It is essential to start with a menu matrix review to find out what is working and what isn’t. And it’s also important to have a good look at your staff and make sure they are all doing everything they can to help you regrow your business. To have a free 15 minute consultation with Mark Laux, click here.
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