u/WishboneCritical7302

I own a small restaurant and I'm thinking about opening a 2nd location. I found a spot that's about 30% cheaper than others I've looked at. The space is great, parking is easy, and the landlord has been flexible, My only concern is the foot traffic. It's noticeably quieter than the busier areas.

I've spent a few afternoons sitting in my car just watching how many people walk by, and the difference is pretty obvious. The lower the rent would definitely make the first year less stressful, though,

Folks who have been through this, would you take the cheaper rent or hold out for a busier location?

When I opened my restaurant, I intetially set the prices about 15 to 20% lower than other places in the area. It paid off actually, like people returned often and I gradually built up a loyal grp of regulars.

Since then, I have renovated, then improved how we present our food, also updated the menu, and put a lot into making the whole experience better. The restaurant feels like a new place now. But I still feel like people think of us as the cheap option.

I am hesitant to raise prices bcs I don't want to lose the regulars bcs they have helped me get started. Still I feel that keeping prices low might be holding my brand back and making it harder for new customers to see the value. Has anyone dealt with this?

Lately I have noticed something weird. I have been getting way more first time customers because people keep tagging us on Instagram and TikTok, which is obviously great. But a lot of those customers seem to come in with a completely different mindset than our regulars.

Instead of ordering a full meal, they will split 1 or 2 dishes across the table, spend forever taking photos and filming, then leave.

Footfalls are up, but people are spending less per table. I am not complaning about getting new customers but I am trying to figure out if this is just part of social media bringing in a different crowd or if there's something I should be doing differently.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I posted here yesterday about my restaurant being packed on weekends but slow during the week, and a lot of you suggested focusing more on events and experiences instead of just running discounts.

With July 4th here, I'm thinking this might be a good chance to try something different. I am considering running it for a week to bring people during the weekdays.

Would you go with a discount (like a meal deal or drink special), or would you put that budget into something like live music, trivia, or a themed night?

I want to know from those who have tried holiday promotions before, what actually brought people through the door?

So weekends are great. I usually have a waitlist, the staff is pretty busy and sales are exactly where I want them to be. The monday hits and it's like someone flipped a switch.

The dining room is half empty, online orders also slow downs and I am basically watching fixed costs pile up while hoping people walk thorugh the door. It makes cash flow feel way more unpredictable than it should be.

I have tried weekday specials and posting more on insta, but neither has made a noticeable difference. I don't really want to start discounting everything just to fill tables because that feels like a race to the bottom.

Looking for ideas that worked in the real world, not just marketing advice that sounds good on paper.

I recently launched my brand and my inbox is strating to fill up with samequestions on order, updates, etc..

I'd love to set up auto replies so customers get an instant response while I handle evrything else.

What are you all using? Any tool you'd recommend that's easy to set up and doesn't cost a fortune?