Your Guide to Super Weekend 2022

In 2021, the average customer spend in restaurants was $75 on Super Bowl Sunday and $165 on Valentine’s Day. With these two events happening back-to-back this year, bars and restaurants are in for a busy weekend that we’ve dubbed Super Weekend.

To help your business prep for the rush, we’ve put together a Super Weekend guide with tips to help you score some major points with guests. You can also hear from Small Biz Sense Restaurant owner about how to prepare for rush hour.

For tips and tricks on how to prepare for Super Weekend 2022 (including:

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Tips on preparing your restaurant for the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day

Evan Johnston is the owner of BarbossaAnd Diving Bell Montreal to get some insight into how he prepares for busy weekends.

How can your business prepare for weekend rushes

Inventory

Checking back on your inventory levels from last year’s Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day will help you better understand how much more product you need to order for Super Weekend. “The last thing you want to be doing in a rush is scrambling to find something you thought you had more of. So really just make sure your stock levels are above what you typically would have,” Johnston says.

Small Biz Sense is easy to use to determine how much inventory was used over the past year. Navigate to reports > ingredient reports > date rangeA report can be run for a particular day, week, or month. Run reports from Super Bowl Sunday (February 7) and Valentine’s Day (February 14) of 2021 and use those reports as a guide on what and how much to order this year.

Click HereFor more information on how to run a report from the back office, click here

Seating plan arrangements

The Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day are two very different events. Both the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day can be hosted in different venues. You should consider adapting your space for the event. “Any time we’ve got a busy weekend coming up, one of the first things we do is reorganize the seating plan to accommodate more seats,” Johnston explains. 

Small Biz Sense allows you to customize a seating plan that accommodates the specific needs of the event you’re hosting. This can be done quickly from your iPad using the drag-and-drop feature. Servers are also able to customize the seating plans. You can maximize your seating, make your clients feel comfortable and improve the flow of the clientele by reorganizing it.

Click HereFor more information about how to organize your seating charts, click here

What are the most important tools for busy weekends?

Integrated payments

Johnston has been able to improve the efficiency and experience of his business operations through integrated payments. It has eliminated the possibility of human error by removing the requirement for sales staff to manually enter sale amounts and process each sale. “It’s really great to be able to put something in on the POS, pass the customer the terminal and everything makes sense. Every transaction’s connected. It’s next level,” Johnston says.

Ordering and contactless payments

Johnston is a listserve because of the labor shortage, as well as safety and health concerns. You can order ahead to dine inSmall Biz Sense considers this an essential add-on. The feature allows guests to pull up the menu on their phones via a QR code and send their orders right to the kitchen—no need to wait for a server to stop by. 

Guest can still pay for their meals the way that they have ordered. This saves time, helps them turn the tables faster, and also reduces the wait time. “A lot of the overhead is removed from the situation,” Johnston says. “It’s super efficient and this means that we don’t have to hire as many servers.”

Super Weekend: What can restaurant and bar owners do?

Johnston believes that Small Biz Sense POS makes it easy to quickly train new employees so that they are ready for the job. “Having a POS that has been easy to train staff on is really important, especially when you’re busy,” he explains. “If the weekend is going to be busy, obviously you want to have more staff on hand so it’s really important to be able to train someone quickly and efficiently.”

Click HereFor more information on training your staff at the Small Biz Sense Restaurant POS, click here

There should be enough personnel to manage higher volumes of orders online or by phone, as well as extra BOH staff for preparing those orders and drivers, if necessary. You may also need to make extra space, both in the kitchen and in the FOH, so that your staff isn’t tripping over each other as some try to service in-house guests while others manage to-go.

Before the weekend rush goes into full effect, it’s also wise to schedule a mandatory team sit-down meeting to go over the schedule, specials and promo terms and conditions, plus answer any questions your team might have. This is a great time to make sure everyone’s roles are clear so that there’s no gray area when it comes to who’s responsible for what. 

Get in touch

Now that we’ve covered operations, here comes the fun part. How many fun Super Weekend specials can you offer? These are just a few ideas that will help you get started.

1. Preorders are eligible for discounts and perks

This weekend presents a huge potential opportunity for business, but it’s one that everyone is competing for. Offers of discounts and other perks to those who preorder or make a reservation in advance will help you capture their attention early on. This will ensure that they are able to lock in your business.

2. You can tailor your menu for each occasion

For example, if the New England Patriots were playing the Super Bowl, you’d want to offer special menu items such as clam chowder, lobster rolls or Boston baked beans. You could also offer Philly cheesesteaks or soft pretzels to the Philadelphia Eagles. If you’re local, offering such dishes is an expression of regional pride, and if you’re not, it’s something fun and new.

On the Valentine’s Day side of things, specials like buy-one-get-one entrees, a free dessert with two entrees ordered or a themed prix fixe meal can help you gain a competitive advantage over other local restaurants.

3. Make unique online orders with your own offers 

We are still living in desperate times, so many people will continue to look for restaurants at their homes. If your planned in-house menu isn’t ideal for to-go orders, consider a special takeout menu that focuses on items that travel well.

4. Don’t forget about the outliers

You can be sure that many people will watch the Super Bowl with their friends and significant others. You’ll want to have most of your TVs turned on to the game, but be sure to have at least one or two on the Other big game… the Puppy Bowl. 

As far as Valentine’s Day goes, single people want to celebrate too! Have some fun with this idea by offering an anti-Valentine’s Day menu full of items most people wouldn’t want to eat on a first date— think super sauced-up wings, peel-and-eat shrimp and lots and lots of garlic. You can also have some fun with your cocktails’ names.

Clear communication, excellent food, atmosphere, and efficient operations are key to successful events at your restaurant or bar. If there’s anything Small Biz Sense can do to help, get in touch with your Account Manager today.