While we can't wait to wish 2020 goodbye, don't miss a chance to increase business for your restaurant with a New Year's To-Go experience!

With cases on the rise people are looking for fun & exciting additions to their New Year's Eve celebrations at home. That's where your restaurant or business comes in!

Below are tips & tricks to develop a New Year's Eve to-go menu experience for your customers. Read more below!

If you've already googled "what to do for New Year's Eve during a pandemic" you're not alone. A night of sequins, champagne and kisses on cheeks (imagine...) has taken a turn for homemade cocktails, meatball appetizers and pajamas for many Americans. Articles from Good Housekeeping,  Delish, and even the CDC are popping up to encourage people to stay safe, be responsible and wear a mask this coming holiday.

With a few key elements you can provide customers with a one-stop New Year's Eve experience sure to leave a lasting impression!

Whether you settle on a three course per person to-go package or larger family-style options, your business can tap into the new New Years Even to-go experience.

1. Develop a Concept and Stick With It: Select your menu or available New Year's Eve options and get ready to shout it from the rooftops. May we suggest some fresh-cut steaks from Auth's Quality meats- available next day and cut to your exact specifications! If you're worried about quantity you can have customers reserve their dinner a day prior or whatever works within your business.
2. Are you able to sell alcohol to-go under your liquor license? Perfect! Whether it's a specialty cocktail or a simple bottle of champagne, your customers will appreciate the experience (and not having to make two stops).
3. Family Style Flexibility: Consider offering options for different numbers of people- giving couples & families the choice for the perfect amount of food.
4. Packaging: You want to give your customers that feeling you get when you open a fancy gift. Left-over tissue paper from the holidays can be a simple and elegant way to elevate your take-out orders. Hand-written notes on re-purposed paper or recycled materials are a warm and memorable greeting for your customers as well.
5. Creative Touches: There are endless ways to put your own spin on a New Year's Eve Package. Some examples include riddles, digital scavenger hunts, social media challenges, a house-made Spotify playlist you can share with customers, or anything you can think of that will connect with your customers!
6. Promote, Promote, Promote: Never used social media? Great, it's time to make an Instagram account, fire-up Twitter, and update your Facebook. For more social media tips Cornelia Poku- Washington D.C. based food blogger- shared her best practices with us here.
7. Create Marketing Materials: Canva.com is a FREE and very user-friendly website that allows you to make custom images & graphics to post online or on your website. We recommend picking one font for headings, one for sub-headings and one basic font for paragraph text.
8. Reheating Instructions: Type up & print branded re-heating instructions so customers can accurately re-heat their dinner, appetizer, or snack!

Need some more inspiration? The Washingtonian put together a list of a few Washington D.C. Restaurant's New Year's Eve Menus! Click here to learn more.

‍Good Luck & Happy New Year!