Rekindle my listYour regulars stopped coming. They did not stop eating out.
The couple who came every other Friday has not been in since spring. The office that ordered catering twice never heard from you about the holiday party. Your reservation book knows all of their names. Nobody has used it.
Three groups, all of them already yours.
Regulars who drifted
A visit every few weeks became none. A warm note with a table held is the whole ask.
Catering and event customers
They ordered once. The next occasion is already on their calendar.
Private event inquiries that never booked
They asked about the room, got a price, and went quiet. The date may still be open.
When: Six weeks before the holidays, before graduation and wedding season, and the week a regular passes two months away.
In your name, about their job, with one easy question.
This is the opener our restaurants playbook starts from, and the follow-up two days later. Yours gets your name, your crew, and your words.
Opens with their last visit or event, in your name.
Never promises a menu item, a price or an allergen answer.
Holds a table or sets a call with your events person.
Sends a dietary or allergy question to the kitchen with the thread.
Oak Street Kitchen
Hi Linda, it's Nico at Oak Street Kitchen. Your table has missed you. What's the next occasion we can set it for?
2 days later
Linda, Nico at Oak Street Kitchen again. Weekend tables go first, so I can hold one now and you can change it later. Which night?
Example messages. The names are made up.
What a restaurants list is usually worth.
Illustrative starting numbers, the same ones our calculator uses for restaurants. Swap in yours and it recalculates.
Your restaurants list is still warm. Let's find out how warm.
Fifteen minutes. Bring a rough count of your list and your average job, and we'll show you what it could be worth and how we'd run it.
No pressure. No obligation.