7 Ways to Get More Customers Into Your Restaurant This Summer

Summer is one of the best times of year to be a restaurant on the SouthCoast.

People are out. The weather is good. Families are looking for somewhere to eat after the beach, and visitors are wandering New Bedford and Fairhaven looking for a good meal.

So why do so many great restaurants stay quiet when they should be packed?

Usually it comes down to one thing. The food is great, but nobody knows what's going on. No specials posted. No events shared. A Google listing that hasn't been touched in a year. If you've been wondering how to get more customers for your restaurant this summer, the answer isn't a bigger budget. It's showing up in the places your customers are already looking.

Here are seven ways to do exactly that.

1. Fix Your Google Business Profile First

Before anything else, go look at your Google Business Profile.

When someone in Dartmouth searches "restaurants near me" on a Friday night, this is what they see. Your hours, your photos, your reviews, your menu. If any of that is wrong or missing, you're losing customers before they ever hear your name.

Make sure your summer hours are correct. Add fresh photos of your food and your space. If you have a patio, show it. If you added a seasonal menu, upload it. This is the single highest-impact thing most restaurants can do, and it's free.

We say this in almost every post because it's true. Your Google Business Profile is the front door to your business now. Keep it clean.

2. Post Your Specials Like Clockwork

If you run a special and nobody sees it, it didn't happen.

The restaurants that win in the summer are the ones that stay visible. A weekly special. A new cocktail. Live music on Thursday. A photo of the plate that just went out to a table. It doesn't have to be fancy. It has to be consistent.

The mistake we see is posting three times in one week, then going dark for a month. That doesn't build anything. One or two good posts a week, every week, keeps you in front of people so that when they're deciding where to eat, you're already on their mind.

We wrote about whether social media is actually worth it for small businesses, and for restaurants the answer is an easy yes. Food is one of the most shareable things on the internet. Use that.

3. Use Email to Bring Back the People Who Already Love You

Here's something a lot of restaurant owners forget.

Your best customers are the ones who have already been in. They know you. They like you. They just need a reason to come back this week instead of next month.

That's what email does. A short message that goes out on a Thursday saying "here's this weekend's special, see you soon" is one of the cheapest and most effective tools you have. You're not chasing strangers. You're reminding regulars.

Collect emails at the register, on your website, or through a simple sign-up for a loyalty perk. Then actually use the list. Even a couple of sends a month makes a difference. We broke down how email marketing works for Massachusetts small businesses if you want a place to start.

4. Lean Into Summer While It's Here

Summer gives you built-in reasons to talk to people.

A patio or outdoor seating. A frozen drink menu. A lighter seasonal plate. A spot to watch the sunset. Whatever makes your place feel like summer, make that the star of your marketing right now.

People plan their summer around good weather and good food. If your posts and your emails feel like the season, they land better. A photo of a cold drink on a hot patio does more work in July than a generic menu shot ever will.

The season is short around here. Use it while you've got it.

5. Tie Yourself to What's Happening Locally

The SouthCoast is busy in the summer, and that's a gift for a restaurant.

Festivals in New Bedford. The waterfront filling up. Farmers markets and events across Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, and Wareham. When something is happening in town, your restaurant should be part of the conversation.

Post about the event. Offer something for people heading to it or coming from it. Tag other local businesses and let them tag you back. This kind of local cross-promotion costs nothing and puts you in front of people who are already out and already hungry.

Being local isn't just where you are. It's a marketing advantage. Use the community you're part of.

6. Turn Happy Customers Into Reviews

A steady stream of Google reviews is one of the strongest things a restaurant can have.

When someone is choosing between you and the place down the street, reviews often make the call. More reviews, more recent reviews, and a few thoughtful replies from you signal that this is a place people trust.

The trick is just asking. Train your staff to mention it. Put a small sign or a QR code on the table or the receipt. Most happy customers are glad to leave a review, they just need a nudge and an easy way to do it.

Then respond. A quick thank you on a good review, and a calm, professional reply on a rough one, shows everyone reading that you actually care.

7. Combine Social, Email, and Google Instead of Picking One

Here's the part that ties it all together.

None of these work as well alone as they do together. Your Google Business Profile gets you found. Social keeps you visible day to day. Email brings people back. When all three are working at once, you're covering every stage of how someone decides where to eat.

That's the whole idea behind our social media and email work. It's not about doing one thing loudly. It's about being consistently present across the places your customers already are, so that choosing you feels natural.

Most restaurants on the SouthCoast are doing one of these at best. If you do all three, even at a basic level, you'll stand out. Not because you spent more, but because you showed up more.

When This Isn't the Right Move Yet

We'll be honest, like we always are.

If your kitchen is slammed and understaffed, or the core experience isn't where you want it yet, marketing isn't the first fix. Getting more customers into a place that can't handle them doesn't help anyone. Nail the basics of the business first.

But if your food is good, your team is ready, and you're just not getting the traffic you should, then this is exactly where to spend your attention.

Let's Get Your Restaurant Busier

You already do the hard part. You make food people love and run a place people enjoy.

The marketing shouldn't be the thing holding you back. If you're a restaurant owner on the SouthCoast who wants a busier summer and isn't sure where to start, let's talk. No pressure, no jargon, just an honest conversation about what would actually get more people through your door.

👉 Start Your Project