What are the best ways to make sure that your restaurant or eatery is child-friendly? How can you be sure to attract adults who want to eat out with kids? This is a lucrative and important part of the restaurant audience, so follow the easy list below to gain additional customers.
1. Cheerful, Easy-to-Clean Decor
The first thing that will signal customers that it's ok to bring the kiddies in, is a bright, cheerful, casual decor that incorporates woods, leather and vynl, heavy duty carpeting, tile and other easy to clean surfaces that will take spills and knocks.2. Kid-Friendly Menu Offerings
Make sure to offer kid-sized portions and prices, if you charge for kids to eat. Generally, kids 6 and under eat free, children 7 - 11 eat for half price and tweens 12 and up eat at full price, though you may want to offer free dessert to entice them to come in with their family.Offer a separate kids menu if you don't want to list child-friendly items on your regular adult menu. Offer easy items like french fries, turkey sandwiches, grilled chicken, plain pasta, grilled cheese, etc.
3. Child-Friendly Seating
Make sure to have at least a couple of high chairs and booster seats in the house for little ones that may be hungry. Restaurant supply companies sell heavy duty wooden high chairs and plastic booster seats for the little ones. The small investment is worthwhile.4. Easy Ingresses and Egresses for Strollers and Toddlers
If you intend to attract families with little ones and/or the older crowd or those in wheelchairs, make sure you don't have too many places where steps are the only option. Try incorporating ramps into your exterior design whenever possible.There's nothing like being a new mother pushing a stroller all over a city to make you aware of what restaurants, cafes, eateries, and fast-food places are inacessible.
5. Offer Some Kid Activities
If you use white butcher block paper to put over your tablecloths, put out some crayons in a cup for the little ones to color while their parents are eating. You can buy inexpensive coloring books and crafts to hand out to kids from commercial promotion companies.6. Offer Something Special for Kids
Whether it's the mini candy bar they get at the end of the meal, the activity book they're given when they sit down or the balloon they get when they enter, give something special to the kiddies, so they ask mom or Uncle Steve to bring them to your restaurant. It can be as simple as the chef writing their name in raspberry sauce on their plate. Make their day special, and families will flock to your eatery, filling up tables when everyone else is sleeping or at work.7. Kid-Friendly Ambience
If you're a sports bar with TV's on all the time or a restaurant with a music system, tune one of the TV's to Nickelodeon or a cartoon channel and put on some kid-friendly music.With states banning indoor smoking in restaurants, your eatery will immediately become more child-friendly. Instead of mourning the loss of smokers, embrace the new customer segments who will now try your eatery.
8. Spread Word-of-Mouth That You're Child-Friendly
Once people know that you don't mind having kids in your restaurant and, in fact, welcome them, word will spread. Local blogs will report that you're kid-friendly, restaurant guides will list you that way and magazines will list you in articles about local restaurants to take kids.9. Promote with other Kid-Friendly Partners
If you really want to attract kids to fill in early morning, afternoon and evening seatings, promote yourself to nearby kid attractions and businesses like museums, libraries, book stores, toy stores, kids clothing and shoe stores, etc. Every parent knows the places that cater to kids in their area, and if you put some of your menus or a sign in these stores that you welcome kids, parents will give you a try.10. Make Your Restrooms Child Friendly
Just putting a changing table in your restroom will attract adults with kids, once the word spreads. If you have unisex bathrooms, put a changing table on the floor or attach a fold-down version to a wall.If you have separate restrooms for men and women, make sure to put a changing table in both restrooms. Men flock to places where it's easy for them to change their kids' diapers. Really.
