One of the most important parts of an overall marketing initiative is a restaurant public relations plan for your business. Don’t think that you can just open an establishment without worrying about how you are going to attract new clients and make sure they return as regular patrons. An entrepreneur spends a great deal of time brainstorming about marketing and will always have a PR plan finalized, tailored to his industry, before he starts out.

Good restaurant public relations starts with a plan for the grand opening of the establishment. A minimum of two weeks before your big day, send out press releases to a variety of local media outlets to help you get advance coverage and appear in local event calendars. Be prepared for a good attendance and prepare everything to be ready before the big day.

You should have a dedicated restaurant public relations person to give out media kits to visitors at your grand opening. The kits must include the menus, facts and figures about the business and biographies on yourself and the head chef. Make sure that these kits are professionally produced and whilst you are at it, book a professional photographer to get a valuable record of the event.

If you have being smart and teamed up with local chambers of commerce and/or nonprofit organizations, then you should get them involved in your restaurant’s opening festivities and at the same time check that you have reached out to their lists of media contacts. It doesn’t matter if these overlap in some way, cross promotion can be a significant part of the restaurant public relations initiative.

Special events can be pivotal to restaurant public relations success and you should focus on the calendar during your first few months. How about featuring an art show alongside certain events, or creating an annual or semiannual wine festival. Open up your business to a whole new raft of potential clients and give yourself valuable PR exposure to boot.

Your local newspaper editor can be your best friend, especially if the paper has a significant food and drink section. Always try and be a source of good news and material to these editors without pitching your business. If they see you as an authority on food, then they will give you valuable PR exposure whenever an editor contacts you for your opinion or input.

Your permissions-based mailing lists should be supplied with great food related stories and information at regular intervals. As an example, whenever a holiday such as Thanksgiving is approaching, send them great recipes and ideas for family get-togethers and parties. Remember, you’re not selling your products but establishing restaurant public relations at its best.

Restaurant public relations begins and ends with a plan. Never be tempted to wing it and always have a calendar of events, together with associated key dates, for action whilst continuing to develop personal relationships with important people locally.