A restaurant public relations plan is a pivotal part of an overall marketing initiative. It is, of course, never good enough just to design and open a restaurant, whilst paying no heed to how you are going to attract new clients or how to ensure that they return as regular patrons. As an entrepreneur, you should spend a great deal of your time brainstorming about a variety of marketing initiatives and make sure that you have finalized a PR plan specifically tailored to the industry before you set 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.

When you are ready for your grand opening, delegate your restaurant public relations person to give out media kits to visitors. Within the kits, which must be professionally produced, are relevant facts and figures, the all-important menus, as well as biographies of the owner and the head chef. Ensure that you have a professional photographer on hand to give you material for future use.

Local chambers of commerce and/or nonprofit organizations can be your friend and you would be smart to get them involved in your restaurant’s opening festivities. Try your best to utilize their list of media contacts and it doesn’t matter if these overlap, as cross promotion is a significant part of a restaurant public relations efforts.

During the first few months of a business, the restaurant public relations calendar should focus on event ideas and how to capitalize on them. For example, you can start off a wine festival as an annual or semiannual concept bringing you excellent PR exposure. Art shows can be tied into certain events, exposing your business to a whole new raft of potential clients.

You should make friends with your local newspaper editors, especially if they have significant food and drink sections or pullouts. Try and become a source of good news or material to editors on a regular basis and don’t necessarily pitch your business at all times. If you are seen as being an authority on a certain type of food, for example, then you will get valuable PR exposure whenever an editor contacts you for your opinion on the subject.

If you have collected a permissions-based mailing list try and send out food related stories and information whenever you have a realistic opportunity. Be careful how often you send out mailings, of course, but whenever a holiday linked to a certain kind of food is approaching, such as Thanksgiving for example, then you could send out great recipes and ideas for family get-togethers, parties, etc. without selling your products. This is 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.