Preparing your restaurant for summer 2025: the complete checklist to boost your sales
July 28, 2025
If only it were enough to bring out the terrace to launch the season...
But as you know, as soon as the sun comes out, everything goes into overdrive.
➜ More customers
➜ no more waiting
➜ more work for the teams
➜ and less room for improvisation.
When you haven't planned ahead, one thing leads to another: recruitment in a hurry, maps taking too long to produce, tools slowing down, campaigns forgotten, data left out...
To avoid this, we've prepared the essential checklist for leaving nothing to chance and attacking with peace of mind when the terrace is full.
01. Strengthen your teams: recruiting and onboarding seasonal workers
Summer is often synonymous with reinforcements. But poorly prepared recruitment can cost you time, money and sometimes your head in the middle of a shift. It's best to plan ahead!
P.S: Start early: good profiles go fast.
Before recruiting
☑ List your needs precisely: how many people? On which days? At what times?
☑ Identify critical positions: terrace lunch service, Saturday evening dishwashing, kiosk cashiering...
☑ Write down the really essential skills job by job. You don't need a versatile profile everywhere.
☑ Prepare a mission sheet for each position. It will be used for the interview, then for training: tasks, schedules, tools used.
During recruitment
☑ Post your ads early, on useful channels (hotel schools, seasonal Facebook groups, reliable former employees).
☑ Give all the important info in the ad: typical schedule, duration, remuneration, working conditions.
☑ Keep a clear outline for your interviews. What you expect, what you offer, and what you won't tolerate.
For fast, efficient onboarding
☑ Prepare a welcome memo with:
- service rules, rush hours to anticipate, etc.
- tools to master (QR code, terminal, cash register)
- useful phrases to present the loyalty program or the various offers
☑ Designate a referent to accompany him on the first 2 shifts
☑ Create a quick-access digital kit : video tutorial, voice recording, shared doc
☑ Recall the basics: be on time, communicate well with the rest of the team, ask when you don't know.
The faster your seasonal workers are up and running, the more you can avoid mistakes, tensions and losses. Good onboarding is your best ally for getting through the summer.
02. Adapt your tools to the influx of customers
Expecting more crowds this summer? Then ask yourself: can your tools keep up?
If your team is already under pressure at 20 covers, what's it going to be like at 60, in the heat of the day, with a full terrace and seasonal staff?
If you've put digitalization on the back burner until now, summer can be a good time to get started.
No need to review everything, simply adjust what can really relieve your team on the most stressed points: order taking, collection and service.
Take stock of your needs
➜ Is order-taking fast enough to avoid downtime on the terrace?
➜ Do your servers spend their time running... or selling and advising?
➜ Is your average basket held back by a lack of time or visibility on options?
➜ How many tables remain blocked because the settlement is taking too long?
➜ Do you manage to effectively boost service in the big slots (12:30, 8pm)?
Restaurants' preferred solutions for managing the summer season
➜ Order via QR code : perfect for terraces. Customers order at their own pace, placing more "small orders" (ordering another drink, adding an aperitif board) without the teams having to make countless return trips.
➜ ordering kiosk : useful whenever you have continuous flow (food court, bowling, fast food). It smoothes queues, encourages upselling and reduces pressure on checkout staff.
➜ Click & Collect : practical for smoothing out business. You can reach customers beyond your own venue, and manage your shots better by spreading orders out over time.
Want to find out more about digitizing order taking? See our resource ➜ Digital order taking: a checklist to get off to a good start
03. Update your summer map
In summer, it's no longer the hurried lunchtime crowd. You have more tourists, more families, more strollers. They want to eat light, often on the terrace and without too much delay.
It's also a time when you can get away from it all. Take the opportunity to simplify your menu, test new ideas and push the most profitable dishes.
Lighten the map without losing margin
☑ Rely on recipes that are simple to get out, with little kitchen fiddling
☑ Reduce the number of references with plenty of choice (1 veggie dish, 1 gluten-free, 1 meat/fish bestseller)
☑ Rely on seasonal ingredients: more stable prices, better quality
Adapt your presentation to summer
☑ Favour shareable formats, salads, bowls, takeaways, etc.
☑ Offer fresh, easy-to-digest options
Showcase your profitable dishes
☑ Identify your high-margin dishes and place them strategically on the menu: top left, framed, with visuals if available.
☑ Add a few more options: topping, sauce, combo drink, quick dessert...
☑ And if you have a Self ordering kiosk : activate the product push. The tool automatically suggests an additional dessert, side dish or drink, without your teams having to think about it.
04. Prepare your summer marketing operations
In summer, it's not enough to open the terrace wide. You're not alone, and your customers have a choice.
To stand out from the crowd, it's best to think ahead: targeted promotions, simple animations, well-sent messages. Anything that can create passage and bring people back.
Structure your calendar now
☑ Identify key moments : July 14, long weekends, local events
☑ Decide what you want to push: happy hour, seasonal dishes, combo offer
☑ Prepare your visuals in advance (posters, posts, screen/borne visuals if required)
Activate your customer base
☑ Program a SMS or email campaign early summer
☑ Call back inactive customers for several months now with a simple
☑ Highlight summer novelties, modified opening hours, or the terrace
Automate what can be automated
☑ Push notifications triggered at certain times
☑ Post-order message for collect feedback
☑ Automatic campaign if no visit after X days
05. Keep an eye on your data during the season
Don't wait until the end of summer to take action. You risk missing out on weeks of possible adjustments.
Between the weather, tourist flows and changing habits, the business evolves fast.
Follow the right indicators
☑ average basket
☑ most ordered products
☑ most profitable time slots
☑ table turnover rate
☑ impact of promos (codes, push, campaigns)
Adjust your card and promotions in real time
☑ Is a product not working properly? Replace it or link it to an offer
☑ A quiet niche? Test a targeted action at this time (SMS, flash offer)
Ready for a stress-free summer?
Recruitment, maps, tools, marketing, data : All you can anticipate now is the time you'll save when the terrace is full.
Have you identified one or more areas for improvement at your facility?
We can have a simple, no-obligation chat about what would be most useful in your home this summer.
➜ Contact the Obypay team today to take stock of your needs.
