Followers of this site will no doubt already have bookmarked and regularly refer to our Commercial Coffee Shop Calendar. It’s full of national UK holidays, festivals and coffee-, drink- and food-related dedicated events, all of which offer the opportunity to attract more customers to your coffee shop, pub, restaurant, snack bar or even mobile coffee van. The fifth of November, Bonfire Night, is just one of a string of national holidays coming up which give you the chance to raise awareness of your business and increase takings.
Mobile coffee vans at fireworks displays
We’ve lost count of the number of public and hosted Bonfire Night fireworks displays we’ve been to where the only refreshment is terrible instant coffee or dubious mulled wine. Any organised firework display will attract hundreds, if not thousands of customers. Enough for more than one mobile coffee business to run out of stock quickly. If you own a mobile coffee cart or van, fireworks displays are a guaranteed income generator and awareness raising opportunity. You’ll need permission, of course, so track down your nearest fireworks displays, contact the organisers and double-check with your local council in case of any special provisos.
And if you are the owner of a burger van or hot dog stand and you’re guilty of dishing out dodgy instant coffee from a jar, why not offer customers a choice? Cheap and seldom cheerful, or top-notch and delicious? There are plenty of good-quality and space-saving commercial espresso machines and simple bean-to-cup coffee machines for catering trucks of all sizes (and when you lease a coffee machine from Nationwide, we offer free barista training too). Bean-to-cup machines require no coffee knowledge at all, and we even offer an impressive instant coffee machine, if quick service and cheap prices are your priority. Trust us, your customers will notice the difference!
Bonfire night ideas for coffee shops, pubs and restaurants
Unless you have a massive pub garden and council permission to let off fireworks, it’s unlikely you’re going to be putting on your own display to attract customers. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get more visitors through the door.
Your first step is to publicise any special Bonfire Night offers you may be planning. Decorate the windows with firework-related window stickers – but make sure they’re easy to remove. You don’t want to be spending more than you’re going to take, but bear in mind that you’re also building goodwill and wider awareness, converting passers-by to regular customers if you’re lucky. Think posters, flyers, chalkboards, A-boards and, of course, your social media and local Facebook groups. It’s a great opportunity to Instagram any seasonal coffee recipes you’ve researched – pumpkin lattes being the most obvious – and your firework-themed latte art!
If you’re in an area where there’s still footfall after normal trading hours, stay open late. The lights, warmth and enticing smell of coffee and treats will draw in people heading home or out for fireworks displays.
And talking of treats, make sure you’re stocked up on hot chocolate, and alcohol-free mulled wine or cider is surprisingly easy to make – you’ll find various tried and tested recipes online. If you serve food, baked potatoes, toffee apples, hot dogs and burgers, bonfire toffee and soup are just a few ideas you might want to have available. You could even sell sparklers and glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets for the kids.
We hope you have a safe, profitable and thoroughly enjoyable Bonfire Night and remember to refer to our coffee shop calendar of important dates so you can plan well ahead of time. We’ll be releasing the 2020 calendar soon!