Most new restaurants post a countdown and a photo of the ribbon. The ones people talk about give the neighbourhood something to watch: the room coming together, the first plates, the line on opening day. Here’s a plan in three stages.
Before you open
Film the room coming together, the team’s first practice service and the dishes you want people to come for. Each post is a reason to follow before the doors open, and a reminder of the date.
Opening day: ask the line
For a new Shah’s Halal Food location, a drone shot found the line along the storefront, then we handed the microphone to the people in it: “What’s the thing about Shah’s?” The answers came fast: the Philly cheesesteak, chicken over rice, the shawarma. We cut it to nineteen seconds, to the rhythm of the answers, so a stranger finishes it knowing what to order.
A line is proof that’s hard to fake. Film it, and let the people in it do the talking.
The weeks after
Opening week brings the curious. The weeks after decide whether they come back. Keep posting: the food made start to finish, the team, and the regulars who return. “Video ideas for restaurants” has thirteen ideas to rotate.
Opening another location
A chain’s new location is news in its own neighbourhood, not across the city. For Qahwah House we filmed café by café: each one’s own street, its own room and its own crowd, around the same coffee. For Adobo Mexican Grill, a meal film runs from the street into the restaurant and onto the grill, with its own street sign, on Grand Avenue, in the frame.
Plan the first month
Put the opening on a calendar before it happens: the posts before the date, the day itself, and four weeks after. “How to plan a month of posts” shows how we plan a month.
Let us film it
We plan the month, film on site and post on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Shorts, with 250,000 to 1 million views a month guaranteed. See the plans.
Questions owners ask
When should a new restaurant start posting?
Before it opens. The room coming together and the first plates give people a reason to follow before the doors open.
What should I post on opening day?
The line, and what the people in it came for. Let them do the talking.
How do I market a new location of an existing restaurant?
As its own place: its street, its room and its crowd, so the neighbourhood sees a restaurant of its own.
How do I start?
Book a free thirty-minute video consultation with a partner: a few quick questions, then pick a time. Book a consultation