Getting your restaurant involved in your local community shows your support for your neighborhood, helps increase restaurant sales, and gets more people in your door. As a business, it’s important to think about ways you can give back.

Community partnerships can encourage more business and establish your restaurant in an integrated effort. No matter the size of your operation, there are many ways you can support your local community throughout the year.

Sponsor a Youth Sports Team

Try sponsoring a youth sports team. This doesn’t have to be expensive. Pick a night and offer a percentage of your sales to donate to the team/organization. This draws good attention on your restaurant, drives customers to your operation and helps your local community.

Another way to support youth sports in your community is to donate to their uniform costs. Some teams will add sponsor logos to their uniforms – which is a great way to get more eyes on your brand. Sports fans will see that your restaurant supports youth sports in their community and could be a factor in their decision to dine at your restaurant.

Use Locally Sourced Ingredients

There are many positive things that come out of offering a menu that features locally sourced ingredients. You not only keep your money local, but you also foster relationships with other businesses in your community. It shows customers that you care about supporting local growers. Using local produce can give a sense of higher-quality food that people are willing to pay more for.

Using ingredients that are grown in your local community keeps your menu fresh and can help your chef create new and exciting dishes that can later become signature staple signature foods. It helps with finding local sources for higher priced, harder to transport items and benefits your bottom line.

Support Local Arts

Partner with local artists and photographers in your community. Have a contest where local artists and photographers can submit their work. Provide details about your restaurant and what you represent and see what they come up with. The winner can have dedicated space in your operation to display their creations – maybe even sell it! Once a piece sells, it makes room for fresh new art to be displayed.

Offer Your Space for Events

Offer your restaurant for meetings, events or businesses that want to enable others to make networking connections. Not only are you showing your community you care about their businesses as well as their interests, you’re also increasing your profits.

Community involvement allows you to expand into new audiences and grow your brand reach by establishing professional relationships. Giving back to your local community doesn’t always require a high price tag. The community you operate in is your businesses home and whatever you do to support your local community will benefit your restaurant.

Visit Dining Alliance today for savings and discounts to help your operation succeed!