Restaurant Success Checklist: Action Steps by Category

Use this checklist to assess and upgrade your restaurant's performance in the areas that matter most. Print it. Share it. Revisit it monthly.

Staffing, Leadership & Sales Training

• Identify your top profit-driving item and train staff to promote it
• Make it your “hero item” and build buzz around it
• Run daily or weekly sales scoreboards to create healthy competition
• Post top-seller shoutouts where the team sees them
• Train all FOH roles (hosts, bussers, runners) in light sales language
• Give everyone one upsell line that feels natural
• Implement a Service Sales Sequence for consistent guest interactions
• From greet to goodbye - map out what good looks like
• Host pre-shift huddles with a focus on sales and service wins
• Include one sales tip and one guest story each time
• Recognize and celebrate team successes regularly
• Highlight both effort and results, not just numbers
• Create leadership systems, not just roles - delegate with clarity
• Empower shift leads with mini-responsibilities they can own

Marketing & Visibility

• Optimize your Google Business Profile and website for clarity and booking
• Make hours, links, and photos guest-friendly and fresh
• Post consistently with brand-aligned content that evokes emotion
• Focus on feeling: comfort, indulgence, celebration, etc.
• Use fewer platforms, but use them better (focus your energy!)
• Pick one platform for reach, one for engagement
• Track actions and conversions, not just vanity metrics (likes, views)
• Measure reservations, orders, and clicks instead
• Run at least one storytelling post each week (behind-the-scenes, origin stories, etc.)
• Help guests connect with your mission and people
• Build collaborative promotions with neighborhood businesses
• Think: “Fitness & Falafel,” “Burgers & Barbers,” “Tacos & Tattoos”
• Use branded visuals and tone to create scroll-stopping recognition
• Make sure someone could identify your post without your name

Customer Loyalty & Retention

• Set up automated re-engagement emails/texts (e.g. "Haven't seen you in a while")
• Trigger them after 21–30 days of inactivity
• Launch a loyalty initiative that rewards visit frequency early (after 2nd or 3rd visit)
• Make earning feel quick and rewards feel generous
• Use bounce-back offers with time sensitivity (e.g. return within 10 days)
• Print and staple to receipts or email instantly after checkout
• Offer guest birthdays and anniversaries perks to drive visit behavior
• Send emails or texts with RSVP links
• Add “return and reward” language to check presenters or takeout bags
• Simple message: “Bring this back for a treat next visit!”
• Train team to verbally plant seeds for future visits/events
• “Next week’s wine night is going to be fire - hope to see you!”

Menu & Profit Strategy

• Identify your top 3 highest-margin dishes and highlight them on the menu
• Box them in, badge them, or give them storytelling names
• Reorganize menu layout to steer guest attention to high-profit zones
• Top-left, center-right, and highlighted zones win attention
• Eliminate or rework underperforming items that hurt kitchen flow or margins
• Use a 3-month report and be ruthless
• Create bundled specials to boost perceived value and average check
• Example: “Date Night Bundle” or “Lunch Power Combo”
• Rename and describe menu items with sensory and origin-based language
• “Smoked Heritage Pork” sells better than “Pork Chop”
• Train staff with pitch scripts for key menu items
• “This pairs perfectly with…” and “Guests keep coming back for…”
• Use limited-time specials to test pricing and menu innovation
• Feature on social and watch the data

Events & Catering

• Develop a catering menu focused on top-performing, easy-to-execute items
• Avoid dishes that wilt, sog, or spill
• Offer 3–5 event/catering packages with fixed pricing and add-ons
• “Office Lunch for 10,” “Fiesta for 25,” “Game Day Tray”
• Promote catering in-dining, online, and through takeout touchpoints
• Table tents, bag inserts, and bathroom signage work
• Use a single team member as the catering/events coordinator
• Give them a title - even part-time - and authority
• Automate responses with templates for quotes, confirmations, and follow-ups
• Build a 3-email series: inquiry / proposal / reminder
• Schedule at least one recurring off-night event (e.g. trivia, wine dinner)
• Keep it the same day/time so guests form a habit
• Track catering inquiries and conversions monthly
• Review what’s working - and double down

Final Tip: Pick 1–2 items from each category to focus on this month. Progress beats perfection. Success comes from consistency, not complexity.

Jaime Oikle is the Owner & Founder of RunningRestaurants.com, a comprehensive web site for restaurant owners & managers filled with marketing, operations, service, people & tech tips to help restaurants profit and succeed.