Spring brunch season brings a chance to make a lasting impression
By Lara Creasy
With Easter and Mother’s Day fast approaching, it’s time for all restaurant operators to develop a solid plan for BRUNCH!
In a survey published on Statista.com this February, approximately 72 percent of consumer respondents said they planned to spend money at a restaurant on Easter or Passover. Mother’s Day is no different. National Restaurant Association (NRA) research found in 2024 that 43 percent of consumers planned to use restaurants to celebrate their Moms on Mother’s Day, and of those, 84 percent said they planned to dine out for breakfast, brunch or lunch.
That’s an extraordinary opportunity to capitalize on daytime business, even if your restaurant doesn’t normally serve brunch. So what are Georgia restaurants doing to make the most of these days, and what tips do they have for their fellow operators?
Planning and being prepared are the most obvious answers. We’ve all had services that didn’t quite go as planned, myself included, and learning from those moments is key.
“Mother’s Day of 2020, we were in the thick of the pandemic and had not reopened for dine-in service yet,” said Stephen Kaplan, COO and wine director of Rumi’s Kitchen. “We did not expect we would be as busy as in past years, and we had just begun offering online ordering. Turns out, it was destined to be the busiest Mother’s Day we ever had. But we were so unprepared, we ended up having to close the restaurant in the afternoon because we ran out of food,” he remembered. “It ruined a lot of people’s Mother’s Day, and it was probably one of the most miserable working days of my life…but enough time has passed now I can look back on it and laugh,” he chuckled.
To avoid such catastrophes, consider the following advice from experienced brunch operators.
Take reservations.
“Reservations definitely help,” said Kaplan. “Because holidays typically present abnormal sales volumes, having an idea of how many guests are going to be dining helps the restaurant prepare for the business and helps to ensure the experience is the best it can possibly be.”
Costanzo Astarita, owner and chef of Grazie Hospitality Group, agrees. “Reservations play a crucial role during a busy holiday, especially Mother’s Day when everyone wants Mom to feel super special. In my experience, which is over 30 years now, without reservations, restaurants might struggle to accommodate a surprise influx of guests, leading to longer waits and potential service challenges.”
Astarita, whose group owns Baraonda Ristorante & Bar, as well as Publik Draft House and E Ke Pizza, said, “At Baraodna we always encourage a reservation.” He said their guests can use the online platform Open Table to make, modify and cancel reservations. “We also take event reservations for 12 or more. Guests can work directly with my partner Alin to create a beautiful, custom menu for their group,” he said.
The NRA reports that 28 percent of diners choose restaurants for Mother’s Day that take reservations, so taking them is definitely worth considering. My restaurant group, Superica, noticed a major up-tick in business on holidays once we changed from a walk-in only model to reservations. It seems guests prefer a sure thing on special days when they are honoring someone special, like Mom.
Offer Specials
The NRA reports that 39 percent of diners would select a restaurant based on whether it offers a special Mother’s Day menu, and 36 percent would choose a restaurant that offers special cocktails, desserts, or a small gift for Mom, like flowers or chocolates.
Astarita takes this approach at Baraonda. “We do not have many authentic Italian spots where we are located on Roswell Road, so specials are a really nice way to attract guests and offer Italian classics that I grew up with overseas,” he said. He shared a memory of spending the Easter holiday time with his whole family, including cousins, aunts, grandmother. Everyone would prepare specialties like casatiello (a savory bread traditionally prepared for the Easter holiday) or frittata, and the whole family would head up to Monte Solaro, the highest point in Capri, where he is from, and spend all day picnicking and having fun.
“Easter is one of the most highlighted holidays for us,” he said. Baraonda offers specials on the holiday such as Grilled Lamb Chops with herb marinade, eggplant caponata, and mint orange sauce; and Ischia-style Rabbit with shallots, garlic and pacchino tomatoes to continue the Italian Easter tradition.
Other Atlanta restaurants offering Easter special include Your 3rd Spot in West Midtown, which is offering an Easter brunch menu all weekend. On Easter Sunday, daytime festivities will kick off at noon, including an Easter Egg Hunt on the patio at 3 p.m., a creative craft station, and a venue-wide scavenger hunt.
Gypsy Kitchen in Buckhead will add bold, global flavors to their Easter brunch, with specials including hot honey harissa-glazed pork belly with a fried egg, and grilled lamb chops paired with smoked cinnamon couscous. A flamenco guitarist will start playing on their patio at 4:30 p.m.
Plan ahead
Don’t delay in making plans for these big brunch services. It may be too late to organize anything special for Easter brunch, but there is still time to have a strong Mother’s Day plan. Making this day special for first time guests can create regulars for life, while messing the day up can have the opposite effect.
“Organization is key really,” said Astarita. “It is a must for us to plan ahead, offer special menu items to differentiate ourselves from others in town, communicate what we are offering on social media, and certainly, to provide exceptional service and quality dishes. That is what keeps our guests coming back. We tend to get a high volume of new guests on a holiday as well,” he added, “so it is a chance for us to make a lasting impression.”
Make sure you staff generously on these holidays. Consider making the holiday a black-out day for schedule requests from your staff, and let everyone know it’s an “all hands on deck” occasion. Staff extra people at your pressure points, to execute quick table turns, constantly brew coffee and run food. It’s worth the extra labor cost on days like these to ensure a positive experience for your guests and employees. The volume you will be able to handle may more than make up for it.
One parting tip from Kaplan as you plan for spring holiday brunches: “Don’t run out of eggs!”
Lara Creasy is Beverage Director for Rocket Farm Restaurants, overseeing eleven Superica locations in five states. She loves all things beverage from tea to tequila, coffee to cocktails, whiskey to wine, and gets to make a living at it.
