All industries Wathen Consulting for

Restaurants & Cafés

Be the first place people see when they're hungry, nearby, and ready to go.

Restaurants live on foot traffic, repeat customers, and the crucial first impression when someone searches 'lunch near me.' The problem is that most restaurant owners are too busy running their kitchen to run their marketing. Meanwhile, competitors with stronger online presences are capturing customers who would've chosen you — if they'd only found you first. The good news: restaurant marketing has a huge ROI when done right, because a single new regular customer is worth hundreds of dollars over their lifetime.

What we do for you

A complete marketing system built for Restaurants.

Every tactic below is chosen because it specifically works for your industry — not because it's on a standard service list.

Google Business Profile — Your Most Important Marketing Asset

When someone searches 'best brunch near me' or 'coffee shop open Sunday,' Google shows a map with three businesses before any websites. If your profile isn't fully optimized, you're invisible in that moment — and that moment is when customers decide. We build your GBP into a complete digital storefront: your full menu uploaded and categorized, accurate hours including holiday variations, a curated photo library of your best dishes and atmosphere, weekly posts that promote specials and events, and a review generation system that keeps your rating climbing. The difference between 3.8 stars and 4.5 stars isn't just vanity — it directly determines how many people walk through your door.

Map pack dominance — show up first when people are hungry now
Full menu upload so customers can decide before they arrive
Review generation system that grows your rating consistently
Weekly posts promoting specials, events, and seasonal menus

Local SEO — Own the Searches That Matter

Beyond the map pack, we optimize your website to rank organically for the searches your customers actually use — 'best tacos in [city],' 'outdoor seating restaurant [neighborhood],' 'coffee shop with wifi [area].' Each of these searches represents a customer at the moment of decision. We build neighborhood-specific landing pages, optimize for cuisine type and dining occasion keywords, and earn the kind of local authority that makes Google consistently recommend you. Organic rankings compound over time — the more established you are, the more free traffic you earn every month.

Ranking for cuisine + city keyword combinations your customers search
Neighborhood-specific pages for multiple locations
Dining occasion keywords (brunch, date night, family dining, etc.)
Organic rankings that grow in value month after month

Meta & Instagram Ads — Visual Campaigns That Drive Visits

Food is one of the most scroll-stopping content categories on social media. A well-shot photo of your signature dish served to someone sitting two miles away, feeling hungry at 11:45am — that's a customer. We build visually driven Meta campaigns that target people within your delivery or drive radius, using your actual menu items and atmosphere to create hunger and urgency. Campaigns promote daily specials, happy hour windows, catering services, and seasonal menus. We also run retargeting campaigns to bring back people who've visited your website or engaged with your social profiles — because warm audiences convert at 3-5x the rate of cold ones.

Hyper-local targeting by radius and zip code
Food-forward creative built around your actual menu
Promotion campaigns for happy hour, events, and specials
Retargeting to re-engage past visitors and warm audiences

Catering & Events Lead Generation

Catering and private events are among the highest-margin revenue streams a restaurant can have — one corporate booking can equal a week of table service. But most restaurants rely on word-of-mouth for this revenue. We build dedicated catering landing pages that rank in search and capture leads from Google Ads, with lead forms that collect event size, date, and budget so you're only responding to qualified inquiries. This turns your catering program from a passive afterthought into an active revenue engine.

Dedicated catering page that ranks in search and converts
Google Ads for corporate event and private dining searches
Lead forms that pre-qualify budget, date, and guest count
Follow-up automation so no catering inquiry goes cold

Review Strategy & Reputation Management

Reviews are the single most influential factor in where people choose to eat. A restaurant with 500 reviews and a 4.4 star rating will consistently outperform a restaurant with 80 reviews and a 4.7 rating — simply because volume signals credibility. We implement a systematic review generation process: post-visit texts that make leaving a review one tap away, QR codes at tables, and staff training prompts. We also monitor your reviews across Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, alerting you to new reviews and helping you craft professional, brand-appropriate responses to both praise and criticism.

Post-visit SMS review requests — one tap for the customer
QR codes and in-restaurant prompts for passive review collection
Multi-platform monitoring across Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor
Response strategy for negative reviews that protects your reputation
What to expect

What working together actually looks like.

We measure success by what matters to your bottom line — not impressions, not followers, not vanity numbers. Here's what clients in your industry typically see.

  • Consistent new customer flow beyond your existing regulars
  • Higher-value visits through promoted specials and events
  • A review presence that makes you the obvious choice in your area
  • Catering and event revenue from active lead generation
  • Loyal repeat customers through retargeting and email/SMS campaigns
Let's talk

Ready to grow your Restaurants business?

Get a free audit of your current digital presence and a custom plan built around your specific market, competition, and goals. No generic packages. No pressure. Just clarity on where the opportunity is and what it would take to capture it.