Local Services

Restaurant Opening Playbook

People choosing somewhere to eat search for a type of food in a place, then check the menu, the hours and whether it suits the occasion. A new restaurant has none of the reviews or press that older places have. This playbook builds the pages that answer those questions from the first day.

Who this is for

Owners and managers opening a new restaurant, café or bar who have a website, or can add one.

Before you start

  • The menu, opening hours, address and booking method, confirmed.
  • Your business listing on the maps and review platforms you use.
  • Photos of your food and space that you own.
  • A short account of the kitchen’s approach, in the chef’s or owner’s words.

Step 1

Plan around diner questions

List what people check before they choose a restaurant.

  1. List the questions diners ask: cuisine, price level, dietary options, booking, parking, accessibility.
  2. Decide which answers belong on core pages and which deserve an article.
  3. Note the neighbourhood and occasions you want to be associated with.
  4. Plan opening news you can share with local press and community sites.

Step 2

Create the menu story and local pages

Write pages a diner can decide from.

  1. Publish the menu as text, not only as an image, so it can be read and searched.
  2. Write a story page about the food, the sourcing and the people cooking it.
  3. Write a page on dietary options and allergen handling, reviewed by the kitchen.
  4. Write a neighbourhood guide that mentions nearby places genuinely worth visiting.

Step 3

Publish before opening night

Have everything live and consistent when the doors open.

  1. Publish core pages and the menu before opening and keep them identical to your listings.
  2. Share the story page with local press and community sites with your opening news.
  3. Update the menu page every time the menu changes.
  4. Add articles about seasonal menus and events as they happen.

Step 4

Measure bookings and visits

Connect pages to tables filled.

  1. Track bookings that come from the website separately from those through platforms.
  2. Check which searches your pages appear for in your search console.
  3. Ask new guests how they found you.
  4. Keep hours and holiday closures up to date on the site and every listing.

Common pitfalls

  • A menu published only as an image or a downloadable file.
  • Opening hours on the website that differ from your map listing.
  • Allergen information that is out of date after a menu change.

Where Opus Rank helps

Tutorials for the parts of this plan you can do in Opus Rank.

Related playbooks

Turn a playbook into published articles

Plan the topics, generate drafts in your own voice and publish them to your site from one workspace.

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