Every June, millions of people around the world gather in unison to celebrate Pride Month, honoring the anniversary of the New York City Stonewall Uprising and uplifting the LGTBQ+ community. From parades to concerts and food to fundraisers,
Pride Month offers endless chances for restaurants to show their support.
Here are some ways your restaurants can wave your rainbow flag especially high this Pride Month.
1. Raise Your Flag
A few well-placed decorations can go a long way to signal that you support the cause and accept all customers equally. A flag or multicolor cocktail umbrellas are simple ways to let the community know your restaurant stands behind the LGBTQ+ community and backs the cause.
2. Rainbow Tasting Menu
Create a rainbow tasting menu with colors that change each week of June. Invite customers to come in on the first week to taste-test your “green” menu filled with specials ranging from healthy salads and smoothies to green beer. The next week, create a “purple” menu including items like eggplant parm and plum salad. “Red” week could include anything from pizza to pasta, and red velvet cake to sangria Pride Punch punch. Then feature creative twists on Grilled Cheese and corn-on-the cob on “yellow” week.
Entice customers to come back each week to receive a stamp on a loyalty card which they can turn in for a free menu item in July. Alternatively, you could name each day of the week with a theme color, making Mondays blue day, Tuesdays red day, and so on.
3. Experiment with Rainbow Recipes
When it comes to food, Pride Month is the perfect opportunity to experiment with color, flavor, and fun new recipes. Using colors across your menu in the month of June is a simple, fun, and chic way to show your support. From Over-the-Rainbow Bagels to colorful Ombre Cookies, pride recipes are great ways to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community throughout the month of June.
Try one or two of these fun rainbow recipes to show your support.
Rainbow Cake
Rainbow Cupcakes
Pride Pancakes
Ombre Frosting
Rainbow Grilled Cheese
Gay Pride Bagels
Rainbow Fruit Tarts
4. Show Your Pride Across Social Media
After you’ve decided how colorful your support will be, don’t forget to take all that to your social media channels with banners about your promotions, menu specials, and donations. Launch a social media campaign to show your support for Pride Month.
Sharing messages of inclusivity, posting photos of your Pride-themed offerings, engaging with LGBTQ+ influencers to amplify your message, and posting insider stories will go a long way to show your support and help drive traffic to your restaurant.
5. Host LGBTQ+ Fundraisers
Organize fundraisers for local LGBTQ+ organizations or charities. Consider donating a portion of your Pride Month sales to a local LGBTQ+ cause. It’ll not only show that your restaurant is putting money where your mouth is, but it’ll ring loudly with your customer base.
6. Pride-Inclusive Staff Training
Conduct training sessions with your staff to promote inclusivity and sensitivity. Educate your team about LGBTQ+ issues, appropriate language, and respectful behavior to ensure a welcoming experience for all customers.
7. Collaborate with Local LGBTQ+ Artists, Musicians, and Performers
Host events featuring LGBTQ+ artists, musicians, or performers. This collaboration not only shows support but also provides a platform for local talent to showcase their skills.
8. Pride-Themed Promotions
Offer Pride-themed discounts, promotions, and special offers throughout the month. This can include happy hours, brunch specials, or themed dining experiences. Collaborate with other LGBTQ+-friendly businesses in your area by pooling your marketing efforts, creating cross-promotions, or hosting joint events to celebrate Pride Month.
9. Sponsor or Participate in Pride Parades
Get involved in local Pride parades or festivals by sponsoring floats, marching in the parade, or setting up a booth to promote your restaurant. This demonstrates your active support for the LGBTQ+ community.
10. Offer LGBTQ+ Employee Resources
Create or support LGBTQ+ employee resource groups within your restaurant. This provides a platform for your LGBTQ+ staff to feel comfortable, connect and support one another, and share their experiences.
Take Away
After adding color to your menu and media presence, dig deeper into supporting the LGBTQ+ movement by getting in touch with the community in your own backyard. Talk to your staff about their personal connections to the Pride movement and ask for their input about ways to show your support.
While the community will appreciate your restaurant's recognition of causes that support the LGBTQ+ community, it's essential that your motives are genuine and that you're not just in it for commercial gain. If you approach Pride Month with the same respect, understanding, and a commitment to inclusivity as you do throughout the year, your customers will feel that dining at your establishment means supporting what they believe in. And you'll become more than a business – you become a part of a community.
By Eileen Strauss
