Score Green Celebrating the Red, White, and Blue

Inventive Ways to Generate Restaurant Revenue on the Fourth of July

With less than a week to prepare, the final days of June are a great time to get your restaurant ready to sparkle this Independence Day. As the nation comes together to celebrate its independence, the Fourth of July is a day when friends and family all over the country gather to celebrate with food, fun, and, of course, fireworks. For restaurants, it’s a time to optimize your catering menus, promote packages, and create holiday specials to boost your restaurant’s revenue.

From delivery add-ons to complete packages, the sky's the literal limit when it comes to inventive ways to score green while celebrating the Red, White, and Blue.

Host Anti-Fireworks Events

Not everyone celebrates the Fourth of July with a bang—literally. Fireworks may be a holiday staple, but they’re not for everyone, especially families with young kids, veterans with PTSD, and dog owners whose pets are terrified of loud noises.

That’s where your restaurant comes in.

Create a calm, firework-free event as a refuge for those who prefer peace over pops and booms. Whether it’s an outdoor acoustic concert, a cozy dog-friendly dinner, or a virtual cooking class for those staying home, these kinds of events offer a unique way to connect with your community and bring in high-margin holiday sales.

If you have an outdoor dining space, consider encouraging guests to bring their pets for a relaxed evening under the stars. Set the vibe with low-key patriotic music, dim lighting, and maybe even a white noise machine to help mask the sound of distant fireworks. Add a few dog-friendly specials to your menu and include calming items for your human guests, such as herbal teas or comfort foods.

Alternatively, consider offering a themed cooking or mixology class designed for people staying at home. Market it as a “Firework-Free Fourth,” and include pet-safe treat recipes or ideas for keeping pets calm during fireworks.

This kind of empathetic event planning doesn’t just generate revenue—it builds loyalty by showing customers that you genuinely understand them.

Come up with a name, such as "Dog Day Afternoon," “The Quiet Fourth,” or “Pups & Peace Firework-Free Celebration,” to stand out from the crowded field of noise-making holiday events.

Create One-Day-Only Special Catering Packages

Even if you have no intention of ever going into the catering business, try to make an exception just on this one day of the year. Not everyone likes to cook, but almost everyone needs to bring something to their Fourth of July parties. Offering tasty take-out trays with ribs, chicken wings, and salads, must-haves for the holiday, are all great one-day catering ideas.

The Fourth of July holiday weekend is an excellent opportunity to promote catering packages as diners look to celebrate with food from their favorite restaurants without leaving their backyards. Make it convenient for your guests to order from your catering menu by optimizing your online offerings.

This works excellently for QSRs, ghost kitchens, virtual kitchens, and food trucks, too, because you don’t have to worry about decorating your business to the hilt like full-service dining establishments. Just be sure to promote your catering specials now to get the most bang for your marketing buck.

Curated Spirits

Depending on local laws and regulations around alcohol delivery sales, consider ways to bring the dining experience to your guests’ backyards. Create a special 4th of July cocktail, wine, or craft beer box and include your curated selections on your delivery and catering menu.

Enhance your 4th of July offerings by promoting refreshing summer cocktails or seltzers that perfectly capture the spirit of the season. Craft a special menu featuring icy-cold lemonades, wine coolers, fruity smoothies, and thirst-quenching iced teas that diners can enjoy while celebrating the country’s birthday.

For the sober crowd, don't forget to include low and no-alcoholic beverages as well.

Deliver Add-Ons

This year, let your guests bring the party home when they order takeout or delivery by offering an add-on party box with everything they’ll need for a backyard bash. Think American flag paper plates and napkins, party hats, streamers, and balloons. While it’s best to stay away from anything flammable like sparklers, look for July 4th-themed party favors to include in the box.

And of course, fill your box with grill-ready products that folks love during the 4th. A great way to start a multi-hyphenate business with a bang is to promote your restaurant’s barbecue sauce, wine, or branded merchandise on the holiday, sparking interest for the rest of the year.

Collaborate with Local Businesses

Consider collaborating with other businesses for a 4th of July-themed cross-promotion to spark sales. If your restaurant doesn’t sell beer, for example, partner with a local brewery on an Independence Day-themed brew exclusive to your restaurant. Or team up with a salon or spa to offer some at-home pampering products for guests to enjoy over the long weekend.

Fourth of July Staffing

Your team plays a critical role in your restaurant’s 4th of July success, so not only is it important that your business is well-staffed, but be sure to make your scheduling fair so as not to upset (or lose) your best crew.

Be prepared. Anticipate traffic trends for July 4th and adjust your staffing levels accordingly. Use your POS system to analyze past data from previous Fourth of July celebrations to determine the busiest times and schedule more staff during those peak hours. You’ll likely receive several time-off requests around the 4th of July, if you haven’t already, so take those into consideration as well.

Be fair. To keep things fair (and keep your restaurant staffed), consider creating an alternating holiday schedule so everyone gets a chance to celebrate. If an employee works on the 4th, consider offering that staff member the day off on Labor Day. The same technique can also be applied to the Christmas and Thanksgiving seasons. Alternatively, offer bonus holiday pay or other perks to anyone who works all three summer holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day).

Train and engage. Train your staff to be knowledgeable about your Fourth of July specials, menu items, and promotions. This is a time for celebrating our nation’s birthday, so encourage your employees to wear festive attire and create a welcoming and patriotic atmosphere for customers.

Cross-train. Depending on how busy you are and the types of 4th of July specials you’re running, it could make sense to implement additional training. Train employees in various roles and tasks to ensure flexibility and seamless operations during peak periods. This will allow you to easily reallocate staff as needed and provide coverage in all areas of the restaurant.

Take Away

Although the Fourth of July might not be the busiest day of the year for dining in, it can certainly be a big profit-maker if you promote your restaurant as a resource for take-out, delivery, and catering. So, while it's a day for celebrating the red, white, and blue, a little planning and creativity is all it takes to score some Fourth of July green!

By Eileen Strauss