Saint Patrick’s Day, the one day in the year where everybody is Irish, whether they have any emerald blood running through their veins or not, takes place next week and it’s an event that has many within the catering, publican and hospitality sectors rubbing their hands with glee.

The associated revelry and celebrations are well-known and for those working in the industry the event is one that represents a perfect opportunity to maximise footfall and increase revenues in a few easy steps.

The most obvious one is to ‘go green’, and we don’t mean go green with envy or illness! As always, promotion is vital to raising awareness of any activity and St. Patrick’s Day is no different.

Blackboards

Many bars, clubs and restaurants will be running events so you’ll need to work out what your unique selling point is (maybe you’ll be screening the Six Nations’ fixture between Wales and Ireland the Saturday before or having an Irish themed specials board for a week) and hammer the point home.

To help with this, you could promote your offers and events on in-house and external chalkboards. Available in hanging, wall-mounted, table top and freestanding forms, our range of blackboards, markers and stencils will help you showcase your plans – and artistic side – to customers old and new.

Menu ideas

Did you know that Fionn mac Cumhaill (known in the English tongue as Finn MacCool), the undisputed hero of Irish myth and folklore, gained all of his wisdom by eating a salmon?

As the story goes, the free-jumping salmon had inherited the entire world’s knowledge after consuming a bunch IQ boosting hazelnuts, thus becoming the cleverest fish in history until George made an appearance on our television screens. Fionn, unbeknownst about the salmon’s incredible intelligence, capture the fish and promptly cooked it, thus gaining an all-encompassing understanding of the world. Since then, salmon has been a traditional staple of Irish cuisine.

So why not add it to your menu for a limited period?

You could serve it with colcannon – a traditional accompaniment that is similar to mashed potatoes, but can contain bacon, onions, cabbage and kale – or, if you need inspiration for a starter, it could be presented with chive pancakes.

Other staples of an Irish menu include slow-cooked mutton or lamb stew, apple tarts and, of course, lots of things that contain Guinness!

And if you’re in need of some extra utensils, you can pick up specialist fish knives to compliment and expand your current range or cutlery.

Bottle coolers

And finally, there is the increase in drink sales.

Saint Patrick’s Day may fall during the week this year, but that won’t stop people coming out of the woodwork to celebrate. Beverage sales spike during the revelry, but for once there is a method to the madness: The day is often associated with the temporary removal of restrictions on consuming alcohol during lent, something which canny marketers have taken hold of in recent years.

This Sterling Pro Bottle Cooler will help draw attention to your array of bottled products and increase sales. With two shelves, able to hold 154 bottles and a working temperature range of between 2-10°C, the BC6097K is a durable option that comes into its own during busy periods. And it’s available for just £236 (ex-vat), that’s a saving of 62% when compared to its original list price.

Get shopping and ensure you’re all set for Saint Patrick’s Day, the one day of the year when it’s okay to be green! Free delivery on all orders placed via the website.