The Ultimate Guide to Boosting Restaurant Revenue on Halloween

Halloween has become one of the most profitable moments of the year for US restaurants, bars, and hotels. With the rise of pumpkin spice everything, haunted houses, and trick-or-treat nostalgia, October 31st is a golden opportunity for restaurant groups, franchises, and multi-location hospitality brands to boost visibility, reservations, and revenue.

But to make sure that happens, preparation is key (especially digital communication, online updates) as well as a few ideas, tips (and tricks!). From spooky specials to viral social media campaigns, this season is built for creativity and growth.

Here are the top halloween restaurant marketing ideas to make your venues stand out and fill every table this October.

Make sure your Marketing Team uses a proper Food Marketing Calendar to stay ahead of time and competition.

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Before talking content, let's talk prep. None of your marketing effort will pay if you are not communicating on them.

You need to make sure you are all set, as a brand and for all your locations. Start your communication at least three weeks in advance, then ramp up suspense and reminders as the date gets closer.

Update all your Google Business Profiles for every location with new menus, seasonal photos, themed hours, and Halloween events. This will not only boosts your local SEO but also improves your chances of getting new customers. 

If you have a Store Locator or local landing pages, add Halloween-themed content there too. These pages are becoming one of the top signals for both Google and generative search engines.

Malou Pro tip: Use the higher foot traffic to ask for feedback and boost your ratings, which pays off long after Halloween is over.

Holiday rushes are also a great opportunity to collect positive reviews and increase your Google's rating. High ratings plus voluminous reviews are the number #1 SEO and GEO tip. LLM and Google's algorithm will push your locations higher in search results.

2. Go big on digital communication

Just like any holiday, Halloween is ideal for marketing campaigns that generate extra revenue, only if you bring strong ideas and flawless execution.

The louder you are online, the more customers you attract offline.

Halloween is the perfect time for restaurant chains to launch creative digital campaigns, co-marketing partnerships, or viral stunts that make guests talk about your brand.

Use the top growth marketing canals for hospitality groups:

• Google results (local SEO and national SEO)
• AI results like ChatGPT, Gemini, Preplexity (GEO or AIO)
• Online platforms and directories (great for SEO and GEO)
• Instagram (more likely to be used during festivities by clients seeking new experiences or limited offers).

Nb: Don't forget that Instagram's professional accounts are now crawled by Google. Your Instagram Posts could be your best SEO asset yet! Make sure your Instagram profile is SEO-optimized.

Even the most creative campaigns fall flat without strong communication.

Promote your Halloween specials and events across:

• Google Business Profile (AI's n°1 source of chosing restaurants online) with optimized Google Posts and updated listings
• Social Media : Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook (teasers, countdowns, behind-the-scenes)
• Website + Local landing pages (Store Locator) with SEO optimized keywords for Halloween
• Loyalty databases (newsletters, exclusive pre-reservations or discounts)

America's most profitable franchises usually go all in during spooky season. Casual dining and QSR chains add Halloween collectibles, themed packaging, or special kids’ items to drive delivery and in-store buzz.

In 2025, McDonald's Halloween Happy Meal Buckets will be back to attract happy kids (and happy parents) with plenty of free goodies. Same move for Burger King  with exclusive collectible toys.

Wendy’s went a little further to rival with the competition with Frosty Frights Kids’ Meals, which features the choice of a free 4-piece chicken nuggets, a hamburger or cheeseburger.

3. Create a seasonal and profitable Halloween menu

A Halloween-themed menu is one of the easiest ways to draw new customers.

Use seasonal produce like pumpkins, squash, or root vegetables for cost control and higher margins. Pair it with spooky cocktails, desserts, or sharables that guests want to photograph.

Going seasonal and local is also great for your margins and food cost. It's also a great sustainable choice: make sure you show off your local partners or food markets.

Pro tip: Develop at least one “hero item” that is Instagram- or TikTok-ready.

A photogenic dish or drink not only delights customers but also fuels organic marketing when they share their experience online.

4. Run games to fuel social media & deliver an immersive Halloween experience

Engagement skyrockets when you bring gamification into the mix.

Costume contests, best Halloween selfie challenges, or even spin-to-win promotions can keep guests excited and active on social media.

Encourage diners to share photos with your own hashtag, repost the best entries, and give away free meals, branded swag, or gift cards. This boosts loyalty while creating free, viral marketing content.

The best move: use your staff! Motivate them across locations, use scripts and go all in on makeup and costume.

This year, Chili's Grill & Bar has returned its popular cheese-pull Halloween costume and the fans are loving it.

Atmosphere matters as much as food. Transform your venues with carved pumpkins, cobwebs, eerie lighting, fog machines, and haunting playlists. Guests will remember the ambiance and associate it with your brand.

Level up with spooky cocktails served tableside to make the experience truly unforgettable.

Pro tip for groups and franchises: For hotel restaurants or larger chains, provide local units with a Halloween “activation kit” so décor and experience stay consistent across locations.

Don't forget to share your every move across all locations, on both the brand's Instagram page AND other location's local Instagram pages.

Bonus: Centralized strategy for restaurant groups

Halloween restaurant marketing ideas are a real opportunity to drive visibility, reservations, and incremental sales for your entire network of restaurants. With the right mix of digital marketing, seasonal menus, immersive experiences, and consistent communication, you can turn October 31 into one of your highest-grossing nights of the year.

For franchises and multi-location operators, Halloween success depends mostly on prep, coordination, and key learnings.

What you should do:

• Use dashboards to track which locations perform best (and use KPI or semantic analysis of reviews to understand why)
• Share creative assets, templates, and digital content for consistent execution.
• Partner with other brands, local haunted houses, pumpkin patches, or seasonal attractions to cross-promote experiences. By cross-promoting, both brands get access to each other's followers, contacts lists and clients while maximizing visibility.

Treat (not trick): Run A Free Strategy Session With Malou

Our final suggestion: book a free coaching!

What It Is: A 30-minute session with one of our Malou expert. First, we conduct a custom audit ahead of time, covering SEO, reviews, GBP performance, and local ranking factors across your brand and locations. Then, we take these 30minutes to share our insights with you and answer any questions you might have.

Why It Matters: This is not a sales call. It’s a data-backed growth assessment, used by groups like 8 Hospitality, Dinex, and Riviera Dining Group. Thanks to our data scientists and marketing hospitality experts, you will be getting a very solid free strategy to help you pinpoint exactly what your opportunities are.

👉 Boo! Book your free session or call us directly: +1 (929) 494 52 10

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Did you enjoy this content? If you are interested in growth through digital marketing, don't miss our top 40 must-have apps for restaurants and our top free marketing tools for restaurants.

Witching you a Happy Halloween _🎃