Extra revenue for your restaurant: 8 ideas and the rules to know

How can a restaurant add new sources of revenue?

Adding revenue does not mean starting a second business. It means selling more from what you already have: premises, a team, recipes, customers who trust you. The best ideas fill quiet hours without disrupting service.

This guide is part of our Grow a restaurant series.

Which new source of revenue should you choose?

Here are 8 ideas, with what they take. Investment and effort are rough guides for comparison, not amounts.

To choose, ask yourself three questions: which slots are empty? What do customers already ask for (“do you do takeaway?”, “can we book the whole room?”)? Who on the team has the time and the wish to run it?

How do you sell private hire and group meals?

Private hire is often the simplest idea: the room exists, so does the kitchen. Birthdays, company meals, christenings, retirement parties: these customers book ahead, for a known amount.

Prepare a simple offer

• Two or three fixed-price group menus, from a minimum number of guests.
• The possible slots (for example Monday evening, Saturday lunchtime, afternoons).
• A minimum spend to hire the whole room, rather than a room fee.
• Options: aperitif, cake, drinks package, decoration.

Secure the booking

Send a written quote with the menu, number of guests, price, the deadline to confirm final numbers and the cancellation terms. Ask for a deposit on signature. Our cancellation policy templates help you write those terms.

Hello [first name],

Thank you for your private hire request on [date] for [number] guests. We suggest the [name] menu at [price] per person, drinks [included / extra].

To confirm, please return this signed quote with a deposit of [amount]. Final guest numbers are due by [date] at the latest. Cancellation terms: [your terms].

See you soon, [signature]

Let people know you do private hire: a page on your website, a request form, a mention on your Google listing, and a post before the holiday and office-party season.

Catering and takeaway dishes: which VAT rate applies in France?

In France, the VAT rate depends not on the dish but on how it is sold and eaten. Here are the rates given by Service Public Entreprendre, the official French business portal.

Watch out for mixed sales: a takeaway meal with a beer must be split (each product at its own rate). Otherwise the whole sale is taxed at the highest rate, 20%. Have your accountant confirm your cases before setting prices.

Takeaway and click and collect have their own guide: restaurant takeaway and click and collect. To price each dish, use the food cost method.

Selling deli goods or wine to take away: what are the rules in France?

Selling your sauces, terrines or the wines on your list to take away extends the meal experience. Two points need checking first.

VAT

According to Service Public Entreprendre, grocery products are taxed at 5.5% and alcoholic drinks at 20%, however they are sold.

The licence for alcohol to take away

French restaurant licences (the “petite licence restaurant” and the “licence restaurant”) allow you to serve alcohol on site, with meals. To sell alcohol to take away, you need a take-away licence:

• Small take-away licence (petite licence à emporter): group 3 drinks (wine, beer, cider…).
• Take-away licence (licence à emporter): all drinks, including spirits.
• Procedure: a prior declaration (Cerfa form no. 11542) at least 15 days ahead, at the town hall (at the prefecture in Paris and Alsace-Moselle). The receipt (Cerfa no. 11543) is your proof.
• Selling between 10 pm and 8 am: a compulsory 7-hour training course gives the night-time alcohol sales permit, valid for 10 years.

Restaurant licences are covered in our guide to the restaurant alcohol licence in France. Also check with the town hall: some towns have local rules on alcohol sales.

Present it well

• A small display near the till, with prices clearly shown.
• Clear labels (name, ingredients, allergens, date) for your homemade products.
• A short selection: 5 to 10 products the team knows and can recommend.

Workshops, tastings and gift vouchers: how do you go about it?

Workshops (cooking classes, wine tastings, food and wine pairing) fill the room at quiet times and create loyal customers. They need little investment, but good organisation.

A worked example (made-up figures)

A Saturday afternoon cooking class, 8 participants at €55 excluding VAT each: €440 excluding VAT. Ingredients: €9 per person, so €72. That leaves €368 to pay for the chef’s and assistant’s time, energy and preparation. Do this calculation with your own figures, and ask your accountant which VAT rate applies to this kind of service.

• Set a minimum number of places for the class to go ahead.
• Take payment on registration.
• Check with your insurer that the activity is covered.
• Take photos (with written consent from anyone recognisable) to announce the next one.

Gift vouchers

A gift voucher is paid for before it is used, and it often brings new customers. It works especially well at the end of the year and for Mother’s and Father’s Day.

• Write clearly on the voucher: the amount or the menu offered, the expiry date, the conditions (booking advised, any excluded days).
• Number each voucher and keep a register: vouchers sold, vouchers used.
• Ask your accountant how to record the sale and the use of vouchers.
• Offer them on your website and at the till, and promote them in November and December.

How do you let people know about these new offers?

A new offer nobody knows about earns nothing. Plan a small one-month launch.

1. On site: a chalkboard, a note with the bill, the team mentioning it to regulars.
2. On Google: an update on your listing, the new services added (takeaway, private hire).
3. On your website: one page per offer, with prices and a way to book or order.
4. On social media: behind the scenes of the preparation, then the announcement, then photos of the first edition.
5. By email: to customers who agreed to receive your news.

Review after three months

For each offer: how many sales, what margin, how much time spent, and how many new customers came back afterwards. Keep what pays without exhausting the team, drop the rest. For other levers, see our guides to increasing average spend and getting more restaurant customers.

The restaurant owner’s guide

Open, run, grow: each stage has its full guide and detailed guides, with their reading time.

This guide for your trade

• Restaurants
• Bars and cafés
• Caterer website

Go further

• Grow a restaurant: the complete guide
• Restaurant takeaway and click and collect
• Booking cancellation policy templates
• Christmas marketing
• Local business marketing ideas