After all the bottles of champagne have been popped and the ball has dropped, many Americans spend New Year’s Day hanging out at home and preparing for months to come. Nothing complements a recovery day better than fantastic food, which is why New Year’s Day is one of the most popular takeout and delivery holidays of the year. That’s just the beginning—there are 17 more January food holidays your restaurant can promote to keep the celebration going and bring in more business.

What are January food holidays?

January food holidays are unofficial micro-holidays that focus on a specific cuisine, ingredient, or type of food. They’re often celebrated on social media, bringing together people who love everything from Swiss cheese (National Swiss Cheese Day on January 2) to green juice (National Green Juice Day on January 26).

If you’re a restaurant owner, January food holidays are opportunities to showcase popular foods or ingredients and engage customers with themed content. They’re the perfect time to offer an irresistible promotion, a limited-time menu, or a special event to catch customers’ attention and encourage them to place an order.

January is an important time for restaurant marketing—the campaigns you run during this month set the tone for the rest of the year. Because food days are popular social media holidays, you can use them to establish a trend of fun, creative marketing that sets your establishment apart from the competition. It’s an effective way to brighten customers’ days and keep the celebratory vibe going long after the winter holidays end. And when food days such as National Ice Cream Day, National Pizza Day, National Pancake Day, National Chocolate Day, National Cake Day, and National Cheese Day come around, your audience will be primed and ready.

What food holiday promotions should your restaurant run?

Promotions are a central part of marketing national food holidays—nothing gets people in the door like a great deal. Whether you’re offering a $1 bagel on National Bagel Day (January 15) or a lunch special on National Fish Taco Day (January 25), your customers will appreciate the opportunity to get more for their money.

Some promotions you can use to celebrate January food holidays include:

• Free item with every purchase
• Discounted menu items
• Discounted dishes featuring themed ingredients
• Dollar-off amounts
• Buy one, get one free offers
• Special meal packages 
• Free drink with purchase

As you’re considering different deals, think about how you can use them to boost the average ticket value. For example, on National Chocolate Cake Day (January 27), you could offer a $2 slice of cake to everyone who orders an entrée; customers still get a great deal, and you can make a profit. On National Blueberry Pancake Day (January 28), you might provide a $15 breakfast bundle featuring pancakes, bacon, and coffee. If you operate a bakery or coffee shop, consider offering a hot chocolate and pastry bundle for National Hot Chocolate Day (January 31).

4 online channels to promote food holidays

Food days are mostly celebrated online. While marketing campaigns and individual posts are usually lighthearted and relaxed, they can be remarkably powerful. A shared love of pizza or cheese can inspire a passionate response—and a rush of traffic. By posting on the right channels, you can harness some of that traffic and convert it into orders.

Showcase your restaurant’s website

About a week before you launch a food holiday promotion, create space for it on your restaurant’s website. Create a news item on the home page, and add a special banner to the top of your menu page. You might even adjust your header to make the promotion visible on every page. These prominent placements introduce the food holiday to customers who visit the site to check business hours or explore the menu.

Engage with diners on social media

If you only use one online channel for your food holiday celebrations, it should be a social media platform, such as Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. Food holidays get a great deal of traction on social media; they tend to be trending topics. Join in the conversation—and send some of the traffic to your restaurant—by posting about your promotion.

The trick? Write out the name of the holiday in your post and add a trending hashtag. These tactics help the algorithm understand your content and show it to more people. Then, you can bring people in with eye-catching photos and videos or compelling, deal-focused headlines. Make sure to include a link to your online ordering website so customers can place orders immediately.

Create an email newsletter

Email marketing is a powerful tool for restaurants. These messages cut through the flood of online advertisements and social media posts and go directly to your customers’ inbox. Once you have a promotional plan for January food holidays, send out an email to your list with the details. Follow up on the day before or the day of the event to remind customers to drop by or order online.

Use a third-party delivery service

A third-party delivery service such as Grubhub can be a valuable marketing partner for January food holidays. Our marketplace helps get your restaurant in front of more than 33 million active customers in more than 4,000 cities around the country. Use Grubhub’s promotional tools to reflect your in-house specials or to offer deals exclusively for takeout and delivery customers. Regardless of the option you choose, updating your menu is quick and easy; you can turn promotions or special menus on and off with just a few clicks.

January food holidays

If you’re looking for ways to kick off a year of creative restaurant marketing, January food holidays are the perfect opportunity. Simply find the days that suit your restaurant’s cuisine or existing menu and use them as the focus for promotions, seasonal menus, or even pop-up events. Fun, relaxed celebrations are exactly what your customers need to transition from the winter holidays into the rest of the year.

Here are some of the most popular days to consider:

• January 1: New Year’s Day
• January 2: National Swiss Cheese Day
• January 4: National Spaghetti Day
• January 6: National Bean Day
• January 7: National Tempura Day
• January 12: National Curried Chicken Day
• January 13: National Gluten-Free Day
• January 14: National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day
• January 15: National Bagel Day
• January 16: National Quinoa Day
• January 17: National Hot Buttered Rum Day
• January 19: National Popcorn Day
• January 20: National Cheese Lovers Day
• January 21: National Hot Sauce Day
• January 23: National Pie Day
• January 24: National Peanut Butter Day
• January 25: National Fish Taco Day
• January 26: National Green Juice Day
• January 27: National Chocolate Cake Day
• January 28: National Blueberry Pancake Day
• January 30: National Croissant Day
• January 31: National Hot Chocolate Day

After you choose food holidays and develop a promotional plan, partner with Grubhub to amplify your marketing and reach more customers. We provide the tools you need to grow your customer base and build the foundation for success in the competitive restaurant industry. You’ll also get access to useful resources and tips to support you along the way. Don’t leave money on the table—partner with Grubhub today.