Restaurant Marketing Ideas For October

As the air turns crisp and diners seek new comforts, October presents restaurant owners with unique opportunities to stand out. This month is packed with food celebrations, seasonal flavors, and fun events—meaning it’s the perfect time to get creative with your marketing. Whether you want to boost sales, launch new promotions, or better engage your guests, these proven marketing ideas will help your restaurant thrive all October long.

Fall is upon us, and if you’re looking for a few favorite dishes to promote, there are plenty of October restaurant marketing ideas to take advantage of — including Halloween, one of the most engaging and profitable holidays for restaurants. It’s great news if you’re an Italian restaurant, as October is also National Pasta Month and National Pizza Month. Plus, it’s National Seafood Month and National Dessert Month, giving every restaurant something to celebrate. Combine these food holidays with festive Halloween-themed specials or events, and you’ve got a recipe for a busy and exciting month.

Here’s how your restaurant can make the most of October.

What does October hold for restaurants?

There are a lot of food items celebrated throughout the month of October. For your reference, October is:

• American Cheese Month
• Eat Better, Eat Together Month
• National Apple Month
• National Applejack Month
• National Bake and Decorate Month
• National Caramel Month
• National Chili Month
• National Cookbook Month
• National Cookie Month
• National Dessert Month
• National Pasta Month
• National Pickled Peppers Month
• National Pizza Month
• National Popcorn Poppin’ Month
• National Pork Month
• National Pretzel Month
• National Sausage Month
• National Seafood Month
• Pear and Pineapple Month
• Spinach Lovers Month
• Vegetarian Month

There are also days dedicated to foods throughout October that restaurant owners should take note of:

Date	Food Days
October 1	National Homemade Cookies Day World Vegetarian Day
October 2	National Fried Scallops Day
October 3	National Coffee with a Cop Day National Pumpkin Seed Day
October 4	National Taco Day
October 5	National Apple Betty Day
October 6	National Noodle Day National Orange Wine Day
October 7	National Frappe Day
October 8	National Fluffernutter Day National Pierogi Day
October 9	National Pro-Life Cupcake Day
October 10	National Cake Decorating Day National Angel Food Cake Day
October 11	National Sausage Pizza Day
October 12	National Gumbo Day
October 13	National Yorkshire Pudding Day
October 14	National Dessert Day
October 15	National Cheese Curd Day
October 16	National Liqueur Day
October 17	National Pasta Day National Take Your Parents To Lunch Day
October 18	National Chocolate Cupcake Day Get to Know Your Customers Day
October 19	National Seafood Bisque Day
October 20	National Brandied Fruit Day
October 21	National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day
October 22	National Nut Day
October 23	National Boston Cream Pie Day
October 24	National Bologna Day National Food Day
October 25	National Greasy Foods Day
October 26	National Mincemeat Day National Pumpkin Day
October 27	National American Beer Day
October 28	National Chocolate Day
October 29	National Oatmeal Day
October 30	National Candy Corn Day
October 31	National Caramel Apple Day

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Restaurant Marketing Ideas for October

What dishes would it make sense for your restaurant to promote this October?

What restaurant marketing strategy do you plan to pursue?

Here are three ideas to get you started…

National Pizza Month

We’ve already posted about what an amazing opportunity national pizza month is for pizzerias. In fact, it’s so good we are going to reiterate the point here. Seriously if you are a pizzeria or a restaurant that serves pizza, you need to make the most of National Pizza Month—after all, it only comes round once a year. Why not make a brand new pizza, go behind the scenes to see how your pizzas are created or bump up the rewards on your loyalty scheme?

National Pasta Month

It’s not just pizzerias that can get in on the Italian action in October. Italian restaurants that focus on pasta can also run events in October to promote their fare. Much of the same ideas can apply to pasta as they do to pizza. You could create a new pasta dish each week, have a Halloween-themed dish or run a competition to have your customers create a new meal that will stay on the menu for the entire year. Or how about this: why not combine the two Italian-themed months together. If you are a pizzeria, introduce pasta to your menu for this month only. If you only do pasta, introduce pizza for this month only.

National Cookbook Month

It’s National Cookbook Month and here’s an idea to generate some great PR for your restaurant: why not publish one or two of your favorite recipes. Customers always want to know how to cook their favorite meals at home so why not give them the tools to do so? They will never be able to make it as good as you do so you should even see an uptick in bookings and online orders as customers crave the real thing. Here’s another idea, why not publish your own cookbook and sell it for a profit. You could even partner with a charity to donate a portion of the proceedings to a good cause to do your part and generate even more PR.

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Conclusion: Make the Most of October

👉 Tie Promotions to the October Calendar

Promoting your food options in conjunction with the October calendar gives diners a reason to visit and keeps your restaurant top of mind as the seasons change.

By tying menu specials, events, and promotions to national food days or seasonal flavors, you’ll spark customer interest and create urgency that drives more traffic through your doors.

Syncing your messaging across your website, blog, and social media multiplies your reach—and eye-catching food photography will amplify your promotions even further.

👉 October: The Launchpad for Holiday Success

But the real win is setting your restaurant up for a successful holiday marketing season. October isn’t just another month; it’s the jumping-off point for capturing early attention and building loyal relationships ahead of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.

With so much competition ramping up over the coming months, a smart, cohesive marketing strategy can make all the difference.

Restaurant Holiday Marketing Ideas [2025 Update]

👍 Partner with Experts to Maximize Impact

Don’t leave your success up to chance. Partner with The Digital Restaurant to develop a customized October campaign that creates buzz now and keeps momentum building straight into the most profitable months of the year.

Ready to get ahead of the holiday rush? Book your free marketing consultation today—let’s make this your restaurant’s best season ever.