Jessica Goldsworthy
Jessica Goldsworthy September 23, 2018 • 5min read
Jessica Goldsworthy is a content creator at Square Signs, passionate about everything related to interior design and decoration. She enjoys DIY projects, learning new things and is always happy to share her knowledge and expertise with others.

So here’s the scenario: you’re running a restaurant and you need a way to let people know about your special summer menu.

You’re only going to have the special menu items for a couple of months so it doesn’t make sense to completely redo your whole menu since it’s just going to go back to normal soon anyway.

So what can you do? How do you let people know about the limited-time offers and menu items that a restaurant provides without changing all your promotional items every couple of months?

We have a few ideas we think you’ll like.

Temporary Signage Idea For Outdoors

A chalkboard or a whiteboard is a pretty standard option for an establishment that offers every-day specials, a “soup of the day” or any other sort of regularly-changing aspect.  You can just erase and rewrite new information whenever you need.

You can also use sandwich boards (also known as A-frames) with changeable faces to display new messages frequently. This is an easy-to-set-up, popular and relatively inexpensive option. Still, it does have some drawbacks. If yours is the type of restaurant that has weekly rotating specials (like Thirsty Thursday, for instance), it can be a bit tedious to simply re-write the same specials every day.

These types of products have a few advantages. They’re lightweight but they have an option to be weighed down so that they aren’t easily knocked over. They also provide enhanced visibility for your messages. Whenever they’re placed on the pavement right outside your door, people walking in both directions will have a clear view of the information showcased on the item. It’s bound to draw a lot of attention to what you have to say.

Temporary Signage Ideas for Windows

Here we have two options that are best attached to a window or a glass door and can solve the problem of fixed-term products.

If you have a different special every day of the week but that special is the same each week, consider getting a static cling for each day of the week. Since they stick on and peel off their surfaces without an adhesive, they can be replaced daily in a matter of just a few seconds.

This way, you can advertise your daily specials without having to rewrite them on a board every day and it’ll look nice to boot.

Restaurant window decals can be a bit bigger, and because they’re semi-permanent, they’re better-suited for advertising limited-time seasonal menus. You don’t want to be replacing these things every day, but if you can use it for a couple months, it’s inexpensive enough to replace.

Seasonal menu display boards

This depends on your type of restaurant. If you’re running a fine dining establishment, gator board signs probably aren’t going to give off the air of class you want.

But for a more casual place, a hanging gatorboard menu specifically for your selection of special or seasonal items will get the job done. These items are more durable and better-constructed than their cheaper cousins, foam board signs. Their specialty is being used for indoor, semi-permanent solutions.

Best of all, this product can be reused if stored properly. So if your summer menu is the same every summer, you can bust out the same items every summer!

temporary signage idea for a restaurant with a caution note in an A-frame style

Short-term floor displays

Most people have walked into a restaurant and seen a floor decal reading “Please Wait to Be Seated.” Well, that concept came from somewhere; and it’s more important than you think. The last thing you want as a restaurant owner is someone walking in, then walking back out because the host is busy and the customer doesn’t know what to do.

In addition, you can get an A-Frame with replaceable graphics to advertise your latest special. You’ll have great results with this combination if you have a nice, vivid photo of that mouth-watering favorite. Set it up right in front of your patrons when they walk in and see those orders roll up.