How Restaurants Can Strengthen Their Operations During the Holiday Season
The holiday season is intense, but it’s also a huge opportunity. Restaurants that invest in preparation, streamlining menus, training teams, and optimizing their DoorDash setup, can see smoother operations, stronger reviews, and higher revenue through the end of the year.
Ready to learn how DoorDash can support your business in the upcoming holiday season?
Reach out to Denia Pavlatou (denia.pavlatou@doordash.com) to start the conversation about how to get online and start reaching more customers in your neighbourhood and beyond.
The holiday season is one of the most demanding times of the year for restaurants. Dine-in traffic increases, catering orders build, and delivery demand spikes as customers look for convenient ways to feed families, offices, and gatherings. For many restaurants, platforms like DoorDash become an essential helper for managing that surge.
With a bit of preparation, restaurants can turn the holiday rush into a meaningful opportunity strengthening operations, increasing revenue, and delivering a consistent guest experience. The following tips are designed to help operators make the most of their presence on third-party platforms like DoorDash during this busy season.
1. Build a Simple Holiday Menu
The holidays bring higher order volume and tighter kitchen timelines, and having a large menu can strain operations. A streamlined delivery menu helps the back of the house run smoothly by prioritizing high-impact items.
Keep your menu practical and accurate.
This is the time to review dishes that require long prep times or rely on inconsistent holiday inventory. Streamlining your menu to focus on reliable, high-margin, guest-favourite items can reduce delays and improve order accuracy.
Consider seasonal offerings that are easy to execute.
Holiday bundles, family-style meals, or popular entrées offered in group formats appeal to customers planning gatherings—and they’re often easier on the kitchen than complex à la carte dishes.
2. Update Your Store Settings with Holiday Conditions
Your digital storefront should reflect the realities of your holiday operations. Prep times may increase, and certain hours may shift.
Update hours and prep times as needed.
Staffing gets tighter and kitchens get busier during the season. Adjusting prep times slightly can prevent bottlenecks and reduce late orders. Being realistic upfront is far better than struggling through a rush you’re not staffed for.
Keep item availability current.
Ingredients run out more quickly during peak periods. Updating menu availability daily helps prevent cancellations and customer frustration.
3. Set Your Team Up for Delivery Success
Delivery can be a smooth part of service when your staff understands exactly how it fits into the broader operation.
Establish a clear pickup process.
Whether you use a pickup shelf, a dedicated counter, or staff-managed handoff, make sure Dashers know where to go through in-app delivery instructions and ensure staff know who is responsible for organizing orders.
Emphasize accuracy and packaging.
The holidays tend to bring larger, multi-bag orders. Staff should double-check items before bagging and ensure each order is clearly labeled. For example, crossing off items on the receipt as they’re packed helps with larger orders. A bit of added organization goes a long way toward reducing mistakes.
4. Review Your Packaging for Travel Durability
Food presentation matters just as much on the doorstep as it does in the dining room.
During cold weather and busy traffic periods, packaging must hold heat, protect against moisture, and keep items stable in transit. Containers that close securely, bags that can be sealed, and thoughtful placement of sauces or liquids all contribute to a better guest experience.
Even small touches like sturdier containers or consistent sealing signal professionalism and reduce the chance of remakes or refunds.
5. Prepare for Holiday-Driven Promotions and Customer Behaviour
Customers browse differently during the holidays. They look for seasonal options, deals, larger portions, and reliable favourites.
Highlight seasonal menu items.
Limited-time dishes or holiday bundles differentiate your restaurant in the app and encourage customers to try something new.
Use promotions strategically.
Discounts on high-margin or high-volume items can help bring in additional orders especially from new customers choosing between multiple restaurants.
→ Use DoorDash In-App Marketing Tools
Spotlight placement, promotional tiers, and seasonal categories can put your restaurant in front of high-intent customers.
6. Use Data From DoorDash as a Guide
DoorDash’s Merchant Portal offers insights into peak hours, customer ratings, and operational metrics. Reviewing these data points weekly during the holidays helps you spot issues early and make adjustments before they impact service.
Even small data-driven changes such as adding a staff member during peak delivery hours or featuring a highly rated dish can improve performance during the busiest season.
The holiday season is intense, but it’s also a huge opportunity. Restaurants that invest in preparation, streamline menus, train their teams, and optimize their DoorDash setup can achieve smoother operations, stronger reviews, and higher revenue through the end of the year.
Ready to learn how DoorDash can support your business this holiday season?
Reach out to Denia Pavlatou (denia.pavlatou@doordash.com) to start the conversation on how to get online and reach more customers in your neighbourhood and beyond.