How The Millstone Turned Around Midweek Trade and Filled Their Christmas Diary Early
A Sheffield gastropub under new management that needed to rebuild its local reputation and fill tables throughout the week, not just at weekends.
The Challenge
Tom took over The Millstone knowing it had potential the previous owners had never fully realised. The kitchen was strong, the refurbishment was complete, but the social media presence had been neglected for over a year. Facebook had 310 followers and Instagram barely existed. There were very few recent reviews to build credibility with new customers.
Weekend trade was reasonable, but midweek covers were consistently below where they needed to be for the business to be sustainable. Christmas was six months away and bookings were not yet open. Tom needed a social media presence that could do real commercial work, not just tick a box.
What We Did
- Built a weekly content calendar across Facebook and Instagram, planned two weeks in advance to stay consistent without last-minute scramble
- Ran monthly food and drink photography sessions to build a bank of high-quality content that reflected the quality of the kitchen
- Created a midweek promotion strategy including a Tuesday set menu and Thursday date night offer, promoted via Stories and posts
- Launched Christmas bookings in October with a dedicated Facebook and Instagram campaign driving direct table reservations
- Set up a post-visit review prompt via Instagram Stories to build Google and TripAdvisor ratings
+38%
Midweek covers compared to the same period the previous year
4 weeks
Earlier that Christmas bookings filled versus the previous year
1,890
Facebook followers, up from 310 at the start
"We took over in a difficult climate and social media was central to how we got the word out. SocialSpur made it easy to stay consistent even when we were completely flat out in the kitchen."
Tom, General Manager, The Millstone
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