How Do You Create a Culture of Regulars?

(Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.)

Creating a Memorable Experience

Regulars are drawn to the restaurant for the consistent mood, vibe, and memories associated with their visits. Little touches can go a long way.

Rashida Holmes, Chef and Owner of Bridgetown Roti:
Being a regular, it’s all about mood. It’s all about eating the thing that’s going to put you in the mood that you had when you had it the first time. And you’re like, Ah, yes. The memory, the mood, the vibe. That’s what being a regular is all about.

Steff Valencia, Co-Owner of Lasita:
We get to see them on a regular basis, and it feels really special. We have regulars who are like, they came on their first dates. They got engaged here. They got married, and now they have children, and we get to see them throughout the process.

Personal Connection and Community Building

Building a genuine relationship with customers and creating a sense of family and belonging is crucial. This welcomes a customer as a guest and invites them to be part of your family.

Ines Glaser of Lupa Cotta:
It feels like family and like home. Oftentimes, I’ll always run into people or other chefs here that I haven’t seen in so long.

Arnold Marcella, Head Chef at Cobi’s:
A lot of our staff are on first-name basis with a lot of our customers. And that’s very much an important part about being a regular, building that relationship with your neighborhood and your community.

Attention to Detail and Personalization Through Technology

Using technology and personal interactions to tailor the dining experience helps make regulars feel valued and special. Leveraging little things like the Resy Guest Note feature help restaurants remember the little details that can make a big difference.

Patrick Costa, Head Chef and Co-Owner of De La Nonna:
Teaching them [staff] to really touch tables, to say hi, to say, welcome back. Good to see you again. You had that Negroni last time. Do you want the same or do you want we have something new?

Max Reiss, Beverage Director of Mirate:
We use technology to our advantage to help make sure that our regulars, their needs and their likes and dislikes are communicated every single visit. We add notes to them, and after they’ve been here a certain amount of times, we would make them the same level of VIP as a food writer or a famous chef.

Pro Tip: See how to add Visit and Guest Notes in Resy OS here.

Authenticity

Offering authentic food, service, and guest experience reinforces the trust and comfort that regulars seek. It’s not just the food, it’s a little taste of who you are as a restaurant, a community. It’s what regulars keep coming back for.

Jonathon Harris, Head Chef of Linden:
The food that we’re providing here, as authentic as it is to us, it’s authentic to the people who are actually dining on it as well, because they can tell that it’s coming from a real place.

Scott Williams, Co-Owner of Linden:
To be a regular at Linden, it’s more about being authentic, being a good person, enjoying what we give you, honestly, because we’re giving you the best of us.

There clearly isn’t one recipe for turning guests into regulars, but it’s clear that certain ingredients almost always play a role. Create memorable experiences. Build genuine connections. Pay attention to the details; sometimes the littlest ones make the biggest difference. And always serve with a side of authenticity. When your guests feel like family and your restaurant feels like home, they’ll not only return—they’ll bring friends. So, invest in making every visit remarkable and every interaction meaningful. After all, in hospitality, nothing’s more rewarding, to the experience as well the bottom line, than seeing familiar faces and knowing you’ve created a place where people truly belong. Here’s to building success, one loyal guest at a time.

*Opinions and views in articles shared on Resy OS are presented for the purpose of discussion and commentary on topics of interest in the restaurant industry; they should not be viewed as substitutes for advice given by professionally engaged business consultants and advisors.