Guides / Finding an agency

How do I find a restaurant marketing agency?

Most restaurant agency searches start backward. A polished services deck shows up, everyone nods, and nobody has named the actual problem. Start with the result you need, find proof for that job, and use the first call to ask who owns the accounts, which restaurant results you will see, and when the agency would tell you to spend less. A good partner should be comfortable telling you not to hire them.

What problem should I define before I search?

Empty seats	Name the soft days, dayparts, locations, or guest types. If the problem is demand, do not buy an awareness plan with no way to score it.
Private events	Count the qualified inquiries coming in now. Know what a booked event is worth and where the lead trail goes cold.
Nearby guests	Check whether Maps, Google Business Profile, directions, calls, and location pages are helping people nearby find and choose the restaurant.
Paid media	Confirm who owns the accounts. Then ask to see what people typed when they found you, where money was wasted, and what you paid for a reservation click, call, direction request, or inquiry.
Restaurant results	Decide whether the spend can connect to reservations, calls, event inquiries, confirmed visits where available, or hotel bookings on your own site.
Brand or PR	Be honest. If the real need is identity, press, reputation, or content, hire for that job instead.

I want the problem to fit in one sentence. That makes case studies comparable and stops a pitch deck from turning a pile of activity into fake progress.

Key takeaway: Name the restaurant problem before you pick the marketing plan.

Where should I look for a restaurant marketing partner?

Start with operators who run a business like yours, not whoever happens to be down the block. A tasting-menu restaurant, a busy multi-location group, and a private-events venue can share a ZIP code and still need completely different machinery.

Search the problem and the proof together: "restaurant Google Ads case study," "multi-location restaurant Maps marketing," or "private dining inquiry marketing." Then read past the victory lap. Look for a restaurant like yours, the month or weeks being discussed, where the guests came from, how the restaurant counted the result, and what the number does not prove.

Directories and referral lists are fine for filling the bench. They are not the coach. Fit, account ownership, and the questions an agency asks matter more than a shiny badge.

My advice: Ask peers for names, then make every agency earn its spot with relevant proof.

What seven questions should I ask every agency?

Define the report. What exact result will I see every month? Ask for the structure, not another promise.
Trace the number. Did it come from the reservation system, the hotel's own booking site, website records, Google, phone calls, or direction requests? Those are not interchangeable.
Protect ownership. Who owns the Google and Meta accounts and their history? Your restaurant should keep them if the relationship ends.
Read what people typed. Will I see the searches people used when they found the restaurant? This is where waste likes to hide.
We do not buy your name. For restaurants, we do not spend your money on people already typing your name. They find you on Maps and your own site anyway. If you run a hotel, we do, because travel sites bid on it, and we show it on its own line.
Set the first test. What should the first 90 days prove? A serious answer names what gets fixed, which restaurant result you will watch, and the decision that comes next.
Test the judgment. When would you tell me to spend less or hire someone else? This question clears the room fast.

Translation: You are not buying tasks. You are hiring someone to make good decisions with your money.

How can I tell whether the proof is real?

Real proof has names, dates, source systems, and caveats. Conveniently, fake proof hates all four.

Jay Street's public case studies use that structure. At Nisei, a MICHELIN-starred San Francisco restaurant, online reservation clicks, calls, and direction requests rose 109% year over year under a hard budget ceiling. The cost to produce each of those attempts to book or visit fell 34%. The study does not pretend every click, call, or direction request became a seated cover.

Harborview shows confirmed restaurant visits first, then clearly labels the estimated dollar value. Dacha does the same with the expected value of its private-event inquiries. Kirk's shows the assumptions behind its estimated return. Caveats do not weaken proof. They tell you the person presenting it understands the numbers.

Key takeaway: Trust the case study that shows its work and tells you where the evidence stops.

Review the proof library See how Nisei was counted How results are counted

When should I not hire Jay Street Media?

Do not hire me for PR, naming, visual identity, a website redesign, daily organic social posting, or influencer management. That is not the lane.

Jay Street helps restaurants and hotels bring in and track website reservations, calls and directions from Maps, private-event inquiries, foot traffic where Google can confirm it, and bookings on the hotel's own site.

A tiny online-ordering-only budget may be better served by a self-serve product. A group with an experienced in-house team may need a one-time check of the numbers, not a retainer. And if the restaurant cannot answer inquiries, take reservations, or deliver a good guest experience, fix that bottleneck before pouring more people into it.

My advice: Hire for the constraint you actually have, even when that means not hiring an agency yet.

Which agency category do you need? Toast vs an independent agency

What else should I ask while building a shortlist?

How do I find a good restaurant marketing agency?

Pick one business problem first: weak weekday reservations, private-event inquiries, nearby guests not finding you, or ad spend nobody can explain. Then shortlist agencies with restaurant proof for that exact job. Ask who owns the accounts, what the report will show, whether they spend restaurant money on people already typing the name (they should not), and when they would tell you to spend less. Hotels are the exception, and that spend belongs on its own line.

What should I ask a restaurant marketing agency before hiring it?

Ask what gets counted, where each number comes from, who owns the Google and Meta accounts, whether you will see what people typed when they found you, and how the work connects to reservations or inquiries. Then ask what the first 90 days need to prove and what would make the agency admit it is the wrong fit.

Should I hire a restaurant specialist or a general marketing agency?

Hire a restaurant specialist when the job involves reservations, Google Business Profile, Maps, private dining, average checks, results by location, and reservation or hotel booking systems. Hire a strong generalist for a broad rebrand, a national advertising push, or work that mostly sits outside hospitality.

Want to test the fit without sitting through a pitch?

Send me the restaurant, the business problem, and the number you wish you could see. I will tell you whether Jay Street fits. If it does not, you will still get a straight answer.

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Jay Street Media publishes this guide and may be one of the agencies you evaluate. Good. Use every question here on me too.