3 Ways to Find New Restaurant Leads

Leads drive sales, so finding qualified leads and new business opportunities is an excellent way to grow your business. Restaurant owners need a variety of vendors and suppliers to ensure their businesses run efficiently. If you provide products and services to restaurants, stay on top of finding new restaurants and their owners with this guide.

Read Your Local News

Local news can be one of the best resources for finding free restaurant leads. Often, news coverage will highlight upcoming restaurants in their “Dining” or “Food and Drink” sections. If you can’t find anything there, check out the “Business” sections. Many times, news coverage will also reveal who the restaurant’s owner is, making it easier for you.

There are several great resources throughout Florida and Georgia. Start with local newspapers. For instance, in Jacksonville, FL, the Jacksonville Daily Record posts daily business development updates.

In greater Tampa, check out Creative Loafing or St. Pete Rising, which are great resources for food-related news.

In Atlanta, read Eater’s continuously updated list of restaurants opening in the area.

You can find restaurant news no matter where you are by Googling “Restaurant news [your city]” or, if you’re anywhere in Florida or Georgia, keep an eye on Business Debut. We report on new restaurants across both states.

Use Facebook

Facebook is an excellent source of new business leads. Often, restaurant owners will post photos and updates on their new restaurant’s progress. There are two ways sales professionals can stay ahead of the competition using Facebook.

The first is to make basic searches, like “restaurant opening soon Atlanta” or “new restaurant coming soon Orlando,” and other similar searches. It may sound too simple, but Business Debut has found numerous opportunities using this exact method. Often, the pages for these upcoming restaurants will have physical or even email addresses listed.

The second is to join foodie groups. For instance, as a member of the Orlando Asian Foodies group, whenever a new Asian restaurant is preparing to open, someone posts photos there. There are hundreds of restaurant groups full of people sharing exciting news. A couple that Business Debut monitors are Columbus, GA Foodies; Ocala’s Food Junkies; and many others.

Subscribe to Business Debut’s Warm Leads Network

Business Debut interviews restaurant owners daily to report on their plans. At any given time, we are speaking with multi-unit CEOs to local entrepreneurs who are opening their first restaurant or food truck.

Because of the relationships we have with new restaurant owners, we are able to introduce reliable vendors to these business owners. Business Debut speaks with an average of 80 restaurants a month, providing unparalleled introductions and warm lead generation to our sponsors.

While restaurant lead lists are available all over the internet, Business Debut introduces your business directly to decision-makers and sends only those who are interested in your services.

If you’re a vendor or supplier in the restaurant business, get more than lead lists and cold data; get introductions and interested prospects.