Nashville has, what, a new restaurant opening every other week? Maybe more. The food scene here is unreal — and that's exactly the problem if you own a restaurant.
In 2019, you could get by with a decent Instagram account and word of mouth. Maybe a Yelp page. That was the whole playbook. And it worked, because there were fewer options and people were creatures of habit.
That's over.
Between the tourism boom, the relocations, and the sheer number of new spots opening on every block from Germantown to the Nations — if you're not actively marketing your restaurant, you're being replaced. Not slowly. Fast.
The Instagram Trap
Every restaurant in Nashville has an Instagram account. Beautiful food photos. Reels of cocktails being poured. Stories of the weekend brunch rush.
And almost none of it is driving measurable business.
Here's the problem: you're posting into an algorithm that shows your content to 5-10% of your followers. Your followers are mostly people who've already been to your restaurant. You're marketing to your existing customers while the new family that just moved to Brentwood searches Google for "best Italian near me" and finds your competitor instead.
Instagram is your highlight reel. It's not your growth engine.
Where Restaurants Actually Get New Customers
I've worked with restaurants in Nashville, Franklin, and across Middle Tennessee. The ones that grow consistently do these things:
1. They own their Google presence.
When tourists are walking Broadway and search "best lunch near me," Google shows them the map pack. When a family in Green Hills searches "date night restaurant Nashville," Google shows them the map pack. When a corporate admin searches "private dining Nashville" — map pack.
Your Google Business Profile, reviews, and website SEO determine whether you're in that map pack or invisible. This is where restaurants get new customers. Not Instagram.
2. They build an email list.
The smartest restaurant owners in Nashville are collecting emails at every touchpoint — reservation confirmations, WiFi logins, tab receipts, events. Then they send a simple email once or twice a month: upcoming events, seasonal menu changes, a reason to come back this week.
Email marketing for restaurants has an insane ROI because your customers already like you. They just forget about you. A well-timed email on a Thursday afternoon — "New seasonal cocktail menu this weekend" — fills tables.
One restaurant client of ours in East Nashville grew their email list to 3,400 and now generates a measurable sales bump every time they send. Cost: basically nothing.
3. They get serious about reviews.
You need volume and you need recency. A restaurant with 200 reviews from 2022 is less compelling than one with 150 reviews from the last 6 months. Google agrees.
Train your staff to ask. Put a QR code on the check presenter. Follow up reservation customers with a text link. Make it stupid easy.
And respond to every negative review professionally. A thoughtful response to a bad review often convinces more people to come in than the review itself scares away. People aren't looking for perfection — they're looking for accountability.
4. They have a website that does more than show a menu.
Your website should:
- Load in under 3 seconds on mobile (hungry people are impatient)
- Have your menu accessible without a PDF download (Google can't read PDFs well, and they're terrible on phones)
- Show your hours and location prominently
- Have an easy reservation or contact option above the fold
- Include neighborhood and cuisine keywords naturally ("farm-to-table Southern cuisine in East Nashville")
Most restaurant websites are a logo, a PDF menu link, and an Instagram embed. That's not a website — it's a placeholder.
The Local SEO Play That Nobody's Running
Here's something almost no Nashville restaurant does: blog about food and Nashville.
"Best brunch spots in Germantown" — wouldn't you want your restaurant to be the one that wrote that list? Yes, include your competitors. Google doesn't care. What Google cares about is that your website is publishing relevant, local content that people actually search for.
"What to eat during CMA Fest." "Nashville food scene: a local's guide." "How to plan a rehearsal dinner in Franklin." This content brings people to your website who weren't looking for you specifically — and now they know you exist.
The restaurant that becomes a local food authority online owns the search results. And nobody's doing it.
The Delivery App Dilemma
DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub — they take 15-30% of every order. You know this. But here's what you might not realize: they're also outranking your website in search results.
When someone Googles your restaurant name, the delivery apps often show up before your own website. They're spending millions on SEO to own those searches so they can own the transaction — and your margin.
The counter-move: make your own online ordering work better. Your website should have a clear "Order Online" option that goes to a direct ordering system (Toast, Square, your own solution). Then optimize your site so it outranks the delivery apps for your own name.
You'll never beat them at SEO broadly, but you can beat them for your own branded searches. That alone can save thousands in commissions annually.
Stop Competing on Instagram. Start Competing on Google.
The Nashville restaurant scene is only getting more competitive. The owners who figure out Google, email, and their web presence will thrive. The ones still depending on Instagram and foot traffic alone will struggle when the next slow season hits.
Your food is the product. Your marketing is how people find it. Both need to be excellent.
If you're running a restaurant in Nashville or Middle Tennessee and you want a marketing strategy that goes beyond pretty food photos, let's talk.
Long Drive Marketing works with restaurants and hospitality businesses across Nashville and Middle Tennessee. [See our full strategy approach →](/strategy-consulting)