Restaurant · Guide Updated August 2026

How to Write a Press Release for Your Restaurant: 7 Key Parts That Get Coverage

A press release is not your brand story. It is the bones of a story that a journalist finishes writing. Get that distinction right and your chances of earning free media coverage go up dramatically.

This is the exact seven-part format used to generate tens of thousands of dollars in free press coverage for 720 Sweets. It works. Here is how to use it.

What Is the Actual Job of a Press Release?

Your job is not to write the article. Your job is to package the intro, the key talking points, the quotes, and the summary in a way that makes it easy for a journalist to pick it up, write it in her own voice, and publish it to her audience.

Think of it as giving a journalist a well-organized kit. The easier you make her job, the more likely she covers you.

Why You Must Stick to One Talking Point

This is where most restaurant owners go wrong. You want to tell the journalist about your new menu item, your new location, the charity you support, the award you just won, and your founding story, all in one press release.

That approach kills your coverage. When you give a journalist six different angles, you give her none. She cannot tell one clear story, so she moves on to someone who can.

Pick one wow factor. That is your headline angle. Everything else in the release exists only to support that single point.

You can still include supplementary details. If your main angle is a flaming king salmon roll, you can add supporting points like being a new Japanese restaurant in the Vancouver scene or having sushi roots in Hokkaido. Those give the journalist texture and context. But they are supporting characters, not co-leads.

The 7 Parts of an Irresistible Press Release

Part 1: The Headline

Your headline must communicate the wow factor immediately. No buildup, no mystery. State what is remarkable right away.

A real example from a 720 Sweets campaign: “World’s First Cannabis-Infused Soft-Served Ice Cream in Vancouver.” In one line, the journalist knows exactly what the story is and why her readers will care.

Write your headline and ask: would someone who has never heard of my shop immediately understand why this is interesting? If the answer is no, rewrite it.

Part 2: The Problem

Every compelling story has tension. Name the problem your wow factor solves.

In the cannabis ice cream example, the problem was straightforward: the Vancouver dessert scene was boring. That context makes the solution feel necessary, not just novel.

Your problem does not need to be dramatic. It needs to be real and relatable to the journalist’s readers.

Part 3: The Solution

This is where you introduce your wow factor as the answer to the problem you just named. Keep it tight. One or two sentences that describe what you are doing and why it addresses the problem.

For the cannabis ice cream launch, the solution was infusing quality THC extract directly into soft-serve ice cream, giving Vancouver a genuinely new dessert experience.

Connect the dots clearly. Problem, then solution. Do not make the journalist guess the link.

Part 4: The Quotes

Quotes give your press release texture and humanity. They let a journalist paint a fuller picture without having to conduct an interview before deciding whether to cover you.

Include one or two quotes that add color and personality. These should sound like a real person said them, not a press release. The journalist can use them directly or paraphrase them. Either way, you are making her job easier.

Part 5: The Data

Credibility matters. When a journalist shares your story with her audience, she is putting her reputation behind it. Give her something concrete to stand on.

Support your claims with data. If cannabis-infused desserts are a growing consumer trend, say so and cite a number. If your shop sold out within hours at a previous launch, include that. Data makes the story more credible and gives the journalist confidence in sharing it.

Do not fabricate numbers. Only include data you can actually back up.

Part 6: The Call to Action

What do you want readers to do after they see the coverage? Be specific and include a time element.

The 720 Sweets example: the cannabis ice cream was available for two weeks only, from April 5th to the 14th, at all three locations. That urgency is not just good marketing, it gives the journalist a reason to publish the story now rather than later.

Your call to action should answer: where, when, and why should someone show up?

Part 7: The Summary

Close with a brief summary that wraps up what the story is about. Think of it as the last paragraph of a news article. It restates the core point without repeating the whole release verbatim.

This gives the journalist a clean ending and makes your release feel complete and professional.

How to Keep the Whole Thing from Becoming an Essay

You now have seven parts. That does not mean seven long sections. This document should be tight.

Each part is a few sentences at most. You are writing an organized brief, not a narrative. The journalist brings the narrative. You bring the structure and the facts she needs to build it.

If you find yourself writing paragraphs, cut them down. Every sentence in a press release should earn its place.

The Bottom Line

One angle, seven parts, and a journalist whose job you just made easy. That is the formula. A press release written this way does not guarantee coverage, but it removes every excuse a journalist has for passing on your story. As an operator, your rule is simple: give journalists the bones, and let them do the cooking.

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