Do I need written consent to text my diners?

Yes. Under the US TCPA, marketing texts need prior express written consent. In practice that means a checkbox or a keyword opt-in where the diner sees who is texting them, roughly how often, that message and data rates apply, and how to stop. Consent collected for a booking confirmation does not cover a promotional blast.

How often should a restaurant text its list?

Two to four times a month is the range most independents can sustain without bleeding opt-outs. Weekly works only if each message carries something genuinely useful, like a one-night menu or a booking window that is about to close.

What time should I send a restaurant SMS?

For a same-day fill, send between 11am and 2pm so people decide before their evening sets. Avoid before 9am and after 8pm, both because the law restricts calling hours in many states and because a 9pm text reads as desperate.

Is SMS better than email for restaurants?

For time-sensitive fills, yes, because texts are read within minutes. For menus, stories and longer offers, email still wins on cost and depth. Most restaurants should run both off the same diner list rather than choose.

Guide

SMS marketing for restaurants: build the list, then send the text.

Every restaurant that has tried this learns the order the hard way. The text is the easy part. The list is the asset, and most independents give theirs away to a delivery app for a 15 to 30 percent commission.

Published 3 August 2026 · Written by the TableHub team · 8 minute read

Get consent right before you get clever

In the US, marketing texts fall under the TCPA, which requires prior express written consent. That phrase has a specific meaning: the diner agreed, in writing, to receive marketing messages from you by automated text, and they saw the terms when they agreed.

A workable opt-in says four things in plain language, right next to the checkbox. Who is texting. Roughly how often. That message and data rates apply. How to stop. Something like: "Text me offers from Nonna's, about twice a month. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to end."

Two mistakes cost restaurants real money here. The first is treating a phone number given for a booking confirmation as permission to market — it is not, and the consent has to be separate. The second is a pre-ticked box. Pre-ticked is not consent in any jurisdiction that has looked at it.

Keep a record of when and how each person opted in. If a complaint ever lands, that timestamp is your entire defence. This is general information rather than legal advice, and rules differ by state and country, so check yours before your first send.

Four places a diner list actually grows

Nobody joins a mailing list because you asked nicely on a chalkboard. People trade a phone number for something they want, at the moment they want it. Four moments work.

The first online order. A five percent first-order offer in exchange for a name, email and SMS opt-in converts because the diner is already at checkout with their phone in hand. This single source usually outproduces the other three combined.
The booking form. You are already taking a mobile number to send the confirmation. Add one separate, unticked marketing checkbox underneath it.
The table itself. A QR on the check presenter offering something small the following visit. Low volume, but the people who take it are your best diners.
Pickup collection. Thirty seconds of waiting at the counter is the cheapest opt-in window in the building.

What does not work: a "sign up for our newsletter" footer link, a paper fishbowl of business cards, and buying a list. The third one is illegal to text.

Four messages worth stealing

Keep it under 160 characters where you can, name the restaurant in the first three words, and give one link. Never two.

Slow Tuesday fill
Nonna's: quiet room tonight, so the tiramisu is on us with any pasta, 5–9pm. Walk in or book: nonnas.co/book. Reply STOP to opt out.
One night, one dish, one link. No discount on the entrée, so you protect the check average and still give a reason to move.
Lapsed diner, 90 days
Marco here from Nonna's. Haven't seen you since March — the spring menu is up and your usual corner two is free Thursday. nonnas.co/book
Named sender, specific gap, specific table. It reads like a person because a person wrote it.
New menu drop
Nonna's: six new plates on tonight, including the short rib agnolotti we ran out of last winter. Booking now: nonnas.co/book. STOP to end.
A callback to something regulars remember does more than the word 'exciting' ever will.
Pickup nudge, Friday
Nonna's: Friday pickup is open until 8:30. Order direct and skip the app fees — nonnas.co/order. STOP to end.
Frames direct ordering as the diner's win too, which it is; the app markup lands on their bill as much as your margin.

Cadence, timing, and knowing when to stop

Two to four sends a month. Under that and people forget who you are, so the opt-out rate on your next message spikes. Over that and you are the restaurant that spams, which is worse than the restaurant nobody hears from.

Send same-day fills between 11am and 2pm. Evening plans harden around four o'clock, and a text that lands at 5:30 is arguing with a decision that has already been made. Respect quiet hours: many states restrict messaging outside 8am to 9pm local time.

Watch one number, not five. Opt-out rate per send. Under one percent is healthy. Two percent means the last message was not worth the interruption. Above three, stop sending and rewrite what you are offering, because the list is telling you plainly.

And handle STOP properly, automatically, immediately. One diner texted STOP and hearing from you again next Tuesday is how a restaurant ends up in a complaint file.

Common questions

Do I need written consent to text my diners?: Yes. Under the US TCPA, marketing texts need prior express written consent. In practice that means a checkbox or a keyword opt-in where the diner sees who is texting them, roughly how often, that message and data rates apply, and how to stop. Consent collected for a booking confirmation does not cover a promotional blast.
How often should a restaurant text its list?: Two to four times a month is the range most independents can sustain without bleeding opt-outs. Weekly works only if each message carries something genuinely useful, like a one-night menu or a booking window that is about to close.
What time should I send a restaurant SMS?: For a same-day fill, send between 11am and 2pm so people decide before their evening sets. Avoid before 9am and after 8pm, both because the law restricts calling hours in many states and because a 9pm text reads as desperate.
Is SMS better than email for restaurants?: For time-sensitive fills, yes, because texts are read within minutes. For menus, stories and longer offers, email still wins on cost and depth. Most restaurants should run both off the same diner list rather than choose.

Working out whether a discount is affordable in the first place? The food cost calculator shows what a dish actually costs you before you give it away, and the per-cover comparison covers where the booking fees go. For the messages that are too long to text, the email marketing guide has the sequence and the send-channel table.

The list is the whole point.

TableHub captures the name, email and mobile on every direct order, then lets you text a filtered slice of it in one tap — quiet hours and STOP handling included.

See how it works