Start public marketing about 12 weeks before opening, and tie every date you announce to your permits rather than your construction schedule. The sequence that works in Detroit: set up your Google Business Profile with an opening date, launch social accounts with real construction content, shoot the menu once it is locked, run media and creator previews in the final two weeks, then keep publishing through the first month, when reviews and repeat visits decide whether the opening holds.
The table below lays out the full plan. The sections after it explain the parts that most often go wrong.
Permits set the calendar, not the other way around
The most expensive marketing mistake in a restaurant opening is announcing a date you cannot hit. Two approvals drive most Detroit timelines.
Health Department plan review and inspection. The Detroit Health Department requires a plan review before you build or remodel a food establishment, and says construction may not begin until plans are approved. Under Michigan’s Food Law, the department has up to 30 business days to respond to submitted plans. Approval to begin operating is granted at the pre-opening inspection, which you request at least five business days in advance after submitting your food service license application.
Liquor license. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission says it is “difficult to specify a definite number of days, weeks, or months” for an application. Requests move through document review, an investigation interview with the Enforcement Division, and a vote at a Commission licensing meeting, where the opinions of the local legislative body or police department are considered if received. MLCC’s approval chart lists local legislative body approval for a new Class C license, which bars and restaurants need to sell spirits along with beer and wine.
The marketing rule that follows: say “opening this fall” or “opening in November” until the pre-opening inspection is scheduled and the license is issued. Announce the bar program only once you can legally pour.
The 12-week timeline
| When | Marketing | Content and production | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 weeks out | Claim Instagram, Facebook and TikTok handles with one consistent name. Create your Google Business Profile with an opening month. | Start a photo log of the build-out on a phone. | Handles taken by someone else. Pick a name that works on every platform. |
| 10 to 11 weeks | First construction teasers. Collect emails or phone numbers on a simple sign-up page. | Chef and owner introduction video. Sign or storefront reveal if installed. | Showing renderings as if they were the finished room. |
| 8 to 9 weeks | Draft a one-page press note with confirmed facts only. Build a media and creator list. | Recipe testing clips, sourcing stories, team hires. | Naming dishes or prices that may change. |
| 6 to 7 weeks | Share the concept and neighborhood story. Line up delivery app accounts if you plan to offer delivery. | Exterior photos once signage is up. Drone exterior if the site and airspace allow. | Winter light. Shoot exteriors on a clear day, early or late. |
| 4 to 5 weeks | Send the press note. Announce the opening month publicly. | Interior photography once furniture, lighting and art are installed. | Announcing a specific date before the inspection is booked. |
| 2 to 3 weeks | Invite media and creators to previews. Load photos to Google and delivery listings. | Menu and food photography during staff training. Short-form video of signature dishes. | Menu changes after the shoot. Lock plating first. |
| 1 to 2 weeks | Previews and soft opening. Announce the confirmed opening date. | Behind-the-scenes and team content from service. | Free alcohol at previews (see below). |
| Opening week | Opening-day posts, stories through service, Google post announcing hours. | Photo and video coverage of the first night. | Posting only polished content. Real crowds sell. |
| Weeks 1 to 2 after | Review requests to every guest. Respond to every review. | Dish spotlights, staff profiles, repost guest content with permission. | Asking only happy guests for reviews. |
| Weeks 3 to 4 after | Evaluate what drew people. Consider a small paid test behind your best post. | Reshoot anything that changed. Second round of short-form video. | Letting posting stop once the opening rush ends. |
Google Business Profile: set it up before the paint dries
Google lets a business that has not opened yet create a profile and add an opening date. Only the month and year are required, and the date can be up to one year out. Once you verify, the profile appears on Google 90 days before the opening date, and you can publish posts, add photos and write a description during that window.
That 90-day window lines up with a 12-week plan. Two details matter:
- Reviews and customer photos wait for opening day. Google says customers cannot post reviews or photos on the profile until the business is officially open, so your own photos carry the profile until then.
- The “recently opened” label lasts 90 days. Use that period to build review volume, because it is when the most first-time guests are looking you up.
Load your best exterior, interior and food photos two to three weeks before opening. Our Google Business Profile photo guide covers specs and shot lists.
Social accounts and construction teasers
Social is where many diners look first. In Sprout Social’s 2025 Pulse Survey of 2,280 social media users in the US, UK and Australia, 35% said they prefer to use social media first to find local restaurants and activities.
Construction content works because it is real. The floor going in, the hood being installed, the chef testing a dish at a folding table: these give followers a reason to check back. Aim for three or four posts a week during the build, and keep stories more frequent. Avoid posting renderings as if they were the finished room. When the real room looks different, followers notice.
Put a sign-up link in every bio from the first post. An opening list of a few hundred local emails or phone numbers is worth more on opening week than a larger follower count spread across the country.
Photography and video: when to shoot what
Most reshoots happen because something was photographed too early. Match each shoot to the moment the subject is final.
- Exterior with signage: after the sign is installed and any window graphics are up. Shoot at least one version that shows the entrance clearly, since that is what a first-time guest looks for from the street.
- Drone exterior: useful for rooftop patios, large lots or buildings with a strong skyline position. Commercial drone work needs an FAA-certificated pilot and, near Detroit’s airports, airspace authorization.
- Interior: after furniture, lighting and art are in, before the room fills with people.
- Menu and food: after recipes and plating are locked, usually during staff training two to three weeks out. Photograph dishes exactly as guests will receive them. Our restaurant photography guide walks through planning a menu shoot, and our food photography team handles them.
- Video: short vertical clips of signature dishes, the team and the room. Capture more than you need during the shoot so you have a bank for the first month.
Media and creator previews
Detroit’s food press, neighborhood newsletters, local media pages and creators all cover openings. Send a short press note four to five weeks out with confirmed facts: concept, chef, neighborhood, opening month, and a contact who answers the phone. Add high-resolution photos as soon as you have them.
Previews usually happen in the final one to two weeks. Two rules shape them in Michigan:
No open bar. MLCC guidance says retail licensees, including bars and restaurants, may not give away alcoholic beverages to customers, except for small samples in limited circumstances. Comp the food, not the drinks, and confirm your plan with the MLCC or a liquor attorney.
Creators must disclose comped meals. The FTC treats free or discounted products as a “material connection” that endorsers should disclose. Tell creators in writing that you expect a clear disclosure. Our guide to FTC influencer and review rules covers the details, and our creator marketing team can run the invite list and briefs.
Soft opening and delivery apps
A soft opening with limited hours or a limited menu gives the kitchen a chance to find problems before the public does. Invite neighbors, nearby business owners and your sign-up list. It also produces your first real content: full tables, the line at the pass, guests reacting to food.
If you plan to offer delivery, set up accounts with delivery apps weeks ahead so menus, photos and tablets are ready. Whether to switch delivery on during opening week is a judgment call. Many kitchens are better served waiting until dine-in service is steady, because a slow or sloppy delivery order becomes a review that stays on your profile.
Reviews: ask the right way
Reviews drive discovery for a new restaurant more than almost anything else. BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 74% of consumers look for reviews written in the last three months, 47% won’t use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, and 80% are likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews.
The rules are strict, and they come from two directions:
- Google’s policy prohibits offering payment, discounts or free goods in exchange for any review. It also bars selectively soliciting positive reviews, pressuring guests to review while on the premises, setting review quotas for staff, and asking for reviews that mention specific content such as a server’s name.
- The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews, incentives conditioned on positive or negative sentiment, and undisclosed reviews from company insiders. Courts can impose civil penalties for knowing violations.
In practice: put a QR code on receipts or table cards that goes straight to your Google review form, ask every guest the same way, and reply to every review, positive or negative, within a few days.
The first month after opening
The opening week gets attention. The following three weeks decide whether it turns into regulars. Keep a steady cadence of four or five feed posts a week plus daily stories: dish spotlights, the team, regulars (with permission), and what is changing on the menu. Repost guest content only after asking.
At the end of week four, look at what actually moved people: which posts drove profile visits, which Google photos drew views, where reservations came from. Put a small paid test behind the single best-performing post and target Metro Detroit, rather than boosting everything.
How RDG helps with openings
We plan and produce opening campaigns for Detroit restaurants, from the construction content and menu shoot to creator previews and the first month of social. Because we work in the city’s restaurant scene every week, we know what local audiences respond to. See how we approach it on our restaurant marketing page, and reach out with your opening window when you have one.