The short answer: yes — email is still the highest-ROI channel a restaurant owns, returning about $36 for every $1 spent, and restaurant emails get opened at a 40% rate, higher than almost any other industry. Text messages go further still: roughly 98% of texts get read, most within minutes. Here's what the 2026 numbers say, what Canada's anti-spam law actually requires, and how Toronto and Niagara restaurants turn a guest list into repeat tables.
What do the numbers say about restaurant email marketing in 2026?
They say diners want to hear from restaurants. Mailchimp's industry benchmarks put the average restaurant email open rate at 40.03% — more than 12 points above the all-industry average. Nobody opens a bank's newsletter at that rate. People open emails about food. And the economics hold up at the bottom line: Litmus pegs email marketing's return at about $36 for every $1 spent, which no ad platform matches.
There's one catch in the data. GetResponse measured restaurant click-through rates at just 2.44%, against a 5.14% all-industry average. Diners open, then don't click — because most restaurant emails give them nothing to click on. The fix is structural: every send needs one obvious action. Reserve a table. Order the feature. Book the private room for a holiday party. An email that is just "news" wastes a 40% open rate.
Here's the opportunity hiding in TouchBistro's survey data: only 26% of restaurateurs use email as their primary way of reaching guests — 37% lead with social media instead. Social is where strangers find you; we build those engines every day in our social media management work. But the follower list belongs to the platform. The email list belongs to you. In a market like Hamilton or St. Catharines, where most competitors treat email as an afterthought, the restaurant with a real list has a moat.
Why do texts beat every other channel for opens?
Because a text is the one message everyone actually reads. Industry benchmarks compiled by Bloom Intelligence put SMS open rates around 98%, versus roughly 20% for a typical email — and most texts are read within about three minutes of landing. Well-built restaurant SMS programs convert at 21–30%, numbers email can't approach. (Opens can't be tracked perfectly on SMS, so treat these as strong estimates — the gap is real even if the decimal isn't.)
That speed is the point. Email is for planning; SMS is for tonight. A Friday 3 p.m. text — "Patio's open, prime rib is back, reply BOOK for 7 p.m." — fills seats the same evening. A snowstorm kills your Niagara-on-the-Lake patio weekend? A text pivots those bookings to the dining room before the no-shows happen. No other channel moves a Tuesday.
of text messages get read — most within about three minutes — versus roughly 20% of emails, per 2026 benchmarks compiled by Bloom Intelligence. That's why SMS is the only channel that can fill tables the same night.
What does CASL mean for Ontario restaurants?
This is where American marketing advice quietly gets Canadian restaurants in trouble. Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) governs every commercial email and text you send, and the penalties have teeth: up to $1 million per violation for individuals and $10 million for businesses. The rules themselves are manageable — you just have to build them in from day one.
Three requirements matter. First, consent: either express (a checked box, a sign-up form, a "text JOIN" keyword — and keep records of when and how you got it) or implied through an existing business relationship, like a recent reservation or order. Second, identification: every message must name your restaurant and include a mailing address plus one other contact method. Third, unsubscribe: every email and text needs a working opt-out that stays valid at least 60 days and is honoured within 10 business days. "Reply STOP" covers it for SMS. This isn't legal advice — have your lawyer sanity-check the setup — but a reservation form with a clear consent checkbox gets you most of the way there.
The silver lining: CASL killed the lazy competition. Restaurants that can't be bothered with consent don't build lists at all, which leaves the channel wide open for the ones that do it properly.
How do you build a list without buying one?
Never buy a list — it violates CASL, and strangers in a purchased database don't eat at your restaurant anyway. Build from the touchpoints you already own. Your reservation and online-ordering flows should capture email and consent by default. Your WiFi login can trade access for an address. A QR code on the table tied to a birthday club converts guests while they're happiest — mid-meal. And your website should be working the same shift: if it can't capture a contact, it's a brochure, and we'd start there in a web design rebuild.
Social and paid round it out. Instagram brings in the strangers; a "join the list for first access to events" story converts followers into contacts you actually own. A small paid ads budget aimed at past website visitors is the cheapest list-growth money you'll spend, because warm diners opt in at multiples of cold ones. If your Google presence is the leak — people search, can't find you, never land on the form — fix that first; we covered it in our restaurant Google Maps guide.
What should you actually send — and how often?
Email carries the rhythm: weekly or biweekly, one clear action per send. New menu drops, event announcements, the story behind the fall feature, holiday party bookings — in November, that last one should be every GTA restaurant's lead message. Personalization is cheap and measurable: Campaign Monitor found a first name in the subject line lifts opens by 14.68%, and TouchBistro's data shows 67% of restaurateurs have already automated their email — the welcome series and the "we miss you" win-back run themselves once built.
That win-back automation is the one that pays the bills. Bloom Intelligence's network data shows about 4 in 5 first-time guests never return to a restaurant. A guest who hasn't been back in 60 days gets an automatic email; if they joined your SMS list, a text with a reason to return. That single sequence is the difference between a restaurant that refills its funnel every month and one that pays for the same stranger twice — the same leak we flagged in our piece on viral reels and empty tables.
SMS stays scarce: two to four texts a month, only for things that expire. Tonight's special, last seats for the wine dinner, the patio reopening. The moment texts feel like ads, the opt-outs start. The moment they feel like a tip from a friend who works there, the channel prints reservations.
Frequently asked questions
Is email marketing worth it for a small restaurant?
Yes. Email marketing returns about $36 for every $1 spent according to Litmus, and restaurant emails average a 40% open rate per Mailchimp — more than 12 points above the all-industry average. For an independent restaurant in Toronto or Niagara, a list of even 1,000 local diners is a direct line to full tables that no algorithm can take away.
Is text message marketing legal in Canada?
Yes, as long as you follow CASL, Canada's anti-spam law. You need express or implied consent before texting, every message must identify your restaurant and include a working unsubscribe, and opt-outs must be honoured within 10 business days. Penalties for violations run up to $10 million per violation for businesses, so keep records of every opt-in.
How often should a restaurant send marketing texts and emails?
Email supports a weekly or biweekly rhythm — menus, events and stories. SMS should be rarer and more valuable: two to four texts a month, reserved for time-sensitive offers like tonight's special or last-minute seats. Roughly 98% of texts get read, usually within minutes, so the channel is too powerful to waste on filler.
How do restaurants build an email and SMS list?
Capture contacts at every touchpoint you already own: the reservation form, online ordering, WiFi login, a QR code on the table tied to a birthday club, and your website. Pair each with a clear consent checkbox so you stay CASL-compliant. Never buy a list — it violates CASL and the contacts don't eat at your restaurant anyway.
Sources: Tablein, Restaurant Email Marketing Statistics (citing Mailchimp, GetResponse, Litmus, TouchBistro and Campaign Monitor); Bloom Intelligence, Restaurant SMS Marketing benchmarks; Texty, CASL Guide for Businesses. ROI figure in USD.