How do you write the restaurant section of a local newsletter?

In my post-subscribe surveys, events win by far. Restaurants are usually number two. That makes the restaurant section the second most important thing you write.

Why start a new newsletter with restaurants?

Because events and restaurants are the easy, engaging part. Covering hard news is much harder. Start with what people want and what you can do well, then grow.

What voice should a restaurant blurb use?

A friend recommending it. Not a reviewer, not a press release.

I learned this the hard way. One of our AI section prompts told the writer to sound like a premium food writer for affluent readers. Our human writer ended up rewriting almost everything, and about half of that was voice. The voice we wanted instead: personal, sounds like an actual neighbor, honest but positive.

What's the format?

1. Headline: 4 to 8 words, without the business name in it.
2. Two paragraphs in the voice of a friend recommending it.
3. One interesting thing about the place, said very directly. Maybe two.

Write a local restaurant blurb.
Headline: 4-8 words. Do not use the restaurant's name.
Body: two short paragraphs, like a friend telling a friend where to eat.
Include one or two specific, interesting details from the source.
No AI language. No emojis. Honest but positive.

Where do the facts come from?

The full source, not a headline. When our AI only saw a headline and a summary, about half of what our writer fixed was facts: thin, wrong or outdated details.

The best detail is the one AI can't get. If someone on your team actually ate there, give them a quick notes box to type what it was like.

What about photos?

Be careful with copyright. I've told my team no photos for news items in the newsletter for that reason.

More on fixing AI voice across every section in why AI drafts need rewriting.