Looking to Add Additional Revenue for Your Restaurant - Think Catering

Catering in the United States traces its roots back to the late 1700s, with many pointing to a 1778 party in Philadelphia to toast a British General as the first catered U.S. event. Of course, in the years since, catering has come a long way, and it's morphed into its own distinct and profitable industry. And while many entrepreneurs devote their entire operation exclusively to catering services, every restaurant owner should be aware of the incredible benefits of offering catering options in addition to their day-to-day services.

For many traditional restaurateurs, catering can be one way to improve revenue. When you already have a kitchen, dedicated patrons and a successful menu, adding the additional operational strategy can be a significant—yet beneficial—change. When done right, catering can improve a restaurant’s exposure, bring in higher profits and enhance a restaurant’s customer service image.

Peter Greene, a multi-unit Which Wich owner in Phoenix, knows a thing or two about balancing the various aspects of his business. He believes it is more than worth it to include catering among his restaurants’ offerings.

“Catering runs about eight to 10 percent of our sales and 15 percent of our profit,” said Greene. “Not only is catering efficient in terms of labor, it also acts as incremental sales to our regular walk-in business.”

Greene also points out that every single office and school could need catering, and because the opportunity to cater is omnipresent, the focus of a restaurant owner should be to make sure people know that you offer such services. Greene recommends raising awareness by advertising your catering options on menus, on your website or through social media.

“Most clients don’t know about catering because it is up to the franchisee to sell,” said Greene. "So if you're interested in adding catering to your line of services, it's crucial to get the word out to the customers who already know and love your product."

While catering is not a primary part of Wing Zone’s business model, Director of Marketing Dan Corrigan also sees advantages for those who choose to offer this option.

“We do an all-inclusive catering program that is optional for our franchisees to participate in,” said Corrigan. “Wing Zone has seen a lot of success working with doctor’s offices or nursing stations, and on Super Bowl Sunday, we see a huge increase in sales due to people grabbing wings for larger gatherings.”

There are pros and cons that need to be weighed, however, and Corrigan warns that catering, when done right, can be a lot of work. Making sure to always arrive on time, especially for larger organizations that rely on catering for regular lunches, is key to ensuring that a catering business will work. But doing so can be a challenge when simultaneously serving in-store customers as well. It's also important to account for additional expenses such as food, labor, insurance, maintenance, delivery gas and mileage.

But despite some of the trickier components of adding catering to a restaurant’s service, the opportunity exists to take already loyal customers and make them loyal catering clients as well.

“Every person that comes in to eat is a potential catering client,” Greene added. "By keeping that in mind with every person we serve, we're opening up our business to more customers and even more revenue."