SPECIAL REPORT
RESTAURANT CATERING IS BACK, BUT IT LOOKS DIFFERENT POST-COVID The pandemic put the kibosh on office and social catering, but pivots made back then are strengthening the business today. R estaurant catering came to a screeching halt in March 2020, when COVID-19 swept the country. Offices closed, weddings were can - celed or postponed, social gatherings ended and business meetings went virtual. The pandemic sucker-punched restaurants that relied
on catering sales for a big chunk of their revenue. “Overnight, bookings dropped 85%,” said Cindy Roche, CMO of ezCater, the digital catering platform that focuses on business-to-business office cater - ing. ezCater expanded into industries where employees had to keep working, like warehouses and health care. “We deepened relationships with people who had to ‘work at work,’” said Roche. By 2021, catering orders were up again, she said, but office catering took on a new look. “There was a surge in individually packaged meals vs. tray ca - tering,” Roche added, and offices started using catered breakfasts and lunches as an incentive to get employees to return. Although tray catering and buffets are back, individually packaged meals now make up 25% of the marketplace, according to ezCater. B2B CATERING AS A GROWTH DRIVER While offices are not yet at pre-pandemic capacity, 2024 saw many major companies issuing mandates that workers return at least three days a week. That trend, along with a push from franchisees, prompted Los Angeles-based Dave’s Hot Chicken to ramp up its catering program. “We started small in 2022, emulating Raising Cane’s and sending out hot boxes filled with 10 chicken tenders or 10 sliders,” said Jim Bitticks, COO and president of 275-unit largely franchised Dave’s Hot Chicken. “But our fran - chisees urged us to get on ezCater for bigger group orders.” The fast casual joined the ezCater platform at the end of February after working on the launch for over a year, offering trays of chicken tenders, chicken and cauliflower sliders and sides, including mac ‘n cheese and kale slaw, as well as individual boxes. Drinks are usually part of the package, too. So far, the average order exceeds $500, and the brand expects catering to represent as much as 10% of its business within a year. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to drive sales and new use occasions,” said Bitticks. “We see it as 100% incremental sales and as a newer brand, our awareness is fairly low, so catering is also a marketing opportuni- ty.” Toward that end, his team is designing eye-catching new boxes to launch later this year “that will look good on Instagram,” said Bitticks. For Dallas-based Cowboy Chicken, “bulk catering was always our sweet spot,” said Brittany Mercer, director of marketing for the 18-unit chicken
PATRICIA COBE
PATRICIA.COBE@INFORMA.COM
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS APRIL 2025
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