DAVE’S HOT CHICKEN RECENTLY PARTNERED WITH EZCATER TO ROLL OUT CATERING FRANCHISE-WIDE. | PHOTO: DAVE’S HOT CHICKEN
chain. Buffets were a tempting way to show off the brand’s signature wood-fired chicken and sides. “After COVID, we scrambled to find an - other catering solution,” said Mercer, and Cowboy Chicken started doing box lunches in the months when people were still social distancing and wearing masks. They still make up 30% of catering business, but the chain uses ezCater’s newer Relish platform to make it easier on restaurant locations to get the orders out—and easier on workplaces to place individual orders. “We launched Relish as a way to offer in- dividually packaged meals and adapt to the fluctuating number of people showing up in offices,” said Roche. “Each employee can or - der from a restaurant they love, and Relish organizes the meals into a group order that arrives in the office. We’re outsourcing or - dering to the eater, taking the stress off the admin or office manager.” Many employers subsidize Relish orders as an incentive to drive office attendance, offering up to $15 a meal. “For some com- panies, Relish is the office cafeteria alterna - tive,” Roche added. About 28% of workplace leaders use free meals to incentivize employ - ees and build team culture. At Cowboy Chicken, Relish orders come in around 9 a.m. and go directly to the res- taurant locations, charged to a company ac- count or an employee’s personal credit card.
ezCater then picks up and delivers the boxes. It’s working out well, but now that COVID restrictions are mostly in the past, Cowboy Chicken is focusing on ramping up full-ser- vice event catering. “It’s less labor intensive and we can get more orders out in a day,” said Mercer. Large catering orders need more atten- tion than third-party delivery can typically provide, especially when setup is required, she added. That’s led to a boom in delivery companies specializing in catering. “We’re now working with DSPs—Deliv - ery Service Providers,” said Mercer. “They set up everything and it looks more profes - sional when you’re doing trays and buffets.” ezCater offers ezDispatch as part of its platform—a network of professional delivery people that is growing in popularity. IT’S NOT JUST LUNCH The business catering program at San Anto- nio-based Taco Cabana was just beginning to gain momentum when COVID hit. “Corpo - rate was the last to come back, so we started building partnerships with school districts across Texas,” said Ashley Reed, director of off-premise operations for the 140-unit Mexican fast casual. “We were an affordable option for teacher lunches, sports team prac-
tices, games and other events.” Initially, Taco Cabana designated a few stores in each area as catering hubs, but as of- fice workers and social gatherings returned, demand went up. “Now all 140 restaurants do catering and we’re experiencing 40% to 50% growth,” said Reed. Breakfast is the strongest daypart, she said, with a menu that offers individual breakfast taco boxes with churros and hash browns at about $6 per person, both custom and prepped to go. “But we can cater to a lot of different occasions with our flexible menu,” Reed added. Office lunches can be individually boxed meals or buffets, with inclusive, fully custom - izable bars serving tacos, fajitas and nachos. “Some customers prefer to order fajita meat, tortillas, queso and chips for build-your-own setups,” said Reed. “In San Antonio, our bars are particularly popular at weddings.” Taco Cabana uses ezCater to expand its reach, but catering orders can be placed di- rectly on the website too. Breakfast catering is also getting more play at Schlotzsky’s, one of the brands with- in the Atlanta-based GoTo Foods platform that is known more as a deli sandwich-lunch destination. At the beginning of March, Schlotzsky’s launched catering trays and
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