breakfast boxes, even though the brand doesn’t serve break - fast. On offer are breakfast sandwiches with ham, sausage or vegetables on sourdough buns; breakfast burritos filled with egg, cheese, hash browns and ham, bacon, sausage or roasted veggies; and breakfast tacos. Customers can also order trays and/or individual serv - ings of fresh cut fruit, hash browns, yogurt parfaits and large-format sizes of coffee and orange juice. Schlotzsky’s also cross-utilizes items from sister brand Cinnabon to offer trays of cinnamon buns. “Before COVID, only Moe’s Southwest Grill and McAlis - ter’s Deli did catering,” said Kieran Donahue, chief commer - cial officer for GoTo Foods, “but as we moved through the pandemic we thought ‘these are our best practices for two brands, why not leverage them across all the brands.’” Overall, GoTo Foods’ catering business still focuses on lunch, she said, but “we’re now covering all dayparts and all occasions.” Brands like Cinnabon, Jamba, Auntie Anne’s and Carvel are leaning into what their menus do best—snacking. Jamba, for instance, may send out a 45-pack of smoothies for a workplace afternoon snack or celebration. Some Carvel franchises are trying out sundae bars as a sweet catering op- tion, and Auntie Anne’s pretzel-and-dip packages are ideal for office “happy hours.” McAlister’s Deli has the most varied options for the mid-afternoon snacking occasion. Grazing boxes with assort - ed meats, cheeses, spreads, crackers, nuts, fresh fruits and veggies can feed 10 to 15, and the menu also offers bite-size pinwheel sandwich wraps, fresh fruit or veggies with dips, and trays of cookies. “We have more ways to bring in food that is not normally brought into offices,” said Donahue. “Everything we’re doing is focused on meeting consumers where they are.” Indeed, ezCater sees snacking and treat “breaks” as a growing office catering trend. “Companies are using food to bring people together once they get them back to the office,” said Roche. “And not all companies can afford to do lunch for their employees, so snacks are a less expensive alternative.” WHAT ABOUT EVENT CATERING? For Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE), the multi-con- cept full-service restaurant group based in Chicago, “our ca - tering business reached its peak right before COVID,” said Samantha Henry, director of events at the RPM restaurants and Oakville Grill & Cellar. When everything closed down in March 2020, it took a couple of years to recover, as con - ferences, weddings and other large-scale events have to be planned in advance. But in the last two years, catering is at “full speed with the number and multitude of events,” said Henry. “The dif - ference is we’re under higher pressure to execute. Everyone has higher expectations and wants more high-touch and unique events.” Although companies are urging workers to come back to offices—sometimes by mandate—corporate meetings and conferences have taken on more importance as employees tend to be more scattered than in the past. According to the 2023 International Caterers Association survey, almost half of caterers identified corporate catering as their primary growth driver, up from 25% in 2022. “Events are getting bigger,” said Henry. Her restaurants are doing more large cocktail receptions as a way to encour- age engagement. And LEYE recently opened a large event
COWBOY CHICKEN OFFERS INDIVIDUAL BOX MEALS BUT LIKES TO SHOW OFF ITS WOOD-FIRED CHICKEN WITH TRAY CATERING. | PHOTO: COWBOY CHICKEN
SCHLOTZSKY’S RECENTLY LAUNCHED BREAKFAST CATERING, EVEN THOUGH THE RESTAURANTS DON’T OFFER BREAKFAST ON THE MENU. PHOTO: SCHLOTZSKY’S
LETTUCE ENTERTAIN YOU IS DOING MORE CASUAL CATERING, LIKE THIS PIZZA SPREAD AT THE OAKVILLE GRILL & CELLAR. | PHOTO: LETTUCE ENTERTAIN YOU
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS APRIL 2025
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