Why Restaurant Catering Customers Are The Best Customers

 Why Catering Customers Are The Best Customers

As an ex-restaurant owner who tried everything possible to raise sales, I can say that high-ticket, recurring catering (primarily coming from corporate customers) is the best and most efficient way to increase sales in a meaningful way. Why? Because The Return on Investment (ROI) and Lifetime Value of the customers (so how much these people are going to spend over their entire time of being a customer are far larger with with normal customers, even the most loyal ones.

Think about it. Unlike traditional walk-in sales that require ongoing marketing efforts to attract new patrons, catering is centered around building lasting relationships that consistently generate revenue. Traditional restaurant marketing is more about short term success—so adding $5,000 in sales next month, while building a network of catering customers (especially high ticket ones) has the goal of adding $5,000 this month, $6,000 next month, $7,000 the month after, and continuously growing over time as you add new customers while retaining the loyal ones.

High ticket catering, when done right, is all about long-term success as you launch a network of customers who are going to order today, tomorrow, and for years to come. 

And catering isn’t just about food. It’s about connection, trust, and creating mutually beneficial partnerships. When you build a catering network of high-value clients who order big meals for corporate events, weddings, and other gatherings, you’re shifting your focus from one-off sales to long-term, repeat business.

Everyone wants a customer who comes back regularly and spends money. We love our regular customers who we can count on to come in once a week and spend $15 on lunch. Why then aren't we making a concerted effort to attract catering customers who spend $1,500 weekly feeding the entire office? I think we can both agree that in this circumstance, the catering customer is worth 100 times as much to us as the walk-in customer.

You need as many of these high-ticket corporate catering customers as possible, so you can fill up your mornings (times when your kitchen isn't yet open) and start building a catering network. With a small investment, you can secure catering clients who provide recurring, high-value orders. At my former restaurant, I acquired major catering customers using five key strategies—all with minimal effort and costs.

(1) Catering mailers: physical flyers sent in the mail to decision makers

(2) Email Reach-out: sending cold emails to the same Office Managers, Receptionists, Executive Assistants, and others that we target with our mailers

(3) Partnerships with Wedding Venue Owners & Wedding planners: win-win partnerships that are set up in a way to make these people (who have contact with wedding customers) into a salesperson for our catering above any other options

(4) Catering-focused Google Ads: targeting just catering-specific keywords

(5) Catering-focused Meta Ads: targeting specifically office managers & recently engaged people

(6) 1:1 Networking meetings with food buyers: actually driving around to offices with hot bags full of pizza and marketing materials

There are tons of ways to land catering clients, but every technique I use boils down to these key strategies. If you want a free training that breaks these down in detail, drop a comment below and I'll send you the guide.  

Let me give you an example of how powerful these strategies are. The biggest catering client I ever had was Domo, a tech company with over 300 employees. In just over two years of running my pizzeria, they spent $72,000 with me, placing large monthly orders of $2,000 - $4,000. Instead of chasing small, one-off sales, I secured a consistent, high-value partnership.

And guess what? That entire relationship started with an $8 investment. All I did was walk into their office, introduce myself to the right person, and make a strong pitch on why Pier 49 Pizza wasn’t just the best pizza caterer in town—it was the best caterer, period. That single conversation turned into a long-term, high-revenue customer.

Well, I must have made a good case—because Domo kept ordering from me for 25 straight months. And the best part? They’re still ordering. Lukas, the new owner of my restaurant, has a $3,800 order from them coming up next week. Over time, their orders have only gotten larger.

That one free pizza, which cost me just $8 to make, led to $72,000 in sales—a 9,000x return on investment over two years. Not bad for a small upfront investment, right?

Catering isn’t just about landing a single order; it’s about creating relationships that keep paying you month after month, year after year. One small move today can generate huge returns down the road. I saw it firsthand with Domo, and now Lukas is going to benefit from that same relationship for years to come.

I want you to start building a catering network so you can see this kind of insane ROI for yourself. Catering is a game-changer because it’s a multiplier. You’re not just feeding one customer, you’re serving entire teams, departments, or event crowds. And with just one great delivery, you’ve now introduced your food to dozens or even hundreds of potential new walk-in customers.

Here’s the cool part: some of those people will remember your food and bring their families to your restaurant later. You won’t always be able to track it, but it’s happening—a nice boost in business without spending a dime on Ads. Every event you cater is like planting seeds that grow into future sales.

And let’s talk about trust—it’s everything in catering. Once a food buyer knows you can deliver quality meals on time, they’ll stick with you. No one wants to gamble on a new caterer for a big event. When you prove yourself once, you become the go-to option, and that means repeat business for years to come.

Once food buyers trust you, they don’t even think about switching. They just shoot you a quick text, place their order, and know you’ll deliver. That kind of trust is what makes catering so powerful—instead of constantly scrambling for new customers, your business grows organically, fueled by repeat orders and long-term relationships.

Catering works because it’s built on repeat orders. That’s why the lifetime value of a catering customer is so high—especially with corporate clients who order week after week, month after month.

Bottom line—you need to start a catering program that puts more money in your pocket every month. We all know that at our restaurants, we have high fixed costs—rent, insurance, labor, and everything else. The difference between $50,000 and $60,000 in monthly sales could be the difference between not taking home any money at all, and taking home a nice paycheck.

Catering is the best way to make a jump in sales like this. If you could double or even triple your income by adding $10,000 in catering sales every month, then doing that should be your number one priority. Stick around, and we're going to point you in the right direction to make this happen.

Now, one of the best parts about a catering network is what I call tribal knowledge. Once you become a trusted caterer for a company, everyone there knows who you are. Even if the food buyer or key employees leave, your relationship stays. You’re part of the team, a go-to resource they don’t want to lose. Pier 49 Pizza became the go-to pizzeria for many offices, a status that lead to tons of catering business that we otherwise wouldn't have booked.

Think about it—when a food buyer leaves their role, the new person doesn’t start from scratch. They usually keep ordering from the same caterer already listed in a shared Google Sheet or vendor database. That means your catering business keeps rolling in orders month after month, without you constantly chasing new customers.

Why? Because it’s just easier to stick with a caterer they already trust than to take a gamble on someone new. No one wants to deal with a late order or a missing delivery trying out a new caterer—so once you prove you’re reliable, companies will keep coming back without you having to constantly chase new business. Your catering program stays steady, even when things change within the companies you serve.

There's nothing—I repeat nothing—better than receiving constant customer texts for orders later in the week because your restaurant was the first one that came to mind when they thought about their office lunch. $2,000 here, $900 there—it adds up in a meaningful way.

But here’s the key: staying in touch. I always made sure to text my catering customers with special deals—things that cost me almost nothing to fulfill but felt like a big win for them. It kept me on their radar and ensured my restaurant was always their first call when they needed catering. It’s all about being proactive, checking in, and showing them you actually care about making their life easier.

Get to know each individual catering customer you land, and tailor your approach to getting more business to them and their business's particular needs. If you know they don't care about healthy options because every time you ask them if they want to add salads they say "we don't care for that healthy stuff around here," then next time you have a free salads special for catering customers, offer them free cheese bread or garlic bread instead. Use your knowledge of them to provide value.

Another big tip? Don’t just build a relationship with the first person who placed an order. At big companies of over 100+ employees, there’s usually more than one person ordering food. You’ve got the main office-wide food buyer, but then you also have executive assistants ordering for different departments—HR, Sales, Marketing, Product, and more. If you can connect with multiple decision-makers inside a company, you’re not just getting repeat orders—you’re multiplying your opportunities for even more sales within the company.

When I ran Pier 49 Pizza, I had several large tech companies where I built relationships with four, five, even six different contacts—each one placing their own catering orders. We’re talking hundreds to thousands of dollars at a time, to feed their specific teams. And that’s the beauty of catering at large companies—one contact can open the door to many more, as long as you’re actively expanding your network inside the company.

If you land a $1,500 catering order for the office manager of a company, that's a great start, but now you need to start working on landing orders with the Executive Assistants, HR manager, and Events team.

Catering is one of the most profitable moves you can make for your restaurant—if you do it right. The key? Staying organized. You don’t need some complicated system, but you should be tracking key data like: Who you last reached out to, Their most recent order, Total lifetime sales with you, and any interesting information about their catering or office needs. This way, you’re maximizing your Return on Investment and making sure no valuable customers fall through the cracks.

And here’s something most restaurant owners overlook: the follow-up. After every catering order, send a quick text or email asking how everything went. Skipping this step is a huge mistake because if you don't ask them how everything went, how are they supposed to know how much you care. When you don't follow up, you're losing out on repeat business without even realizing it.

Sure, a $500 catering job is nice, but imagine having a customer who spends $12,000 a year by ordering twice a month. The true value of corporate catering lies in the long-term relationships you build, not just one-off transactions. This is where the real growth of your catering program happens.

The idea of lifetime value really applies to every customer you have. You want your regulars to keep coming back and spending consistently. But with catering, the payoff for building strong relationships is much bigger. You’re not just working with one person—you’re building connections that lead to someone ordering food for their whole office, whether that’s 100, 200, or 500 people. The potential for long-term growth is huge when you’re catering for entire teams!

The type of corporate catering that I talk so much about is about more than just delivering great food—it’s about these relationships that lead to repeat business. Repeat business drives up customer lifetime value, which is what makes a catering network successful and your bank account larger. When companies see that you genuinely care about providing an exceptional experience, they’re far more likely to order from you regularly. Over time, this creates a steady, predictable revenue stream for your restaurant. Every order is an opportunity to reinforce trust, and when you consistently deliver on time and with great service, those customers will keep coming back—and even refer you to others.

At my pizzeria, I built relationships with more than a dozen local businesses, each generating over $10,000 in catering sales per year. Most of those partnerships started with a small investment—a mailer, a free sample, or a simple introduction—that led to recurring orders. Those initial efforts became the foundation of my catering program, turning a few dollars spent into tens of thousands in predictable revenue.

While smaller $200 or $300 catering orders are great for filling in the gaps during the week, the real game-changer for your business is landing those high-ticket catering jobs of $1,000 or more. There’s nothing quite like seeing that first $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000 catering payment hit your account. It’s a milestone worth celebrating.

Now before we wrap up, I want to talk about the power of referrals. Referrals are another powerful tool that too many restaurant owners and business owners in general overlook. A happy customer is your best marketing strategy, because they know and love your product. You need to find a way to get these brand ambassadors to do the hard work of selling for you.

Encourage them to spread the word to colleagues and friends. Even better, ask for referrals directly and offer an incentive to make it worth their while. At my pizzeria, my goal was to get a referral from every active catering customer at least once every six months. Asking regularly—but without overdoing it—helped grow my customer base and reinforced that people truly valued our service.

Building strong relationships takes time and effort. You’re not going to land a $36,000-a-year catering client overnight. But by staying consistent, delivering reliably, and following through on every promise to every customer, you’ll earn the kind of trust that generates long-term loyalty. These relationships are the foundation of a thriving catering business and the key to unlocking endless growth.

If adding a profitable catering network at your restaurant is something you're interested in, then give us a follow online. Subscribe to Catering Launch on Youtube, or join our Skool and Facebook groups, where you'll find even more trainings like these and discussions with restaurant owners focused on scaling their catering programs.

Keep pushing forward and making things happen. Let's crush it with Catering this week. So go out there and land that next high-ticket catering order!