Agenda

All attendees, sponsors, and speakers must check in at the registration desk and pick up a name badge. Please wear your badge at all times during the Workshop.

Catering isn’t just a side revenue stream—it’s the future of restaurant growth. This session explores how first-party catering, corporate partnerships, and local sales strategies are shaping the industry. We’ll discuss evolving consumer behaviors, emerging technology, and how restaurants that invest in structured catering programs now will be the ones thriving in the years ahead.

Meet fellow attendees, industry leaders, and sponsors over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

Growing a catering program isn’t about waiting for orders—it’s about creating demand and building a repeatable, predictable sales process.

In this session, we’ll cover:

• How to build and train a catering sales team (even if you don’t have one yet!)
• Outbound vs. inbound catering sales—what actually works?
• Key performance metrics to measure success
• How to sell catering without it feeling like “sales”

Marketing for catering is NOT the same as marketing for restaurant traffic.

In this session, we’ll break down:

• How to market directly to businesses, event planners & corporate decision-makers
• Email & social media strategies that drive catering orders
• Leveraging first-party channels to reduce reliance on third-party platforms
• Local store marketing ideas to build community partnerships

Scaling catering requires flawless execution—without it, even the best sales and marketing strategies won’t work.

This session will dive into:

• Best practices for order fulfillment & accuracy
• Delivery logistics that won’t slow you down
• Packaging and presentation strategies that impress clients
• How to set up catering-friendly kitchen workflows

The right tech can make or break a catering program.

This session will highlight:

• What restaurant brands need in a first-party ordering system
• How to track customer data & leverage insights for better outreach
• Best practices for integrating catering with POS & delivery management
• How AI & automation can support catering operations

Hear from restaurant operators who have built high-performing catering programs.

Topics include:

• Lessons learned from scaling catering in a multi-unit environment
• How to balance in-store sales with catering operations
• What marketing & operations investments deliver the biggest ROI

Attendees will have the opportunity to sit down with speakers and industry experts for a rapid-fire Q&A session on sales, marketing, operations, and catering program growth.