Caterer - October 2006 - Deli and Outside Catering

"We run a successful 100-cover restaurant and are thinking of generating extra revenue streams, possibly a deli or an outside catering service. Any advice?"

Guy Holmes, Captivate Restaurants

If you have a good reputation for great food and service then both a deli and an outside catering service can be good way of generating extra revenue if done properly.

The deli

• Make sure this is plenty of stock on display like a typical Italian deli and have the deli at the front so people walking past can see it.
• Give samples away to restaurant customers
• look into supplying local restaurants with items such as Salami and Chorizo which will enable you to buy in bulk for a cheaper price
• If you are located on a busy street give samples away to passing pedestrians
• Design recipe cards that use ingredients from the deli
• Put together hampers that customers can buy as presents or for picnics. Can also promote them to local employers as gifts to their employees at Christmas time
• Put the restaurant menu and information on the outside catering in every shopping bag from the deli

Outside Catering Service

• Get good quality leaflets and brochures containing sample menus and testimonials printed
• Put all the outside catering information on your website
• Promote your website with a Pay Per Click campaign on search engines such as Google
• Build up a database of restaurant customers and contact them regularly with information on the outside catering business including sample menus
• Promote the outside catering to local businesses by going and seeing them in person, giving them samples and brochures. You could run a competition with the prize of a hamper in the local press and business publications. Most magazines and newspapers won't charge you for running a competition as it gives extra value to their readers.