From Expanded Menus to Goodie Bags, Here’s How Restaurants and Caterers Are Pivoting to Meet the Needs of a More Flexible Workforce

Over the past four years, diners have witnessed significant changes in restaurants, from evolving menus and rising prices to adjusted operating hours. Yet, many may not realize that restaurants’ catering services have also been undergoing constant shifts.

From bagel shops to coffee bars and large restaurant groups, catering has become an essential way to supplement restaurants’ in-person dining service. However, the rise of remote work and reduced office hours — along with shorter events — have forced establishments of all sizes to rethink their approach to large orders.

This was particularly relevant when companies resumed hosting year-end celebrations, which have become crucial for team bonding in an era of dispersed workforces, where teams are far-flung. “You don’t necessarily see your colleagues every day,” says Samantha Henry, a partner in The Oakville Grill & Cellar and 167 Green Street Events, two entities in Chicago’s Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group, which operates 85 restaurants spanning 47 different concepts, including several venues dedicated solely to events.

Nationwide, catering is a big business. In 2023, caterers in the United States generated $14.8 billion in revenue, according to IBISWorld, which tracks many types of global industries. And as gatherings rebounded from Covid restrictions, catering sales grew by 1.5% compared to 2022. However, the overall catering market has been shrinking — and has contracted by about 1% since 2018 due to high volatility and stiff competition. Some of that is due to companies tightening their belts, which is especially true in the wake of high labor and ingredient costs.

Related: How Working as a Caterer Changed How We Entertain at Home

Henry notes that elaborate, multi-course seated dinners are largely a thing of the past. In their place, companies now prefer “movement” events, such as strolling receptions with food stations, cocktail parties featuring craft beverages, and live music with dancing. Beyond that, Henry says, these events are starting earlier than they once did, reflecting broader changes in dining and commuting habits.

According to the INRIX 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard, the traditional 9-to-5 workday has shifted to a 10-to-4 pattern. This flexibility stems from companies focusing less on how long employees are in the office and more on simply encouraging them to show up. Stories abound of how some employees reportedly attend meetings, log in to their computers to signal their presence, and leave as soon as the meetings end. As a result, the traditional morning commute and evening rush hour are not as pronounced as in the past. Instead, the report discovered that there’s a third “midday rush hour,” where almost as many trips to and from the office are being made at noon as there are at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., leaving food-focused business owners to adjust.

Adapting to new needs and schedules

Before the pandemic, Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, mainly offered large containers of brewed coffee and tea alongside pastries for its catering orders. “We didn’t have a big catering program,” says Lisa Bee, who co-founded the chain with her husband, Wei, 30 years ago.

From its original spot, Sweetwaters has since grown to 39 locations across the U.S., stretching from the Dakotas to Brooklyn. But when Covid-19 hit, state restrictions meant her cafes had to close for indoor service. Customers also disappeared as many local offices emptied, along with the University of Michigan and other universities shifting to remote classes.

Recognizing that traditional offerings like large coffee containers wouldn’t appeal to individuals working from home, Bee scoured her lineup to see what might market to cafe regulars who were working from home. Coffee boxes wouldn’t work because “no single person is going to drink 96 ounces of coffee.”

Related: There Are Some Surprising Benefits to Eating Alone at a Restaurant

Bee hit on six-packs of bottled cold beverages, including the café’s signature ginger lemon tea and a raspberry version. Customers could also order iced tea, lemonade, and cold brew coffee. “We saw that parents were buying the lemonade ones for their kids, and that made them happy, and then they could get their drink as well,” Bee says.

The restrictions gave her time to build a mobile app and develop a much more extensive catering menu, which now features breakfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, and pretzel sandwiches filled with ham or turkey. And with workers gradually returning to offices, Bee says catering has become “a tool to pull people together.”

Catering for celebrations

New Orleans may not have the office culture of other cities, but it thrives on celebrations — driving up the demand for catering. The Louisiana city, known for its colorful parades and festive decor, spends October gearing up for Halloween, followed by big family dinners at Thanksgiving and Christmas, which are precursors to Mardi Gras in January.

Even in its early days as a pop-up on a coffee shop porch, Flour Moon Bagels — near LCMC’s University Medical Center in the Tulane-Gravier neighborhood — saw demand around the holidays for bagels by the dozen and packs of cream cheese before Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, says founder Breanne Kostyk.

After opening a brick-and-mortar location two years ago, Kostyk recognized catering as a growth opportunity. “We knew that catering would allow us to grow our footprint,” she says. “It has been a great way to level out our sales during slow times at the shop.” Flour Moon has since expanded to offer a lineup at the new Henrietta Hotel on St. Charles Avenue.

She says catering also allows Flour Moon to reach a wider audience of customers who may be at their workplace only a few times a week, on-call in medical districts, staying at home with young kids, or working remotely.

Flour Moon now offers catering options like the Party Pack, which includes lox, cream cheeses, and toppings for 12 people, as well as a veggie version and a breakfast sandwich box. During Mardi Gras season, it offers an extra-large sandwich called the Krewe Bagel, ideal for noshing on during parades. For groups exceeding 25 people, such as weddings and sorority parties, Flour Moon prices according to the number of guests. But big orders aren’t always that uniform. “We quickly found that folks are very personal with their menu choices, so many orders will be for several items for our regular menu,” Kostyk says.

Personalization and planning

In Chicago, Henry says clients are getting much more involved in creating their catering experiences than they once did. Some want their events to reflect their brand identity: “A green initiative means fine china rather than disposables,” Henry explains. “Or if we use disposables, they’re compostable.”

Food choices might highlight a brand’s colors or reflect those in an artwork if they support an artist. “We can collaborate and work with you for these spectacular things,” Henry said. On a more practical level, “You’d like to do small bites? We can adjust!”

Of course, all that takes planning, especially for holiday dates. Some book venues a year or more ahead, especially if they were happy with a previous event. Since many Chicago companies only require employees to come in on midweek days, the most popular December dates are now the Thursdays before Christmas — the 5th, 12th, and 19th in 2024  — she says. “The good days are taken by the end of October.”

Henry has also noticed another scheduling shift: Some companies have been holding holiday parties before Thanksgiving. In businesses like real estate or marketing that might be focused on a strong performance to close out the year, a November event is a way to rally the troops and avoid the distraction of a December party.

She says an earlier date usually means better attendance, especially among employees who leave on vacation before the end of the year and wouldn’t make an effort to attend a holiday event. However, as late as mid-December, numerous venues across the country were still trying to entice companies and groups to book holiday parties — a sign that the market wasn’t as strong as many restaurants and events spaces had hoped.

The role of gifting

Event details now extend beyond food and drinks. As catering continues to evolve, restaurants are finding innovative ways to adapt to changing customer needs while creating memorable experiences.

These days, the focus on details includes the goodie bags that employees take home. “Gifting is huge,” Henry said.

She’s concocted brunch sets with cinnamon rolls and a split of Champagne for employees to enjoy during the weekend following the party. Breakfast attendees might receive a box of charcuterie that they can eat for dinner. Instead of dessert, guests can fill a candy jar from a selection of sweets and take it home in a tote with the company logo.

“The intention is to have fun and provide that surprise,” Henry says, noting that these touches also make events more shareable on social media. “It’s photos, photos, photos.” 

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