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Restaurant corners catering market
Restaurant corners catering market
From baby showers and wedding receptions to corporate dinners and
cookouts, special events represent a valuable added revenue stream for
Doc’s Restaurant.
Orlando, Fla. – On a recent summer evening, oncology nurse Vicky
Chambers stood in front of a crowd of 80 colleagues crooning a
rendition of B52s’ “Love Shack.”
An outdoor jumbotron projected scenes from the classic movie Grease and
fresh caramel apples helped the Florida Hospital group beat the summer
heat on the outdoor patio of Doc’s Restaurant.
Chambers’ performance earned her a standing ovation from co-workers.
The surroundings, ambience and cuisine earned Doc’s Restaurant a big
hand as well.
The summer cookout, which wrapped up a two-day seminar for Florida
Hospital’s oncology department, is the first patio event the restaurant
has ever hosted.
But no affair is too casual or refined for the fining dining restaurant led by former Kennedy Family chef Neil Connolly.
From wedding receptions and baby showers to corporate dinners and
cookouts, Doc’s Restaurant is chasing every corner of the catering
market.
Equipped with a third-floor banquet room, martini lounge and a separate
catering kitchen, Doc’s is not only able to accommodate a variety of
catering functions, but is more than willing to because the events
represent a valuable added revenue stream for the dining establishment.
Restaurant industry sales are expected to reach a record $476 billion
in 900,000 restaurant locations in 2005, according to the National
Restaurant Association's 2005 Restaurant Industry Forecast. These
revenues are not achieved by dining room business alone. On-site and
off-site catering functions represent a valuable portion of the bottom
line at fine dining restaurants.
Doc’s tactic for tapping into the catering market is to customize every
affair to fit each group’s needs and desires, whether that’s
hamburgers, Cokes and karaoke or lobster, martinis and ice sculptures.
Often that requires flexibility, something Connolly has had plenty of experience with.
During his 11-year stint as personal chef to America’s version of the
Royal Family, he prepared meals at Sen. Edward Kennedy’s home at the
family compound, but he also cooked at the residences of Ethel Kennedy
and the Shriver family. He cooked lavish dinners for athletes,
celebrities and heads of state.
“It was obviously a much different atmosphere than being a chef at a
restaurant,” Connolly said. “In the morning, you would be making plans
for a dinner that night for six or eight people, and then that
afternoon the number would be 25 or 30.
“You never knew who you would be cooking for,” he added. “Sometimes, it
would be a casual dinner for a few family members. On other occasions,
it would be an elaborate party for 100 or 5,000 people.”
Doc’s ability and willingness to accommodate a wide range of special
events and incorporate personal touches has helped the restaurant reach
out to new group of potential customers, said Dianna Greenamyer,
director of catering at Doc’s.
“Anybody can fill a restaurant on the weekend but the weekday is
more challenging,” she said. “The restaurant will pay the bills and the
catering will be the extra.”
Doc’s is counting on wedding receptions to be a boon for the restaurant
because they account for about 30 to 33 percent of wedding-day costs
according to Bride’s magazine.
“A lot of people go to beautiful venues, but they still need a
caterer,” Greenamyer said. “It’s not just selling the banquet room.
It’s also the off-site catering.”
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Media Contact:
Krista Zilizi
Quantified Marketing Group
407-936-1010 (office)
706-627-3204 (cell)
kzilizi@quantifiedmarketing.com
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