Dive Brief:

• Perkins Restaurant and Bakery has launched catering at nearly 200 locations, the company announced Thursday.
• Catering is available for pickup and delivery. Delivery is offered for catering orders with a minimum of 10 people and $150 ticket, and a $30 minimum delivery fee is applied, according to Perkins’ website. 
• Perkins plans to add catering to additional locations in the coming months.

Dive Insight:

Perkins partnered with ezCater to offer a “seamless ordering experience,” Diana Garcia-Lorenzana, VP of marketing at Perkins, said in the press release. The diverse menu includes popular items like Southern Fried Chicken Biscuits, the BBQ Tangler Burger, Hibachi dinners and bakery items like Mammoth Muffins, she said. The company has been focusing on bolstering its menu of late, launching a virtual brand called Bakery By Perkins in 2021 to provide signature bakery items for delivery. 

Several casual brands, including Cracker Barrel, BJ’s and Wings & Rings, have been expanding or adding catering menus of late following growing demand for private and corporate-event catering. This channel is a highly profitable business since restaurants often get advanced warning for these orders and can plan labor needs and prepare orders during non-peak times. These orders tend to lead to high ticket volumes, as well. 

Perkins’ additional catering menu follows the February appointment of Toni Ronayne as president, who is in charge of growing the brand across both franchised and company-owned locations. Perkins has been aggressively growing over the past few years, reaching 270 locations across 32 states. Perkins, along with sister brand Huddle House, signed over 70 franchise agreements as of late last year.