When Michael Leake first started catering, he had no real system in place. Today, after being with CaterZen for 15 years, his business thrives with better client retention, improved efficiency, and unmatched organization. His journey from restaurant owner to a full-time off-premise caterer and catering hall manager showcases howCaterZen's catering software revolutionized his operations.

Growing a catering operation—especially across multiple locations—is no small feat. It takes consistent quality, strong customer relationships, and the right systems in place to keep everything running smoothly. That’s exactly why I was excited to sit down with Amber Polk, Catering Director at Soulman’s Bar-B-Que, for this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts. Amber has helped Soulman’s expand its catering program across 20 locations, all while maintaining the scratch-made quality and hospitality that keeps customers coming back.

Taco Lulú, a vibrant Mexican eatery in downtown Chicago, was already serving up fresh, bold flavors to its customers. But when it came to catering, owner Michael Stadnicki saw an untapped opportunity—one that CaterZen's catering software helped him seize in a big way.

At CaterZen, we’re all about empowering restauranteurs to grow their catering businesses, and our Restaurant Catering Smarts podcast is your backstage pass to insights, strategies, and stories from the industry’s best. Hosted by me, Michael Attias, the founder of CaterZen Catering Software, each episode is designed to help you level up your catering game with actionable advice and real-world success stories.

🎉 We’re excited to announce Episode 2 of Restaurant Catering Smarts, featuring Julie Wade, Head of Marketing at Taziki’s Mediterranean Café!

Lunch Wired, a successful catering company based in Colorado, had been growing rapidly but struggled with outdated and fragmented systems. Tobi Drori, the CFO, shared her journey to finding a comprehensive catering software solution in CaterZen and how it transformed their operations.

Happy New Year, CaterZen family!

Here’s the deal: I’ve always believed that great catering software isn’t built in a vacuum. It’s crafted through a combination of sweat, innovation, and listening to you—our incredible clients. While you’ve been out delighting your customers with flawless events, we’ve been in the trenches, building tools to make your life easier, your business more profitable, and your competition green with envy.

As we step into 2025, we want to reflect on last year’s achievements and share the game-changing updates coming your way. Let’s dive in!

Before implementing CaterZen, Big Dan’s BBQ relied on a patchwork of tools like Google Calendar, Square, and emails to manage their catering operations. This fragmented system led to frequent mistakes, frustrated customers, and inefficiencies that held back their growth.

CaterZen helped them change the game. By switching to a centralized, all-in-one catering software solution, Big Dan’s BBQ streamlined operations, drastically reduced errors, and saved time for both their team and customers.

If you’re in the catering business, you know the chaos all too well: juggling orders, managing staff, and trying to stay on top of customer expectations. It can feel like an uphill battle. But trust me, it doesn’t have to be this way.

In my recent interview on the Inspired Insider Podcast, I broke down the strategies and systems I’ve used to turn catering chaos into calm—and helped thousands of others do the same.

Before adopting CaterZen, Pasta Pantry’s catering management system was as old-school as it gets: a giant wall calendar. Each day of the year was filled in manually, with additional pages added as orders piled up. While this approach worked in the early days, it quickly became cumbersome as the business grew. Keeping track of past orders or coordinating future ones often required digging through pages and guessing at the details.

In the world of catering, we know success is rooted in the relationships we build and the teams behind the scenes who make it all possible. Today, we’re both celebrating a journey and looking forward to a new one as we say a heartfelt farewell to Meredith Dillard and welcome Jill Hammett as our new Chief Operating Officer at CaterZen.