In this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts, Michael Attias welcomes Allen Beck, Director of Off-Premise and Catering at Costa Vida. With over 15 years of experience in restaurant operations and hospitality, Allen has helped Costa Vida double its catering business year over year—by building a sales-driven culture and putting boots on the ground.
Allen shares how the brand shifted catering from a passive revenue stream to a core profit center through working interviews, franchisee engagement, and menu engineering that supports scale and travel. He also offers a behind-the-scenes look at how Costa Vida aligns corporate and franchise operations, the ROI of hiring a catering sales rep, and why knocking on doors still beats a tech stack.
If you’re serious about growing catering sales, this is a can’t-miss conversation full of actionable insights—and a few spicy hot takes.
Restaurant Catering Smarts is sponsored by CaterZen Catering Software—helping restaurants turn catering chaos into calm.
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✅ Dedicated Sales Roles Matter: Costa Vida locations that hire catering coordinators consistently outperform those that don’t.
✅ Franchise Buy-In Starts with Collaboration: Involving franchisees in the planning process leads to better adoption of catering strategies.
✅ Invest in People Before Tech: Hire a rep before spending big on software—you need sales to justify the stack.
✅ Use Working Interviews: Let team members shadow experienced reps before moving into a catering role.
✅ Menu & Packaging First: Make sure your food travels well and scales before pushing catering growth.
✅ Target the Right Verticals: Know who your food works for—Costa Vida leans into pharma reps, schools, and churches.
✅ Say No When It Makes Sense: Don’t stretch your brand just to chase big weddings or events that don’t fit.
✅ Consistency is Key: Costa Vida uses packaging audits and quarterly QA visits to maintain brand standards.
✅ Labor Built into Profit Models: Factor labor directly into catering profitability to avoid P&L surprises.
✅ Catering is a Must-Have: With more companies returning to the office, catering is booming—and restaurants need to be ready.
🔹 “Sales reps make the difference. You can’t grow by just sitting and waiting.”
🔹 “Hope is not a strategy. If you want hope, go to church. If you want growth, get out and hustle.”
🔹 “People want to start with tech. I say start with people. Tech is easy—sales are hard.”
🔹 “Do a working interview. Let them go out, see what it’s like, and decide if it’s for them.”
🔹 “The burger might be great in-store, but how does it travel after 30 minutes?”
🔹 “We build labor right into catering so it’s a profit center, not a burden.”
🔹 “Know your verticals. We thrive with pharma reps, schools, and churches—not elegant weddings.”
🔹 “You can’t chase every sale. Sometimes a no builds more trust than a yes.”
🔹 “If you’re not doing catering today, you’re missing out. It’s no longer optional.”
