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Permalink Reply by James Doyle on July 7, 2009 at 3:34pm

Cafe Evoke and Caffe Medici both cater, you might want to send them an email.

www.cafeevoke.com

www.caffemedici.com

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Permalink Reply by Stickman on July 7, 2009 at 3:39pm

Thanks!

James Doyle said:

Cafe Evoke and Caffe Medici both cater, you might want to send them an email.

www.cafeevoke.com

www.caffemedici.com

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Permalink Reply by Ben Cram on July 7, 2009 at 7:25pm

Hey Dave,
Rob and I did one a while back and honestly take whatever you think is fair and add at least twenty percent. Travel time, gas, last minute things you need to pick up, your coffee and other ingredients (people tend to consume more when they don't have to pay), wage for 2 people, (unless your doing it solo,) etc,etc. Your costs creep up pretty fast so make sure it is worth your while. Don't forget that your equipment should earn a rental fee as well. Give me a call and I can give you the actual billing details from the one we did.
Cheers,
Ben

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Permalink Reply by Mitch Buckner - Bella Caffe on July 8, 2009 at 7:33am

I charge based on the expected number of guests & how long. Heres how my prices work:
Up to 70 Guests - 245.00 for the first hour & 55.00 for each additional hour
71-140 Guests - 290.00 for the first hour & 55.00 for each additional hour
141-250 Guests - 360.00 for the first hour & 65.00 for each additional hour
more guests I work up a price
I also add Tax & Gratuity on top of that (TN sales tax is 9.25% & I usually just add an additional 25% to include tax & gratuity)
Now this price is based on the hours that you actually serve (not including setup & teardown, thats factored into the first hour rate) So if Im hired to cater a wedding for 225 guests & they want me to serve drinks from 5PM till 8PM I would charge them 612.50 (360+65+65+25%[122.50]). This is my primary business so I've got it down pretty easy. I work bymyself & can handle about 100 people or more an hour & I can have the setup done within 45 minutes (I usually give myself at least an hour or longer in case something messes up....which happens regularly in a mobile business!) And I can have it torn down usually in 20 minutes. So I figure on top of the actual serve time I've got another hour and a half to work not including drive time.

Mitch Buckner
Bella Caffe Fine Coffee & Espresso Catering & Concessions

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Permalink Reply by Stickman on July 8, 2009 at 7:56am

Thanks Mitch. You're the kind of person I was hopig to hear from. Has your experience been that most attendees sample the bar or that you have a core of regulars over the course of an evening? I'm trying to figure our if I should be considering 1 drink per person or more.

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