Catering Manager

Company: Cheba Hut — 4-Location Group
Role Type: Full-time
Reports To: VP of Operations / Ownership
Location: Multi-unit field role supporting all four Cheba Hut locations
Primary Focus: Grow catering sales, build repeat business, and ensure excellent catering execution

Cheba Hut is looking for a motivated, organized, and outgoing Catering Sales & Events Lead to grow catering sales across our four locations. This person will own the catering business from lead generation through order follow-up, helping us become the go-to local choice for office lunches, school events, campus groups, apartment events, team meals, parties, and community gatherings.

This is a sales-driven role with a strong operations mindset. The right person is comfortable prospecting new customers, building relationships, coordinating with store teams, and making sure every catering order is accurate, on time, and memorable.

Grow catering sales across all four locations to targeted levels while building a reliable system for repeat catering business.

Own the catering sales pipeline for all four locations.

Responsibilities include:

· Identify and contact local businesses, schools, universities, medical offices, apartment communities, event venues, sports teams, nonprofits, and other catering prospects.

· Build a target list of high-potential accounts around each store.

· Conduct outbound sales calls, emails, in-person visits, food drops, and follow-ups.

· Schedule and execute tastings, sample drops, and catering presentations.

· Convert first-time catering customers into repeat accounts.

· Develop relationships with office managers, admins, HR teams, pharmaceutical reps, school staff, coaches, event planners, property managers, and local business owners.

· Promote Cheba Hut catering for meetings, trainings, staff appreciation events, graduations, parties, campus events, and holiday gatherings.

· Maintain a CRM or catering tracker with leads, contacts, order history, follow-up dates, notes, and account status.

Serve as the main point of contact for catering customers.

Responsibilities include:

· Help customers choose the right catering package based on group size, budget, dietary needs, timing, and event type.

· Create quotes and confirm order details.

· Review large orders with store leadership before confirming.

· Coordinate timing, production needs, packaging, delivery, and special instructions.

· Confirm dietary needs such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and allergy-related requests.

· Ensure customers receive clear communication before, during, and after each order.

· Follow up after catering orders to thank the customer, resolve any issues, and ask for future business.

· Help recover guest issues quickly and professionally when problems occur.

Work closely with GMs and shift leaders to ensure catering orders are executed correctly.

Responsibilities include:

· Communicate upcoming catering orders to the correct store teams.

· Review production capacity and timing for large orders.

· Help standardize catering prep, packing, labeling, staging, and handoff procedures.

· Ensure each order has a completed packing checklist before leaving the store.

· Confirm delivery details, driver assignments, setup needs, and customer contact information.

· Support stores during major catering orders, high-volume days, or special events.

· Help train store-level Catering Captains or designated catering team members.

· Maintain high standards for order accuracy, presentation, timeliness, and hospitality.

Help make Cheba Hut catering visible in each local market.

Responsibilities include:

· Distribute catering menus, cards, flyers, and QR codes to target accounts.

· Partner with local businesses, schools, apartment communities, and community organizations.

· Coordinate catering promotions for seasonal opportunities such as back-to-school, graduation, football season, holidays, employee appreciation, and office lunch programs.

· Work with the marketing or leadership team to create social media content featuring catering.

· Help keep Google Business Profiles, catering pages, and local listings updated with catering information.

· Represent Cheba Hut at local events, networking opportunities, chamber events, campus events, and community activations.

Track results and report weekly progress.

Core metrics include:

· Catering sales dollars

· Catering sales as a percentage of total sales

· Number of catering orders

· Average order value

· New catering customers

· Repeat catering customers

· Quotes sent

· Quotes converted

· Outbound touches

· Tastings / sample drops completed

· On-time delivery rate

· Order accuracy rate

· Customer complaints or refunds

· Add-on sales for drinks, chips, desserts, sides, and munchies

The Catering Lead should provide a simple weekly update to leadership showing sales results, upcoming orders, pipeline opportunities, wins, issues, and support needed.

A successful Catering Lead should consistently complete:

· 75–100 outbound sales touches per week

· 8–12 in-person visits, sample drops, or account meetings per week

· 10 new catering quotes or serious inquiries per week

· Regular follow-up with all recent catering customers

· Weekly communication with each GM about upcoming orders and opportunities

· A weekly pipeline report for leadership

The ideal candidate is:

· Sales-minded and comfortable initiating conversations with new people

· Friendly, energetic, and professional

· Highly organized and detail-oriented

· Strong at follow-up

· Comfortable managing multiple orders, accounts, and store relationships at once

· Able to work independently without constant supervision

· Comfortable visiting businesses and making local sales calls

· Calm under pressure

· Guest-focused and solution-oriented

· Excited about the Cheba Hut brand and culture

· Able to balance sales growth with strong operational execution

· Prior experience in sales, catering, restaurants, hospitality, events, or customer service

· Strong communication skills by phone, email, text, and in person

· Reliable transportation for visiting accounts and stores

· Ability to work a flexible schedule based on catering needs

· Comfortable using basic technology such as spreadsheets, POS reports, email, CRM tools, and online ordering platforms

· Ability to lift and carry catering orders when needed

· Strong attention to detail

· Catering sales experience

· Multi-unit restaurant experience

· Local market sales or community outreach experience

· Experience with ezCater or other catering platforms

· Existing relationships with local businesses, schools, campuses, medical offices, or event planners

· Experience creating quotes, managing event orders, or coordinating deliveries