Per Diem launches catering to support higher value group orders for restaurants

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For many restaurants, the most stressful orders are also the ones that should be the most valuable. Office lunches, team meetings, family gatherings, and community events often turn into long email threads, last-minute changes, and a rush at the counter. The tickets are big, but the process is messy, and a large part of that demand has moved into marketplaces that take a heavy commission and sit between the restaurant and its guests.

This week, Per Diem launched catering under its web ordering product, giving restaurants a way to bring large orders back to their own site with structure and control. Catering is built for trays, platters, and group meals that need more planning than a single visit. It is designed to help merchants turn group orders into a steady channel that can support up to 6 times more revenue, close to twice the average order value of regular tickets, and more repeat business from offices and groups that order on a schedule.

Guests can choose catering items, select pickup or delivery, and place orders for future dates with enough lead time for the kitchen to prepare. Restaurants can set their own menus, minimums, and other rules, and adjust catering pricing without going through a third party. Catering orders run through the same Per Diem and Square point of sale connection that merchants already use for regular web orders, so staff work from familiar screens even as order sizes grow, and owners keep clear visibility into who is ordering, how often they return, and what they buy most.

For Barrio Bagel and Slice in Gilbert, Arizona, bringing catering into Per Diem has helped move more of that demand into a channel they control.

"Per Diem lets us keep more of every order. Presell helps our loaves sell out early and pickup runs on time. We are not handing a big cut to marketplaces anymore, and catering is steadier because of it," Oren Molovinsky, Co-founder of Barrio Bagel and Slice.

The new feature is built around how group orders actually show up in a restaurant. Office managers who order every week for their teams can place catering orders through the same flow each time, without juggling chats and spreadsheets. Parents who plan team breakfasts or post-game meals can select set menus instead of describing everything over the phone. Community groups that host regular meetings can build a pattern that works for both guests and the kitchen.

Per Diem builds mobile ordering and online ordering solutions for cafés, bakeries, and restaurants that use Square point of sale. The company focuses on helping merchants give guests a straightforward way to order ahead, earn rewards, and pay online while keeping control of their own brand and customer relationships.

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