Planning an Off-Site Business Luncheon

Organizing a working business luncheon seems to be a fairly simple matter. But there’s more to consider than just what is on the menu. Location is key, and often business owners make the mistake of holding their gathering at the office, ordering in food from a local restaurant. This may be suitable for smaller businesses, with only two or three employees attending the meeting, but for larger firms it can be disruptive to both the workplace, and the proposed meeting itself. Other business managers prefer to take their employees to a local restaurant. It makes for a nice afternoon away from the office, but restaurant dining rooms can be full of distractions making it difficult to hold a successful business meeting. For a truly successful working luncheon, consider hiring an off-site venue that offers you and your guests’ privacy, service and a distraction free environment.

Location

The first step in planning a successful working luncheon is to decide on the venue. The benefits of a professional event space for business meetings and luncheons cannot be overestimated. It offers privacy, allowing for open and uninterrupted speeches, presentations and conversation. Staging your business luncheon at a hired venue also minimizes distractions, and serves to concentrate everyone’s attention on the work at hand.

When choosing the location for your meeting, it is important to select a venue that is centrally located so all of your employees will have similar traveling times. While the point is to get out of the office for a couple of hours, you don’t want your employees to have to spend too much time on the road. Look for a venue that is close to the office, easy to find, and that offers ample parking for all of your guests.

Most venues offer their clients a choice of rooms and halls in which to hold their event. All good events venues can supply table arrangements and seating for all of your guests. For a working luncheon you will most likely want to choose a venue that can offer you a combined space to host your meeting in one portion of the room and use the remainder of the room for your meal service. Another option is using two smaller rooms that separate the meeting space from the dining area. The space shouldn’t be so big that people begin to feel uneasy or uncomfortable. You want to intensify the working camaraderie among your guests, and make conversation easy. A great venue should also be able to provide any standard audio/visual equipment you may need such as conference call capabilities, projector systems and microphones,  as well as internet access to keep you in touch with the office if you need to double check some facts or refer to a file or report.

Each of our exclusive venues have spaces to accommodate working luncheons of various sizes. As well as the presentation materials you’ll need to keep your meetings productive. Meeting packages are also available to make menu planning a simple check-off item.

The Menu

This is one of the areas where staging your business luncheon at an off-site events venue really pays off. When you hold a working luncheon at a restaurant, it can be difficult to control your food costs, short of telling your guests and employees what they can and cannot order. At a corporate events space, you can work with the company’s own catering service to devise a menu that is light and focused, offers tasty choices from a buffet granting your meeting attendees the option to choose what they’d like, all while meeting your budgetary concerns.

As you decide on a menu, allow us to make suggestions. Let our experience be your guide. We are happy to accommodate any special diets your guests may have and will work with you to develop a luncheon that will be appealing to all.

As the exclusive caterer for the Eiteljorg Museum, Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis Museum of Art, and our own venue, Montage, we can provide you with a choice between buffet style and plated style service. While buffets are more casual, they can be distracting in a working environment depending on your meeting structure or program. Allow us to worry about your refreshments while you focus on your business. Kahn’s Catering offers meeting packages, available at all of our exclusive venues, to help putting together a great off-site business luncheon even better.

Meeting packages can include continental breakfast, luncheon,  and snack breaks dependent on the meeting package selected.  Each guest will be provided with a pen, pad of paper, and mints.

Our exclusive venue, Montage, also has some added benefits. Booking your meeting at Montage with a Montage Meeting Package also includes room rental, wireless internet access, LCD projector and screen, microphone and podium, tables, chairs, standard linen, china, glass, silver, and beverage station. Each of our venues, and their packages, are unique and filled with everything you’ll need for a successful meeting.

Working luncheons offer an opportunity for business managers and their employees to get out of the office and concentrate on brainstorming new ideas and developing new sales strategies. It is also the perfect occasion to discuss new office procedures, and to introduce new technology and techniques to the workplace. By choosing your venue and your menu carefully, you can maximize the working potential of your off-site business luncheon and end the afternoon on a productive, and successful note.

We know many companies know in advance when they will be hosting meetings throughout the year, and there are others that decide on a more short term basis if one is necessary. Either way, Kahn’s Catering encourages those that know their dates in advance to book their meeting as soon as possible to ensure space availability, even if it’s a year in advance. Have you found the perfect space within one of our exclusive venues? Contact an event specialist today to check availability and learn more information!