Episode 11: From Drive-Thru to Director—Ellen Diehl’s Road to Catering Leadership
Description
In this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts, Michael Attias welcomes Ellen Diehl, Operations Coordinator at Roots Natural Kitchen—affectionately dubbed “The Catering Queen” by her team.
Ellen plays a pivotal role in building and scaling off-premise catering for one of the country’s fastest-growing health-focused fast-casual brands. From her humble beginnings working the drive-thru at Long John Silver’s to orchestrating seamless catering operations across multiple locations, Ellen’s journey is both inspiring and practical.
Michael and Ellen dive into:
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How strong systems and SOPs empower store teams to deliver consistently great catering
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Using CaterZen to coordinate logistics, manage orders, and eliminate chaos
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What it takes to scale catering without sacrificing brand standards or team morale
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Why packaging, communication, and training are key ingredients to off-premise success
This is a must-listen episode for anyone looking to scale catering smartly, without burning out their teams or blowing up their operations.
Restaurant Catering Smarts is sponsored by CaterZen Catering Software—the all-in-one solution for restaurants ready to grow catering sales while saving time and staying organized.
United States
