GROW CATERING DELIVERY WITHOUT GROWING HEADCOUNT
HOW LUNA GRILL TURNED A STAFFING GAP INTO A 30% CATERING SALES INCREASE
Luna Grill is a fast casual Mediterranean brand with 52 locations known for fresh, made-from-scratch food. Their catering program was growing faster than their ability to staff i, and the peak corporate catering lunch window fell squarely in the middle of the lunch rush.
With no available in-house drivers during the 12–1:30 PM window, the only option was pulling team members off the floor to make deliveries. General managers were stretched, catering orders were being turned away, and revenue that should have been easy to capture was slipping away during the most profitable hours of the day.
Kevin Reading had built a successful delivery program with DeliverThat at a previous 750-unit brand. When he joined Luna Grill as VP of Sales, DeliverThat was one of his first calls. By the end of his first year, the brand had returned to prior catering benchmarks. In 2022, catering sales grew 30% year-over-year, without adding a single delivery hire.
DELIVERTHAT SOLUTIONS:
Staffing Constraints Blocking Catering Revenue
When Kevin Reading joined Luna Grill, one problem stood out above the rest. The peak corporate lunch catering window, 12 to 1:30 PM, was exactly when restaurants needed every team member on the floor. There were no in-house drivers available to cover deliveries, which meant the only option was pulling staff from in-store roles. General managers were stretched across two jobs at once, catering orders were slipping, and the most profitable hours of the day were becoming the most stressful.
With restaurant GMs stretched thin, Luna Grill needed a dependable partner to handle delivery logistics so their team could refocus on service, quality, and growth.
BEFORE DELIVERTHAT
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No drivers available during 12–1:30 PM peak catering window
- In-store team members pulled from FOH/BOH to fulfill deliveries
- GMs stressed and overstretched during staffing challenges
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Missed catering revenue during highest-volume hours
AFTER DELIVERTHAT
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Catering driver network available for every day-part window
- Restaurant staff focused entirely on dine-in guest experience
- GMs relieved of delivery logistics and dispatch responsibility
- 30% catering sales growth from 2021 to 2022
A Trusted Delivery Partner From Day One
Having successfully partnered with DeliverThat at a previous 750-unit restaurant brand, Kevin Reading immediately re-engaged the team when he joined Luna Grill. The decision paid off.
DeliverThat became Luna Grill's preferred catering delivery partner, providing a network of professional drivers who could handle lunchtime and dinner-hour orders with precision and brand-aligned care.
"During the lunch and dinner hours, our operational focus is on the in-restaurant guest, so sending a team member out to make deliveries during this time was difficult. By partnering with DeliverThat, we were able to overcome that challenge and drive additional catering revenue."
Kevin Reading, VP of Sales and Community Engagement, Luna Grill
DRIVER FLEET
Catering Delivery Coverage That Scales on Demand
Coverage on every order by dispatching delivery entirely to DeliverThat's driver network, Luna Grill eliminated the variable that was costing them catering revenue.
No open shift, no short-staffed lunch, no surge in volume changes what a guest experiences on the other end of an order. When catering volume spikes, DeliverThat's driver network absorbs it. When staffing runs lean, fulfillment doesn't. The result is a catering operation that runs at full capacity regardless of what's happening inside the restaurant.
HOW DELIVERTHAT'S DRIVER FLEET SCALES WITH YOUR CATERING PROGRAM
DeliverThat's driver network is built to flex, so your catering program never hits a ceiling because of who showed up to work that day and you never have to turn away a catering order.
FLEX TO DEMAND
Whether it's a single high-volume day or a sustained growth period, DeliverThat's network scales to match order volume without requiring restaurants to hire, train, or schedule a single delivery driver.
FILL THE STAFFING GAP
When internal teams are stretched thin — during a lunch rush, a short-staffed shift, or a hiring crunch — DeliverThat absorbs the delivery workload entirely, keeping fulfillment running at full capacity.
GROW WITHOUT HEADCOUNT
As catering revenue grows, so does the driver coverage behind it. Brands don't have to choose between scaling the program and managing the operational load that comes with it.
COVERAGE IN EVERY MARKET
With drivers across all 50 states and all major metro areas, DeliverThat provides consistent, reliable coverage whether a brand is operating a single location or expanding nationally.
2025 UPDATE: DELIVERING MORE PODCAST
Five Years In, How Luna Grill Built A Catering Program That Keeps Growing
We caught up with Kevin Reading, VP of Sales and Community Engagement at Luna Grill, to hear how the program has evolved since day one — and what's driving some locations to 200% catering growth year-over-year.