In this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts, Michael Attias sits down with Erin Childs, restaurant consultant, coach, and long-time catering operator who cut her teeth in Boston's fast casual scene.

From pounding the pavement with samples in hand to building systems for national brands like Beloco and Fresh City, Erin shares her journey from boots-on-the-ground catering sales to strategic leadership.

You'll hear how she:

• Grew catering sales by literally walking the streets of Boston and calling companies like they were old friends
• Transitioned from late-night event chaos to a scalable, Monday-through-Friday drop-off catering model
• Built systems, SOPs, and training programs that helped brands grow beyond personality-driven sales
• Coaches today's restaurant leaders to balance great food with even better processes

Whether you're just getting started with catering or ready to systematize and scale, this episode is packed with practical, no-fluff advice you can put into action.

Restaurant Catering Smarts is powered by CaterZen Catering Software—helping restaurants streamline operations, increase catering sales, and save valuable time.

In this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts, Michael Attias welcomes Phillip Scotton, President & COO of Primo Partners—one of the most successful multi-unit, multi-brand franchise operators in the Ben & Jerry's system, and a rapidly growing partner within the Starbucks licensed store network.

Phillip shares his remarkable journey from unpaid intern to executive leader, helping Primo Partners scale from a single Ben & Jerry's shop in Chapel Hill to more than 20 locations across the Southeast. Under his leadership, Primo became the #1 Ben & Jerry's franchisee globally for off-premise operations, fueled by a focus on culture, servant leadership, and guest experience.

Michael and Phillip dive into the strategies behind Primo's off-premise and catering success, including:

• How Primo built one of the strongest ice cream catering programs in the country
• Why off-premise became a major revenue and growth engine
• How the team executes events serving thousands, from 10,000-person scoop events to 6,000-person hot chocolate activations
• The power of people-first leadership, equity pathways, and profit sharing
• How Primo is expanding catering opportunities within its Starbucks locations
• Why real estate development and culture-building sit at the core of their long-term strategy

Phillip also shares lessons on scaling operations, empowering leaders, creating opportunity across the company, and shaping a culture that drives performance.

This episode is packed with actionable insights for any restaurant or catering leader looking to grow off-premise revenue and build a stronger, more scalable organization.

Restaurant Catering Smarts is sponsored by CaterZen Catering Software.

In this episode of Restaurant Catering Smarts, Michael Attias sits down with Amanda Quinn, Director of Catering at Viva Chicken—one of the fastest-growing Peruvian rotisserie brands in the U.S.

Amanda brings years of experience building off-premise programs across hotels, franchise concepts, and now a multi-unit restaurant group. She shares how Viva Chicken has scaled catering by focusing on people, process, and good old-fashioned hustle.

From her early days taking catering orders with pen and paper to leading a modern off-premise program, Amanda breaks down the strategies that actually move the needle—like hiring for personality, reading the room, adapting your pitch on the fly, and building relationships one conversation at a time.

She also reveals how she's using AI tools to identify high-value catering prospects, map out sample-drop routes, and save hours of manual prospecting time—giving her team more time to sell.

Plus, hear Michael and Amanda dive into:

• Why great catering salespeople think on their feet

• How to approach offices where no one wants to talk to you

• What she learned selling catering without any marketing budget

• Why chasing the "big dogs" in your market (Chick-fil-A, Jason's Deli, Jimmy John's) leads to gold

• How AI and tools like GPT are accelerating catering growth

If you're looking for real-world strategies to build catering sales, strengthen relationships, and work smarter—not harder—this episode delivers gold bar after gold bar.

Restaurant Catering Smarts is sponsored by CaterZen Catering Software, the all-in-one system that saves restaurant teams time, increases sales, and brings sanity back to catering operations.