Rider University Catering

We are here to offer you a qualified staff, dedicated to provide you with excellent food and service.  This will make your special event a true success.  Relax - planning your catered affair will be an enjoyable experience.  We are ready and willing to assist you in making your event a memorable one.

Our catering guide is specially designed to help you plan for your event effectively.  If you have special needs or need a custom menu, we will work with you to satisfy you and your guests needs.  We appreciate as much advanced notice as possible to better staff and plan for your event.  If you need any assistance, please feel free to call and make an appointment with the Catering Manager.

Rider University Catering Guide

Special Event Request Form


In order to provide you with the best service, please follow these steps:

1.  Call the Scheduling office and reserve your room, 609-896-5326
2.  Order all the necessary equipment for your event (tables, chairs, trash cans, podium, microphones, etc), 609-896-5080.
3.  Fill out a food service contract completely and legibly, send a copy to the catering office and send the original contract to the controller's office where it will be approved for payment purposes.
4.  Provide the catering office with a diagram of the room set up.
5.  Provide all the details of the event to the catering manager (any programs, ceremonies, etc) to ensure the event is timely.
5.  For payment by account number, upon receipt of your bill, please sign it and forward it to Disbursements.  All other payments are made directly to ARAMARK.

Staffing Policy and Costs
In order to keep the catering costs as low as possible, all menu items quoted throughout the catering guide do not include service staff.  Parties of 100 guests and over will be billed for service staff.  The catering director will determine scheduling of staff.  There are two levels of service staff that can be provided to you, in house waitstaff and outside waitstaff.  The costs are as follows:

In-House waitstaff - $12.00 per hour/minimum of four (4) hours.
Outside waitstaff - $25.00 per hour/minimum of five and 1/2 (5.5) hours.
Bartenders - $75.00 each with bar set up included.

The catering director will advise you as to which service staff will be recommended for your event.  A decision will be reached by the client and the catering director based upon the type of event.

Any event over four (4) hours or any event that runs overtime based upon a negotiated end time will result in additional costs.

Final Counts
When booking your event, you will be providing an approximation of guests or a tentative count.  We arrange staffing and food preparations based on this number.  A final count, or guaranteed number, will be due 72 hours prior to your event so we may make any final adjustments if needed.  You will be billed for the number of guests you provide as the guaranteed number.  If the number should change, we will do our best to provide additional service staff and a meal alternative.  All changes must be reported to the catering office as soon as possible to assure quality service.

Payment
All on campus groups are required to provide us with their account number when completing a food service contract, unless there will be a different form of payment.  All other parties are required to pay a 50% deposit two weeks prior to their event.  Payment in full is expected the day prior to the event.  Cash, checks, money orders and cashier checks are the only form of payment excepted.

Equipment
You may not remove any food, beverage and/or equipment from your event.  Once the event is set up, you will be responsible for all equipment when no staff is required (a drop off).  The catering staff is NOT responsible for picking up items from any location other than the location it was dropped off.  Equipment is NOT to be removed or taken to another location.  Additional charges will occur for any unrecovered equipment.

Linen
Linen for buffets are supplied free of charge.  There will be a charge for additional tablecloths other than food tables.  If you would like to upgrade linen, we will gladly present you with a full color brochure with samples of different colors, styles and sizes.

Miscellaneous
The catering department will gladly provide you with more information on additional services that can be provided to you at additional costs (flowers, linen, liquor, etc.).  We DO NOT have a liquor license.  Since most of our catering supplies are limited, you may be required to pay for rentals.  Items such as china, flatware and glassware are rented for larger parties (200 people or more) at an additional cost.  The catering manager will discuss these costs with you when booking your event.  Please notify the catering office of any special dietary needs including vegetarians.  We will do our best to satisfy your guest's needs.

Normal catering hours of operation are from 7:00 am - 8:00 pm.  Any events starting outside of that time frame may be subjected to additional labor costs.

Cancellations
There will be no charge for an event of 150 guests or less with more than 24 hours notice unless there are special order items.  There will be a 25% charge for an event of 150 guests or more when cancelled in 24 hours.  There will be a 50% charge for any cancelled in less than 24 hours.  There will be a 100% charge for any event cancelled within 4 hours.