How to Choose a Catering Business Name + 50 Catering Name Ideas to Inspire You

Catering Business Name Ideas

With the economy reopening and social gatherings beginning again, there’s no better time to start a catering business. Right now, the catering market is booming – expected to hit $16 billion in revenue in 2022 alone.

So, if you’re looking to open a catering business of your own, now is the time to do it. 

One of the first steps in building your catering business is choosing the right name. It’s the name that will be attached to your branding and your marketing, leading people to your business. That means it has to be a name you like and one that represents your business effectively.

Here are four major steps for finding the right restaurant name for your catering company, as well as ideas to further inspire your new business venture. 

How do I choose a catering business name?

Choosing the perfect name for your business all starts with brainstorming. Here's a brief overview of the steps you need to jumpstart the name idea-generating process:

• Write down your vision for your catering business, focusing on its mission and core values

• Make sure your catering business name isn’t already taken

• Play around with a name generator to spark new ideas

• Reach out to your community for name ideas

What are good catering business names?

A great catering company name should be unique to your business. It should stick in the minds of your patrons, reminding them of your brand and personality.

Your catering business name also needs to reflect what goods and services you offer. It should be simple to remember as well as spell so that potential patrons can easily find you on Google or social media.

Now, let’s dive into further detail about the essential brainstorming steps for choosing the best catering business name (and even get into some cool catering business name examples too!)

1. Write down your vision for your catering business

When you think about your exciting new business, how do you envision it?  A big part of this vision is knowing your company’s mission and core values. Start thinking about your catering business’s mission statement, which will need to describe who you are, why you’re here, and what you plan to accomplish as a new enterprise in your community. These details will all be a major influence on your business’ name. 

There is more to a catering business name than just your mission statement. It’s time to do an exercise to get your creative name-brainstorming juices flowing. 

Grab a pen and paper and write down the following:

• The kind of food you’ll be offering

• Your catering business’s core values and mission

• The intended personality and vibe of your catering business

• Adjectives you’d use to describe your catering business

• Your name (and the name of your business partners, if any) 

• Any family names that are important to you

• The neighborhood or town where it’ll be located

The purpose of this exercise is to pull out words and phrases that describe your catering business, which could make up part or all of its name. 

When you run out of things to add, go back and read over your list of words and phrases, circling your favorites. These will be the building blocks for your catering business name.

2. Choose a name that isn’t already taken

To issues like copyright or accidentally sending your customers to the wrong business, make sure your catering business’s name doesn’t already exist. Once you've settled on a handful of name contenders, run each one through the following resources to ensure that these names aren’t already in use by existing businesses.

• Google search

• Google My Business

• The Yellow Pages 

• The Better Business Bureau

• The United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark database search

Be thorough with your research, as copyright infringement can be very costly, especially for a brand new business. To learn more about copyright infringement, visit Copyright.gov.

3. Use a name generator to spark new ideas. 

To get through writer’s block, name generators are an excellent tool to inspire different word combinations you hadn’t considered before. 

Name generators each have their unique function. Some generators ask for guidance in the form of keywords, while others simply assemble random combinations of words. No matter the generator, it’s good to have your keyword shortlist on hand. 

Sure, some of the suggested names and combos will be unusable. But, they’ll still help you determine what you like and what you don’t! Plus, you may just find the perfect catering business name in your results, making name generators all the more worthy of trying out.

Catering Business Name Generators to Use

• Namelix Restaurant Name Generator 

• Buzztime Restaurant Name Generator

• Fantasy Name Generators' Restaurant Name Generator

• Business Name Generator

• Kopywriting Kourse Restaurant Name Generator

4. Reach out to your community for catering business name ideas

Most people who start catering businesses aspire to create something special for their community. One way to show these ambitions is by involving your community in your business from day one.

Finding the right name for your catering company is a great way to do just that.

Asking your community to help you pick out a name is a fantastic way to build a relationship with your community before you start your business. It is very simple to do and gets your community even more excited for your business to launch. 

A straightforward way to start is by telling your friends and family about your new concept. Sharing your vision will make it easier for them to brainstorm names.

Another effective way to reach out to your community is through social media. Through strategic posts and engagement, you can ask community members to vote on which name they like best. 

To build traction around your social media post, consider including a raffle, giveaway, or future discounts to those who participate. Get creative with this! The more unique and special your offer, the more likely people will contribute their ideas.

50 real catering business name ideas to inspire you

Taking inspiration from successful catering businesses is never a bad idea. These names can help you identify your theme and style. Do you want your name to be cute? Catchy? Or, maybe funny? No matter what route you’re trying to go, these catering business names can help you generate more ideas.

Here are 50 of the best catering business names around the country: 

Cute catering business names

• La Bonne Maison – Newton, MA

• The Happy Catering Co – Homewood, AL 

• At Your Service – Natick, MA 

• Heart To Heart Catering & Events – Farmers Branch, TX 

• Good Heart Catering – Los Angeles, CA

• Figs & Honey Catering – Atlanta, GA 

• Poppy’s – New York, NY

• Pink Flamingo Catering – Arlington, TN

• Picnic Basket Catering – Cromwell, CT 

• Tea Kettle Catering – Old Saybrook, CT 

• Sugar & Spice – Parkville, MO

Unique catering business names 

• Above and Beyond Catering – Boston, MA

• Sage & Zest – New York, NY 

• Off The Vine Catering – Norwood, MA 

• Bartleby & Sage – New York, NY

• The First Bite Catering – Brookfield, CT 

• A Dash of Salt – Stamford, CT 

• Butter & Company – Houston, TX 

• All Around Town Catering – Hoover, AL

• Two Guys and a Grill – Olathe, KS 

• Scrape the Plate – North Kansas City, MO

• Salthouse – Charleston, SC

Rhyming or alliterative catering business names

• Bites and Bashes Catering – Lomita, CA 

• Belly Bliss Catering – Los Angeles, CA 

• Good Gracious Events – Los Angeles, CA 

• Forks & Fingers – North Haven, CT 

• Tipsy Tending – Hueytown, AL 

• Shaken and Stirred Events – New Haven, CT

• Pig and Pie Catering & Concessions – Nashville, TN

• Crave Catering – Portland, OR 

• Busy Bee Catering – Welches, OR 

• Ladies Who Lunch – San Francisco, CA 

• Straight to the Plate – Mesa, AZ 

• Chef on Call – Huntsville, AL 

• Rosemary & Rye – Charleston, SC

• Feasts of Fancy – Kansas City, MO

Funny catering business names

• Wildflour Catering – Charlestown, MA 

• The Clean Plate Club – Nashville, TN

• What’s The Kitch – New York, NY

• MobyDish – New York, NY

• Dish'n It Out – Birmingham, AL 

• Proof of the Pudding – Atlanta, GA 

• Spice of Life Catering – Suwanee, GA 

• Meat & Greet – Westport, CT 

• Affairs to Remember – Atlanta, GA

• Put a Fork In It Catering – Scottsdale, AZ 

• No Worries Catering – Carrollton, TX

• Bread Winners Catering – Dallas, TX  

• GigaBites – San Francisco, CA

• Nibblers Catering – Phoenix, AZ

Catering business name? Check.

Once you’ve chosen your name, it’s time to take the next steps toward catering success. That means building your business plan and plotting the path forward. Soon enough, you’ll be hosting parties all around town.

Related Catering Business Resources

• How to Open a Catering Business
• How to Write a Catering Business Plan
• Catering Menu Ideas
• Catering Licenses and Permits
• Catering Ideas and Concepts