Frequently Asked Questions

The service charge is an 20% fee that serves to cover administration and coordination costs associated with the event. No portion of this fee goes to the wait staff in the form of a gratuity.

Draper’s offers multiple levels of service; each level includes different services, depending on what is ordered.

Pickup – No Delivery – No Service Charge or Delivery Fee

You pick up the food hot and ready to go, or cold with heating instructions. Your hot food will be in aluminum pans. Your cold food will be on disposable plastic trays. Your beverages will be in gallon jugs or their original containers. No chafing dishes are included.

Drop Off – All Disposable – Add 20% Service Charge plus Delivery Fee

We will drop off your hot food in aluminum pans. Your cold food will be on disposable plastic trays. Your beverages will be in gallon jugs, or their original containers. We will provide you with foam plates, utensils, disposable tongs, serving spoons, and a disposable table cover. No chafing dishes are included. Disposable chafing dishes are available for $10 each.

Full Service – Add 20% Service Charge plus $30 per hour per server (minimum 3 hours)

We will drop off, and set up your order. Your hot food in metal chafing dishes. Your cold food will be on silver trays. Your beverages will be in 2.5 gallon glass beverage dispensers. At least 1 server will be present at your event. Additional servers may be needed depending on your menu and guest count.

Draper’s does not include any gratuities for servers, drivers, or bartenders in the pricing of events. Although gratuities are not expected, they are always appreciated and should be handled on an individual basis at the discretion of the customer.

There is no customary rule to how much a person should tip for a catered event. Again, tips are always appreciated and should be given only if the customer feels that the service they’ve received is worthy of a gratuity.

Generally, our servers will pack up leftover food and send it with you at the end of the event. There are some circumstances where food must be discarded. Your server will know those circumstances and will act accordingly.

Draper’s will travel up to an hour and a half in any direction. Additional delivery fees do apply.

Our bartenders are ABC licensed and are additionally covered by our insurance liability policy. This means that if one of your guests were to be involved in an alcohol related incident, you (the host) will be protected. Without a licensed and insured bartender, you (the host) are exposed to all liability, a risk not worth taking.

The number of servers we allocate per wedding depends on factors such as type of foods ordered, type of plates, and difficulty of event productions. As a general rule, we send 1 server for every 50 guests for an event serving hors d’oeuvres or for a dinner using disposable plates. We send 1 server for every 25 guests when we use full china or glass place settings. 1 Bartender can usually handle up to 100 guests for an event serving beer and wine and 50 guests for an event serving mixed drinks.

Servers are responsible for loading and unloading equipment, setting up your buffet or food stations, replenishing food items as they run out, bussing tables, removing trash from your venue, cleaning up spills, cutting wedding cake, packing up leftovers, and removing all catering equipment from the venue at the end of you event.

Servers do not stand behind the buffet and serve food to your guests in cafeteria fashion unless specifically requested prior to final payment and the appropriate number of servers to do so is determined (You will always need more servers than what is typically allocated for this).

Many venues allow you to purchase the alcohol yourself and bring it there for us to serve. A general rule of thumb is that, for an average 4-hour wedding reception, you should have 4 to 5 drinks available per person. Average serving sizes are as follows:
-Beer 12 ounces
-Wine 5 ounces
-Liquor 1.5 ounces

Other alcohol tips:
– A keg is the most economical route to go when purchasing beer assuming that none is wasted. One keg serves approximately 140 to 165 12-ounce beers, depending on the size.
– When purchasing a keg, it’s always a good idea to rent an extra tap, just in case the one that comes with the keg does not work properly.
– The larger “Magnum” bottles of wine are less expensive per ounce than the traditional .75 liter bottles.
– Check with your wine provider to see if they will allow you to return unused bottles of wine following your event. Usually they will as long as the labels on the bottles are preserved and have not been iced down.

Click here to download our Alcohol Buying Guide and Worksheet

Because we provide catering services all over the tri-state area in a number of venues under a number of circumstances, buffet tables and tablecloths are not included automatically. Instead, each event is assessed on an individual basis to determine its individual needs. Tables may be rented as needed for $15 per table. Tablecloths are available for $15 each.

Our cancellation policy varies depending on the type of event and customer. For corporate events, policies are negotiated on an individual basis. For Special events and weddings, our cancellation policy is as follows:

“All cancellations must be received in writing. If the client requests cancellation 30 days or less before the event, 50% of the contract total will be owed to Caterer and due within 3 days of cancellation notice. If cancellation is requested 14 days or less before the event, the Caterer shall be entitled to 100% of the contract total as a provision for liquidated damages.”

A non-refundable booking fee of 20% (minimum $500) is due at the time of booking for all events.

All events except for corporate functions with previously negotiated terms must be paid in full at least 10 days before the event.

Because we stay so busy during the week and want our staff to have time off they can count on, we are currently not accepting orders on Sundays.