Delivery Areas

How do I offer pickup to customers?

Turn on pickup at a kitchen so customers can collect their order there instead of having it delivered, or set up a kitchen that only does pickup.

On this page

Customers can pick up their order at one of your kitchens instead of having it delivered. Pickup is a setting on each kitchen, and new kitchens start with it turned on.

Turning on pickup

1. Go to your Kitchens page, under Operations in the menu. Find the kitchen where customers will pick up their orders, and click Edit Kitchen on its row. If the kitchen is still being set up, click Finish Kitchen instead.

2. Click the Kitchen Information tab.

3. Switch Pickup Allowed At This Kitchen to On, then click Save Changes at the bottom of the page. To save and go back to your Kitchens page in one step, click Save & Exit instead.

Customers whose event is within 50 miles of the kitchen can now choose it as their pickup location at checkout.

How kitchen pickup works

  • Customers see a kitchen as a pickup option only when their event is within 50 miles of it.
  • Pickup orders have their own minimum, separate from your delivery areas. Our team sets it, so email us if you’d like a different one.
  • A kitchen you don’t deliver from doesn’t need delivery areas. Confirm that it’s pickup-only on its Delivery Settings tab.
  • If you turn pickup off, orders already placed for pickup at that kitchen don’t change. Customers just can’t choose it for new orders.
  • Each kitchen has its own pickup setting, and new kitchens start with it on.

What customers see

When customers order from you, they can choose Pickup instead of Delivery and pick one of your kitchens that allows pickup. Your kitchen’s page on CaterCow also tells customers that pickup is available there, with a Get Directions link. See how pickup works for customers for their side of it.

Pickup order minimums

Pickup orders have their own minimum, separate from the minimums you set for your delivery areas. Our team sets the pickup minimum for each kitchen. Your first kitchen starts at $100, and each kitchen you add after that starts with the highest pickup minimum your other kitchens have. You can’t change it from your dashboard; email support@catercow.com if you’d like a different minimum.

What if I don’t deliver at all?

You can run a kitchen that only does pickup. It doesn’t need any delivery areas, but it can’t take orders until you confirm that it’s pickup-only:

  1. In the kitchen’s settings, open the Delivery Settings tab.
  2. Check This kitchen is pickup-only — I don’t deliver from this location.
  3. Save your changes.

The box only shows while the kitchen has no delivery areas. Until you check it, your Kitchens page lists Delivery Settings as a missing step for that kitchen. Make sure Pickup Allowed At This Kitchen is on as well. A pickup-only kitchen doesn’t show up when customers search for delivery, so pickup is the only way they can order from it.

What a pickup order looks like for you

On your Orders page, a pickup order says Customer Will Pick Up Order where a delivery order shows the delivery address. The customer picks the order up at the kitchen they chose, at the time on the order.