The Great Hall of Royal does event catering in northwest Iowa, and there are two ways to use it. If you rent the hall, the food is your call. You can cook it yourself in our catering kitchen, bring in any caterer you like, have us cater the whole meal, or split it so you make the one dish that matters and we handle the rest. If you are not renting the hall, you can still hire us. We cook it all here and bring it to you, drop-off or full service, around Spencer, the Iowa Great Lakes, Storm Lake, and the small towns in between.
Every menu gets built around your budget and your guests, not picked off a fixed list. For events at the hall, drinks are bought on site and the bar is staffed, so you do not have to think about it.
Key Takeaways
- If you rent the hall, you can cook it, bring in your own caterer, have us cater, or split the menu.
- You can also hire our catering without renting the building. We bring the food to you.
- Full service includes the menu, utensils, place settings, refills, setup, and cleanup.
- Drinks for events at the hall are bought on site, and the bar is staffed.
- Last-minute orders are often possible, and you can hold a date up to a year out.
Why is the food the part everyone worries about?
Because your guests remember it.
People do not leave a graduation party talking about the napkins. They talk about the brisket. Or about the potatoes running out at 6:15.
It is also the part with the most moving pieces. How many are really coming. Who cannot have gluten. Whether the green bean casserole is non-negotiable (it usually is). And who is standing over the roasters all afternoon instead of visiting with the people they invited.
Bottom line. People want us to cook. But the real ask is permission to be at their own party.
What are your options for food when you rent the Great Hall?
You have four, and any of them works. You do not have to pick when you book the date. We will check in as the event gets closer and figure it out with you.
Can you cook it yourself?
Yes! The hall has a full catering kitchen, and you can use it. Plenty of families go this way, especially for reunions and showers where everyone wants to bring their specialty. You cook. Matt and I still handle the setup and the cleanup.
Can you bring in your own caterer?
Absolutely. Outside caterers are welcome, and the kitchen is theirs to work in for your event. If you already have someone you love, keep them. If you are still shopping, our post on what to ask before you hire a wedding caterer covers the questions worth asking, us included.
What if you want us to cater the whole thing?
Then you show up and eat. We build the menu with you, cook it in our kitchen, keep the buffet full, and clean up after. This is the easiest option by a mile, and it is where most of our cooking happens, from weddings to company Christmas parties.
Can you split it?
You can. Maybe Grandpa’s smoked turkey has been at every family Thanksgiving for forty years, and it is not stepping aside now. Great. Bring the turkey. We will cover the rest of the table so nobody is up at 4 a.m. peeling potatoes for sixty.
Can you hire us for event catering in northwest Iowa without renting the hall?
Yes. A lot of our work is exactly that. Everything is cooked here in Royal, then served at the hall or packed and brought to you. We regularly cater in Spencer, Okoboji and Spirit Lake, Storm Lake, Everly, Sutherland, and Sioux Rapids. Somewhere not on that list? Ask. The service area is not a fence.
That covers business meetings, company Christmas parties, anniversary and birthday parties, funeral lunches, and harvest meals for the field crew. We also cater weddings at other venues. And because we can handle more than one event in a day, a busy Saturday does not automatically mean no.
Off-site jobs come one of two ways:
- Drop-off. We cook it, pack it hot, and bring it to you. You take it from there.
- Full service. We bring the food, set it up, and stay. If you ask for serving staff, we will send them. Cleanup is included.
Each off-site job is quoted to what you actually need. Two Christmas parties with the same headcount can look different on paper. That is on purpose.
What comes with full-service catering?
When we cater your event, here is what is on us:
- A custom menu, built around your budget and any dietary needs
- Serving utensils, place settings, and condiments
- Staff to keep the food refilled and the table looking fresh through the meal
- Staff to serve the meal, if you request it
- Setup and cleanup
We can serve buffet style, or set up heavier or lighter hors d’oeuvres, indoors or out. Our usual menu starting points are on the catering page.
What do we actually cook?
Homestyle food, mostly, done well. The brisket is the one people ask about by name. Pulled pork and cheesy potatoes show up constantly, and so does a good taco bar. Our homestyle casseroles taste like somebody’s mom made them. Somebody’s mom did.
Holidays bring out ham, turkey, and prime rib. Showers and morning meetings get egg bake and coffee cake. Then there are the almond bars. I could write a whole post about how fast those disappear. Scotcharoos are a close second.
Our menus are a starting point, not a boundary. If you want something that is not on them, ask. We will try a new recipe to get your meal right. One of our regular business customers described what he has ordered from us over the years this way: “From smoked brisket for a Christmas holiday party to a nacho bar for an employee appreciation event and anything in between.” That is the job.
Not every order is an event. Busy families pick up take-and-bake casseroles for the week. One regular customer, S.J., did the math: “I can’t go to the grocery store and buy the grocery items, do the prep, plus our time for the price I pay for the casserole.” Fair enough.
How do drinks work?
For events at the hall, all beverages are bought on site, and our bar is staffed for every event. Nothing gets carried in. If you want a certain beer, or the soda the kids will riot without, tell us and we will stock it.
Why the rule? Because policing what comes through the door is the last thing we want to do at your party, and this way we never have to. If you want the money side of it, here is how the bar bill works at a wedding.
Off site is different. We do not provide bartending at other locations, so drinks there are yours to handle.
How far ahead should you book, and how do you get a quote?
Earlier is always better, especially for December and wedding season. Still, we can often take an order within a week if the calendar allows, and we are glad to hold a date up to a year out.
Quotes start with a Facebook message, an email, or a phone call. Before you reach out, it helps to know four things:
- Your budget, even a rough one. We work within it, not around it.
- Your non-negotiables. The dish you will be sad about if it is missing.
- What the food is doing. A sit-down supper and a snack table at an open house are very different orders.
- Any food allergies in the group. The FDA’s list of the nine major food allergens is a good checklist. Sesame joined that list in 2023, so check for it too.
Have a rough headcount. “Somewhere around eighty” is fine. We just need somewhere to start.
Why have the venue cook?
Here is my bias, and I will own it. When the people running the building are also the people running the kitchen, you have one phone number to call. We know how long it takes to flip the hall from ceremony to dinner, and when the buffet needs to open so the toasts do not run into cold food. Nobody is coordinating between two businesses on your day.
If you are still weighing the venue itself, our guide to choosing an event venue in northwest Iowa walks through the bigger decision, and our event packages show what renting the hall includes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer tastings before booking?
We do not hold formal tastings. Instead, we talk through the menu with you and adjust it as many times as you need. If you are unsure about a dish, ask. We will tell you if something else would suit your crowd.
Do I have to decide on catering when I book the hall?
No. You can lock in your date first and sort out food later. We will stay in touch as the event gets closer and find out whether we are cooking, someone else is, or it is a mix.
Can you work around food allergies and dietary restrictions?
Yes. Every menu is custom, so restrictions get built in from the start rather than bolted on. Tell us early and tell us specifically, including how severe an allergy is, so we can plan around it.
Do you have kid-friendly options?
Yes. Kids are usually happy with a taco bar or a baked potato bar, but we can add simpler options so nobody has to pick around anything green.
Ready to talk food?
Tell us what you are planning and roughly how many are coming, and we will build a menu with you. Get in touch here, or call us at (712) 223-0025. We would love to feed your people!