How much does office catering cost in Des Moines?

Only three of the caterers we checked publish prices. In The Bag charges $14 to $16.50 for sandwich lunches with sides and a brownie, and $14 to $21 per person for hot buffets. Fiesta's meal bars run $11.95 to $17.25 per person, with the Signature Fiesta Bar at $14.95. Sunflower Chef lists trays from $90 to $230. Everyone else quotes per event, so ask for the total with delivery and any service fee.

Which Des Moines caterers take catering orders online?

In The Bag runs an online ordering site, Gateway Market takes orders through its Spoonfed ordering page, and Fiesta lets you order and pay online for 15 or more guests. Smokey D's links to online ordering from its box lunch page and Cyd's has an online order link. Baratta's, Palmer's and B Fabulous work by phone or email, while Taste! To Go, Tangerine, Food with Flair, Sunflower Chef and Roadside Tacos start with a request form.

How much notice do Des Moines caterers need?

B Fabulous says corporate lunches can be booked with 48 hours notice if it has availability. In The Bag needs 24 hours only for its burger bar, baked ham and roast turkey buffets, and weekend orders have to be placed Monday through Friday. Tangerine and Taste! To Go want a final headcount two weeks before the event. Gateway Market asks for 24 hours notice to cancel without a 35% charge.

Which caterers deliver downtown and to West Des Moines and the suburbs?

Gateway Market delivers across the Des Moines metro for $15 to $25 and goes about 35 miles out for $25 more. Palmer's delivers metro-wide from Ingersoll, Urbandale and West Des Moines. Fiesta delivers from West Des Moines, Adel and Pleasant Hill for $30 to $60 by distance. Smokey D's has a downtown skywalk location and Tangerine is based at Mainframe Studios downtown. B Fabulous delivers free within 10 miles of Slater.

What fees and service charges should I expect?

Fiesta adds 20% for a self-service buffet and 30% for an attended one, and Iowa taxes service fees as part of the sale while separately stated delivery charges are not taxed. Food with Flair and Tangerine add 4% to credit card payments, and B Fabulous adds 3.5%. Gateway Market charges $10 more for evening and weekend deliveries. B Fabulous says it adds no service fee or automatic gratuity and asks no deposit for corporate events.

Are there order minimums for office catering in Des Moines?

Some caterers post them. In The Bag has no weekday minimum but requires $300 on weekends and 15 people for buffets and breakfast. Fiesta's meal bars start at 15 guests, and its self-service buffet carries a $400 minimum. Gateway Market needs $100 for delivery, and Palmer's delivers on orders of $60 or more, with free delivery over $300 and 8 people per Favorite Menu.

Best Caterers in Des Moines, IA for Office & Corporate Catering

Best caterers in Des Moinesfor office & corporate catering

Des Moines office catering starts around $14 a person, from In The Bag's sandwich lunches to Fiesta's $14.95 meal bar. We checked 14 caterers and list the pricing, minimums, lead times and delivery terms each one actually publishes.

Caterers

Publish pricing

Order online

How we pick these caterers

This list is alphabetical, not ranked, and no caterer paid to be on it. We look for Des Moines restaurants and catering companies that publish a real catering menu, handle drop-off or delivery for groups, and come up again and again when local offices talk about who they order from.

Pricing, minimums, lead times and delivery areas come from each caterer's own website and were last checked in October 2026. Of the 14 listed, 3 publish pricing and 4 state a lead time. If a detail is missing, the caterer doesn't publish it. Confirm before you order. Spot something wrong or missing? Email us.

Office catering in Des Moines: what to expect

Office catering demand in Des Moines splits between downtown and the western suburbs. CBRE put metro office vacancy at 13.3% in the third quarter of 2026, but downtown ended 2025 at 20.1% vacant while the western suburbs sat at 13.3%, and those two areas led the market in absorption early in 2026. Wells Fargo has more than 10,000 local employees and Principal about 5,575, and the 4-mile skywalk ties downtown offices together from the Iowa Events Center to the Court District. Smokey D's runs a skywalk location at 601 Locust, Tangerine Food Company works out of Mainframe Studios downtown, and Palmer's has stores in Ingersoll, Urbandale and West Des Moines. Food with Flair and Fiesta are both based in West Des Moines, close to the suburban side of the market.

Only three caterers here publish real prices. In The Bag lists sandwich lunches from $14 to $16.50 with fruit, pasta salad and a brownie, and hot buffets from $14 to $21 per person for groups of 15 or more. Fiesta posts meal bars from $11.95 to $17.25 per person with a 15 guest minimum, and Sunflower Chef prices trays at $90 to $230. Gateway Market sets a $100 minimum for delivery and Palmer's sets $60. On notice, B Fabulous takes corporate lunches with 48 hours, In The Bag needs 24 hours only for a few buffets, and Tangerine and Taste! To Go lock headcounts two weeks out. In The Bag, Gateway Market and Fiesta take orders online. Baratta's, Palmer's and B Fabulous work by phone or email, and Food with Flair says to call for current prices.

A few local details are worth knowing. Iowa does not charge sales tax on a separately stated delivery charge, but a service fee counts as part of the taxable sale, which matters at Fiesta, where buffet service adds 20% or 30%. Delivery fees vary: Gateway Market charges $15 to $25 in the metro, Palmer's charges $12 and waives it over $300, and B Fabulous delivers free within 10 miles of Slater. Food with Flair and Tangerine add 4% to credit card payments. Taste! To Go treats full service as standard and offers drop-off only when it fits. The Iowa State Fair ran August 12 to 22 in 2026 and drew more than 1.2 million people, so book August events early. We could not verify Catering DSM because its site refused connections, so call before you count on it.

Common questions about catering in Des Moines

Best caterers in Des Moinesfor office & corporate catering

In The Bag Corporate Catering

Smokey D's BBQ

Gateway Market

Baratta's

Taste! To Go Catering and Events

Food with Flair

Palmer's Deli & Market

Tangerine Food Company

Catering DSM

Fiesta Mexican Restaurant

Roadside Tacos

Cyd's Catering

B Fabulous BBQ & Catering

Sunflower Chef Catering