A suburban office address is becoming increasingly attractive to many business owners contemplating a move, relocating or looking to add more space. As demand for Class A office space in Boston surpasses the volume of available properties, rents have risen significantly. But as the downtown market continues to heat up, demand has remained more balanced in the suburbs.

With considerable options available, how can building owners differentiate their properties among ample inventory? And, with real estate experts reporting a renewed interest in quality and a growing demand for newer, more modern spaces, how can property managers make their offerings stand out? One way to entice prospective lessees searching for the ideal location is through on-site dining and catering services.

More than just added conveniences, on-site corporate dining and catering services benefit those sitting on both sides of the boardroom table. For companies that own and occupy single-tenant facilities, providing a palatable dining option for employees boosts productivity, increases satisfaction and aids in staff retention. For owners and managers of multi-tenant properties, dining and catering offerings can help maximize occupancy, increase market value and resale potential, and serve as a valuable income generator.

Increasingly, today’s business dining experience is more café than cafeteria, with restaurant-style ambience and upscale bistro-like offerings prepared by formally trained chefs. Typical menus include freshly roasted meats, locally grown produce, homemade soups and salad dressings, and regional and ethnic favorites.

In its annual ranking of the Top 50 Management Companies (September 2006), Food Management magazine confirms the rush to add locally grown food programs while removing less-healthy options. More and more, consumers are looking for organic and fresh foods and a wider, more exotic mix of flavors and preparation methods – and they’re getting them.

Making the café a “destination” for guests is just as important in driving program participation as serving delicious and healthy foods. At many new facilities, attractive seating areas are being designed to go along with more upscale offerings.

The Atrium Café at Watertown-based Tufts Health Plan drenches guests with sunlight from its many skylights. At Cell Signaling Technologies, a Danvers-based biotech company housed in a former hotel, property managers kept the resort feel when designing the employee café. Designers transformed a “rainforest” complete with banana trees into a calming oasis where employees feel they are dining outside every day. At Davis Marcus Partners’ 451,000-square-foot class A office building at Reservoir Woods in Waltham, an extensive amenity package not only includes a spectacular full-service café, but also a fitness center, 150-person conference center and on-site management.

Even the building materials chosen for a café can affect resale potential and participation. As homeowners, consumers are told they will always recoup an investment on kitchen upgrades or renovations. The same can be said for commercial properties. Incorporating wood, tile, marble, and granite into the café design increases market value and creates an ambience that makes employees forget they are at work.

Managing a Successful Café

Running a successful business-dining operation is always a possibility. Property managers who “do it themselves” often feel their employees are more invested in the company mission. Managers also believe that by keeping the dining operation in-house, they retain operational control and accountability.

On the flip-side, an increasingly common option in business dining is to hire a dining-management provider. Bringing in a specialist whose sole focus is to create a first-class dining program can be a key factor in luring and retaining prospective tenants and generating bottom-line benefits. More importantly, contracting gives property managers the freedom to focus on their core responsibilities.

From a financial standpoint, contractors have buying power that far exceeds individually brokered purchasing arrangements. They offer proven operational systems, hospitality-based training programs, and management and culinary expertise that increase efficiency and improve food quality and service. They also bring critical resources to the table, including knowledge of human resources, finance and marketing that is essential to effectively managing today’s business-dining operations.

The relationship between contractor and client should ideally function as a true partnership, in which both parties work together to create an exciting dining program that wows employees and tenants and meets financial objectives.

According to Ron Reppucci, director of real estate and support services at Tufts Health Plan, “Outsourcing food service makes good sense for our organization. The café is revenue-neutral and our purchasing arrangements with vendors are better than what we would be able to manage on our own.” The company has enjoyed more than a year-long partnership with a dining-management firm that specializes in business dining.

On-site catering is another essential element in creating Class A amenities in a building or office park. First, it offers great convenience. There will always be instances when a meeting schedule changes or a lunch order is forgotten. An on-site professional can accommodate last-minute needs that an outside vendor might not be willing or able to handle. But the convenience factor is only half of the story. It is also a cost-effective option for building owners and property managers that eliminates the need to hire outside vendors and can provide new and profitable revenue streams.

For tenants, the added value that on-site catering brings can be immeasurable. From the ability to offer a plate of fresh fruit or warm cookies in your reception area to an all-out client cocktail reception, creative, customized catering services add a wow-factor to any dining program.

In addition to catering for events and meetings, there are a variety of office-refreshments services that come under this umbrella. These include providing coffees and teas, stocking individual tenant pantries with a customized assortment of snacks and beverages and making a range of vending options available, all of which make the office environment more comfortable for employees and visitors.

Each employee population is unique. The first step in designing a successful program that can “compete with the street” and increase satisfaction is to establish employee preferences. Surveys should focus on demographics, including general dining behaviors, dining in/out frequencies and motivations and dining-time preferences for breakfast and lunch. They should be conducted prior to opening a new café or re-launching an existing one. When working with a dining-management provider, surveys will help them customize a program that suits a property manager’s needs – and budget – while offering guests the foods they want at prices they are willing to pay.