We had our annual event on October 8th at the Edmonds Waterfront Center with Shooby Doo catering as…read morethe food vendor. The Waterfront Center has them as an exclusive contract so we had no choice but to use this caterer. We signed up with them back in 2020 believing that we would have an in-person event in 2021 but the Delta virus made us have to do a virtual event. Shooby-doo refused to refund our significant down-payment, so we were stuck with them for a future opportunity. Which we utilized them, as I said, on October 8th 2022. The tasting that we did those years ago was absolutely wonderful. The food was quite delicious. And that team worked with us to make sure that we would have a really good selection of food items to meet all pallets, allergies, and so forth. Thus, the food is quite expensive. The major issue that we had with this company is that we are a non-profit organization and have to abide by state guidelines in regard to serving alcohol. It was almost impossible to work with Scooby-Doo on this issue because they had really bad information that they kept telling us was accurate. It was not good. It took weeks on end to finally get them to deal with the state directly and understand that we were correct and we would not do anything that would potentially jeopardize our nonprofit status. In the end it was resolved well but the frustration that we were put through is still something that has a scab on the wound. One expects for someone who is providing a service that particularly has to meet state guidelines would know what they are doing and what they are talking about. And not asking us to work in a gray area. And that's what we were told over and over again. "Just work in the gray area", but like I said it was finally resolved. One other minor thing that was aggravating but we dealt with quickly was them wanting us to get more alcohol than we needed. We got what we knew we needed and still had a few bottles left over. And the only other minor aggravation was they didn't know their full contract the evening of when everything was said and done. They thought we were supposed to be out of the building at 10:00 p.m. but we were actually scheduled to be out by midnight. Again it got resolved but it was something else to add to a more stressful moment in time. Now on to the good stuff: The night of the event was extraordinary. Their employees had everything set up in advance as it was supposed to be and the venue looked amazing. They were so friendly, accommodating, and easy to work with. They literally catered to our every need asking questions along the way to make sure that we were satisfied before our guests even arrived. The staff members were amazing. The food was out of the ballpark extraordinary. People absolutely loved the food. We had a double-sided buffet in order to make things would go smooth and quickly. I'm glad we opted for that rather than having them serve the dishes. It worked well. I'm absolutely sure that we would never use Shooby Doo again for our agency events, because of the massive issues we had with them in the beginning. However, I do think they would be good for things that are not related to being a non-profit: Like weddings, birthdays, small corporation celebrations, and such. If you're considering Shooby Doo to cater your nonprofit organization, be careful, be warned, and make sure you check everything, especially the legality around alcohol service. Also, know and monitor the contract so that you know exactly what's in it. While the service was excellent the night of, and the food was extraordinary, the price tag on this event was far more than we anticipated. We recognize that food costs are up and inflation is a nightmare but this is a very expensive catering service. Scooby-Doo gets a five star on the food quality and the evening of service. They get a one star on the knowledge on working with nonprofits, or at least with our non-profit. They get a negative 5 for not allowing us to get our down-payment back when the Delta virus came and shut everything down for everyone. I feel they should have offered it back with perhaps a small penalty but they did not so we were forced to have to use them a couple years later. I thought that was absolutely ridiculous. I told them that I would give an honest review. And this review is that.

We recently hosted an event at the Waterfront Center in Edmonds, an exquisite venue. Unfortunately,…read moreour experience with Shooby Doo catering left much to be desired. Despite hearing positive feedback about them, we were disappointed with both the service and the pricing. While the food itself was satisfactory, the service fell short of our expectations. The staff, particularly the head staff member, displayed below-average professionalism and a snarky attitude. Additionally, the setup did not align with what was agreed upon and promised beforehand. Despite planning for 90 guests, the seating arrangements only accommodated 64, causing inconvenience and dissatisfaction among attendees. During the event, the catering staff were conspicuously absent, leaving us to pick up the slack and handle tasks that should have been their responsibility. Adding to our frustration was the unexpected 23% additional fee, which the catering company failed to justify adequately. When questioned about this fee, we were met with vague explanations about covering costs, which left us feeling misled because they also leave room for minimum of 16% tip that must be paid BEFORE experiencing their service. You do the math. Overall, while the venue itself was stunning, the experience with Shooby Doo catering staff left a lot to be desired. The combination of subpar service, unexplained fees, and high pricing makes it difficult to recommend their services to others. You still have to use them if you have an event at the Waterfront. Don't get the chocolate cookies, or the deviled eggs on toast. If you go for the fruit plate, this cost us $1,710 plus tax. ($19 a person). The empanadas were yummy, the beef sliders were finished, and people complimented the salmon in puff pastry.