Set Up Special Menus Without a Standard Catering Menu

Last updated: Mar 25, 2026, 1:51 PM

Question

How do I set up a special menu without a standard catering menu?

Answer

If your location’s version of catering is bouncing between “special menus” with no standard catering business, your setup may look a bit different than the standard configuration. Follow the steps below to configure your restaurant to only use special menus for Catering Online Ordering.


Note: To make a special menu with a standard catering menu, or for more info on special menus, check out the Support Center article, Get Started With Catering Online Ordering.

 

To complete this setup:

  1. In Toast Web, navigate to Catering & events, then select Online ordering from the navigation on the left-hand side of the screen. 
  2. Toggle off all dates and times on your Schedule (to the Closed position).
  3. Select + Add override for every date where you’ll have a special menu available (e.g. December 25th and January 1st), and Save your changes.
  4. In both the Takeout setup and Delivery setup sections of the Online ordering page, you'll see a When can guests place orders? (Lead time & max days ahead) setting. Use this to configure when guests can place orders. 
    • Can guests place an order for pickup on December 25th in October? If so, increase the Max lead time value to as many days as you’d like.
    • Do you want to stop taking orders for December 25th two weeks ahead of time? Set Min lead time value accordingly. 
  5. Scroll down to the Special menus section of the Online ordering page and select + Add special menu. This is where you'll configure the settings for the menus that will be available on your selected date.
    • Note: The Available menus setting here will dictate which menus are visible for Catering Online Ordering. At this time, you can't use other menu editors to make menus visible in Catering Online Ordering.
  6. Save your changes.

 

You can copy URLs next to the special menus to direct customers to order only from this menu and within your predefined dates.