Standard, crown, or round
The 8 Qt. Standard Chafer is the workhorse — the plain stainless frame every caterer knows, $25.00 each on the 2026 price list. The 8 Qt. Crown Chafer is the same capacity in a dressier frame, $30.00, for the wedding buffet or the board dinner where the line is on camera. The Round Crown Chafer, also $30.00, is the one for soups, pasta, rice, and sides; confirm its capacity with us when you book. Beyond chafers, the serving and catering page lists the Electric Food Warmer at $200.00, and a Cambro Food Warmer, Food Heat Lamp, Food Heat Lamp with Carving Station, and Portable Propane Gas Cooktop, each quoted per order.
How many chafers
One chafer per hot dish is the rule. Two usually cover a home buffet — a main and a side — with the cold dishes on platters beside them. For a 120-person church banquet, a standard and a crown chafer on a skirted 8' banquet table keep the plates moving through the remarks. Past a hundred guests, double the line: two chafers of the same dish, one on each side of the table, so both sides serve at once and nobody waits through a speech for the green beans. Ladles, Tongs & Servers are $3.00 each — count one per chafer, plus one for every platter. Ask about fuel and anything else the line needs when you book, and it goes on your quote.
Setting the buffet line
An 8' Banquet Table holds a full line and costs $10.00; dress it in a 90" x 156" cloth ($15.50) to the floor, or a 60" x 120" cloth ($8.50) at lap length with Table Skirting ($30.00) to hide the legs. The Serpentine Buffet Table ($12.00) bends the line around a corner. Order of service that works: dinner plates at the head, mains, sides, bread, then flatware and napkins at the end so nobody juggles a fork through the line. A Tray Jack with Tray ($20.00) at the end of the room gives the bussing somewhere to land. Our backyard party guide and graduation and prom guide both build a buffet from these pieces with real 2026 prices.
Delivery, pickup and return
Delivery runs Monday through Friday 9am–4pm and Saturday 9am–noon, quoted by distance and order size before you book. Standard delivery is first floor, no stairs, within 50 feet of the truck, to an easily accessible area; stairs, elevators, long carries, and non-standard hours carry an additional charge that shows up on your quote. Will-call pickup at 174 Collins Street, Suite 104 in Midtown runs Monday–Friday, 9am–4pm — pick up the business day nearest your event and return the next business day on a one-day or weekend rate. Return chafers rinsed free of food and packed in their crates; excessively dirty dish and tableware returns are assessed cleaning charges of up to 100% of the rental rate, so if rinsing will not be possible, make arrangements with us in advance. A 50% non-refundable deposit reserves the order, and changes are free up to one week before your date. Full terms are on the policies page.
Seen in real Memphis events
Team banquets in Millington, race-weekend hospitality, reunions under a park pavilion, farm gatherings outside Hernando, a church banquet with the lectern at the head table — chafers are on the truck for all of them, and behind nearly every wedding buffet we have delivered since 1987. Corporate hosts will find the whole hot-line kit on our corporate events page.