Feeding a Cleveland school group, a sports team, or a fundraiser comes down to three things: enough food for the crowd, a menu nobody complains about, and a kitchen that can handle the order without drama. Rascal House does casual catering for all three, and runs a fundraising program called Raise Some Dough for groups raising money.
Rascal House has fed Cleveland since 1980, from Cleveland State students to office crews to sports teams. This guide covers what catering looks like for schools, teams, and fundraisers, and how Raise Some Dough works.
Order online at rascalhouse.com | Book catering: Casual Catering
What kind of catering does Rascal House offer?
Rascal House offers casual catering built for groups, covering party-size pizzas, wing trays, fresh-tossed salads, boxed lunches, and full spreads from the same menu it serves every day. It is set up for the practical reality of feeding a crowd, not white-tablecloth formality.
The menu range is the point. A school event, a team dinner, and an office lunch all pull from the same kitchen, which means pizza, subs, wraps, wings, salads, burgers, and sides are all on the table. That covers the picky eaters, the vegetarians, and the people who only want wings, all in one order.
Casual catering works for groups of roughly 10 to 200. Smaller orders often go out same-day, while larger spreads are best booked ahead so the kitchen can prep and time the delivery.
There is no separate “catering menu” to learn either. The same pizzas, wings, salads, subs, and sides on the everyday menu are what scale up for a group, just in party sizes and trays. That means the food a group already knows and likes is exactly what shows up for the event.
How does catering for Cleveland schools work?
School catering from Rascal House works as a single ordered drop-off of pizzas, salads, and sides sized to the group, handled by one kitchen rather than a scramble of separate orders. It fits classroom parties, staff lunches, club meetings, field-trip meals, and end-of-year events.
The advantage for teachers and school staff is simplicity. One order, one delivery, one point of contact, instead of coordinating a dozen separate pickups. Party-size pizzas split easily across a class, and boxed options work when each kid or staffer needs their own.
For booking, larger school orders are best placed with lead time so the kitchen can prep and schedule the drop. Call the catering line or use the catering form to lock in the date, headcount, and menu.
Different school events call for different formats. A classroom party runs easiest on shared party-size pizzas the kids can split, while a staff appreciation lunch or a teacher in-service often works better as boxed individual portions. End-of-year celebrations and club banquets land somewhere in between, with a spread of pizzas, salads, and sides. Matching the format to the event keeps serving simple and cuts waste.
How does catering for sports teams work?
Sports team catering from Rascal House is built around feeding hungry players and families fast, with party pizzas, wing trays, and sides that travel well to a field, gym, or team dinner. Post-game and post-practice meals are a natural fit.
Teams have a predictable problem: a lot of hungry people all at once, often right after a game or practice. A couple of party-size pies plus a wing tray solves it in one order, and the full menu means the salad-and-water crowd and the pizza-and-wings crowd both get fed.
Timing is the part teams get wrong most often. A roster does not eat when the event is scheduled, it eats when the game ends, which can run long. Building in a delivery time tied to the realistic finish, not the start, keeps the food arriving hot and on cue. For travel teams and tournaments, ordering ahead to a set arrival window beats hoping a kitchen is open when the bus rolls in.
The same casual catering setup handles team banquets, end-of-season parties, and tournament-day feeds. Book ahead for the bigger gatherings so the timing lines up with when the team actually eats.
What is the best Rascal House order for a group?
A group order works best when it covers the range, because a crowd never wants just one thing. The reliable formula is party-size pizzas as the base, a wing tray for the protein crowd, salads for the lighter eaters, and sides to round it out.
For a mixed group, lean on variety over volume of a single item. A couple of pizzas with broad-appeal toppings, like the Rascal House Deluxe, feed the majority, while a Veggie Supreme and a tray of salads cover the people who do not eat meat. Boxed options work when everyone needs their own portion rather than a shared spread.
Quantity is the other half. A good rule of thumb is to slightly over-order for a hungry crowd like a sports team, and to count on people circling back for seconds at a party. Talking the headcount through with the catering team when you book takes the guesswork out of it.
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What is Raise Some Dough, and how does it work?
Raise Some Dough is the Rascal House fundraising program that lets a Cleveland school, team, or group earn money when supporters order from Rascal House on the group’s fundraiser. [VERIFY: confirm the exact mechanic, eligibility, and how funds are paid out before publishing.] The appeal is that it turns something people already do, ordering dinner, into a way to support a cause without spending anything extra beyond the meal.
Here is the general shape of how a restaurant fundraiser like this runs, with the Rascal House specifics flagged for you to confirm:
- The group picks a date for the fundraiser and books it with Rascal House. [VERIFY: how far in advance, and whether it is a single day or a window.]
- The group promotes the fundraiser to supporters, families, and the community. [VERIFY: whether a flyer, code, or mention at order is required to credit the group.]
- Supporters order from Rascal House during the fundraiser. [VERIFY: dine-in, carryout, delivery, online, or all.]
- A share of the sales goes back to the group. [VERIFY: the exact percentage or amount.]
- Rascal House pays out the funds to the group. [VERIFY: payout method and timing.]
To set one up, use the fundraising page or call to talk through the date and details.
Why fundraisers with food work better than selling products
Food fundraisers tend to outperform product sales because everyone already eats, so the “ask” is just a meal people would buy anyway. Asking a community to order pizza for dinner is an easier sell than asking them to buy wrapping paper or a tub of cookie dough they did not want.
The math is simpler for supporters too. They get something they actually use, the group earns a share, and nobody is stuck reselling leftover product. For a school or team, that lowers the friction that kills a lot of fundraisers before they gain momentum.
There is a community angle as well. A pizza fundraiser turns dinner into a small local event, where families, neighbors, and friends all order on the same night for the same cause. That shared moment tends to pull in people who would skip a catalog sale, and it keeps the money circulating through a Cleveland business rather than a national fundraising company.
It also scales with enthusiasm. The more a group promotes the date, the more orders come in, and the more the group earns. There is no inventory to manage and no upfront cost to front, which makes it friendlier for volunteer-run efforts.
How do you promote a restaurant fundraiser so it actually works?
A restaurant fundraiser earns more when the group treats promotion as the real job, because the food sells itself but the turnout does not. The groups that do well pick a date, spread the word early and often, and make the ask easy to act on.
A few moves consistently help. Announce the date more than once instead of a single post, so it lands with people on different days. Use the channels a group already has, like a team group chat, a school newsletter, a booster email list, and social pages. Remind supporters the day of, when people are deciding what to eat anyway.
Make the connection between ordering and the cause obvious. People give more readily when they can picture where the money goes, whether that is uniforms, a trip, equipment, or a program. [VERIFY: confirm whether supporters need to mention the group, show a flyer, or use a code so their order is credited.]
The groups that struggle usually under-promote, assuming the restaurant brings the crowd. It does not. The restaurant supplies the food and the share of sales. The group supplies the people. A short, clear plan for who will spread the word and when is the single biggest predictor of how much a fundraiser brings in.
How do you book catering or a fundraiser with Rascal House?
You book Rascal House catering or a fundraiser by using the catering or fundraising page on rascalhouse.com, or by calling to talk through the details. For catering, have your date, headcount, and rough menu ready. For a fundraiser, have your group, your target date, and a sense of how you will promote it.
Lead time helps on both. Same-day catering is often possible for smaller orders, but larger spreads and fundraiser dates are best locked in ahead so the kitchen can prep and the group can promote. A quick call sorts out timing, quantity, and delivery.
A few things are worth having ready before you call. Know your headcount, or your best estimate, since that drives everything else. Know your timing, meaning when the food needs to arrive, not when the event starts, because a team eats after the game and a class eats at a set period. Know whether you want delivery or pickup, and flag any dietary needs like vegetarian portions up front so the order is built right the first time.
The point of using Rascal House over a generic caterer is the same thing locals have counted on since 1980: a full menu from one trusted kitchen, sized for a crowd, without the fuss.
Why Cleveland groups choose Rascal House
Forty-five years of feeding Cleveland is the short answer. Rascal House opened in 1980 across from Cleveland State University, founded by Mike and Fouly Frangos, with the idea of one place where a crowd could get good food fast and affordable.
That history is exactly why it fits group catering. The kitchen has fed students, downtown offices, sports fans, and events for decades, so a school party or a team dinner is routine, not a stretch. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has recognized Rascal House as “Cleveland’s Best Pizza,” which does not hurt when you are the one picking the food for a crowd.
The menu range seals it. A vegetarian, a wing person, and a pizza person all get fed from one order, which is what you want when you are feeding a classroom, a roster, or a fundraiser line that does not stop.
Trust is the quiet part of catering that matters most. When you are responsible for feeding a group, the worst outcome is food that shows up late, cold, or wrong, in front of an audience that notices. A kitchen with decades of group orders behind it has worked out the timing, the quantities, and the logistics that a newer caterer is still figuring out. For a school party, a team dinner, or a fundraiser the whole community sees, that reliability is worth as much as the food itself.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rascal House cater school events in Cleveland?
Yes. Rascal House offers casual catering for Cleveland school parties, staff lunches, club meetings, and field-trip meals, with party-size pizzas, salads, and sides sized to the group. Larger orders are best booked ahead.
Can Rascal House cater a sports team or team dinner?
Yes. Rascal House caters sports teams with party pizzas, wing trays, salads, and sides that work for post-game meals, banquets, and end-of-season parties. The full menu covers mixed groups in one order.
What is the Raise Some Dough fundraiser?
Raise Some Dough is the Rascal House fundraising program where a school, team, or group earns money when supporters order from Rascal House during the group’s fundraiser. Contact Rascal House through the fundraising page to set up a date and details.
How many people can Rascal House catering feed?
Casual catering works for groups of roughly 10 to 200. Smaller orders often go out same-day, while larger spreads are best booked ahead so the kitchen can prep and schedule delivery.
How far in advance should I book catering?
Smaller catering orders can often be handled same-day, but larger events and fundraiser dates should be booked ahead. Calling in advance lets you lock in the date, headcount, menu, and delivery timing.
How do I start a fundraiser with Rascal House?
Use the fundraising page on rascalhouse.com or call to set up a date, then promote it to your supporters so their orders credit your group. A share of the sales goes back to the group.
