Private Events & Catering
A working partner for events that deserve better coffee.
Lava Café hosts private buyouts, off-site catering, and whole-bean wholesale for planners, agencies, and small-business owners across Portland and Seattle. One inquiry, one coordinator, one consistent roast.
Three ways to work with us
Pick the lane that matches your need.
Each program is run by its own coordinator, with its own pricing, lead time, and minimums. Read the scope below before you submit — it helps us route your inquiry on the first reply.
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01
Private venue hire
Full café buyouts and reserved sections for receptions, brand launches, off-sites, rehearsal dinners, and small weddings. Up to 64 seated, 95 standing.
- Best for
- Receptions, team offsites, launches
- Capacity
- Up to 64 seated · 95 standing
- Lead time
- 21 days minimum
- Includes
- Baristas, setup, AV, printed menus
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02
Off-site catering
Drop-off and full-service catering for offices, studios, and private homes. Chef-driven breakfast and lunch platters, single-origin brew bars, and seasonal pastry trays.
- Best for
- Offices, studios, home gatherings
- Headcount
- 15 to 250 guests
- Lead time
- 7 days minimum
- Includes
- Plates, brew bar, compostable serveware
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03
Wholesale beans & equipment
Whole-bean supply, equipment consultation, and barista training for independent grocers, restaurants, and offices. Direct-trade single-origins with farm names on every bag.
- Best for
- Grocery, restaurant, office programs
- Minimum
- 20 lb per weekly delivery
- Lead time
- 14 days for first order
- Includes
- Espresso bar audit, training, signage
By the numbers
The hard specs planners ask us first.
- 64seated Largest private venue hire capacity across our four cafés.
- 7days Shortest lead time we accept for catering orders over 50 guests.
- $950min Food and beverage minimum for a full venue buyout, Sunday to Thursday.
- 100% dietary Plant-based menus priced identically to dairy; gluten-free, vegan, halal on request.
What working with us looks like
Transparent pricing, clear windows, and a coordinator on every file.
Pricing logic
Venue hire is quoted as a base room fee plus a per-guest food and beverage minimum, with staffing scaled to the headcount and service style. Catering is priced per guest with a tiered menu — drop-off, set-up, or full-service bar. Wholesale is a weekly standing order at a per-pound rate with roast cadence tuned to your volume.
Quotes are itemized before you commit. There are no surprise service charges added on the day; gratuity is at your discretion and never auto-added.
After you inquire
- Within 2 business days — your dedicated coordinator replies with a short scoping email and a private booking link.
- Within 5 business days — a tentative hold, draft menu, and itemized quote based on your headcount and date.
- At signing — a 30% deposit secures the date; the balance is due 7 days before the event.
- 2 days out — final headcount, dietary breakdown, and timeline lock. We send a printed run-of-show.
Tell us about your event
The shortest path to a real answer from our events team.
Fill out what you know today — even partial details help us route you to the right coordinator. We reply to every qualified inquiry within two business days.
- 4.8★Average Google rating across 11,400+ reviews.
- 99.2%Pickup-order accuracy across 210,000+ orders.
- 9Q-Grader certified cuppers on our roasting team.
Prefer phone or email? Reach our events desk directly at +1 (503) 555-0182 or [email protected].