First event with new trailer - Need advice!

alan,
1st thing i would do is find out how many vendors they have.
2nd thing would be to divide that number into the estimated attendance. that should give you a starting number.
3rd thing would be to look at your menu and then estimate your #1,2,3,ect of what you think is most popular for sales.
after that it is a crap shoot
just keep good notes and you will see a trend develope
hope it helps
jack

quote:

after that it is a crap shoot

That's so true.
You will get better at estimating your needs as you go along, but first you should have a good way to control waste...that's a big killer. Lots of times I have been busy, and got more food ready....only to have the rush die out, and not use the food I had. I still say "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it" but that can bite you too. I eat a lot of leftovers!

First time, I would say start simple, and build from there.

Good luck! And don't forget to have fun.

Alan,
We've found that if we offer sides separately such as pork sandwich, so much....cole slaw, so much.... etc. we don't sell any sides. But we're only doing a small market in the morning. I would suggest offering a bbq plate (a meat of your choice plus 2 sides or a meat and a side plus bread). We offer a beef brisket sandwich on whole grain or white bread with lettuce and tomato and the fruit garnish. It sells a lot better than when we offered the brisket sandwich with a side available for $1.00 more. Chicken pieces like drumsticks or wings, or ribs sell well individually. I feel guilty (I think it's the mother in me) offering a sandwich with no fruit or vegetable, so we include a few pieces of fresh tropical fruit as a garnish.
I just wanted to warn you about having a lot of side dishes. We went overboard the first time we vended and had to throw out a lot of stuff. You can also use the lettuce, tomato, and onion as garnish with your bbq.
We're still learning. It's a lot of fun and headaches sometimes.
We did a few fundraising events to get an idea into food supply needs before we actually started at the farmers' market. For us the magic number has been 1 brisket, 3 pork butts, and whatever we want to try as a special. In the fall, Brunswick stew sells well. In the summer, chicken goes well.
Peggy

Alan, How was your first event, anxious to hear about your experience, winnings $$, and the number of customers you got out of the 6000 or so patrons???

Event is 19 Aug. I'll update after event. Thanks to all!!
Alan

Has anyone out there done any NFL sporting events outside of the stadiums? I have a connection with an owner of a piece of property by Raymond James Stadium (across the street from Legends field), who will let me vend there for all the home nfl games. He said there was a lot of foot traffic going by walking to the stadium. Just wondering what you guys thought. Thanks again.

Well, I have been to several Buc's games. From what I see many people love to tailgate in the lots. They set up tents, have generators going with tv's etc. Then there are the consessions inside Ray Jay. Finally check to see if Tampa has some kind of prohibition to vending so close to the stadium. Just a gut feeling but I think the NFL would frown on it since they are not getting a cut.Also check with Health Dept. they may have some rules also.

Alan, I would give the Bucs game a try. Where there is a school of fish, you will usually catch a fish or two. Somebody is hungry on the way in and hates paying the rip off prices inside for a less than gourmet hot dog. You have the USF football games also when the Bucs are away.

I used to operate a One Hour Photo inside Tampa Bay Center Mall before it was torn down. The food court was packed on game Sunday's ...they did a ton of business and the rest of the stores sales sucked because no one shopped the mall on game days.

Hey Alan-

Before doing anything, as Quigley posted above, make sure you are good with city codes, health dept. etc.

I am not familiar at all with Raymond James. I am assuming this space is not on the stadium property. Do most folks park off staium grounds and walk? If you haven't already, you might want to hang out there for one home game to see what kind of traffic this area gets. Is the owner of the property charging you to vend there? If so how much?

If the foot traffic and the price to vend is right, I'd try it for a week. Yes, NFL fans do tend to tailgate, and they have food at the stadium, but NFL fans are hungry fans! My example is me: I go to Arrowhead in KC for 2 to 3 games a year. Yes, I tailgate, and sometimes I buy food inside the stadium. But, if someone were selling an easily transportable food (think smoked sausage-on-a-stick), I might be enticed into buying one more snack on the walk into the game. The smell from a smoker or grill would certainly help that impulse purchase along! At Arrowhead, everyone parks at the complex or rides a shuttle bus, so any on-site vending is limited to what the Chiefs will allow. As such, no one does what you are descibing, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be worth a try at another venue.

Best of luck whatever you decide!

Matt, who is looking forward to the Season!

Alan,have you looked into the festival cook at honeywell in largo, on aug. 17-18. it's called SOME LIKE IT HOT. Got info from foodnetwork.com
unde festivals. hope this helps you.let me know if you go.i would like to stop by. also told raider bill about this.no responce as of yet from him.

j foley

I can't find anyone that knows about this event?
That's my back yard!
If anyone is going or knows more let me know if you want to get together?

I'll have to agree with Raider. I've searched aroung can find nothing on "Some like it hot". I went to foodnetwork but didn't find anything. Just to let everyone know in the tampa area, come on out to New Port Richey Friday the 19th on Main street for my grand opening! I'll let everyone know how it went. Thanks again to everyone.

SOME LIKE IT HOT---- my mistake on date,its sept. 17&18 not aug. can't remember for sure how i came about this even, thought it was food network but can't pull i back up. will ck on it again and let everyone know what i find.

j foley

Alan, what hours will you be at your location.
what part of main st. will you be at. Are you going to be in simms park or what. will come down to see you on the 19th.

j foley

It's more of a hot sauce event than a BBQ food event.

The 5th Annual - I Like it Hot! Festival & BarBque
Largo, Florida, USA
September 17 - September 18, 2005


Description:
The 5th Annual I Like it Hot! Festival and BarBque is Back and will have HOT and Fiery foods and Sauces to Sample and Purchase along with a large variety of HOT Pepper Plants. Participate in the Pepper Eating Contests and Amateur Hot Sauce and Salsa Competitions. There will also be lots of HOT BarBque to enjoy. This will be BIG FUN and GREAT Eating! Come on out and join us!!

Location:
Honeywell Minnreg Hall

Times:
Sat, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm; Sun, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Admission & Parking:
$2.00 Admission 12 and under are FREE!!! FREE Parking!!!

Website: http://www.ILikeItHotFestival.com
Telephone: 727-423-8433
Email: ILikeItHotFestival@hotmail.com

I'll have to tale extra nexium that week!

Don't think I'll be hard to find. Only myself and one other vendor (also bbq) will be there. Besides a sabretts hotdog guy in the beer court. They said 6000 were in attendance last year. Hope business is good. It's good to get a small festival for your first event anyway. Gotta get your feet wet. Come by and see us.

Thanks ROOTSMAN, THOUGHT I WAS LOOSING MY MIND WHEN I COULD NOT FIND IT AGAIN. C.R.S. I GUSS.

J FOLEY

Looking forward to meeting you!

Bill, about what time of which day do you intend to go. mabe we can all be there about the same time. partake in some Q and a little liquid refreshment.

j. foley

Doesn't matter to me when ever you guys want to meet is fine. I'm only 10 minutes away, most of the rest have to drive.

Alan,

If I get a chance, I will swing by and say hi also. I have to cook a load of pork butts Sat. night myself.

John

It's nice to feel and see the support from my fellow bbq'ers. Thanks everyone. Come on up and let's chat...Hopefully I want have time to if you know what I mean. See you all Friday night!!

Alan

Alan, "SEE YOU ALL FRIDAY NIGHT" is that this fri. in n.p.r. largo is sept 17-18 which is sat&sun

j foley

The Largo event is the one I'm talking about going to.

Bill,I plan on being at largo on sat. after golf around 1:30or 2pm. to hot to go fishing that time of day. hope to meet you on sat.if thats a good time for you. will ck. in at alan's unit at that time, i hope.

j foley

Next month right? I could be confused....... The Largo Fest is in Sept.

yes sat.sept 17th

Well...we survived our first event. It was a real eye opener. Now I know what sells, what doesn't, and how much. Thanks to Jack for coming out and seeing us. It was nice to meet you Jack. Too bad I didn't have more time to talk. Thanks for everyone's support.
Alan

Glad to hear it went well!

Alan,
What did you sell the most of? The least? I hope you made lots of money!
Peggy

Hi Peggy. Our bbq pork sandwiches and dinners were big sellers, followed by hot dogs and then burgers. The bbq chicken didn't go well at all. I guess the people want something they can walk around and eat, and the chicken was just to messy for them. We bought way too much food. I had to take a loss on the chicken, but I have plenty of food left (burgers and dogs) to do another festival. By the time I paid for my spot (20%), paid my help, and paid my food bill, we broke even...but it was only a 6 hour event. I don't think we did that bad for our first event. The next one should be all profit. We'll keep you informed.

hi,
Congrats on you first event. Im wondering, do you think fried chicken wings would sell well? also, are you cooking the burgers and dogs on a griddle?

Don't forget the kids.
When people come to a fair or rodeo or whatever, a lot of them have kids, and they look for someplace they can get something for the whole family.
In addition to barbecue sandwiches, we sell a lot of hot dogs and chicken legs. I use a halfway decent all-beef dog and usually offer a plain hot dog for a buck. Ditto smoked chicken legs. They are easy to make, and easy to eat while walking around. And the price is easy too...people like that, and at a buck a whack, I am still making money.