Need some input

We were getting $4.00 for a pork sandwich; $5.00 with chips and a coke.

Since we went to fries, we sell a pork sandwich with fries for $5.00 and brisket for $6.00. Sides of fries a buck.

I don't think $2.00 is too much for a nice big order of fresh cut fries. I gotta learn how to make the cone though......

Just my 2 bits. Fries are a headache and you will soon learn to despise them I did anyway. They are a pain in the arse to deal with. The frier, then keeping up with demand and finally holding them. We had REAL good Brined fries that cooked quick and held well and they still presented the problems above. Remember KISS.
We sold fries (4 oz) and a large drink for 1.69 extra. That is too cheap, but the 2 dollars is reasonable as long as it is not a 1/2 lb serving. Good fries ain't cheap and cheap fries don't sell. It seems we were paying 22-24 dollars for about 12 lbs. I need to look back to confrim this but it is a close enough number. That is almost 1.00 for a 1/2 lb your cost + equipment wear and tear + oil + power + containers/wrap. So the simple (cost x 3)+ a little is going to put you in the 3 dollar range for a 1/2 lb order. Another thing to consider is is it actually going to boost your sales or just be another thing to fool with.
Now the 5 dollar BBQ sandwich is reasonable---for a 1/4 lber. Right now prok is high. Say 1.40 a lb. That is a cost of 2.80 lb. to you. Times 3 plus a little puts you at approx (8.40/lb plus a little) about 9.00/lb retail price. That is 2.25 + (.15 x 3 plus).50 for the bun and we'll say .20 for slaw on the sandwich, if you offer it. So @ 5 dollars you are making money. Now that being said. ALOT of places that don't even specialize in BBQ get 5.25-6.29 for that sandwich and slaw. SO there is no reason that you shouldn't---it IS your specialty.
The Brisket TOO CHEAP! Quiznos is getting more than that for the new brisket sandwich they are advertising I am sure and the steak house down the road is getting 7.29(fries included) and it is crap they buy pre-done. Again, this IS your specialty. We quit doing brisket because the price went from 1.49/lb(when we actually did our pricing) to near 3.49/lb when I said no mo brisket. @ 3.49/lb(flats) and yeilds that aren't much better than pork you are talking about an expensive sandwich.
PLEASE don't be afraid to charge for you food. It will ruin the whole experience for you and will break you---take this from someone that is still recovering from this mistake.
I hope this helps you guys out. I have lived and learned and hope that I can save others 2 years worth of learning the hard way.
Best wishes with your adventures.
Zeb

kate here's our pricing;
pulled pork sandwich, comes with slaw or beans 6.00.
brisket sandwich comes with whole grain bread lettuce and tomato 8.00
4 ounce meat only pork 4.00
12 ounce pork meat only 10.00
4 ounce meat only brisket 6.00
12 ounce meat only brisket 12.00
always charge more for brisket to cover the extended cooking time period. plus until you you got good notes up you will be up a long time tuning your brisket in. make em pay for it.
by the way our sandwich throw is an honest 4 to 5 ounces.
hope it helps some
jack
ps. since you are a friend here is how we arrived at pricing;
pork;
we use only picnics as our yield with my style of cooking was 4-6% better than butts. we pay on average .89 for picnics while butts in our area go for about 1.28 to 1.38 per pound. customers really like them as they are more juicy than butts but that is just our local market base.
beef;
we use whole packer briskets which run 1.18 per pound at wally world for select but sometimes they goof and choice shows up at the same price. waste and shrinkage works out to around 50%. if i was doing either one in my fec100 shrinkage would be in the 60% area while the sm150 gives shrinkage figures in the high 40% to 50% area. that is why in january i got a big decision coming. the sm does so much better in the shrinkage area that i am now cooking everything in the sm except biscuits and peg's chicken. while the fec does this nicely i have been crunching numbers and they don't look good on the fec. i guess the turning point will be whether i see a need to do comps and to be honest i could do those on my rusty trusty bullets and not have to pull a rig. couple that with 45 hits when i said i might be thinking about selling my non-ul fec100 and the numbers look even better.

Here's our two bits. $4.00 for 4oz pulled pork sammich with bbq slaw and a pickle wedge. $1.35 for neckon butts with a 38% shrink. $5.00 for a 4 oz sliced brisket sandwich with sliced sweet onions and refrigerated pickle slices. Jalapeno slices on both if requested. Shrink and waste on select packers 55%. At farmers market or events everything is $1.00 more. Keep stokin and smokin. Montana State Championship this weekend. Yahoo

after reading prices here, i have no doubt, my place has the best deal in the world..heehee'
i guess it depends on what makes you sleep at night, what overhead you have, e.t.c.
ok, here goes....
our sandwich, with one side, weather it is pork, beef, fish, angus burger, or chicken breast, is 6.50. all meats are half pound portions, all sides are half pound portions.
our food cost runs 40 percent(target), but our
overhead is nearly non-existent.
you can see the rest of our prices at www.coffeebluffbbq.com

I have local competition to price against. I sell my sandwiches for $3.95 with chips and pickle spear. Pork,Brisket,Sausage. I serve 5oz. of meat.After I get a good customer base I will raise my price up a little.

guys i gotta go with zeb on this one. and here is why. i just delievered a special meat order which consisted of 5 pounds smoked brisket, 3 whole chickens cut in half and a gallon of magic beans. the sale price on this was 111.30 tax included.
sounds like highway robbery but let's look at what went into it.
1- worked full shifts yesterday and today.
2- got to cook and camp out over night in 97+ weather with a heat index of 112.
3- in the past 48 hours i got 4 count em 4 hours of sleep ( and kate peg would not let me score a west coast turn around. )
when i negotiated this little order i advised the customer that it would not come cheap and they never batted an eye. my total expenditure on food was 12 bucks for an 11 pound packer brisket and 5 bucks for 3 chickens and beans added 3 more bucks.
so i gotta go with zeb on never selling it cheap especially on special mid week orders.
now sitting here i am asking myself was it worth it? still undecided on that but i did pass out a few business cards while i was unloading in this seaside gated community to people who saw the 2 greyhounds teeshirt and smelled the food. so i guess it must be plus it got us 100 bucks closer to buying our own place and it confirms that my original plan of just doing custom meat smoking may just be on track.
by the way everything was done in the sm150 even though i had the fec100 sitting next to it due to the sm's time and hold features. (might just be an nother nail in the fec decision i got to make)
jack

I paid $3.00 for an order of not so good FF from a vendor last weekend, people will pay for things they want. Substitute fries for the chips, still include the soda, and go up at least a buck on the combo.

Another consideration - As I age my appetite is diminishing, instead of that sandwich & fries I now find myself getting just the FF. Take a look at the cost of sale, prep time, required equipment, etc, of a sandwich vs an order of FF and the profit margins thereof. As a side item I would offer a small size for $2.00 and a large size for $3.00. They very likely will buy a soda as well, giving you a quick, low cost, $3.00-$4.00 sale.

Good luck,

John

I'm selling pulled pork sandwich on hamburger bun about ¼ pound for $4.75 My brisket sandwich is $5.25 platters come with 12oz can of soda and two sides $6.25 and $ 7.25 I sell ¼ chicken platter for $4.98 and ½ chicken for $6.98. Ribs: 3 rib sampler baby backs for 7.99 Comes with sides and drink, ½ rack is $11.95,m Full Rack $19.98. oh yeah and a rib samich is 3 ribs between 2 pieces of white bread for $6.59