successful first time vending

We did our first vending event at a local brewery this past Saturday. Just wanted to thank everyone on this board past, present, and future as I dug through posts from years ago to present to make sure I was doing things the right way.

The event was quite successful. We had a simple set up in the parking lot with an EZ up, a couple tables, and my Shirley pit. Solid line for two hours from noon to 2pm, when we sold out. I really thought we'd have food available until 4pm but on average people ordered way more than I thought. Average order was $14 selling brisket sandwiches, chicken wings and legs, BB ribs, slaw, and beans. People seemed to love it, and the smell of bbq was reported throughout the neighborhood.

HD came through in the middle of it to check to make sure we were playing by the rules which we were, however the hand washing water cooler had run low on water by that point so I just had to run and fill that up. Other than that - all good!

It was a lot of work but very rewarding. Can't wait to do it again. I'll post pics if I can. I was too busy to take any myself.

Thanks!

Yea I think the HD got lost which made her late. I will probably get them out earlier next time if they will play along. From what I understand they don't have that many employees who do the checks.

Can't wait to do it again!

thanks everyone!

I am planning to set up in the same place semi-regularly to gain experience and $$ to potentially buy a trailer or something I can use for comps too. Currently just setting up on temporary event permits.

Need to work on a smoother work flow. It went well, and fairly smoothly, but being the first time doing this we kind of ran around a bit too much.

Need to work on increasing the profit margins a bit on the sides. I think we probably over-served because I left the portion cups I bought in the cart at restaurant depot and didn't have time to get more. Got too heavy on the scoops. DOH! Plus my bean recipe is too expensive. Need to figure out how to make them more cheaply.

pretty excited to work the same brewery lot in September during a huge neighborhood festival. should be a good day if the weather is nice. also have another brewery a couple miles away wanting me to set up there on a regular basis. thanks for all the great info everyone shares!

cseymour45 said:

Where did you go for your food prep if I may ask? Commercial kitchen rented or something? I am looking into doing something like this and that is the hurdle I am now at.

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we rent by the hour at a commissary kitchen that we have in town for caterers and food trucks etc. we did all our trimming and sides there. cooked the meat and beans on site. kind of a pain in the butt, but that's what it takes to be legit so that is the path we follow. best of luck!

Ok, so we had our second vending event this past Saturday set up in the parking lot of the same brewery we cooked at last time. Early morning thunderstorms and wind were a pain in the a$$, but we worked through it with only some soggy clothes and a bent up EZ-up as damage. We planned to start serving at 2pm. Rain was gone by noon and it turned into a gorgeous day!

We had brisket, pulled pork, chicken wings/legs (habanero death dust and regular), baby back ribs, mac n cheese, coleslaw, chips, and water for sale. Made quite a bit more food than last time. Didn't want to make too much due to not knowing if rain would hold off. HD showed up nice and early and gave us the thumbs up (he didn't really seem like he wanted to be there as his inspection consisted of "good, you have a hand washing station. you are good to go... see ya!").

Anyway, 2pm came and we had a line immediately. My wife was taking orders and payments. My buddy was cutting brisket to order and assembling. I was manning the pit (I strive to keep things like chicken and ribs coming off fresh as can be using staggered cook times, slicing brisket, and also assembling some plates. Constant sales for 2.5 hours and sold out of everything except some slaw and chips. Everyone seemed to like everything. First time selling this mac n cheese and people raved it. Had some people come back a few times to get more food. It was a great time with the parking lot turning into a beer drinking, BBQ eating tailgate kind of vibe which is exactly what I hoped for.

Things I learned:
- a lot of people don't want their meat on a sandwich (bought too many buns)
- using order tickets worked wonders as we were much more organized than last time.
- always remember to watch the hotspot on the pit as I burned up a rack of ribs due to not paying attention (don't worry my dad ate them and loved them..haha)
- used a scale for portion control but still thing we over-served a bit instead of sticking to 1/3lb for meats
- make more mac n cheese (need to cut cost on ingredients slightly which I think I can do pretty easily)
- I need a cambro or two and better chafing equipment.
- I need a sandwich board for ease of menu updates

anyway, it was a big success and a lot of fun!