Originally posted by BadBuc99
Bottom line: What was the profit???
Jeez, how blunt! After labor, fuel, food, and the fee to enter the event, right around $2k for the evening. That is not the norm, however. That number could also drop in the coming days depending on if some of the fresh food inventory turns into waste. I also gave the workers close to double pay, as they did bust their butts.
I did not have the soda fountain running, which cut into our profits quite a bit (had a couple syrup pumps down and then the service guy came out and turned it into a disaster, and then needed parts). Between that and running out of lemonade, I probably left $500 on the table. Plus, I did not have a "Wow" item, opting for simplicity and fast service.
I made a choice to sell canned sodas and bottled water for $1, although some were selling them as high as $3. It was a free event in a park, that I did not have to pay much to get into, so I did not want to gouge people on water especially. Again, cut into the profit, but I hope creates some goodwill.
Upon asking other vendors at the end of the night, they were down from the previous year, while I was up about 35%. I was not entirely happy about every burger that went out the window. There was a long stretch where the buns were not getting toasted. 2 came back for being undercooked. We cook them between medium and medium well, so that seems to happen about the same rate at every event. The pace of the event also prevented proper caramelization on many of the burgers (the burgers pull heat from the griddle and if you don't give it time to recover, it does not get a proper sear).
In some ways, the size of my truck is a double-edged sword when it comes to placement. Some, like the one last night will place you in the back as sort of a backdrop. (has happened twice this year). I can see the logic, as the guy in a small cart might get lost in the back, but I am certain it impacts drink sales to some degree.
