Cleanliness of a food booth attracts or repels customers.
Food vendors set up shop in the parking lots of sporting events, at trade shows and flea markets. Food vendor booths can be a lucrative side business for someone with cooking skills and free weekends. The key is not only to have tasty food, but also a presentation that draws people over to your booth. In the book "Food Booth," Barbara Fitzgerald writes, "In some ways the concession business is show business. The customer is buying into the experience as much as the product, and they like to be wowed." When setting up your booth and your product, consider the art of presentation to reel in customers.
Instructions
1. Negotiate prime real estate with the event coordinator. Location is essential to your success. Review a map of the area, and estimate the flow of traffic. Try to get an area in the line of traffic.
2. Arrive early. Test your setup time a few days in advance so that you know how soon before the event starts you need to be there. There may be fines for opening late.
3. Align your food truck and trailer within the allotted spot. Double check the cutoff line, as you may get fined by the event host if you break any of their rules. Stretch out your tent or awning to measure it for compliance.
4. Locate the electrical sockets and the water dispensers. Get directions to those resources from the event coordination staff, or ask some of your neighbor vendors.
5. Unload your equipment. Spread everything out so that you can double check that you have everything. If anything is missing, you can call a partner or a friend to bring it before the event starts.
6. Unfold your tables if you will have a seating area outside of your booth. Cover your tables with tablecloths. Check your vendor guidelines for specifications on tablecloths.
7. Heat up your grills, wash all your vegetables and take care of all your food prep. Set up your spices within easy reach.
8. Set up your condiment tables beside your booth. Set up your napkin dispenser. Place these items away from the ordering area of the booth so that customers grabbing condiments aren't in the way of customers placing orders.
9. Schedule your health inspection if it is required for food vendors operating at the event. Some events require a health inspection of your booth just before the event.
10. Perform a pre-opening count of the register cash, especially if you are bringing in outside help. Review the break schedule with your staff. Review event guidelines with employees. Discuss sales strategies.
11. Point signs in the direction of the oncoming traffic flow to advertise your booth. Add party decorations, such as balloons, banners, or streamers, to decorate your booth.
12. Stand someone outside of the booth to greet potential customers and lure them to your booth. Load them up with samples of food that they can give away.
