Results of: Help! Any ideas for a huge event?

Good morning all,

Can I get some ideas for serving at a huge event? I am talking about 20,000 people on a beach for a concert. I have a push cart and coolers that I normally serve out of and I am a little bit concerned of how to pull it off. The concert coordinators think that I should sell between 1500 and 2000 dogs. Currently my little setup will not hold that much product or ice to keep it could for the evening. I will have a 110 outlet to use but I usually don't use electricity.

I will be set up next to a sub sandwich, pizza and beer tents.

So my question is: has anyone set up for this type of event from a push cart? I know I can get more coolers and pre-wrap the dogs in foil for faster service but is there any thing anyone else can suggest to make it smoother?

Thanks for your help,
Joe
devildawgshotdogs.com

Joe, if you have time, think about setting up full-sized chafing dishes powered by Sterno. They have cheap frames and pans at Sam's Club along with 6 hour Sterno cans. Go to a party store and rent whatever else you may need like tables. They might have electric warmers that you can heat the dogs in. Get some large plastic trash cans (new) for ice and soda. Sam's has the best prices on canned soda...at least around here. You might have to invest in a trailer hitch and rent a trailer to haul everything, but an event like this would probably be worth it. Buy fresh hot dog buns and don't bother steaming them. You'd never keep up. Just have mustard and ketchup in squeeze bottles. People don't expect much more at an event like this. Even if you can only handle 500 dogs and then go home, you'll still make out...unless they charge you a large fee to set up. Be sure to charge a little more than you normally do. You have kind of a captive audience and you'll have added expenses.

Joe, before you flip your lid on quantity, you need to find out exactly how many food vendors will be there. The seller will BS you just to collect your money. Don't walk into a deal without the facts and numbers from previous years. They don't care if you make it or break it, they just want that up front cash... Also, get a mapped out location on where everyone will be located (including where your setup will be).

Look up this info and give us some more input to work with there...

You need at least on more person. I work events with one person on the cart doing dogs as they come in, and another person(me) grilling brats and onions, keeping the condiment table clean and stocked- and keeping an eye overseeing everything while another person takes the orders and the cash. The cashier gets the cash, moves people out from the line to pick up the dogs from the cart guy, close to the condiment table. Remember, a long line is only good if it is moving quickly. Keep the line moving fast!!! Take orders a few deep in line to get the cart guy ready. Are you gonna be serving drinks? You will want to buy a portable grill of some kind. I have a Weber-Q that works excellent. Get the stand for it.

Thanks for the ideas, I can tell you folks have done this before.

There should be about 8 different types of food available from different vendors. I should be the only hotdog provider at the event. I have already paid my dues for the year so there will not be any extra charge for this event.

Should I just do hot dogs? my wife and I have been discussing this issue. I usually do chili & cheese, grilled onions and nachos. We thought about doing the nachos on the side with a slow cooker instead of doing them on the cart. I will still have to do the grilled onions, the smell alone is worth the effort.

Currently I have 3 people total to run the cart. I was thinking of having one of us take hotdogs out into the crowd in a soft sided cooler. Do you think that would be worth the trouble or just provide faster service out of the cart.

Again thanks for all of you advice, expereince really goes a long way in this business.

Joe

I'd arrange to have additional provisions delivered to me. Also I might try cooking up about 50 lbs of bacon, 3 slices to a hot dog roll, a few chopped tomatoes, lettice from the slicer, BLT's,$5.00,no tax, saves time not making change, same on the dogs.
Oh yeah, bring about 10 cases of Lance peanut butter crackers, you'll sell them all!

K.I.S.S. He has a push-cart, not a 40 foot mobile kitchen. People there will be buying a dog because they're hungry and in a hurry to get back to the concert, not because it has bacon, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, imported anchovies and pickled French mushrooms. Where do you make the most money? I'll bet it's not on nachos, crackers or BLTs. Time will be of the essence and you want to move as many of your top profit-makers as you can.

If I'm in a long line for a hotdog and I see the vendor making nachos and cheese, chopping lettuce and selling crackers and BLTs, I'm going to sidestep to the next line and get a pizza slice. Don't waste time on low-profit items. While you're making 25 cents on a pack of crackers (and the customer as sure as Shinola will hand you a $20 bill), you could be handing over 2 dogs and be making several dollars in the same amount of time. How long does it take to sling a hotdog into a bun as compared to making a BLT sandwich? I repeat...K.I.S.S.

How many hours will you be vending and how many hot dogs can you cook, dress, and serve per hour?

"A man's gotta know his limitations."
-Harry Callahan

CSD PhD-Professor of Hot Dogs

devildawg, you are getting some GOOD advice for a reasonable cost.

"A man's gotta know his limitations."
-Harry Callahan

CSD You crack me up
Jack

"Free advice is worth every cent you pay for it."

-CSD

Great thread. Joe, you got some good advice here.

Here is what I do on big events like this. Like you, I only have a small unit, but I make the most of all the fire I have. This is the process I have worked out on HUGE events.....

I have 4 employees. I have two pretty, hot, young, long legged girls wearing short shorts handing out coupons. They are buy-one-get-one coupons. Buy a Chicago Polish sausage or NY Nathans, get a kids dog free. I KILL the competition, with those coupons. The kids dogs I use are low quality, locally available grocery store dogs. I used to use all beef dogs and kids didn't like them as much as really crappy low cost dogs, so...OK. I am out 20 cents, and I have a line 50 deep the whole time.

I have another employee taking money and another doing dogs. I get to keep everything under control and watch the whole process happen.

If you want to have the ability to take in lots of money you have to beat the competition to the punch. Don't let them take your business, you take their business.

"Free advice is worth every cent you pay for it."

Hey, CSD, it takes time to read all this stuff. That's worth something....ain't it?

You folks are truely awsome. Thanks!

I had thought of some of this and I definately will put it into practice. I like the idea of the coupons, but I will have to try to find the girls to give them out.

CSD, I have read alot of your post, your advice is worth the read so thank you.

I will let you all know how it goes. I still have a week before the event.

Joe

"CSD, I have read alot of your post, your advice is worth the read so thank you."

Did I miss something? CSD just had 2 short posts on my computer. I don't want to miss anything else he may have posted. Is it in this thread?

quote:

Originally posted by devildawg

Good morning all,

Can I get some ideas for serving at a huge event? I am talking about 20,000 people on a beach for a concert. I have a push cart and coolers that I normally serve out of and I am a little bit concerned of how to pull it off. The concert coordinators think that I should sell between 1500 and 2000 dogs. Currently my little setup will not hold that much product or ice to keep it could for the evening. I will have a 110 outlet to use but I usually don't use electricity.

I will be set up next to a sub sandwich, pizza and beer tents.

So my question is: has anyone set up for this type of event from a push cart? I know I can get more coolers and pre-wrap the dogs in foil for faster service but is there any thing anyone else can suggest to make it smoother?

Thanks for your help,
Joe
devildawgshotdogs.com

quote:

Originally posted by devildawg

Good morning all,

Can I get some ideas for serving at a huge event? I am talking about 20,000 people on a beach for a concert. I have a push cart and coolers that I normally serve out of and I am a little bit concerned of how to pull it off. The concert coordinators think that I should sell between 1500 and 2000 dogs. Currently my little setup will not hold that much product or ice to keep it could for the evening. I will have a 110 outlet to use but I usually don't use electricity.

I will be set up next to a sub sandwich, pizza and beer tents.

So my question is: has anyone set up for this type of event from a push cart? I know I can get more coolers and pre-wrap the dogs in foil for faster service but is there any thing anyone else can suggest to make it smoother?

Thanks for your help,
Joe
devildawgshotdogs.com

hi,i done some big conserts r.e.m. roger waters and find it very importent to get the people away from the cart. let them have a table behind the cart with ketchup and musterd forget about drinks you would not have time to pull it in a glass. forget onions. make it simle and bring lots of change.best of luck im doing bob dyland 30 mai,im going to have 2 carts on the pitch at the stadion.always a bit nerves before a big one like that.cheers giggs

kensandyeggo,
I was talking about the post through out the forum. not just this thread. I apprieciate your advice as well.

I appreicate everyones advice, I have already planned on incorporating some of the ideas into the concert.

To everyone,

The concert is this week I am really getting nervous. Not so much from preparing and selling; more from the amout of pre-prep and storing of the dawgs. With me being on the ocean side of the beach there wiill be alot of sand and people between me and my truck. I hope I have enough ice.

Well here is my plan-
- dawgs served from the cart (pre-wraped in foil) and from a guy walking thru the crowd
- mustard, ketchup and relish from a squeez btl on a side table (2 sets)
- nachos served from a slow cooker (seperate line)
- water, soda, sports drink
- 3 emloyee's

What do you think, I only have 2 days left to make any adjustments so I will let you know what worked and what didn't.

If I get a chance I will take some photos and post on my website.

Thanks again for all the great tips and advice.

Joe aka devildawg
devidawgshotdogs.com

I have a hot dog gig comming up on Saturday before Memorial Day on the Parade Route in front of my house. I plan to buy for this gig 2 bx of 48ct All beef dogs and enough Buns for dogs, 100 cans of Sodas, What is left over I will freeze (Buns), Some of the others would not agree with that, but put into a plastic shoe box will revive them quite well. Also I plan to charge $1.50 for a dog and a soda. My cost will be 50 cents per sale.
CBB in PA

Well we had the concert this weekend, and overall I think we pulled it off. Not as many people showed as was projected, about half I think.
I ended up with 4 people total working the concert: myself doing dawgs, my wife taking money, a friend stocking coolers and making Nachos and a friend stocking - working the crowd with a cooler full of dawgs and drinks.
It definately worked having the 3rd person available to ensure all the coolers were full, she also helped me wrap hotdogs when it was really busy.

The hardest part of it all was the setup and teardown of the area. here was the scenairo;
Concert was on the beach, I was on the surf side of the beach so there was about 100 yrds of sand and tons of people between me and the truck. And I don't have a 4x4 so I had to rely on the tractors and 4 wheelers to get me to my location.

On my left was kettle corn, my right was beer, to the right of beer was subsanwiches. On the parking lot side of the beach they had more vendors to include 2 hot dog guys (well dogs, burgers and brats).

We had the chili and nachos in the slow cooker, I was doing dawgs and grilled onions on the cart. With the proper rotation, I could continuesly prepare about 60 dawgs at a time.

Over all we made 2700 in sales, no where near what I had expected but it was a good night and a great first big evet. We made about 800 hotdogs in 6 hrs so we were doing pretty good.

Thanks for all of the info, it really helped.

Joe
devildawgshotdogs.com

Sounds like the event was a complete success! Congrats!

Cool! Now you'll be more informed for the next one.

Great job!

It sounds like the lessons learned were as profitable as the money made. Success on two fronts. Congrats