Starting Concession Stand...need help!

Good Morning all,

I found your site while googling info on deep frying. My husband and I own a successful ice cream parlor in Ridley Park, PA and have recently won the bid to run the local swim club's concession stand. We do not sell food at our ice cream parlor so this is going to be a new thing for us.

The stand is equipped with a grill and two double basket deep fryers. They also have an ice machine, fountain soda, refrigerators and freezers. We are bringing in water ice and ice cream freezers, microwave, heat lamp, cheese/chili dispenser and slicer. We plan on selling hot dogs, cheesesteaks, burgers, grilled chicken, chicken tenders, salads, meatball sandwiches, fries, mozz sticks, nachos, etc.

We have no idea what heat to put the grill on or what temp to set the fryers on (or how long to cook anything!). We are hoping we won't need to use both double fryers. We are not sure what to do with the fryer oil, like how long we can use it and how we can filter and/or dispose of it.

So far, we can't get in to experiment, because the pool maintenance people have painting and cleaning to do before we can move any of our own equipment in.

We are supposed to be open on Memorial Day weekend and I feel ill informed and ill equipped. My parents owned a luncheonette when I was a teenager and personally I am a good cook, but I feel this is not enough experience.

Can anyone offer any advice or point me to a site that can help? I feel completely overwhelmed right now, but we need to get ready.

Thanks much in advance,

Karen

I have stupid question and in no way do I mean to insult you but why would you even attempt to bid on something that according to your post (unless I'm reading it wrong) states that you have absolutely no experience in this area and are completely in over your head?

I figured that's how it would come across and you are probably correct. However, the people who belong to the pool come into our shop and they have been practically begging us to take over the stand for years. To be honest, I thought we would have much more time to get ready and because I have *some* experience from years ago, we really thought we'd be able to handle it. Now it's creeping up and we're scrambling. And you're correct, we are over our heads.

OK not sure how reasonable or possible this will be, but just a few ideas that immediately came to mind:

Go to a local hole in the wall diner. Offer the owner/cook a small chunk of change, $100 bucks or so to give you a run down on how things go, temperature frying etc.

Also, teenagers/college kids are out for the summer break and love extra cash, perhaps you can find one who has worked in a food place before and will come with a bit of experience.

Lastly, see who the maker of the equipment is and call them, have them tell you the operating instructions!

I don't know about PA but in OH the Health Dept tells you what you are supposed to do with the grease!

Good luck, hope you can come up with some answers!! You will be fine, that first weekend will probably be horrible and full of lessons learned but then it will smooth out!

Thank you! I actually know a hamburger joint manager and am going to pick his brain a bit. So far, our employees don't have grill/fryer experience, but the idea of calling the manufacturers is a great idea. I also will check with the health dept.

Oh, and I also found out that Memorial Day weekend is very slow, so it may be perfect to learn as we go.

Karen

As far as the grease from a fryer is concerned, People used to ask me all the time for it to make BioDiesel. CBB

"We plan on selling hot dogs, cheesesteaks, burgers, grilled chicken, chicken tenders, salads, meatball sandwiches, fries, mozz sticks, nachos, etc."

If this is new to you and whoever you are having run it, why not start out with a few less items and build them in as you go. Maybe start with the grill items hold off on the cheesesteaks and subs.

I have the concessions bid at a local ball field which I run out of my concession trailer. I agree with divefl on starting with fewer items. Its always better to add something new as you get more comfortable operating than it is to disappoint someone by taking something off the menu that was too much hassle to cook or didnt sell well. Having a smaller menu at first is also better financially as your invitory is less. At my stand I always have dogs, nachos, chips, and plenty of candy! Sometimes I have pizza (cooked in my shop and brought in delivery bags), and burgers. I occasionally do fried items, corndogs mostly, but since I operate by myself its hard to keep a good eye on the fryer and take care of the line of customers. I have worked bigger events when Ive had help and done chickent tenders, they are an excellent seller. Im a frim beliver that proper frying involves someones constant attention. As far as teenagers go, I have had mixed experiences with them. I have used them in my Ice Cream/Pizza shop in the past alot but am cutting down this year.

I wish you the best of luck! Just be as prepared as you can be and things will work out.

Please keep us updated on your situation.

dw

Hot dogs, Burgers, fries, onioin rings, nachos, candy, ice cream, and cold drinks. You can add more later, but that will keep you busy enough for more. Swim meets are a huge deal and you might want to scale it back even more. The crowd comes all at once and you might serve 300 or more people in just a few hours. At a meet you have a captive audience and it makes all the difference in the world. I am pretty fast on my cart-OK I am really fast and have been very busy at many youth sport activities. But I have never been hit all at once like I have for some swim meets I worked last year. 40 people in line all at once, and that's just to get started, it wouldnt end for like 2 hours. I used my cart and a large event grill to keep up. Burgers were much bigger sellers for me than dogs. Good luck and have fun while you learn. You only really fail if WHEN you make mistakes, you don't correct them in the future. OK people that is the only life lesson cliche you will ever hear from Eddy B.

Thanks for all of the responses. We were hoping to be able grill some hot dogs and hamburgers in advance and keep them wrapped under the heat lamp for busy times. We were told lunch isn't a big deal, but dinner time is.

I'm not as concerned about what we'll be selling as I am about knowing what temperatures to keep the grill and fryers and how long to cook things. Will the product packages tell me this, or do manufacturer's just assume we will know?

Regarding Swim Meets...we were told that mostly breakfast stuff sells at those because they are held early in the mornings. I plan on doing breakfast sandwiches in advance and keeping them under the heat lamp.

Thanks, Karen

quote:

Regarding Swim Meets...we were told that mostly breakfast stuff sells at those because they are held early in the mornings. I plan on doing breakfast sandwiches in advance and keeping them under the heat lamp.

Depending on the number of teams, swim meets can go on all day. Our sons participated when younger, and folks either had to leave to find food, or they brought food with them. I would bet there will be plenty of folks around for lunch.

quote:

Originally posted by Chill Out


I'm not as concerned about what we'll be selling as I am about knowing what temperatures to keep the grill and fryers and how long to cook things. Will the product packages tell me this, or do manufacturer's just assume we will know?

Thanks, Karen

I would think that your foodservice company can tell you all you need to know concerning this.