How to Operate a Concession Stand
A concession stand is a temporary food service establishment, usually at a fair, sporting event or concert. Operating a concession stand takes many of the same skills and processes as operating any other food business, such as preparing foods so they look and taste appealing, keeping foods at safe temperatures, and keeping work areas clean and sanitary. Concession stand operations are different from many other food service businesses because activities are fast paced and take place in an extremely limited space. There tend to be periods of particularly intense activity, during meal times and scheduled event interludes.
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Things You'll Need
- Portable tent
- Bleach bucket and sanitizer solution
- Portable cooking equipment
- Cash box or cash register
- Food items
Instructions
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1
Set up your tent, position your equipment and create stations for preparing and serving food, as well as a cashier station.
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2
Prepare a bleach bucket with a sanitizing solution of 1 tsp. of bleach per gallon of water. Make a hand-washing station out of an insulated 5-gallon water dispenser filled with warm water and equipped with nearby soap and paper towels.
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3
Place cooking and serving utensils and paper plates or bowls within easy reach of food stations. Prepare a condiment station with condiments, napkins and disposable eating utensils.
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4
Train each staff member on their jobs, and divide the tasks to minimize redundancy. Assign primary and secondary responsibilities to each employee, so they can reconfigure and move to busier stations if their primary stations are slow.
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Plan a menu that includes items you can serve quickly and prepare with minimum time and effort. Limit the selections, but include offerings that will sell: cold drinks on cold days and hot food on cold days. Use overlapping ingredients in different menu items to reduce food waste.
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Regulate food production in keeping with demand. Identify slow and busy times of day, and get ahead on finished product before busy times begin. Learn the general patterns at each event where you vend: Do customers order more drinks at one venue than another? Do particular events have a disproportionate number of children who order child-sized menu items? Adjust your quantities accordingly.
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