I have an opportunity - I need advice!!!

[BigQ]

Hey guys...I have an opportunity that I need a little input on.

There is a local family dance hall in town that has just moved to a new location. In their old location they had a grille from which they sold burgers, dogs, bbq bologna, etc. They are a family dance hall with no alcohol and were forced to leave by the owner of the building because he wanted them to apply for a liquor license.

Their new location was formerly a bar. What was the kitchen has been stripped and now only has a three bay sink and plumbing for a handwash sink and mop sink. The “kitchen” also has an old refrigerator and old freezer in it. All they are approved to sell right now are drinks and pre-packaged food. They have about a 40ft bar from which they operate the concession stand.

The dance hall is open four nights a week. They have dance lessons on Tuesdays and Wednesday nights. I don’t think they draw many people those nights. They are also open on Friday and Saturday nights. On those nights they range from 75 to 150 people. They recently had a kickoff for a local politician where they had over 300 people in the building. They host parties and other special events on request.

I recently had discussions with the general managers about taking over the concession stand and selling bbq, ribs, burgers, hotdogs, ABT’s, etc. When the kitchen is made compliant, I could cater out of it.

I guess my questions are (as of now):
1) Is this enough traffic to justify opening a bbq raunt on Friday and Saturday nights? I don’t see it worth the time on Tue/Thur.
2) What kind of business arrangement would seem reasonable? Should I just pay rent? Rent plus a % of sales? Anyone have a similar situation?
3) The kitchen is roughly 15ft X 20ft. Is that big enough to run a small bbq raunt? There is a pass thru window to the bar (which is about 40ft long).
4) At minimum, what equipment will I need? We plan on keeping the menu SIMPLE!

Thanks in advance for ANY help!!! I will post additional questions as I think of them.

BigQ

[charleso]

1)That is not a very good traffic count. BBQ, Ribs, etc is pretty heavy fair for people going out dancing.
2)Are they going to finance making the kitchen compliant, or are you?If you are suppose too, RUN in the opposite direction, FAST. If they do the upgrades, I would offer them a % of sales(marking prices up enough to cover %), that way you aren't stuck if they don't bring in customers.
3)The kitchen will be plenty big, not huge, just big enough.
4)It is their building, they will be wanting other people to use the kitchen for various events, let them furnish the equipment. If you have any material, utensils, cookware, etc that you leave on site, make sure it is under lock & key, even if no one else is suppose to use the kitchen. It will walk off!!!!
_________________
Propane is for frying, not Que!
I AM NOT A LIAR!!!

[BigQ]

[silver8ack]

No idea...but good luck whatever you decide.

[charleso]

I would offer no more than 15% to start(say first 3-6 months), then would consider rent or a higher % after that. And, of course offer them something if you use the kitchen for other events.
_________________
Propane is for frying, not Que!
I AM NOT A LIAR!!!

[BigQ]

[BigQ]

So say we did agree to go forward with this...

Until word got out that we were serving...how much shoulder and ribs would you cook for the first few nights?

Would it be better to run out or have left overs? From a business perspective, I know there would be better to not throw away food, but would people be understanding if you ran out of bbq and ribs?

Thanks!
BigQ

[charleso]

Just for the sake of not knowing, for the first weekend, with those numbers, I would not do more than 4 butts(precooked & chilled, warmed in 1.5-2 lb batches). As far as ribs, do maybe 6 or 7 slabs(cook 'em & chill 'em-warming in batches as needed). It will not take forever to cook more for Sat. if you sell them all on Fri. The good thing about the pulled pork, you can always freeze any leftovers. The ribs are only fair(at best) frozen & thawed.

As for people getting upset about running out, no matter how hard you try, someone will ALWAYS find something to complain about. Just remember, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.
_________________
Propane is for frying, not Que!
I AM NOT A LIAR!!!

[SoEzzy]

If you served every one of the 75 people you'd need 6 - 7 butts.

I think while you were building up, you could do 4, and do ribs in 2's, 4's, 6's and 12's, as they come 3 in a cryo, I'd do 3, 6 or 9 racks of ribs.

You also need to be running on the correct side of the HD, so look at all the things to make and keep yourself on their good side.

Get insurance, get set up as an LLC, etc.

Do it right or don't do it at all.

As the building is theirs, and they are playing silly beggars with the old concession folks, don't expect that they will do anything different with you about respecting your rights to treat the kitchen as your exclusive preserve!

Keep the menu simple and straightforward from the start, don't try and be all things to all people, set your menu, small and tight, you could add specials on a buy up front basis, whole butts, briskets.

Sausage might be a good seller if you're in a sausage area, unless you want to have everyone buy burgers or hot dogs and not buy your pulled pork or ribs, don't offer them from the start!

See disclaimer below!
_________________
Here's a change Robert.

I still work here!

[BigQ]

[BigQ]

As far as the menu goes, here's a rough first draft. Let me know your thoughts.


Each Combo
Pulled Pork Sndwch $4.00 $5.50
Nachos $3.00 $3.75
BBQ Nachos $5.00 $5.75
BBQ Bologna Sndwch $3.00 $4.50
3-Bone Ribs $5.00 $6.50
Hamburger $3.00 $4.50
Cheeseburger $3.50 $5.00
All Beef Hotdog $2.50 $4.00

A combo I'm calling entre plus chips & drink, except for nachos, which combo would be entre and drink. Individually, chips would sell for $1.00 and drinks for $1.00.

**Sorry about the formatting...it looked nice and neat before I copied it from Excel**

BigQ

[SoEzzy]

Although it might not seam like much but you are better off IMO using whole numbers, this saves you having to make change as often, and saves changing gloves 24 / 7.

That's not to say you can't put deals together, 3 for $10.00 or 4 for $15.00 etc.
_________________
Here's a change Robert.

I still work here!

[BigQ]

[BBQMAN]

Interesting concept!

My menu ( I agree with SoEzzy) would be in even numbers.

Some of your pricing is a bit low.

I might also offer beans OR Slaw (both SoEasy to make) with a combo, or add on as an additional side (small cup) at $1.00 each.

PP sammie
$5.00 (4 oz)
$6.00 Jumbo (5 oz)

Nachos
Plain w/cheese and jalepenos $4.00
Deluxe Topped with pulled pork $6.00

BBQ Bologna Sndwch $4.00

3-Bone Ribs $6.00

Hamburger $3.00 (4 oz burger)
Cheeseburger $3.50

All Beef Hotdog $2.00
_________________
BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.

[BigQ]

[BBQMAN]

That being said (on prices), and considering your head count average, you may then want to take a close look at the numbers.

I don't see much profit in doing this unless you expect it to lead to catering and other jobs.

There is a reason it's been a family run "snack shack" and has no cooking equipment.

The ROI (and interest) just isn't there to warrant the expense.

Of course with a good food offering you might turn that response around into a good thing.

Keep in mind that may take a while to establish considering they are used to less.

Another option is to sell tickets and/or advertise with the dance hall an "Dinner and Dancing" ticket with a slight discount as an enticement to get more folks through the door.

You could make a decent profit serving a catered event for 100 guests that actually wouldn't mind paying a fair price for a BBQ dinner.

JM2C....................

Good luck with it, couldn't hurt to try.
_________________
BBQMAN
"I Turned A Hobby Into A Business".
Providing "IMHO" Since 2005.