Question about pricing & P&L

[AutoCountry]

I'm looking to open up a shop at a local flea market to sell chicken quarters, etc one week chicken quarters one week pulled pork. My wife and I are trying to figure out pricing and what our P&L would be for chicken quarters & pulled pork.

If other pros can help us out it would be greatly appreciated

[daddywoofdawg]

A good place for this question is down in vending.That said,You have a 50% loss on butts during cooking,So if a butt costs 1.50lb 50% loss =3.00lb just for loss,plus wood cost,labor appox 2hrs tending the fire,preping the meat(rubs etc),pulling the meat,etc.,then there is the cost of the space,gas to and from,your time selling there,paper goods.That's just costs.then after you figure that out add 50% for profit.and adjust from there.
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[PorkQPine]

I would forget the Butts, especially since you will be doing them every other weekend. They cost more than chicken and they take more time to prepare. Think about becoming the Chicken King. Specialize in chicken quarters, wings, thighs and breasts. I think the profit will be better and people will know what you have every weekend. Have a few different sauces like mild, medium and wing sauce and corn cobbetts on a stick with different condiments like butter, salt and lime and then different cheeses for the corn on an upcharge plus mac n' cheese and they will be lining up.

I know that butts are more traditional but many a vendor has gone home with leftover bbq and gone out of business. The operative word is business, not bbq, so concentrate on what makes you money when you start because you can always add to the menu as time goes on and you have more experience with the crowd.

[Bestiverhad]

That's some good advice, but I'd do both, if those are your choices to serve.

I get a lot of flack about it, but I'd reheat the pork and cook the chicken on site.

Of course... that's just me. =^)
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[Harry Nutczak]

As disgusting as I think they are, for some reason smoked turkey legs seem to be huge sellers at flea markets, they are cheap, easy, and they friggin sell for some goofy reason that I do not know of.....


On the legal side of this, do you have a licensed commissary to both take delivery of, store, and prep food products?

www.SBA.gov has some great resources for P&L construction, as do many state and county websites. I see your main issue being projecting your sales amounts, typically in a vending situation, I have heard people figuring 10% of attendees purchasing food, and divide that by the number of food vendors onsite.
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[Jarhead]

Hey Harry, they are delicious.



http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=58061
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[Grnmtn BBQ Chef]

Turkey legs are funny things. You don't normally get them at home.

Check more into the legal issues as well as check into the insurance side of this issue. There are a few on here who vend at farmers markets, maybe they will catch this one with more detail.
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[Geronimo]

Most vendors I have seen pre-cook the turkey legs then reheat on site of the event on a gas grill.
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