The food concession business is a great starter business for someone who wants to get into the restaurant industry. Before you can get to cooking and selling food, however, there are several things you need to do. First, you need to decide on what type of food you will sell. Next decide what equipment you need to put the idea into motion. Finally, you need to choose a location from which to sell your product. Once you have decided these three things, you can finally get your feet wet in the food service trade.
The first thing you must do when beginning a food concession business is to choose what type of food you are selling. This is the basis, the very foundation of your venture. There are several ways to determine this. Some ways you can choose something you are already good at doing, pick something from your heritage, and looking at the location you are going to be in.
Sometimes, a person gets into the food concession trade because he or she has previous experience in that industry. By using this experience and choosing something that you are comfortable with, the food can be easier to prepare, plus can taste better as a finished product. For example, if you were a line cook in a diner setting, maybe making burgers and sandwiches would be the most comfortable way for you to make your living.
Another way to decide what type of food you will sell to your customers is using your heritage as a guide. For example, if you happen to be of Asian decent, you may choose to let your food reflect that heritage. If you have no idea how to make sushi, that probably would not be the type of food you would sell.
One final way to confirm your type of food would be to look at the location that you are thinking about setting up in. For example, if you are in Orlando, selling tacos would be a great type of food to choose. However, if you are in New Hampshire, it might not go over as well. Location is a very important thing to look at when choosing food types.
The next thing to look at in order to get into this type of business is the equipment you will need to put the plan in motion. This is based largely on the food you have decided to prepare. If you choose to sell burgers and fries, you are going to need a grill and a deep fryer. If you want to do barbecue, a hot dog cart is not going to help you much. You also need to look into how you will transport the equipment. If you have a concession trailer, you will need to have a truck to pull it.
Finally, think about a location where you will sell your food. You need to look at the place where you live, places with lots of foot traffic, and places that will economically support a business like you plan to start. If you own land, you may choose to set up there. If you want to set up in front of a business, you will need to create a lease agreement with the owners and pay to set up on their lot. Location is one of the most important parts of starting this type of company as it can make or break your business.
Although there are many steps to getting into the concession business, in the long run, it can be a very profitable way to make a living. It can also be a great stepping stone to a stick-built stationary restaurant. By choosing the type of food you will sell, the equipment you will need, and the location you will sell at, you can be in the concession business faster than you thought possible.
While getting into the food concession business is not an easy task, if done correctly, it can be a very lucrative venture to undertake. By breaking the start up process down into a few simple steps, you can be running your own business faster than you think.