| If you are considering starting a mobile concession | | | | simple deal to hand over a burger in a bun, take the |
| stand selling burgers, hotdogs and philly sandwiches by | | | | money, give change and smile at the next customer in |
| the truck load, the first thing to seriously consider is not | | | | the line, but do you want to offer something more for |
| your budget, not the trailer and not the hours you will | | | | your customers, such as a place to sit down and take |
| be working. | | | | some time while they eat? Just because this is a |
| The first thing to consider is the food you will be selling. | | | | concession operation does not mean you have to |
| Everything else flows from the food, so make sure | | | | ditch adding value for customers, or employing |
| you "feel the food" before making a business or | | | | strategies to help differentiate you from the rest of the |
| emotional decision on everything else. | | | | competition. |
| The major investment is obviously in the concession | | | | You also need to consider the volume of food sales |
| trailer, but the type of food you will be selling will | | | | you are going to be moving; this will affect how many |
| govern the type of trailer you are going to need. The | | | | people you are going to need inside the concession |
| first thing to do is to research which types of trailer | | | | trailer to assist with food prep and sales, and this in |
| are most used for selling the food you will be dealing in | | | | turn will affect the actual total storage, prep and selling |
| - this will serve to narrow down the list of concession | | | | space you are going to need in the trailer itself. Too |
| trailers to something that is manageable for you to | | | | small - you will lose sales and valuable business; too |
| realistically research in depth and contrast and | | | | large and you waste valuable investment. |
| compare. | | | | Consider how you will prepare the food and the |
| The type of food you will be offering will also lead you | | | | timescales involved, between acquiring the basic |
| to consider your storage and refrigeration | | | | ingredients for your food offering, and time to selling it. |
| requirements. If you are selling ice cream or frozen | | | | Particularly, will you be able to prep and store food |
| yogurts, you are going to need a lot of refrigeration | | | | off-site, or do you need to do this in the concession |
| capacity, but a lot less will be needed if you are selling | | | | trailer? The more reliance you place on the concession |
| burgers all day. | | | | trailer, the greater the need for a good layout, more |
| How much actual cooking will be required - if you are | | | | storage, more prep space and more refrigeration. |
| grilling hotdogs there and then, you may want extra grill | | | | It doesn't matter what the food offering is - the very |
| space, but if you are making up subs, do you really | | | | first step in choosing the right concession trailer for |
| need any grilling space at all - you may want extra | | | | your business is to think about the food you are |
| food prep space instead. | | | | dealing with. |
| One question is how the food will be served; it's a | | | | |