4 categories. thoughts, suggestions
 

it seems selling BBQ/Food has 4 distinct categories.
health/state dept.
marketing
expenses, and
time
good food being a given...

i hope i'm on the right track. with that said, how do you guys go about securing meat vendors?
even RD prices aren't low enough to make a profit or break even, really.

how is it done?

I'm not a vendor but insurance also comes to mind as really important.

As far as vending... it would seem that unless you had a very low cost meat provider direct from the source, a Restaurant Depot or general food distributor like a Sysco would be the most common if you're buying in relatively low qty... or maybe a local meat wholesaler if you've got decent volume.

meat prices are real high and continuing to go up. RD prices are a lot better than you think. call some wholesalers and you will see

i was thinking that would fall under health/state...but agreed, insurance is quite important.

that's kinda what i was asking...do you guys go direct to source? how do you find the source? google is my friend, but finding a guy selling FDA approved pigs at a good price doesn't come up with many results...

REAL high. but again, goes to my question...i can't seem to nail down how to contact wholesalers...like, do you just call IBP?

anyway, the spot i had in mind, i just got info on.

a small shack on 1/3 acre( i was hoping for tractor trailer parking)is 3/4 million.

not happening.

but thanks guys....i'm not giving up. i have a small dream....

Watch what supply trucks frequently stop in your area. You may think bigger chain equals bigger savings, but that's not always true.

Sysco is a good supplier, but it seemed that I was just about their only stop in town. Another supplier was much smaller (Cash-Wa Dist.) but seemed to stop all over town. The smaller company was much more accommodating, and seemed like they wanted to give me a huge deal. And yes, just call them. Call the sales dept. You won't call IBP, or Tyson, but food distributors or food wholesalers in your yellow pages.

Start with these guys. They deliver the whole Eastern Seaboard.

G & C Foods