Vending at a comp??

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trekmstr

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I may be going to a comp later in the year that will allow teams to vend.
Have any of you done this?
What do you vend?
What do you charge? (This will be a ticket system, I assume $1.00 ea.)
How much do you bring? (Vending will be from 10:30 till 7:30.)
Thanks guys… and gals.
 
Hey trek, I am new to all of this and am trying to follow the WI folks since BBQ is not as big up here. Do you mind me asking which comp you are referring to? I would love to show up to check it out. Thanks!
 
There's no easy answer to these questions. It depends on weather, crowd, other events at this contest that draw people, # of BBQ vendors.

trekmstr said:
I may be going to a comp later in the year that will allow teams to vend.
Have any of you done this? Yes I have in Fl, AL, IN and MI
What do you vend? It depends. Ribs sell well most times but are a pain. Pork and brisket. Everybody does Sammie's. Try nachos, parfait, tacos all pulled pork or brisket. It may depend on the HD and their requirements for vendors. In MI it's pretty strict
What do you charge? (This will be a ticket system, I assume $1.00 ea.)If event takes 20% then 6 to 8 bucks. Ribs 7 13 24
How much do you bring? (Vending will be from 10:30 till 7:30.)See my note at the top. Can't help you.
Thanks guys… and gals.
Click to expand...
 
Twelvegaugepump said:
Hey trek, I am new to all of this and am trying to follow the WI folks since BBQ is not as big up here. Do you mind me asking which comp you are referring to? I would love to show up to check it out. Thanks!
Click to expand...

sure. it's called Death Door BBQ it's on Washington island up past green bay. it's not to far from you.
http://deathsdoorbbq.com/
 
wow i might have to go ... i cant seem to find decent bbq around here and i have no clue yet what im doin, hard to learn without proper equipment
 
Sounds awesome. The wife and I are thinking of taking the trip. I am going to apply to judge I think too! Thanks!
 
touchdowntodd said:
wow i might have to go ... i cant seem to find decent bbq around here and i have no clue yet what im doin, hard to learn without proper equipment
Click to expand...
what are you using? you'd surprised what you cna do with a little basic knowledge. if possible i recomend taking a class.
 
Thanks for the tip trek. I am now a judge! What team name are you under? I will be sure to stop by after judging on Sat!

This will be my first contest since family emergency prevented me attending poorque.
 
team is Grillin' Fools. sorry you missed poor que. it was a good time. weather was with us. had a nice breeze.
 
I've never heard of anyone doing well in the competition and vending at a competition. Never. Not even Jack's Old South.

I went to the Jack last year. JOS was vending as usual and they were also competing. Granted, Myron didn't have competition help vending and vending help wasn't helping in the competition tent.

There was ALWAYS two lines of over 100 people in each line all day at the vending trailer. They also had a small cooker on display at the comp tent along with 3-5 people manning the tent out front for spectators. I can't remember if they were selling books, sauces and rubs, might have been, don't remember.

JOS didn't even come close to getting a call at the Jack last year. His brisket was dead on, as usual and the pork was good, too. I didn't get any ribs or chicken.
 
It depends if you are both competing & vending. I have done both, and let me tell you, its tough to pull off unless you have the help. There is only my wife & I, and it seems both our comp & vending sufer when we try to do both. Best we have found so far is to not sell anything until the last turn in. You will have people wanting to buy, & it gets in the way of doing your turn in. If you have extra help, it might work out better for you.
One of the best sellers we have is a sampler plate, 1 piece of chicken, 1 scoop of pork, 1 rib & 1 slice of brisket.
I also try to stay competive with the others that are vending, dont charge way more, or way less.
 
touchdowntodd said:
wow i might have to go ... i cant seem to find decent bbq around here and i have no clue yet what im doin, hard to learn without proper equipment
Click to expand...

I am sure if you go to any of the Wi comps if you wander around you can find some samples. At the Grafton event there will be vendors also . Try Mr Tonys .He does well on his vending during the week ,I have had several friends in his area say they like his food.
 
A little bit of a thread hijack here, but it's related:

We're looking to compete at an event down this way (Jesup, in South Georgia) in the fall, and they have the option to vend at this event as well. We'd have to pay $75 dollars, and haven't done it before. I think we have enough people who can help with vending that it wouldn't be an issue. Just curious if paying the $75 plus the expense of the additional food is worth it, or would it maybe be worth it to just sell whatever meat you cook for the competition. They also have a peoples choice contest with the public buying $8 tickets to sample the pork. Would that sway anyone's decision to vend or not?

Thanks!
 
We compete with 2-4 people. When we vend, we bring 6 or more. We only do it once a year at Harpoon (Windsor, VT). I would not attempt it with just 2, and it's pretty hard with 4.
 
cpw said:
A little bit of a thread hijack here, but it's related:

We're looking to compete at an event down this way (Jesup, in South Georgia) in the fall, and they have the option to vend at this event as well. We'd have to pay $75 dollars, and haven't done it before. I think we have enough people who can help with vending that it wouldn't be an issue. Just curious if paying the $75 plus the expense of the additional food is worth it, or would it maybe be worth it to just sell whatever meat you cook for the competition. They also have a peoples choice contest with the public buying $8 tickets to sample the pork. Would that sway anyone's decision to vend or not?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

We have done Jesup every year.
This will be the first year we miss it--GREAT CONTEST!!

Large crowds who seem to all have vended food in their hands :grin:

Rub vended there last year.
Maybe he will chime in with some specific advice.

Have fun and good luck,

TIM
 
We vend. We do contests. We DON'T do both at the same time because we can't do both well at the same time.
 
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