what is everyone charging....

I am not in this line of work but did own my own auto repair shop for 15 years so I do have some experience

As long as you have all the legal angles covered, I say just give it a try one time how you think it would work best for you

If it does not work, then you know. either change the arrangement or dont do it anymore.

If it does work, great

Sometimes you just gotta take a chance
 
landarc said:
You're going about this backwards, you cannot succeed in the food business basing on other folks menu prices. You will go broke doing that.

1. Set what you are going to serve. Be complete in this, account for all the food on the plate, from main to sides and condiments.

2. Make an estimate of how much food you expect to sell each day, break it down to the point you know all of the components.

3. Find out where you will be buying the foods.

4. Build a detailed shopping list and find out your hard food costs. From there, you can figure out how much each menu item costs you to produce, include fuel, charcoal, wood, spices, your time. From there, figure out how much you can charge using the rule of 3x or 4x food costs. That will tell you what your profit is. From there, you split profit, not gross.

5. Beware, and I mean, do not enter into, any agreement that has you splitting off a share of your gross. Even a 10% share of gross really can mean you make no money. Do your leg work, estimate profit and let him know what you will share of profit.
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cynfulsmokersbbq said:
Might add to this, is your business licensed with the city? Does it need to be? If your business is licensed/approved for one location, can you use "His kitchen" and still be covered by the Health Department?
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Cayman1 said:
I'll let the others discuss prices, but from a legal perspective, there are numerous areas that need to be addressed, i.e. are you covered as an Additional Insured under his liability policies, will there be an Indemnity and Hold Harmless Agreement, etc.
Get some legal advice so you don't end up in a big mess for very little profit.
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These are all professionals, listen to their advice...

If not legally covered and protected you could lose your home and everything you own because someone makes a false claim and sues you...
 
ButtBurner said:
I am not in this line of work but did own my own auto repair shop for 15 years so I do have some experience

As long as you have all the legal angles covered, I say just give it a try one time how you think it would work best for you

If it does not work, then you know. either change the arrangement or dont do it anymore.

If it does work, great

Sometimes you just gotta take a chance
Click to expand...

Kinda hard to change an agreement with a bar owner after the fact. Make sure you have it right first, and if your gonna do it, do it with all you have.
 
When discussing any split with the bar - you must (as Landarc pointed out) make it a split of the profits NOT sales. Unless the bar is kicking in a % for at least the supplies, then your % will be covering material costs PLUS your time PLUS a VERY marginal profit (maybe). Meanwhile, the bar gets pure profit for their %. Better might be to make a decision on how much you think you'll make in profit - let's say you're clearing $3 per item x 200 people = $600 & offer the bar $100 as "rent" for the day.
 
A great deal of advice in this thread. I will only add. From the legal aspect.

Get EVERYTHING in writing. i.e. Signed Contract with the bar owner. Just as in any catering gig the contract can save you if it comes to he said/he said should disagreements arise.
 
I dropped off a proposal today, I proposed and 80-20 split on profit, not net sales. I also recapped some of our conversation like he will order the meats and suppies for sides and I will pay him back. He will keep his cook on for that day to help serve along with his staff and that he would be paying me like an employee under his business, so that I am covered legally under the corporation. hope I covered everythng. I also hope to hear back from him today or by the end of the weekend.
 
I am not sure I would of went with the "he will order the meats and suppies for sides and I will pay him back". You lose quality control here. If he orders $1.50/lb brisket vs. $3.50/lb then the quality suffers, yet you are going to be blamed for putting out an inferior product. And it is your reputation on the line. Will he show you the actual invoice to back up the cost claim? By the same token, are you able to show a convincing breakdown of your cost and actual profit? That includes salt down to the last grain, charcoal/wood, your fuel getting to and from the bar, taxes and insurance you may be paying, your time doing the paperwork...lots of things to consider when figuring costs and "profit".
 
rgrizzle said:
I dropped off a proposal today, I proposed and 80-20 split on profit, not net sales. I also recapped some of our conversation like he will order the meats and suppies for sides and I will pay him back. He will keep his cook on for that day to help serve along with his staff and that he would be paying me like an employee under his business, so that I am covered legally under the corporation. hope I covered everythng. I also hope to hear back from him today or by the end of the weekend.
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Good luck!!! Please let us all know how it goes! I love to hear success stories, and I am sure yours will be very successful.

Something for future consideration is him ordering the meats. I assume he uses a Sysco type supplier. I have found that in smaller quantities, it is easier and cheaper for me to use Sam's or Costco, I also get some quality control over what I use. If he is ordering large quantities or has a good vendor agreement with his supplier than his way may very well be the way to go.
 
For the record, I am not a professional cook anymore. I didn't find it suited me.
 
Work for the TOTAL sales angle.

Serve nothing but saltier wings and ABT's.

Salt and spice drive up beverage sales. Keep account of ALL sales during your serve time, then re-negotiate.

Breads do what beer does, and that fills people up. He wants sales? Salt and spice.
 
themidniteryder said:
I am not sure I would of went with the "he will order the meats and suppies for sides and I will pay him back". You lose quality control here. If he orders $1.50/lb brisket vs. $3.50/lb then the quality suffers, yet you are going to be blamed for putting out an inferior product. And it is your reputation on the line. Will he show you the actual invoice to back up the cost claim? By the same token, are you able to show a convincing breakdown of your cost and actual profit? That includes salt down to the last grain, charcoal/wood, your fuel getting to and from the bar, taxes and insurance you may be paying, your time doing the paperwork...lots of things to consider when figuring costs and "profit".
Click to expand...
we had a long talk about meat quality before he even said to run some numbers see what I need perctenage wise to make it work for me. i told him That I do not serve low quality meats, I would rather pay a higher price for better meats then sell subpar ribs or brsket.
 
cynfulsmokersbbq said:
I do something similar for a local bar. We worked hard to cover all of our bases.

I keep all income from the BBQ. It is my baby. I am the top BBQ cook in town, (it's a small town. :-D ) Honestly though, I've built a solid regional reputation that is followed by many of our local and regional BBQ fans. I wouldn't cook for less. HE gets to use my name in his advertising. Much like the bands he hires he gets to use me for a draw to his bar. We will fill the place up, and on a Saturday night that he would normally have a couple dozen pool players and bar sitters, he has a full crowd, buying drinks.
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Exactly right. He gets increased liquor sales and you get the BBQ. Asking for your you to give 25% is a winner for him but a loser for you.
 
I did a special event at a night club 2 weeks ago, I did not want any part of projected sales and had them order what they thought the sales would be, let thier kitchen serve it. They ordered brisket and pulled pork, so I set them up with 1/2 tins. If they sold out great, if crowd was small or sales were slow, they paid me for product ordered beforehand. I was there to help promote sales and answer questions from the patrons.
I rather make a little less, and guareentee what I cooked will not be back in the fridge as it cost lots when you have un-sold product.
 
BigBellyBBQ said:
I did a special event at a night club 2 weeks ago, I did not want any part of projected sales and had them order what they thought the sales would be, let thier kitchen serve it. They ordered brisket and pulled pork, so I set them up with 1/2 tins. If they sold out great, if crowd was small or sales were slow, they paid me for product ordered beforehand. I was there to help promote sales and answer questions from the patrons.
I rather make a little less, and guareentee what I cooked will not be back in the fridge as it cost lots when you have un-sold product.
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What did you charge, if you don't mind us asking?
 
Here is Medina/Barberton ohio.

Your full rack prices are about 2$ higher then most othe the places around here. And the ribs for 23$/rack are a life changing experience.

The rest of the prices are a little wacky because they are either kinda high (pulled pork normally 15$ for a hand full of pork, some cornbread and some fries) the brisket sandwich could go up 2$.

Bear in mind that Medina is kind of rural upscale. And Bullies is kind of upscale casual dining. It is not an "Outback" but it is close.

http://www.bulliesbbq.com/menu1.html If I am not making my own BBQ this is where I go and they are by far and above the best place in the whole of Medina Ohio.

www.lagerheads.us/ is another local establishment to me, they are the other non chain Q place in Medina. and they are way more biker friendly. No one in B-town does Q that I know of. Medina has a Lowerys BBQ and near b-town they have Old Carolina BBQ comapny (both are chain stores).

So long and short - some prices are a little high or a little low but from what I can tell for a one off a week they are pretty in line.
 
An update. I agreed to a deal with the owner and fixed alot of the pricing thanks for all the input everybody. We will be setting a start date here soon. I will let everyone know how is goes.
 
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