Gettin out of the catering business...

[ThomEmery]

Same here. People say what can you do for $6 a person? I say, "Give you a recommendation to Subway."

I tell em " You know Subway has that six foot long sammy"

 

[JD McGee]

Selling any equipment?

May have a couple of chaffing dishes...

 

[kurtsara]

May have a couple of chaffing dishes...

That is all if you are getting out of business?

 

[landarc]

He didn't say that he wasn't going to keep on cleaning house of every trophy he sets his eyes on in the Pacific Northwest BBQ comp circuit.

 

[RangerJ]

I recently lost to a chain here in Houston. 50 plates, two meats, two sides.

Feeds 50
25 Pounds choice of 2 meats
4 Gallons of vegetables (excludes corn)
2 Quart of each condiment; Pickles, Peppers, Onions
4 Loaves of bread
BBQ Sauce -$399.95

Knowing who the competition was, I came in under since I'm trying to get my name out there. But it seems my time is not worth much in these deals.

I wonder if they don't factor labor / time since they have these big pits running and all they have to do is take some existing product and box it up?

 

[bizznessman]

I recently lost to a chain here in Houston. 50 plates, two meats, two sides.

Feeds 50
25 Pounds choice of 2 meats
4 Gallons of vegetables (excludes corn)
2 Quart of each condiment; Pickles, Peppers, Onions
4 Loaves of bread
BBQ Sauce -$399.95

Knowing who the competition was, I came in under since I'm trying to get my name out there. But it seems my time is not worth much in these deals.

I wonder if they don't factor labor / time since they have these big pits running and all they have to do is take some existing product and box it up?

You hit the proverbial nail on the head. Since they work with large volume their labor/overhead is minimal compared to ours. Have talked with a chain in our area and they stated that these types of gigs are mostly meant to "keep their staff busy" and not always necessary or expected to be cash flow gigs since their main biz supplies their real profit. They can afford low to little profit on catered gigs because they are subsidized by their store front.

My main "beef" with them is the poor quality of the product/service. But, the customer seems to be satisfied with low quality/service as long as they can get the product for as "CHEAP" a price as they can. :roll:

 

[BigFatDaddys]

Oh no, from Brethern Brother to Brother hang in there!

We see this all the time too and believe me it still happens to us even after all the fame MONEY TALKS. We were outbid on one of our big jobs because they wanted a full on all you can eat buffet with drinks, pork, meats and appetizers (wings/shrimp) for three hours all you can eat for seven bucks a head. I'm sorry but where can you go for that and eat three hours for seven bucks? Can't get a super sized meal deal for that.

Last year each person probably ate two full plates plus appetizers and sodas. We didn't mind so much losing the gig because it would have COST US money to go there. With those chowhounds the new caterer will be out of business and they'll be begging for us back next year ha ha

What this means is chin up and don't succumb to selling a cheap and crappier cut of beef. STAY STRONG. You won't lose all the jobs, just some of them. Explain about your quality, service, and taste and how you use HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT. You will still score some of the jobs and those are teh ones you you will get year to year.

 

[BigBellyBBQ]

too bad you threw in the towel, buit we all have to hold our prices if you make good bbq, they will be back...once you cut your prices you are out of biz any way....if you get to quote again, show up with some real food of your own, this seals it for me...I went to a tail gate party Sunday and they had pull pork that everyone was raving about...so i tried and that was it...TERrrrRRIBLE!!! Found out it was from a chain and heated up on site in crock pot...they only paid 399 a pound.....was not worth free in my book....I have to get 9 to 10 dollars a pound..brisket 12 a pound...
but hold your ground...

 

[JD McGee]

That is all if you are getting out of business?

We never invested in much equipment other than what we use for competitions...most of our customers were drop offs with the exception of a few businesses and even then we cooked on-site and used their tables etc.

He didn't say that he wasn't going to keep on cleaning house of every trophy he sets his eyes on in the Pacific Northwest BBQ comp circuit.

Oh no, from Brethern Brother to Brother hang in there!

We see this all the time too and believe me it still happens to us even after all the fame MONEY TALKS. We were outbid on one of our big jobs because they wanted a full on all you can eat buffet with drinks, pork, meats and appetizers (wings/shrimp) for three hours all you can eat for seven bucks a head. I'm sorry but where can you go for that and eat three hours for seven bucks? Can't get a super sized meal deal for that.

Last year each person probably ate two full plates plus appetizers and sodas. We didn't mind so much losing the gig because it would have COST US money to go there. With those chowhounds the new caterer will be out of business and they'll be begging for us back next year ha ha

What this means is chin up and don't succumb to selling a cheap and crappier cut of beef. STAY STRONG. You won't lose all the jobs, just some of them. Explain about your quality, service, and taste and how you use HIGH QUALITY PRODUCT. You will still score some of the jobs and those are the ones you you will get year to year.

Thanks for the words of encouragement but we're done! :hand: We will still cook for our "regulars", co-workers, family, and friends...but are out of the bidding wars!

 

[Shiz-Nit]

I feel yae right know

 

[OL' Timer]

Sorry for the problems. I found in the 15 months I have been vending and catering that the price is the same for both and the people of my community know what they are getting for what they pay for. I did 22 Christmas parties in the last 10 days and not one person complained about the price. Every person that buys from my vending trailer gets a menu when they purchase, so they know what the cost will be for the catering . It seems to work real well.