Starting a Burger Stall/Van

T

TwoWheels

Registered User
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Hi all,
I make very nice burgers ! Big homemade style burgers.
I have my own recipe for them and they have been very well recieved on many occasions.
(BBQ's, Parties, A couple of commercial/charity events)
Anyway, I would love to have a burger stall at an event (Festivel/Point to point meeting/Outdoor event)
What is involved in doing this?
Insurance?
A Van? (Can I rent a van?)
Do the burgers have to be prepared in an approved kitchen?
Would I need a licence?

I have costed them, They cost me €1.10 each to make (Ingredients only)

I'm not really after doing this to make my fortune, more something fun to do and earn enough to break even & a few quid on top..

Anyone done anything similar? Any advice?
 
There are two major areas which would impede you from beginning this venture (apart from not having a van which is maybe the most foremost)

Firstly there are a legion of HACCP regulations around the preparation and serving of food, from storage of the raw ingredients to cooking to safely transporting to the point of sale to cooking and serving, unless you were familiar with them it may difficult and expensive (in regard to having the correct equipment) to get up and running.

Secondly, as far as I am aware, many of the large outdoor events charge a franchise fee to traders, which can often be quite high and may eat substancially into your potential profit margin.

Maybe you could have a chat with stall holders in regular markets such as Blackrock, or any you know about and ask them how it works for them.
 
Maybe you could get into providing BBQ services at summer events (corporate events, 21st parties, etc)?
 
At €1.10 already, I'm afraid that you won't make a good enough profit. I think that you would need to bring that down to maybe €0.50
Slap on the costs of buying and paying off a van, HACCP safe equipment, seperate gas powered fridges, generator, freezer, commercial stainless kitchen setup, drinks fridge, freezer, etc.
And whatever the effort/cost involved in getting your van approved, and getting the certification for vending it.

Go for it, but try to find better value supplies :)
The world can always use more burger vans.
 
I fancy a burger now.

If this is something that you really want to do i would go for it. You can cut down your costs by buying wholesale, and there are always people selling 2nd hand equipment that's still in really good condition and at good prices.

The only reason i would say not to go through with this, is if you think you might have money problems in the future. Like you said you dont plan to make your fortune from this and it could take some time for you to get back the money you paid out to start up this business, let alone making any actual profit.

Good luck
 
Another cost you need to consider is but im sorry i dont now the name of it tough off hand is theres some kind of safety cert that you need certifying your electrics.A friend of mine is an electrician and he has to certyify sweet vans for events even if they only have a light switch and one socket for a fridge. the cert is about a grand ,iknow its expensive!
 
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