Burger van experience?

[eddoakley]

Anyone here every owned a food van?

Any tips?

Not quite sure why but today it seemed like a good idea to buy one!

Have a pitch sorted and am in the process of sorting staff. Have ideas for making it a bit different to run of the mill breakfast rolls and burgers etc but can anyone offer any other advice?

 

Price is obviously important as I think is quantity and quality.

Options and variety and decent staff.

Anything else or any specific tips?

 

Edd

[Vince Green]

Good idea, tell me where you are and I will be there for a bacon roll

Round here (London) you would be cleared off in an instant by the criminally motivated competition who would petrol bomb you the first day you set up, after that it would get worse.

[spurs 14]

Be different , why not go the game meat route , pheasant burgers , venison sausages , etc be imaginative and if you know enough shooters the supply would be cheap and plentyfull , good luck

[Dougy]

Top tip is quality, look at the rubbish youve had in the past. 

Look inti6 what you can do thats different from what you have seen. 

I once worked in a pub that i came up with an idea of ridiculously large steaks and meals. They were virtually impossible to eat (200 ounce  13lb stk)  but it hit the tabloids. And business went stupid. 

 

[clangerman]

i drive past three to use the one i like bread not rolls the food is just a tiny bit better quality makes all the difference i think he’s always busier than the ones i pass 

[Rob85]

I used to go to a car boot close to me and a guy had a stand doing Hereford beef burgers, venison sausage hotdogs, wild boar bacon rolls and sausages, majority game stuff and it was unbelievable how busy he was. I managed to speak to him for 5 minutes and asked him where he sourced his meats from. You cant imagine how jealous I was when he said he shoots EVERYTHING he sells himself. Going down that route with game etc you would be best targetting country fairs and game fairs for your business. Setting up outside an industrial estate will attract people looking for the standard cheap n nasty burger or fish supper who won't want to pay extra for proper quality 

[Walker570]

Is there / Are there still vacant lots to set up on because every laybye round here seems to have a regular vendor and now Greggs are spreading like the plague.....not a bad plague mind you because their food is good quality and fresh and not overly expensive.  One just opened on the A5 between Cannock and Brownhills and between 7 and 8 am there is a constant stream of vans and workers picking up their breakfast/lunch.  I think what has been said above is spot on, clean tidy set up and top quality.  Hope you find a vacant spot.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Walker570

[Retsdon]

Haven't had a burger van but have had a fast food business - mostly fish and chips. The one thing that's important but which can be difficult to maintain is consistency of quality in the end product. When you're busy it's easy. Everything is fresh, the cooking facilities are at optimum temperature, and turnover time between cooking and serving is almost instantaneous. It's when business is slow that quality goes down - and the staff get slack too, which compounds the issue. Compromised quality is at absolute killer. The one thing that both you and your staff need to keep in your heads all the time is that you never see the customers you lose. One substandard burger to a single customer who tells his mates who tell their mates - it's worse than a viral pandemic! And the only way you know it's happening is barely perceptible eroding turnover. You really have to watch the staff in this respect because if you've drilled into them the importance of maintaining a target gross profit margin (and especially if you're paying a bonus for meeting that target) the temptation is there for them to try and reduce wastage by skimping on the quality. And that's the last thing they should be doing. Better to pay bonus on turnover and use stock control to maintain GP.

Which brings me to the other point. As in all cash businesses, your staff will steal if given a chance. So you have to institute a proper stock control system to try and prevent that. 

Good luck.

 

 

[sam triple]

Never owned one or done anything like it but im guessing location as well as quality is a priority no good having one if no one can see you got one near me up on top of Portsdown  Hill looks across the whole of Portsmouth right out across to the IOW hes open 24/7 even Xmas day

[old man]

8 hours ago, Retsdon said:

Haven't had a burger van but have had a fast food business - mostly fish and chips. The one thing that's important but which can be difficult to maintain is consistency of quality in the end product. When you're busy it's easy. Everything is fresh, the cooking facilities are at optimum temperature, and turnover time between cooking and serving is almost instantaneous. It's when business is slow that quality goes down - and the staff get slack too, which compounds the issue. Compromised quality is at absolute killer. The one thing that both you and your staff need to keep in your heads all the time is that you never see the customers you lose. One substandard burger to a single customer who tells his mates who tell their mates - it's worse than a viral pandemic! And the only way you know it's happening is barely perceptible eroding turnover. You really have to watch the staff in this respect because if you've drilled into them the importance of maintaining a target gross profit margin (and especially if you're paying a bonus for meeting that target) the temptation is there for them to try and reduce wastage by skimping on the quality. And that's the l

ast thing they should be doing. Better to pay bonus on turnover and use stock control to maintain GP.

Which brings me to the other point. As in all cash businesses, your staff will steal if given a chance. So you have to institute a proper stock control system to try and prevent that. 

Good luck.

 

 

No personal experience but my brother in law did.

From what i saw , all of the above comments were true.

[eddoakley]

Thanks guys. It's staying where it is at the moment. It's in a yard at a "Farm Shop". It's a nice set up and a fairly rural location. I've eaten from it in the past and it was ok. The road it's off is fairly busy and there's a good amount of traffic to the farm shop and 10 other businesses in the same yard.

I do have somewhere else I'm in talks to put it which I think will be even busier.

So location is pretty good and there's definitely potential with a small industrial estate pretty close and some long term building sites too.

As for using game etc I have a very good local butcher who will process anything I shoot. He does my boar and deer now and as a bonus it will make me get out and shoot more!!

Mrs Edd bakes some fantastic cakes so they will be on there but she's also very much into healthy eating so we will be looking to offer something other than the standard burgers it's. Of course we will try have that too and try to make the quality better than anywhere else but we will have baked potatoes, pasta dishes, salads, veggie options...stews and soups at the right times. Lots of ideas.

As some of you might know I'm usually pretty busy (understatement!) and it's certainly not a job for me but Mrs Edd is keen and there are a few very trustworthy friends that we may employ and even some family so staffing options are looking good.

All in all I think it should be a good little business and we already have lots of ideas but I'm sure it will also be a steep learning curve!!

 

Keep the suggestions coming.

 

Cheers

Edd

[sam triple]

2 minutes ago, eddoakley said:

Thanks guys. It's staying where it is at the moment. It's in a yard at a "Farm Shop". It's a nice set up and a fairly rural location. I've eaten from it in the past and it was ok. The road it's off is fairly busy and there's a good amount of traffic to the farm shop and 10 other businesses in the same yard.

I do have somewhere else I'm in talks to put it which I think will be even busier.

So location is pretty good and there's definitely potential with a small industrial estate pretty close and some long term building sites too.

As for using game etc I have a very good local butcher who will process anything I shoot. He does my boar and deer now and as a bonus it will make me get out and shoot more!!

Mrs Edd bakes some fantastic cakes so they will be on there but she's also very much into healthy eating so we will be looking to offer something other than the standard burgers it's. Of course we will try have that too and try to make the quality better than anywhere else but we will have baked potatoes, pasta dishes, salads, veggie options...stews and soups at the right times. Lots of ideas.

As some of you might know I'm usually pretty busy (understatement!) and it's certainly not a job for me but Mrs Edd is keen and there are a few very trustworthy friends that we may employ and even some family so staffing options are looking good.

All in all I think it should be a good little business and we already have lots of ideas but I'm sure it will also be a steep learning curve!!

 

Keep the suggestions coming.

 

Cheers

Edd

boar burgers sound good , good luck with new venture

[Old farrier]

 Maybe best to consider all the relevant food hygiene certificates for you staff and any one making cakes 

[bavarianbrit]

OK at events like boot fairs but they are a scab on the landscape parked in laybys with their plastic chairs blocking the space for normal layby users. No toilets and iffy hygiene IMO. I know of no other country in Europe that stoops so low as to have them allowed.

[das]

11 hours ago, Rob85 said:

I used to go to a car boot close to me and a guy had a stand doing Hereford beef burgers, venison sausage hotdogs, wild boar bacon rolls and sausages, majority game stuff and it was unbelievable how busy he was. I managed to speak to him for 5 minutes and asked him where he sourced his meats from. You cant imagine how jealous I was when he said he shoots EVERYTHING he sells himself. Going down that route with game etc you would be best targetting country fairs and game fairs for your business. Setting up outside an industrial estate will attract people looking for the standard cheap n nasty burger or fish supper who won't want to pay extra for proper quality 

.470 double for the Hereford?

[Mr. Merkel]

2 ladies (and not the fat ones) I worked with retired together and set up a food wagon selling the rolls and the normal fast food burgers together with a limited amount of hot meals each day, these ranged from pie or sausage and mash and pasta dishes mainly lasagne, served up in a plastic tray similar to airline food containers. Their idea was based on quality of products and the business took off it was hard work for them but they enjoyed it and reaped the rewards.

Good luck with your venture

[The Heron]

Must be clean and your appererance as well. 

[Fatcatsplat]

You can go the standard burger route, but if you want to make some serious dough, there's two routes i'd advise:

1) Barbecue - Slow cooked and lovely and suits batch cooking an absolute treat - Waning a little now, but still very popular

2) - This is the money shot - High protein vegan food - I know that's blasphemy on here, but you will make an absolute killing.

The kids in my firm are all body conscious and carbs are the work of the devil - If you do add a meat protein, make it chicken or salmon. Add a blender and make it a herbal juice bar as well

The main ingredients are dirt cheap and the longevity of the food is pretty good as well. You'll have to wedge out a bit on avocado and such like, but it is definitely the way forward with the Yoof of today.

 

[ferguson_tom]

Assuming the farm shop has a butchers or decent meat counter why not speak to them about being your supplier. Works well for the farm shop as people can try before they buy and works well for you as they can hold most of the stock.
 

Offering a bit of everything costs a fortune in stock and time so isnt always the best idea, have limited options but be really good at them.

[Bigbob]

Boy at work went down that route with his redundancy money went from Edinburgh to the middle of England bought a transit and a food trailer , The clutch went on the transit coming back up the motorway , then the Scottish food hygiene guys wouldn't give him a licence and the gas pipes laws are totally different in england than scotland and he was always getting trying to get a good pitch for it 

Last i heard he traded it in to get double glazing on his house and went back to working part time as he blew his redundancy money 

[Rob85]

5 hours ago, das said:

.470 double for the Hereford?

.577 i think haha Wouldnt that be a sight to behold! I would assume that was locally sourced or possibly farmed himself....lucky sod

[oowee]

Mate bought a kiosk (shed) at the harbour front at West Bay for £20k on short lease. Plan was to finish as an electrician and run the businessas a wind down. After a short time running just the kiosk he went back to being an electrician and running the kiosk as it was easier to get staff to cover start and end of the season. Getting staff to run it reliably became tough due to the hours, cleaning down and collecting supplies from wholesaler and he ended up shuttling between the two jobs. Eventually he extended the lease and sold the kiosk for £40k 3 years later.

Started off with quality product over quantity trying to differentiate his stuff from others around the bay. Ended up with cheaper the food the better it sold. For many customers 20p was more important than the taste. Highlight of the business was selling a tea or coffee where the margins are 95%. 

 

[Pistol p]

Take into account folks with food intolerances. Its now law to label all prepped food with possible ingredients that cause problems for those with dietary issues. As someone who would once upon a time would eat things that you wouldn't step in, I now struggle to find places to eat where the food may lead to making me ill. 

[Piebob]

All businesses compete in 3 simple dimensions - Quality (or Service if you like), Time, and Cost. You can be successful by being the best in a single dimension at the detriment of the others or, most likely, you'll need to compete in all 3 dimensions.

[Remimax]

renovated a catering trailer for a friend of the family,he does all sorts of stuff using game meat and is doing very well at it.

just goes to show the market is there if you know what yer doin with it.

best thing most of the meat is free so no brainer !