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At some point, nearly every pizzeria owner has either considered doing a local festival or been asked to do concessions. There is more than one way to do these events, such as what I like to call portable pizzerias. A portable pizzeria can be a self-contained concession trailer, catering truck or fully equipped mobile kitchen. The costs can range from $7,000 all the way up to $170,000. If you do take the plunge and purchase a portable pizzeria, you also need to know a little about running concessions, regulations and flow and ergonomics of design. In this article we will take a look at mobile kitchens, trailers and the big $100,000+ operations. Actual owner/operators will give you some real life lessons learned about venue fees, costs, packaging, pricing, hidden potential problems, advantages and tips on places to park these mobile profit centers.
Small, Medium or Large
Concession units come in various sizes. For the smaller operations, a simple concession trailer may do the trick. If you attend tradeshows, chances are you have probably run into ‘Pizza’ Paul Nyland. After retiring from Gordon Food Service, ‘Pizza’ Paul purchased a concession trailer and began targeting smaller art & craft shows, flea markets, festivals, car shows and some private parties.
“In my opinion, the key is to keep it simple,” ‘Pizza’ Paul says. “My trailer is a seven-foot by 14-foot fiberglass unit with two service windows. It has a freezer and refrigerator below the counter and a refrigerator below the make table. The ovens are two Lincoln Impinger ovens that are converted to propane and employ four 30-pound tanks. Above the make table I have a staging area with wire shelves where I can pre-make 60 seven-inch pizzas ready for the oven. I serve individual pizzas because I like to keep them as fresh as possible and even custom make them at times. I have the most labor intensive ones ready for the rush in the racks. I use a Dodge half-ton truck with a cab over the back, to pull it and for dry storage. I also have a Honda 6500 generator. It also has a 25-gallon gray water tank and a 20-gallon tank for freshwater. This thing is totally portable…I can go out in the woods and make pizza. I have about $40,000 in the trailer completely outfitted.” www.pizzapaul.net
‘Pizza’ Paul says that both ovens can do 150 pizzas an hour, but the problem is making them fast enough. When built, he had access doors in the nose of the trailer, where the ovens are installed so he could take them out to clean. “Once, I opened the access doors and set up a tent outside of the trailer and had two guys making and baking and feeding the pizzas into the trailer through the access door to be baked,” he said.
‘Pizza’ Paul targets the smaller venues simply because for him, it has become more of a hobby in his off-time, but this type of unit can work great for the medium-sized venues as well. If you are looking for something more self-contained that doesn’t require a truck to tow it, consider the units used by Expressway Pizza, (www.expresswaypizza.com), a franchise from Manitoba, Canada owned/operated by Steve Moynes. He converts Grummen Olsen trucks into mobile pizza kitchens.
“We have 10 Expressway Pizza trucks operating in Canada,” Steve says. “We establish franchisees in towns of about 3,000 to 10,000 and specialize in delivery, on-site catering and special events. Customers call a cell phone assigned to the truck and pizzas are prepared and baked as they are delivered. The trucks are purchased used from courier companies, reconditioned and fitted with ovens, prep coolers, sheeters, refrigerators, freezers, a variety of smallwares and wireless debit/credit cards machines.”
They have another division, Pizza Trucks of Canada Inc. (www.pizzatrucksofcanada.com), which makes and sells custom-built pizza trucks for the U.S. “We do all the design, finishing, plumbing, wiring, painting, mechanical, generator installation and propane. It takes approximately eight weeks from start to finish. We manufacture them to the customer’s specifications. We also contact your local health and fire departments, zoning and by-laws to make sure the truck meets local and state regulations. I am selling these units to pizzerias who want to expand into special events and on-site catering,” Steve says. “It is much easier than setting up portable tents, ovens, water, prep tables, etc.”
“We have two models; a fully self-contained unit where you prepare the pizza inside and a special events truck where the pizzas are made at a pizzeria, loaded in the truck and cooked on-site,” Steve says. “The self-contained truck starts at $59,900 U.S. ($69,900 Canadian) and the special events truck starts at $66,900 U.S. ($76,900 Canadian) We offer new or reconditioned trucks, but suggest reconditioned trucks because new Grummen trucks are about $40,000 alone. Most of our units are former fleet trucks from delivery companies. Right now we build about four to six custom trucks a year. The self-contained model comes with Lincoln Impinger ovens converted to propane gas with an 18-inch conveyor belt and can cook a pizza every six minutes. Depending on the truck length, we could install larger ovens or stack them. The propane also runs the hot water system and everything else is run by a Honda generator.”
If the larger venues are your target, consider the operation owned by Dominic Palmieri, owner of Odyssey Foods out of Phoenix, Arizona. “We have one Enzo’s Pizzeria (a large concession trailer), but have a total of seven concession stands,” Dominic says. “We have Dominic’s, an Italian food stand, and also cotton candy, hamburger and other stands. The pizza stand and cotton candy stands are the most profitable. Pizza works great for us because of the volume and the markets we go to. We do six of the top 10 fairs in the nation. On an average day, we can do up to 400 pies with significant ease. During the crunch hours, we are pumping out about 70 pizzas an hour.”
The trailer he uses is manufactured by Hitch-Hiker (www.hitch-hiker.com), which builds concession stands of all types. They started the process of blueprinting the customized trailer in February of 2005 and had a finished, delivered product in the third week of June. The trailer cost $155,000 not including the designer, which was about $9,000. The guy who did the design was Bill Lawrey with Media Fusion out of Phoenix, Arizona. Dominic uses a Volvo truck with a 26-foot box on it to pull the trailer. “I have refrigeration and dry storage on the truck,” Dominic says. “Inside the trailer, there are three sets of refrigeration (the prep table, a countertop double door refrigerator and a double door freezer). Inside we use a Q-matic 36-W (36-inch wide belt) gas/electric oven that is doing a fantastic job. I am baking an 18-inch New York style pizza in five minutes and 20 seconds and also doing wings on the conveyor. As far as power, the ovens use propane and require 220 power. At small venues, I rent a generator (about $150 a day). We use wireless credit card machines and the average time to process it is about eight seconds. About 4 percent of orders are with cards, but more and more venues are going towards a cashless system. This is our second year doing credit cards and we are at about 2.7 percent on processing fees.”
Choosing the Right Venues
Festival fees vary depending on the venue, just remember, the bad events are easy to get. The venues are making their money on the concessions and most of the larger ones work on a percentage basis, which can be between 25 and 35 percent. According to Dominic, other events are 10 percent to 15 percent rent structure. Some have a flat fee based on the space you take. It may be from $750 to $1,500 for a three-day festival depending on how much space you require. “The guys doing the smaller community events are promoting their local pizzeria, so the viability varies depending on what you aim to get out of it,” Dominic said.
“Some of the larger venues that are charging 25 percent can bring a million people. If you were only getting 3,000 people and there are 30 vendors, you are only getting about 100 people a day,” Dominic says. “You have to look at the attendance and number of food vendors to see if the price is fair or worth your time and effort. Ask the venue what are the fees, number of vendors and attendance from last year. Another thing is to see how many similar vendors are there or if your product is exclusive. If you have two pizza guys and 30,000 to 40,000 attendance over three days, then it is worth it, but if there are four pizza guys, it may be too much. In my opinion, a two-day fair with over 10,000 people would be the max.”
“I stay away from the fairs that want $1,000 and part of the action,” Pizza Paul explains. “I prefer the ones charging a straight percentage (commonly about 18 to 20 percent). That way if it rains or they poorly advertise, you don’t take as much risk. For us, the busiest day has been about $2,800 in one day, but we target the smaller venues.”
The Food: Packaging and Pricing
Have you ever heard of the KISS approach? It means to Keep It Simple Stupid. This could not be more true when dealing with outside venues. You are looking for fast turnover and volume, so you don’t want to have 15 different menu options and oddball pricing that requires a lot of change. You may also want to consider branding and packaging before taking the big leap.
‘Pizza’ Paul does a seven-inch individual pizza and offers pepperoni, deluxe, cheese, meat-lovers and a ham and pineapple. His pizzas are priced at $4.50 to $5.50 each and he offers fountain sodas and water. “I put the pizzas on a seven-inch pizza circle and put them under my Hatco heat lamp,” ‘Pizza’ Paul says. “When serving, I simply place it on a nine-inch Styrofoam plate. If they want a cover, I just put another plate over the top.”
Dominic sells slices ($3.75) and whole pies ($22) including tax. “Slices are 90 percent of the pizza sold,” Dominic says. “We have a plain cheese, pepperoni and a combo with sausage/pepperoni. Each weekday, we do a special that can be a Hawaiian, or pepperoni and Jalapanos or olives and mushrooms. We do combos ($6.25) with three wings, a slice and a drink, but also do Chicken Caesar and vegetarian salads with dressing. The wings are a baked Buffalo and a honey barbeque Tyson product at $5.25 (half dozen) and $8.25 (dozen). Wings are about 4 percent of sales, which is about 40 pounds of wings a day. Ninety percent already order a drink with a slice, so to move them up to a combo with three wings is easy.”
Dominic says branding is worth it because after a few years in the same venue, people start looking for you. If you are doing events in your community and have a pizzeria, branding becomes advertising. “We use a logoed Star Pizza Box for whole pies and use a nine-inch picnic-style paper plate for slices. Wings with a combo go on the same plate. A half dozen or dozen wings go in a two-pound boat.”
Enzo’s only offers fountain drinks. The soda companies push the 20-ounce bottles, but fountain drinks maintains profitability and require less space and refrigeration. You would have to price bottles about 20 to 25 percent more than a fountain and customers won’t pay for it. “You gotta have water,” Dominic says. “Bottled water is a good percentage of the sales too.”
Ergonomics: Flow and Staff
Working in a concession stand means one thing to pizza guys: very little space. The flow of the prep and out-the-window sales is very important. “We just work in the summer months and wanted to keep it at a two-person or three-person max operation. The key is the flow,” ‘Pizza’ Paul says. “I can make pizzas, make a quarter turn and put them in the oven, make a quarter turn back and take them out, cut and serve. You don’t want to run all over each other to make, bake and serve. You have to know what markets you are targeting, determine what kinds of volume you want and then design the trailer.”
Dominic says he has two types of set-up depending on the venue. “We have two windows on the trailer for small events,” he says. “We also have a front counter with four to six registers for larger ones. The tickets go inside and are filled, the order takers are taking cash and then there are people handing orders out. Average customer for us is moved out in 45 seconds. We can have as many at 10 people working busy locations or we can do one person for slow events and have locals who work events and two guys who travel with the trailers. Training takes place the day before the event and we pay from minimum wage to $3 to $4 above that depending on how many years they have worked with us.”
Events to Target
‘Pizza’ Paul says there are some events you haven’t even considered, like car shows, flea markets, arts and crafts fairs, auctions…pretty much any place where there is a group and no food. Some other ideas are to join associations like he does with the Michigan Crafters Association and The Michigan festivals and Events Association who will call you when something is going on. “I have done some private parties and made $500 for an afternoon,” ‘Pizza’ Paul says. “Things like birthday parties, graduation parties, fundraisers and company picnics are venues and jobs you can go after.”
If you own a free standing pizzeria it can also be great to park it in your parking lot and serve up quick lunches or offer a two-day special where you can sell a new individual specialty pizza you are launching to sample it. You could also use it to do sampling a week or two before you open a new location.
Steve with ExpressWay Pizza emphasises that portable pizzerias really let you expand your existing business. “They can be used for company parties and appreciation days,” He says. “They can also be used for school catering and sporting events.”
Hidden Cost
Here are some things to consider when thinking about setting up at a new event. Some charge a fee for your stock truck that you use to re-supply. Also remember that ice is an up-charge and can be $5 to $7 dollars for a 40-pound bag. There could be an electrical hook-up charge, but don’t shortchange yourself because if you are continually popping breakers, you are down so allow for ample power.
Other Notes
Insurance can be an overlooked item. You have to have the same liability you have with your store. Most insurance companies will extend you store liability to the venue, but you will have to show proof of insurance to the venue in most cases.
‘Pizza’ Paul also says to get with your health department. “I get a Special Transitory Food Unit (STFU) Licence up front,” he says. “I have to have two operating inspections a year where I request an inspection, or otherwise you have to get inspected every time…I recommend that, but check your local state requirements.
In Closing
When considering a venue to park your portable pizzeria, be sure to contact the event and get the info before you commit. Find out what they charge, attendance, and how many other food vendors will be there. Go to the event the year before and see what you are getting into. Do your homework with your equipment and design it with flow in mind. If you do decide to purchase a trailer or self-contained unit, don’t just leave it parked behind the shop when nothing is going on. Get out there and hunt down corporate parties and customer appreciation events, approach the car salesmen and set up on Saturdays in their parking lots, solicit birthday parties or even park it in your parking lot and serve up quick lunches to go.