Important Questions to Ask When Researching Food Concession Venues
the Writing Team at Food Service Warehouse 
When you contact local venues and organizations about applying to be one of the food concession vendors, there are many questions to bear in mind. Below is a list of helpful questions that you will want to be sure and ask the event coordinator before you decide whether or not an event is right for your business.
The No-Brainer Questions:
These are the questions that everyone will ask. Before you begin asking about any other aspects of the event, confirm that dates and location of the event are correct. Once you have done this, you can move into more specific questions.
The Basic Questions:
These are questions that will give you answers that are important to know such as attendance, fees and other charges.
- What is the expected attendance? This is quite possibly the most important question to ask as this will give you an idea of how many customers you can expect to visit the event. If you are speaking with a event that is having its first season, ask for a reasonable estimate based on the organization’s research.
- How many other food vendors are participating? You will need to know how many competitors you are up against. If there are too many vendors, your profits will not be worth the time you invested. However, if there are too few, you run the risk of being inundated with customers and running out of supplies.
- What are the event’s hours? Finding out what the event’s hours are will tell you whether the event is right for your concession business or not. If the event is held in the earlier hours of the day and ends before lunch, it is best not to book that venue if your primary menu items are served in the afternoon.
- Will admission be charged? If the organization behind the event is charging admission, attendees will be slightly less likely to spend money on concession food because they feel as though they have already spent enough just by entering the event.
- What is the space fee and how is it charged? Even moderately small events will charge a space fee, and it is critical to find out how much it is, whether it is a flat fee or a percentage of total sales. If it is a flat fee, find out how the fee is calculated. If the fee is based on a percentage of sales, obtain the percentage and the deposit required to book the space.
