How to Organize a Concession Stand in 5 Easy Steps

Concession stand organization makes the stand more efficient and promotes higher sales volumes. We're going to share our concession stand tips that will help you organize a concession stand in five easy steps – it's that easy.

1. Start With Worker or Volunteer Schedules

Yes, before you even start going through your concession stand shopping list, you'll want to get your scheduling under control. If you own the concession stand, you'll also need to figure out scheduling, and if volunteers are involved, you'll need to work out their schedule.

This might not be your idea of organization, but it's the key most important aspect of keeping your stand in operation.

A few questions that can help you determine schedules are:

• What are the hours of operation?

• What days can volunteers come to help?

• How many workers, if any, will you need?

If you can organize your schedule properly, including having enough help during rush days, you'll have a much easier time meeting the needs of consumers.

Once you have the scheduling under control, you can move on to the next point.

Planning everything in advance will allow you to operate your concession stand professionally and efficiently.

2. Gather All of the Kitchen Essentials

What will your concession stand offer? Every stand offers different items, but one of the main items that almost all stands offer is hot dogs.

You'll want to make sure that you have all of the essentials. Let's go with the hot dog example.

You'll have a hot dog electric grill and a hot dog broiler. Next to these items should be everything you need to make a perfect hot dog:

• Condiments

• Buns

• Serving plates

If hot dogs will be on display, they must be kept under a sneeze guard for an electric grill to keep them safe from people sneezing or dropping items on the hot dogs. Your bun drawer should be close to the grill so that it's in reach for employees.

The less that employees need to walk around, the better.

Napkins and any condiments given to the customer ought to be in arms-reach of the employee, too. It's all about optimizing the space through organization and keeping your items in stations or certain common areas of the concession stand is recommended.

3. Place for Plastic Wrap, Foil and Wax Paper

Dedicate a space for all of the essential storage items that you have in the concession stand. This means that you'll want a place for:

• Wax tissue

• Wrapping paper

• Aluminum foil

• Plastic wrap

• Tupperware

All of these storage essentials need to be close to where the food is preserved. Cabinets above or under the cooking area is best. The goal is to be able to quickly put any leftover items away in storage for later.

4. Popular Items in Plain View

A concession stand hot dog cooker is a clear indicator that your stand is offering hot dogs. The same goes for hot dog grill bun roller, but you can do so much more to increase sales. When you go to the grocery store, why do you think they have the following right before you checkout?

• Candy

• Drinks

• Gum

• Breath fresheners

• Magazines

• Jerky

These items are big sellers, and to maximize profits, the store is set up to have all of these items in view right before a person leaves to go home. A long ride home means that the consumer will probably be thirsty.

The case that holds all of the soda and bottled water right before checking out has been strategically placed to make you buy.

You must use this tactic in your concession stand if you want to maximize sales.

For example, next to your concession stand grill, which is often in plain view of the customer, you might have:

• Popcorn buckets

• Beverage refrigerator

• Ice buckets

• Cotton candy

In front of the concession stand, right in view of the customer, you'll also want to add many of the smaller items that you'll see in grocery stores. These items include your:

• Candies

• Gum

• Breath fresheners

• Jerky

Any items that you sell often or that don't spoil quickly are good options to put in front of the consumer's view. This allows you to make last-minute sales and maximize your profits as a result.

If an item isn't in front of the consumer, they might not know you carry it.

5. Order Organization Setup

You need a way to keep all of your orders organized, and this can be done in many different ways. Apps can help as can computer systems. But you can also follow the old-school way of writing orders on receipts and placing them above the order counter.

You can also have a blackboard where you have all of your orders written down.

But the blackboard is best suited for writing down your specials or information that you want your customers to see.

Receipts should also have their own designated section.

Concession stands need to be able to prove all of their expenses and sales just like any other business, and receipts will help make this process much easier. You'll also want a place to keep all of your paperwork.

Every city and state are different, but you'll often need:

• Selling permits

• Operating documents

Anything that you need to legally operate needs to be organized properly within your concession stand.

Another tip that we would like to mention is to visit other concession stands. These stands may have organization ideas that you never considered.

Concession Stand Equipment Price

Curious about the price of all of the items mentioned? We've compiled a list of equipment and prices so that you can have a clear picture of pricing for each item:

Concession stands are fun to run, offer substantial profits and require a proper concession stand set up to run efficiently. Using the tips, you'll be able to run a concession stand in five easy steps.

Don't know where to buy concession stand supplies?

Our catalog has many of the items you read about above, and more, to meet all of your concession stand needs.