Our new soccer complex will be ready to use in late Spring. If all goes well, we hope to hold our season ending tournament there in May if the grass greens up fast enough. The soccer complex has a very large concession stand in it and we’re gearing up to outfit it.

We know from past experience that we’ll need a drink cooler of some kind and a popcorn popper. But we’re also trying to figure out the other equipment we may want to get now and later. This way we can plan financially. If your league runs a concession stand – what have you found to be successful, both selection wise and equipment wise?


 

Our initial thoughts on items include:

  • Drinks – probably in cans or maybe plastic bottles. Water for sure.
  • Popcorn is always a big hit and cheap.
  • Candy/Chips – Easy enough to stock and sell. Wonder which will sell the most.
  • Hot Dogs – For bigger events or events over lunch time, hot dogs are easy. But how to prepare them is a question. This, of course, trips county health inspections but we expected that.
  • Outside fast food – Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, BBQ sandwiches, etc can be purchased and kept in a warming drawer (this would be for tournaments, etc)

Hotdogs are super easy – I know most people just cook them in water in a Crock-Pot. The roller cookers are cool and all but I’d hate to have to clean it every time. But they make a good hotdog (I personally can’t stand boiled hotdogs)

When it comes to keeping outside food fresh, there are ‘warmers‘ and ‘steamers‘ Which would be better for, say, premade chicken or barbecue sandwiches? I usually see steamers at concession stands, but there sure seem to be more warmers out there than steamers. Is pizza worth it? I know they make drawer warmers that’ll keep pizza nice and hot. But you’d have to sell it for $1.50-$2.00 a slice considering what a large pizza goes for these days.

This is a new one for us and we’re just starting our research. We know it’ll be a step by step process. Start out small and then expand as demand dictates. But any ideas or suggestions to avoid common pitfalls would be very helpful. I’ll try to keep folks updated on our hits and misses