Author Topic: Do you need to be an actual business to sell food at the con? (Read 11498 times)

totemo_oishii · « **on:** August 16, 2007, 04:03:10 pm »

Laurifer and I were tossing around the idea of having a "food stand" at the con next year, and we were wondering if we have to be an actual established business to sell?
Thank you!

Trumby · « **Reply #1 on:** August 16, 2007, 11:25:48 pm »

Selling food you'd have to have a food handlers license I believe...don't know about the question, though.

TomtheFanboy · « **Reply #2 on:** August 17, 2007, 06:35:29 pm »

Selling food is very very complicated at this year's hotel.

In most cases, no you don't have to be a business. Sell prepackaged food and the con will let you be. The hotel is the main force to be concerned with. The Hilton would rather we don't sell food because THEY have a cart that can roll out and sell snacks. Not snacks that I would shell out money for since they're too expensive and aren't worth it, but food is food to the accountants.

This year it is not an option. We'll see where the con goes next year and then you can ask them.

totemo_oishii · « **Reply #3 on:** August 17, 2007, 10:19:12 pm »

Thanks Trumby and Tom!

We're definitely not doing it this year. ^__^; Maybe next year. However, we were thinking of making food rather than selling prepackaged stuff. :x Hmmmm. I hope it won't be too difficult. :3

TheInsanePuck · « **Reply #4 on:** August 18, 2007, 02:28:18 am »

well if you need a voulenteer I will do it I am a registered chef aswell as I have a national food handlers license

TomtheFanboy · « **Reply #5 on:** August 18, 2007, 12:22:22 pm »

Quote from: totemo_oishii on August 17, 2007, 10:19:12 pm

Thanks Trumby and Tom!

We're definitely not doing it this year. ^__^; Maybe next year. However, we were thinking of making food rather than selling prepackaged stuff. :x Hmmmm. I hope it won't be too difficult. :3

I figured that's what you meant. Nekopan will be making their food themselves, but when it is actually SOLD it is "premade" since none of the baking was done onsite. If you were going to bring a wok and fry up some noodles then it would be much much more complicated. I will try and point you in the right direction once we have a hotel contract signed next year.

laurifer · « **Reply #6 on:** August 20, 2007, 08:46:25 am »

Well I don't know we might do some things on-site but if it's more complicated...*shrugs*

BoredHorror · « **Reply #7 on:** August 20, 2007, 11:33:42 pm »

this question sort of goes with the food thing.... but do we know if selling ramune and high chew is allowed (from the dealers) like last year?

I was looking forward to buying some at sakura-con...but they weren't selling it (I think because one of the rules of the actual convention center was no outside food or drink)

TomtheFanboy · « **Reply #8 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:59:03 am »

That's one of the complications of our location this year. Since the hotel has plenty of normal snacks, we can sell the cool Japanese stuff that they won't have. I was told that at Sakuracon there were some groups that dodged the outside food or drink rules by offering things that were impossible to buy at American stores because they had been mail ordered direct from Japan.

The Hilton knows about the Vendors but I think they're going to just let them slide when it comes to selling snacks as long as we don't have vendors hawking Skittles and Hershey's bars in the lobby.

superjaz · « **Reply #9 on:** August 27, 2007, 04:27:42 pm »

would be nice to have a snack food stall, the venders never bring enough to last the whole con

guspasho · « **Reply #10 on:** August 27, 2007, 06:26:14 pm »

Quote from: superjaz3p on August 27, 2007, 04:27:42 pm

would be nice to have a snack food stall, the venders never bring enough to last the whole con

Shoot, that would have been a great thing to announce at the meeting and I totally forgot! I told the hotel to keep a concession stand open almost all the time because I promised them they would make big bucks off us buying their snacks.

So it might be expensive hotel snacks but I'm planning on there being a snack food stand during the con.

superjaz · « **Reply #11 on:** August 27, 2007, 09:03:14 pm »

mmmm over priced food ..

Lit_of_Fey · « **Reply #12 on:** September 03, 2007, 04:35:29 pm »

*raises hand* I have a food handler's card!

I would love to help you and your friend totemo ^.^ nekopan bakery was inspiring haha, I'll be living in portland too now! whee anyways...

*trudges to retarded work*

Rushifa · « **Reply #13 on:** September 03, 2007, 08:58:38 pm »

We got around it by making everything in a licensed kitchen (we used a church), by having food handler's licenses, and by making sure everything was pre-packaged. It worked for us because most of what we had was snacky anyway, but even with that I think we really had to have people fighting for us. Open food would be great, especuially if it was, like, actually nutritional and tasty, but the hotels usually are all pissy about that...

Lit_of_Fey · « **Reply #14 on:** September 04, 2007, 03:38:32 pm »

hotels are lame :c like the hiltons REALLLLY need that extra four dollars for a sandwich D:<

and like they're not making an enormous sum of money just from being completely booked anyway! GRRRRR!!!

Kaiware · « **Reply #15 on:** September 04, 2007, 10:41:47 pm »

That's a great idea to find someone with a certified kitchen and use theirs!

I have been tossing the idea around for a while of a japanese food stand... especially selling homemade onigiri, mochi, and miso soup packs, which are great prepackaged and last well. Too bad all the restrictions pretty much make it impossible to serve many nutritious/fresh japanese foods that are sooo tasty without having an actual food cart set up.

Would be nice if someone would do something of the sort!!! By the end of the con I was suffering from acute nutritional deficiency.

laurifer · « **Reply #16 on:** September 05, 2007, 05:53:13 pm »

Quote from: Kaiware on September 04, 2007, 10:41:47 pm

That's a great idea to find someone with a certified kitchen and use theirs!

I have been tossing the idea around for a while of a japanese food stand... especially selling homemade onigiri, mochi, and miso soup packs, which are great prepackaged and last well. Too bad all the restrictions pretty much make it impossible to serve many nutritious/fresh japanese foods that are sooo tasty without having an actual food cart set up.

Would be nice if someone would do something of the sort!!! By the end of the con I was suffering from acute nutritional deficiency.

Well we can try to do something like Nekopan, though, right? As long as you can't buy certain foods here in the US the hotel should be happy!!! We shall promote healthy eating!

totemo_oishii · « **Reply #17 on:** September 06, 2007, 06:30:49 am »

We would love suggestions on what kind of foods you would like to see. :3

Some things we have in mind...
- mochi (different flavors)
- green tea cake, scones etc.

We were thinking about onigiri, but they don't last well overnight. :/ Too bad we can't make them fresh...

laurifer · « **Reply #18 on:** September 06, 2007, 07:32:08 pm »

Hmmm what about the bakery stuff they sell at the bakery in Fubonn? [as in the shopping center not the store]

Kaiware · « **Reply #19 on:** September 07, 2007, 10:06:09 pm »

Yeah yeah yeah! The stuff from Meianna bakery? It rocks.

Dango would be really great... the boiled version of mochi rolled in various toppings and served on a stick a la shish ka bobs. They sell it packaged in plastic at Uwajimaya and it keeps real well, especially when smothered with azuki paste. Mmmm.

Regular mochi would be so great too! And dorayaki!

If you could have boiling water I bet a variety of japanese quick ramen bowls would do amazing, seeing as people could also take them back to their hotel rooms. Although they might be too worried about spilling on their costumes to risk liquids. I know I would have been.

laurifer · « **Reply #20 on:** September 10, 2007, 04:05:38 pm »

Yus it sounds really awesome. Of course, we would need some volunteers to help us out cos there's no way we're gonna man the booth all the time while everyone else is having fun at the con lol

TomtheFanboy · « **Reply #21 on:** September 12, 2007, 09:50:03 am »

In case you want to avoid the hotel completely, you can always research with the city of Portland and find out what it takes to run one of those little food carts, like the ones in Pioneer square. Then if you get that license you could set up shop in the park for the day!

It would also open up the real world business opportunity if you ever wanted to keep doing it.

LtCommanderRichie · « **Reply #22 on:** October 17, 2007, 12:39:21 pm »

A couple people at SakuraCon this year dressed up like Jiji-sama Ichiraku and his neice (from Naruto), and set up a Ramen stand just outside the convention center. It wouldn't be impossible to do something like that in an adjoining park to the Doubletree in '08, would it?

BangBangNeko · « **Reply #23 on:** December 29, 2007, 07:08:30 am »

I've been reading all the posts and I was wondering, sorry if this sounds dumb. But me and the girls in our group would like to have a maid cafe and we were wondering if the samething goes for panels. I know you have to have a food handlers right? Which me and two other girls have, but is pre-packaged food only allowed or can we make the cakes before hand at home. And is there any rules involvingfood? If anyone could clear this up, I'm deeply gratefully.

guspasho · « **Reply #24 on:** December 29, 2007, 12:04:43 pm »

BangBangNeko, it's in our contract with the hotel that "No food or beverages may be brought into the hotel by [us] for service at [Kcon]", which basically means no food at all, unless the hotel provides it at their ridiculously exorbitant prices.

Ask me about this again later, because you might remember that Nekopan Bakery went through significant lengths to sell prepackaged food with the permission of the Hilton last year, and later I might be able to help you hash out the details with the hotel, so it's entirely possible that one might be able to provide food as long as the hotel feels comfortable with the providers' health and safety credentials, and that they believe the food we're bringing in is something the hotel could never provide, thus we aren't competing with the hotel.

BangBangNeko · « **Reply #25 on:** December 29, 2007, 03:01:18 pm »

ok thanks i'll tell the runner of the panel, we did'nt know because we knew the tea partys had food but,what they had to do to make it ok. Thanks again.

goatchild · « **Reply #26 on:** December 29, 2007, 05:20:04 pm »

Okay, so with all of this food confusion, will Uwajimaya and Nekopan be at the con this year? It sounds like they will from these posts, but just making sure. ^^;

guspasho · « **Reply #27 on:** December 29, 2007, 07:34:14 pm »

All the posts until BangBangNeko's were for last year. This year is going to require entirely new negotiations to get food of any kind at panels.

goatchild · « **Reply #28 on:** December 29, 2007, 09:07:57 pm »

Ah, I see. So I'm guessing either those negotiations haven't been agreed upon yet, or maybe they don't apply to the vendor's area? Just wondering. It'd be sad if there weren't any Ramune cupcakes this year.

MichaelEvans · « **Reply #29 on:** December 30, 2007, 08:24:07 am »

I believe what guspasho (our Facilities Liaison) said is that pretty much none of that has yet been decided for this or any coming years. However he did point out that it is likely the hotel will allow an agreement to be reached for things they have no interest in producing, but do feel would match the level of quality they want to see.

goatchild · « **Reply #30 on:** December 30, 2007, 05:31:31 pm »

Okay, just wondering. Sorry if I got annoying with my questions. ^^;;

totemo_oishii · « **Reply #31 on:** February 02, 2008, 10:23:50 am »

Laurifer are still thinking about doing this, after observing the onigiri sale at Mochitsuki. They prepackaged them well and I think we can do it.
Think it'd be okay to set up a small table in the part for a bit and sell some food, say, during lunch time? Or would that seem "sketchy" in some way?

superjaz · « **Reply #32 on:** February 02, 2008, 02:57:58 pm »

Quote from: totemo_oishii on February 02, 2008, 10:23:50 am

Laurifer are still thinking about doing this, after observing the onigiri sale at Mochitsuki. They prepackaged them well and I think we can do it.
Think it'd be okay to set up a small table in the part for a bit and sell some food, say, during lunch time? Or would that seem "sketchy" in some way?

do you two have food handlers cards? if not i sugest getting them,

totemo_oishii · « **Reply #33 on:** February 02, 2008, 02:58:59 pm »

yeah we were going to. Do you get them at the DMV..?

superjaz · « **Reply #34 on:** February 02, 2008, 03:08:36 pm »

Quote from: totemo_oishii on February 02, 2008, 02:58:59 pm

yeah we were going to. Do you get them at the DMV..?

i'm not sure i got one thru a collage but it was a while ago

MichaelEvans · « **Reply #35 on:** February 02, 2008, 05:34:03 pm »

Here's a good start, google ors food handler. Good luck.

Evaldas · « **Reply #36 on:** February 03, 2008, 09:14:02 am »

http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/foodsafety/cert.shtml

You might want to go there. Looks like you can take the test online, but only through their approvled resources. Any other online courses are not valid.

Good luck!

I took the course once and it is not hard as long as you read the material and understand the concepts of transfer of germs, safe temperature ranges for food storage, packaging and proper sanitation. Though I took that almost 10 years ago! Though I doubt things have changes that much. ><

melchizedek · « **Reply #37 on:** February 07, 2008, 06:40:32 am »

Are there any vendors booths left to get to sell food at the con with?

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Author Topic: Do you need to be an actual business to sell food at the con? (Read 11498 times)