Starting a concession stand means turning a focused menu and a mobile, low-overhead setup into a repeatable sales operation at venues, events, and high-traffic locations. Compared to opening a traditional restaurant, concession stands can be more profitable to launch because they require smaller spaces, less staff, and fewer startup costs while still allowing strong margins through fast service, high throughput, and tight portion control. Below, we walk you through the core decisions and requirements associated with starting a concession stand, so you can launch with fewer surprises and a better chance at success. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap to fund, market, staff, and open your stand with commercial-grade systems that hold up during peak concession stand times.
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Click below to learn more about opening a concession stand business:
Conduct Market Research
Develop a Concession Stand Concept
Write a Concession Stand Business Plan
Get Funding for Your Concession Stand
Create a Concession Stand Menu
Purchase Concession Stand Supplies and Equipment
Acquire Concession Stand Permits
Make a Concession Stand Website
Market Your Concession Stand Business
Hire and Train Concession Stand Staff
What Is a Concession Stand?
A concession stand, sometimes referred to as a snack bar, is an area where guests can purchase food, drinks, and snacks. They can often be found inside movie theaters, amusement parks, and stadiums. While some establishments own and operate their own concession stands, others contract with third parties. Common foods sold at concession stands include regional hot dogs, popcorn, and pretzels.
How Much Does a Concession Stand Cost?
The cost of acquiring a concession stand varies by the size of the unit and whether you’re purchasing a used cart or having one built from scratch. A new, medium-sized concession stand will cost between $11,000 and $21,000 to build. A new stand won’t contain any equipment, which increases your startup costs.
You can purchase a used and equipped concession stand for between $6,000 and $45,000. The price range for used concession stands is so wide because it reflects both minimalistic, older stands and lightly used stands stocked with premium equipment.
How to Start a Concession Business
From writing a solid business plan to marketing your concession stand, we walk you through each step of starting your concession business. For additional financial planning advice, check out our guide to profit and loss statements complete with an interactive spreadsheet.
1. Conduct Market Research
Conducting market research helps you confirm that your concession stand can generate steady sales in the specific venues, events, and time windows you plan to target. Start by defining your core customer group and what drives their buying decisions. Qualities like speed of service, price point, portion size, perceived quality, and values like local sourcing or allergy-friendly options can all influence what actually moves during a rush.
Next, study the market around you by reviewing comparable vendors and current consumer preferences, paying attention to which items are trending, what people are willing to pay, and which add-ons increase the average order without slowing production. Just as important, complete a location analysis that looks beyond “high traffic” and into practical realities such as event attendance, seasonality, vendor fees, utility access, and any restrictions on cooking, equipment, or menu categories.
2. Develop a Concession Stand Concept
Your concession stand concept and menu determine what size cart you need, the amount of startup money you’ll require, and the ideal location for your concession stand.
Concession stand menus can offer everything from pre-made snacks to creative and gourmet cuisine. The needs of a simple prepared foods stand differ from a concession stand that sells nachos loaded with hot or fresh toppings.
Types of Concession Stands
Concession stands generally fall into three categories: stationary stands, mobile stands, and concession trailers, and the right choice depends on where you plan to sell, what you want to serve, and how much equipment and storage your operation requires. This decision shapes your startup budget, permit requirements, staffing needs, and the kind of menu you can execute. Before committing, consider how often you’ll move locations, what utilities you’ll have access to, and whether you need a compact kitchen or a simpler setup focused on ready-to-serve items.
Stationary Concession Stands: Stationary concession stands are small, have fixed locations, and don’t provide space for a lot of equipment or ingredient storage. They typically sell one prepared menu item or pre-made snacks.
Mobile Concession Stands: Designed for short-range use, mobile concession stands often have a home location where vendors prepare their food before adding it to the cart, which typically contains a holding unit.
Concession Trailers: Concession trailers offer long-range mobility, are powered via gas or generators, and have space to create a compact kitchen complete with countertop warming equipment and undercounter storage.
3. Write a Concession Stand Business Plan
A concession stand business plan lays out how you’ll turn event traffic into predictable revenue while keeping food cost, labor, and overhead under control. It forces you to quantify the realities that make or break operations such as seasonality, venue fees, limited storage, utility constraints, and high-volume service windows before you spend on equipment and permits. If you’re seeking funding, a plan shows lenders or investors that you understand your margins, your operating model, and the timeline to positive cash flow. Even if you self-fund, it becomes a working document you can use to set pricing, staffing levels, and sales targets for each location or event.
Executive Summary: Summarize the business in a page, providing information such as what you sell, where you operate, the opportunity you’re pursuing, and the goals you’re aiming to hit. This section should make a clear case for why the concept is viable and worth backing.
Company Description: Explain the business in more detail, including your mission, operating approach, and the markets you’ll serve. Include the basic strategy for how you’ll scale such as increased event attendance, additional stands, expanded menu, or new locations.
Concept and Menu: Document your concept and the exact menu you intend to run, emphasizing items that can be produced quickly and consistently in a compact setup. Tie menu decisions to profit drivers like portion control, prep efficiency, and upsell-friendly add-ons.
Management and Ownership Structure: Identify the ownership model and who is responsible for key functions like purchasing, scheduling, cash handling, and compliance. Clear accountability matters when you’re operating in fast-paced environments with limited staff.
Employees and Staffing Needs: Outline how many people you need for setup, service, and teardown, plus what each role does during peak volume. Include labor assumptions by event type so you can forecast payroll accurately and avoid understaffing that slows service.
Marketing and Competitor Analysis: Show what comparable vendors charge, what they sell, and where they operate, then explain how you’ll win business in the same spaces. Use this section to prove you understand local demand patterns, event calendars, and customer expectations.
Advertising and Marketing Strategies: Detail the channels you’ll use to drive traffic and secure bookings. Event outreach, social media, local partnerships, and a simple web presence make it easier to book you. Focus on tactics that convert such as clear, readable menus, strong photos, and fast response to organizers.
Financials: List startup costs and ongoing expenses. Include sales and profit projections by event, break-even analysis, and a realistic estimate of when the business becomes consistently profitable.
4. Get Funding for Your Concession Stand
Securing startup capital is the step that turns your concession stand plan into an operating business with the right equipment, inventory, and cash reserves to handle event fees and slow periods. Your business plan is the document lenders and investors lean on most because it shows how you’ll generate revenue in short service windows, control food and labor costs, and reach profitability on a realistic timeline. Funding typically covers upfront needs like a cart/trailer buildout, commercial equipment, POS and payment processing, initial product and disposables, licensing/insurance, and working capital for payroll and replenishment. Below are common funding avenues that concession operators use to assemble startup capital:
Personal Investment and Savings: Using your own funds demonstrates commitment and reduces the amount of outside financing you need to service early on. It’s often used for permits, deposits, and initial inventory so you can start selling quickly.
Small Business Loans: Bank or credit union loans can fund major startup costs, but approval usually depends on credit history and a business plan that clearly supports repayment. SBA-backed programs may also be an option if you qualify and have solid documentation.
Investors: Equity or profit-share funding can help you scale faster, but you’ll need to present clean financial projections and a clear structure for returns. Friends-and-family arrangements should still be documented with terms that protect both sides.
Equipment Financing/Leasing: Financing high-cost equipment items preserves cash for inventory and operating reserves. The tradeoff is interest or lease obligations, so confirm the payment fits your projected cash flow by season.
5. Create a Concession Stand Menu
A profitable concession stand menu contains concession food ideas built for fast decisions, quick production, and a short prep list that keeps food cost predictable. Start with a handful of high-selling items that can be held hot or served quickly, then layer in simple upgrades that raise the average order size without adding new equipment or complicated prep. Your best menu is the one you can execute cleanly during a rush. Items should share ingredients, use the same warming/holding methods, and require minimal assembly. Keep pricing and portions consistent, and design combos that move product while protecting margins.
Classic Hot Sellers: Hot dogs, nachos with cheese, soft pretzels, and popcorn are reliable because they’re familiar and built for high-volume service. They also hold well, which helps you serve quickly when the line spikes.
Fried or Griddled Options: Fries, chicken tenders, corn dogs, or burgers can drive big sales, but only if your setup and venue rules support safe cooking and oil management. If frying slows service or creates cleanup issues, keep it out of the core menu.
Grab-and-Go Snacks: Chips, candy, trail mix, and packaged pastries fill gaps between peaks and require almost no labor. These items are also easy to merchandise near the register to encourage add-on sales.
Cold Beverages: Bottled water, sports drinks, soda, lemonade, and iced tea usually deliver strong margins with low effort. Make sure you have enough cold storage and a clear pricing structure that considers factors such as drink size and source.
Frozen Treats and Desserts: Ice cream bars, novelty pops, slushies, and snow cones perform well in warm weather and at family-heavy events. Choose options that match your freezer capacity and won’t create bottlenecks during payment and handoff.
Kid-Friendly Staples: Simple items like popcorn, pretzels, and ice pops keep parents from overthinking the purchase and speed up ordering. Quick wins matter when your customer is trying to get back to the game or the show.
Signature Items: Add a standout that’s easy to explain and easy to repeat such as a specialty nacho build, loaded fries, or a regional hot dog style. The signature item should use the same base ingredients as your core menu so it doesn’t complicate inventory.
High-Margin Add-Ons: Extra cheese, chili, jalapenos, bacon bits, dipping sauces, and flavored seasonings increase ticket size with minimal labor. Build these into clear upgrade tiers for easy upsell opportunities that customers can choose quickly.
Combos and Bundles: Pair a main item with a drink and a snack to simplify ordering and drive volume. Bundles help you forecast inventory and keep the line moving because customers aren’t building custom orders from scratch.
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6. Purchase Concession Stand Supplies and Equipment
Unlike a full restaurant kitchen, a concession stand relies on compact, transport-ready supplies and equipment that can handle short bursts of heavy volume. Your equipment list should be driven by the menu you plan to run, the rules at your venues, and the service speed you need to maintain when foot traffic spikes.
Concession Stand Structure: Choose a cart, trailer, pop-up booth, or permanent stand that fits your typical sites and meets local requirements. Factor in storage, weather protection, and a clear service window layout so staff can work without crowding.
Primary Cooking and Heating Equipment: Select equipment that matches your top sellers. Common picks include a hot dog roller/steamer, popcorn machine, nacho cheese warmer, pretzel warmer, or griddle. Prioritize models designed for commercial duty cycles and quick recovery between orders.
Hot Holding and Display: Use heat lamps, holding cabinets, or heated merchandisers to keep product at safe temperatures without drying it out. Display matters in concessions, as customers buy what they can see, as long as it holds well.
Refrigeration and Freezer Capacity: Plan cold storage for ingredients and beverages with an undercounter refrigerator, reach-in unit, chest freezer, or ice well. Secure latching and stable shelving are important if you’re moving equipment between sites.
Prep and Storage Smallwares: Outfit the back-of-house with stainless prep surfaces, cutting boards, sheet pans, scoops, ladles, tongs, and portion tools that standardize output. Use NSF food storage containers, labels, and date-marking supplies to control waste and stay inspection-ready.
Power, Fuel, and Electrical: Size your generator, inverter/battery system, or power hookups to your equipment load with headroom for startup surge. Build a safe electrical kit: heavy-duty extension cords, GFCI protection where needed, and proper fuel storage for propane or gasoline.
Condiment and Topping Station: Set up pumps, squeeze bottles, shakers, and portioned toppings to speed service and protect food cost. Keep the station organized so guests don’t bottleneck the pickup area.
7. Acquire Concession Stand Permits
Getting the right licenses and permits is a required step for operating a concession stand legally and passing inspections with minimal disruption. Exact requirements vary by local (city/county), state, and federal rules, so you’ll need to verify what applies to your stand type, menu, and service locations. At a minimum, most operators will need a business license to conduct sales in a specific jurisdiction, along with health department approval tied to how food is stored, prepared, held, and served. Skipping paperwork can lead to fines, event removal, or a shutdown mid-season, so treat compliance as part of your launch plan.
Business License: A business license allows you to legally operate within a city or county and is typically obtained through the local government. This often goes hand-in-hand with registering your business name (DBA) and choosing an entity structure.
Food Service Permit: Concession stands that handle food or beverages generally need approval from the health department, which may include plan review and an inspection. Expect requirements around safe food temperatures, handwashing access, sanitizer use, and ingredient sourcing.
Mobile Food Vendor Permit: If you operate at fairs, festivals, school functions, or rotating sites, you may need a mobile vending permit or temporary event permits. Some events also require you to submit paperwork in advance and meet certain operational rules.
Sales Tax Permit: Most states require registration to collect and remit sales tax on prepared foods and beverages. This is usually handled through the state’s department of revenue or taxation authority.
Fire and Safety Approvals: If you use propane, generators, fryers, or other heat sources, you may need fire department permits or inspections. These approvals can also be required by venues even when local rules are less strict.
Zoning, Event, and Site Permissions: Even with the right permits, you may still need written permission to vend at a specific location or event. Confirm vendor agreements, operating hours, and exclusivity rules before you commit inventory and labor.
8. Make a Concession Stand Website
A website gives your concession stand a reliable, always-open storefront where customers, event organizers, and partners can find you, learn what you serve, and understand how to book or locate you. If your site is slow, confusing, or out of date, people might assume the operation will be the same. Your design and user experience should match your brand and make key information easy to access, especially on mobile. Done well, a website also becomes a marketing tool you control, supporting advertising, search visibility, and repeat business.
Mobile-First Design: Build for mobile devices first, with fast load times, readable menus, and tap-friendly buttons. Most customers will check hours, locations, and offerings from a phone while they’re already on the move.
Clear Branding and Visual Identity: Use your logo, colors, and photography to mirror how your stand looks in person and reinforce recognition at events. Consistent visuals and branding also make your social posts, signage, and packaging feel like one cohesive operation.
Core Pages: Include a simple menu, an “about” section, and a contact page that makes it easy for organizers to reach you. If you rotate locations, add a schedule page or location updates so customers know where to find you.
Local SEO: Optimize titles, headings, and page descriptions so your business appears when people search for concessions in your area. Basic SEO features such as clean site structure, fast performance, and location-specific terms help search engines show your business to ready-to-buy customers.
Content and Customer Engagement Tools: Use blog posts, newsletters, and social media integration to keep customers in the loop and build repeat traffic. Sharing event recaps, seasonal specials, and upcoming schedules gives people a reason to return between events.
9. Market Your Concession Stand Business
Marketing a concession stand revolves around securing the right locations and making sure customers recognize you quickly when they’re ready to buy. Since sales often happen in short bursts at games, fairs, and festivals, you need clear messaging, consistent visuals, and a repeatable way to tell people where you’ll be next. Strong promotion also helps with the business side, as event organizers are more likely to book vendors that look established and can draw a crowd.
Social Media and Location Updates: Post your weekly schedule, drink specials, and short behind-the-scenes content that shows quality and personality. Prioritize clear location updates, strong photos, and quick replies to messages so customers know you’re active and reliable.
In-Person Events and Community Presence: Attend vendor fairs, chamber of commerce events, and community gatherings where organizers and sponsors are present.
Partnerships with Local Businesses: Cross-promote with schools, sports leagues, breweries, parks, or family entertainment venues to lock in recurring opportunities. A shared promotion, such as a game-day bundle or a coupon exchange, helps both businesses attract more foot traffic.
Clear Signage: Invest in clear menu boards and high-visibility banners so customers can decide before they reach the window. Some of the best marketing at an event is a line that moves quickly and a stand that looks professional.
Reviews, Photos, and Social Proof: Collect reviews from private event clients and organizers, and showcase them alongside high-quality photos of your setup and best-selling items. Proof of reliability matters when someone is trusting you to serve a crowd.
Promotions Built for Speed: Use simple deals like combos, upgrade tiers, or limited-time specials that increase ticket totals without creating custom-order chaos. If a promotion slows production, it costs more than it earns.
10. Hire and Train Concession Stand Staff
The way you hire and train your concession stand staff helps determine your stand's speed, food safety, and profit during the busiest parts of an event. Because concession service runs in short, high-pressure rushes, your team needs clear roles, tight routines, and consistent standards. Training should reflect your operation, so new hires can perform on day one instead of learning mid-shift. Strong staff retention also matters as experienced crew members are more likely to reduce waste, improve guest experience, and make upselling feel natural rather than forced.
Food Safety and Temperature Control: Teach time/temperature standards for hot holding, cold storage, reheating, and discard procedures, along with proper glove use and handwashing. A single mistake can trigger an inspection issue or a product loss during a rush.
Equipment Operation and Troubleshooting: Train on safe startup/shutdown, cleaning, and basic fixes for common issues like tripped breakers, low propane, jammed dispensers, or temperature recovery. The goal is to avoid a service stoppage when the line is longest.
Cash Handling and POS Accuracy: Cover payment flow, receipt habits, tip protocols, and end-of-shift cash-out procedures to reduce errors.
Cleaning, Sanitation, and Closing Tasks: Build a checklist for surfaces, utensils, sanitizer buckets, waste removal, and restocking so the stand resets fast for the next service window. Consistent closing routines also extend equipment life and reduce next-day setup time.
Retention and Accountability: Keep quality staff by offering predictable scheduling when possible, clear expectations, and simple performance feedback tied to speed, accuracy, and professionalism. Cross-training and small incentives during peak season can help you hold onto your best staff when demand is highest.
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With the right permits, a clear online presence, and a marketing plan that keeps locations and organizers in the loop, a stand can develop a repeat schedule that turns seasonal opportunities into reliable revenue. Start simple, execute cleanly, and refine with real numbers, and your concession stand business can grow from one strong setup into a steady, scalable foodservice brand.
