How to run a concession stand

Rules are set locally, so the only reliable answer comes from your county or city health department. Ask them three questions: does our stand need a temporary food establishment permit, does someone on shift need a food handler card, and are pre-packaged-only stands treated differently from ones that cook?

Many leagues get a lighter review when the menu is limited to shelf-stable packaged snacks and canned or bottled drinks. As soon as you add a grill, a hot-dog roller, or a nacho cheese warmer, expect temperature logs, handwashing requirements, and an inspection.

Also clear the stand with whoever owns the facility — the school district, parks department, or league board. They often have their own insurance and cash-handling policies, and sometimes an exclusive beverage contract you have to respect.

The most common mistake is a menu that reads like a diner. Volunteers rotate every few weeks and have to be productive immediately, so keep it to roughly 10–15 items and make most of them grab-and-go: candy, chips, popcorn, bottled water, soda, sports drinks.

Add one or two hot items that hold well and cook in a single step — hot dogs, nachos, soft pretzels. Cold weather sells hot chocolate and coffee; hot weather sells water and frozen treats, often two to three times faster than anything else.

Spirit items (hats, shirts, car magnets) are worth carrying because they never spoil and they carry the best margin per sale.

Work out cost per unit from what you actually paid: case price divided by units in the case. That is the number that tells you whether a $2 item is worth stocking, and it is what lets you report real profit to the board instead of just gross sales.

Then price in round numbers. Whole dollars and clean 50-cent steps mean less change counting, shorter lines, and fewer mistakes from a volunteer doing mental math while twenty people wait. If you plan to accept card and mobile orders, round pricing matters less for math but still helps customers decide fast.

Set your starting stock per item before the first pitch and count what is left at the end. The difference between "sold" and "gone" is how you find spoilage, giveaways, and honest mistakes.

Two-hour shifts with two or three people is the pattern that holds up: long enough to be worth the trip, short enough that parents will still see their kid play. Staff one person on money, one on food, and a third as a floater during the rush between games.

Publish a sign-up link rather than chasing people by text. Ask for a name, a phone number, and the shift — that is all you need — and send a reminder the day before, which is where most no-shows are prevented.

Every shift needs one lead who knows the open and close routine. Post a one-page cheat sheet in the stand: how to turn things on, prices, what to do if someone wants a refund, and who to call.

SimpleShack handles this side directly: shift sign-ups produce a time-limited volunteer code, so a parent taps in with a PIN for their shift and loses access when it ends — no accounts, no shared passwords.

Cash-only stands leave money on the field. Plenty of families arrive without bills, and card and phone payments also raise average order size because nobody is limited by what's in their pocket.

A practical setup is cash plus tap-to-pay on a phone or tablet, with a QR code posted so people can order and pay from the bleachers and just pick up. Venmo works as a low-effort middle ground if your treasurer is comfortable reconciling it.

Whatever you accept, post it on a sign at the window, and decide in advance who is allowed to void or refund an order.

Get there 45–60 minutes early. Turn on hot equipment first since it needs the longest lead time, then stock, then count your starting cash bank — a fixed amount, in small bills and quarters, written down before the first sale.

Put a large, readable price list where the line can see it while they wait; people who decide before they reach the window are the single biggest speed improvement you can make. Keep the top five sellers within arm's reach of whoever is taking money.

Keep a backup plan for spotty field WiFi. SimpleShack keeps taking cash orders offline and syncs them when signal returns, so the line never stops.

Closing is where trust is built or lost. Count the drawer, subtract the starting bank, and compare it to what the stand recorded in sales. The gap — over or short — should be written down every single time, even when it's zero.

Record leftover stock while you're still standing in the stand, not from memory two days later. Combined with your starting counts, that gives you both restock quantities for next game and an honest read on shrinkage.

Send the treasurer a same-night summary: sales by payment method, tips or donations, cash counted, over/short, and anything unusual. SimpleShack's end-of-day close produces exactly that report and can email it before you lock up.

After three or four events you have enough data to stop guessing. Look at sales per game, which items never moved, which sold out early, and which shifts were understaffed.

Cut the dead items — every one you carry is money sitting in a box — and double the stock on anything that sold out before the last inning. If one field or stand consistently outsells another, staff it accordingly.

Keep the numbers somewhere the next volunteer board can find them. The stands that fund a season well are the ones that don't start over from scratch every year.