The tables I would think are a must. As I was reading your post ChicagostyleDog I remembered all or some of my many trips to Lowes and many of those involved a friend that was a specialist in one of the trades. Like an electrician, or plumber, whatever. We don t currently have any vendors at Lowes and if we did I d certainly have bought us a dog and a coke, and sat down to eat same. Here s my point if two guys working on a project or a guy and his wife are going to take a break from a project road trip, one of them is going to start wanting to make notes on the project, or items they need or  oh hey when we get back to the job we need to do this& .. Point is if you provided a sketchpad and a marker or just covered the top of the table with butcher paper people would draw, make notes, make list, and in general relax for a moment. Now I don t think your going to have them hanging out all day but I think it d be much more enjoyable for them. They ll also want to take their doodles with them so keep that in mind, when you pick your medium. Just a thought.
The Doctor of BBQ
http://www.DrofBBQ.com
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Ronnie, what are the Street Eats fees? It it a one time fee or paid on a monthly basis? Do you also pay rent and/or a percentage to Home Depot? If so, what are their terms(deposit, rent, contractual obligations such as mandated or required hours of operation)? The hot dog vendors at the Illinois Home Depots are all indoor stands(no propane). Since your cart will be outside, where will it be located? There are few, if any hot dog vendors here on Roadfood who have as much first hand knowledge of Street Eats and Home Depot as yourself. Sharing this type of info would be greatly appreciated by many current and prospective vendors. Thank you in advance for any information and the best of luck to you.

CSD

While the amount of foot traffic passing the cart is a major factor, a place for customers to sit and enjoy their food will increase the opportunity to capture more business. If Home Depot will allow benches or picnic tables in close proximity to the cart, you’ll see an increase in business and people observing others eating food is free advertising. It’s easier for me to eat before I enter a Home Depot. I don’t like to eat in my car. Once I’ve shopped and my hands are full of bags or 2X4’s, I’m less likely to eat on my way out, unless I can sit down or take the bags to the car and return to the cart. You’ll want to catch most of your traffic going in. Having tables or benches will help catch customers leaving, because once they’ve gone back to their car, they’re gone.

CSD

Born in Chicago
Escaped to Wisconsin
Business Instructor
http://www.hotdogu.com

This may be a dumb question but if your doing a Home Depot I’d think your going through Street Eats right? didn’t they offer some numbers of foot traffic on the weekend or weekdays?
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