Week 2: Day 2

I've been working steadfastly on the Zobo's Hobo Pies enterprise! I emailed Mr. Ledyard and Cuddeback yesterday, and they have confirmed with me for next week. Which means I'll be doing business at Drew School on May 21-22!! I'm so excited, and the Facebook page I created is getting more and more "likes" and recognition.
Tonight, I am having an official taste test dinner. I have invited my family and friends over, and I am going to just be whipping up some of my potential menu items for them to try. This way, I can get some honest feedback, and I can also practice consistency. Many people are unaware of it, but in the restaurant business, one of the most important factors when it comes to preparing food is consistency. If a customer returns for a dish they had in the past, they are expecting to receive that exact dish. Same taste, smell, portion and appearance. So it is vital that I practice actually cooking the hobo pies, and portioning the same amount of fillings, cooking them the same amount of time, and maintaining a consistent, delicious taste among all of them. 
In order to prepare for tonight, and next week, I made a trip to Safeway to check out the prices I'm looking at. I would go to Costco (it's cheaper, and they sell things in bulk), but I don't have a costco card :( 
So I bought materials for only tonight; this means I bought everything I would need food-wise for next week, but just a smaller amount. I bought enough materials for 6 people, and my total came out to $63.98. Thank goodness for my safeway club card, because it saved me around $10!! To be perfectly honest, I probably purchased a little bit too much food anyways. Which is good. I'm in the price range I was expecting to be in. 
Zenia also emailed me her business plan today. She said herself, though, "This should help you get started. As you read this you will see my menu had changes as well as my locations etc.. Financials definitely changed. Keep in mind when you create a business plan it is never the one you use.  There will be many more." 
So far in creating my business plan, I've estimated that the groceries alone should be around $500 for two days of business (a.k.a. the two days at Drew). This excludes paper plates, napkins, forks, knives, cooler (w/ ice!!!), propane for stove, etc...so we'll see! it's going to be a pricey endeavor, but if I make any profit at all, I'll consider this entire project a huge success. My next steps are to take photos of my test run tonight, to post them to the facebook page tomorrow. That'll really get people excited!! I also need to design a logo and possibly look into purchasing a few more hobo makers. 
That's all for now...talk to ya all soon!