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Looking forward to another Balloon Fiesta in Oct, and would like recommendations for food vendors at the Fiesta itself, especially for breakfast. Tried searching the Forum for this topic without any luck.
There's been a brouhaha about upping rates for food vendors, and a lot of the mainstays have said they won't be submitting booths.
The food was ridiculously expensive before rates were increased, so I expect it will be even more so during this fiesta.
That said, maybe there will be a whole lot of new blood (and perhaps even kinda gourmet) vendors at this year's. Seems to me if I'm going to spend $10 on a smallish breakfast burrito it ought to have something exotic in it (and not like city health department exotic either).
Suffice it to say, there's probably no good data to be had for this year's fiesta food. It's a brave new world.
Looking forward to another Balloon Fiesta in Oct, and would like recommendations for food vendors at the Fiesta itself, especially for breakfast. Tried searching the Forum for this topic without any luck.
Many thanks,
I have not seen any specific comments about vendors in this forum in the past.
I use to be on a balloon crew, on a chase crew, too many early days. I still chase and photograph them, after they have launched...
Some vendors who have done the Fiesta for 20+ years, have bowed out. I know Perico's has.
I have been waiting to see a list of the vendors or a list of the vendors not participating this year...
Rich
Rent hike worries Balloon Fiesta vendors
Food vendors might not be signing contract
Published : Monday, 30 Jul 2012, 9:59 AM MDT
Quote:
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Dozens of food vendors say the cost of doing business at Balloon Fiesta is about to skyrocket. If vendors agree to the new conditions, about a third of what gross profits the vendors make will go to a new management company from out-of-state. A new company, just hired to manage Balloon Fiesta vendors, wants to collect 30% of every food vendor's gross profits.
Fiesta flat-rate fees start at $3,350 for a 10-foot frontage and go up to $11,050 for larger, more prominent spots. But many vendors assumed they would pay far more in rent now that the contract includes the 30-percent-of-sales stipulation.
Albuquerque city councilors want a representative of the Balloon Fiesta to explain why a dozen New Mexico food vendors decided to avoid the event this year.
The request surfaced at Monday’s council meeting, when several councilors expressed concern about the acrimonious negotiations between the fiesta and some food vendors. At least a dozen New Mexico food vendors said through a spokesman last week that they will sit out the 2012 festival after their efforts to renegotiate the cost of booth rentals failed.
“I’d really like to hear an explanation” of what happened, City Councilor Brad Winter said Monday.
The city of Albuquerque owns the balloon-launch site, but the fiesta itself is run by a private group. It’s not clear what, if anything, the City Council can do about the fiesta’s basic operations.
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 08-23-2012 at 05:37 PM..
We'll let you sell your food, but we're taking 30% off the top for being nice and letting you sell here.
Funny. To me, it sounds a an awful lot more like the mob when I hear "We'll let you sell your house, but we're taking 3% off the top for being nice and letting you sell using our cartel's network."
Quote:
This can not have a positive effect on the people visiting the Balloon Fiesta.
The space fees for food vendors is $3,350 per 10 foot space or 30% of gross sales, whichever is greater. There is also addition fees of $220 for that space and sales tax. From this PDF document: http://www.balloonfiesta.com/uploads...e%20letter.pdf
Balloon Fiesta will be from Oct 6 to Oct 14, 2012, nine days...
This can not have a positive effect on the people visiting the Balloon Fiesta.
The process of charging vendors rent?
Actually, from what they are saying, it is the process of racheting up the rent for vendors by unreasonable
percentage rates. They are saying that they need to recover the general cost of operating the Balloon Fiesta.
This is nothing but the tactic of having "someone else pay" for the benefit that you are getting.
You see this in government all the time where a benefit is promised that "someone else will pay for."
If the cost of running the Fiesta went up by 10% then raise vendor rents by 10% and ticket prices likewise.
The thing is; I have no idea if prices for food vendors is in line with stuff like the State Fair,
the Indianapolis 600, the Kentucky Derby and other marquee events that some city hosts.
Maybe 30% is standard, but I doubt it.
Actually, from what they are saying, it is the process of racheting up the rent for vendors by unreasonable
percentage rates.
Based on the number of food service attendees, I guess we'll see just how many consider it reasonable after all. If they're fully subscribed, then I think it was fair.
Quote:
They are saying that they need to recover the general cost of operating the Balloon Fiesta.
And they do. Since the increase is essentially a "windfall profits" fee, only assessed when a food vendor is cleaning up (selling ~>$1400 food/day), it's a really difficult position to argue that you won't be able to make a profit.
Quote:
This is nothing but the tactic of having "someone else pay" for the benefit that you are getting.
You see this in government all the time where a benefit is promised that "someone else will pay for."
I fail to see how it wasn't that when higher-volume food vendors pay a lower percentage of sales in rent than lower-volume food vendors. In many ways this system is more fair.
Quote:
If the cost of running the Fiesta went up by 10% then raise vendor rents by 10% and ticket prices likewise.
Plenty more people will clog up the roads outside the B.F. park if admission prices get too high, creating a net increase to the cost of operation (think police, traffic, etc.). So I don't think that's a fix at all.
Quote:
The thing is; I have no idea if prices for food vendors is in line with stuff like the State Fair,
the Indianapolis 600, the Kentucky Derby and other marquee events that some city hosts.
Maybe 30% is standard, but I doubt it.
Seems to me foreknowledge of what's standard should come before decrying what's unfair.
Maybe they had a waiting list for willing vendors for this year's Fiesta and they jacked up vendor fees so that demand could equal supply, and all the sound and fury you're hearing is sour grapes from entitled food service operators (many of whom may show up anyway). Or maybe it's a miscalculation, and the 50% of hangers-on will get 200% the business, laughing all the way to the bank despite the higher fees.
In any case, I think you'll see a surprising number of vendors who end up doing almost exactly $11,000 in sales. The burden of proof for proving sales in excess of $11,000 is going to be steep enough that I think there will be some fibbing going on- and that is the biggest problem with tying rents to self-reported revenues (that and collecting the excess post-event, after a vendor skips town).
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