Hey guys,

I have recently returned from Relaoded LAN, and have brought back with me some thoughts.

They have a shop thing that sold things like hot pies and hot dogs, and i was wondering if this sort of food (more substantial than chips / chocolate / muffin) would appeal to people?


I'm also welcoming of any/all ideas to make the RespawnCafe better! (including coffee! nomnomnom :3)

let me know! and i'll see what i cna do

-tank

Hot food definitely appeals to me. Go for it!

Things like hotdogs, pies and the like especially when the muchies hit around 1-2am would be really nice =)

+1 for the hot food idea.

Things like hot dogs, pies, sausage rolls, etc. are cheap, so they're easy to make profit from (or at least break even).

Hot food :3

The respawn community should help construct that food 'directory' a user was working on. It's a pain in the butt trying to find a nice food place, especially if you're vego/vegan.

Obviously you need to break even, and a little profit is fine but charging $3 when it cost you $1 to make is perhaps a little outrageous. $1.50 when it cost you $1 to make I would be happy with (or something in that vicinity).

Just don't want corner shop pricing with 200% markup is all.

That's how Respawn operates - we keep the costs as close to cost as possible.

We provide it to make the LAN more awesome, not to profiteer from!

Labour, venue space, infrastructure (ie pie warmers don't grow on trees), transportation/logistics, time spent by people who would otherwise have better things to do.

All kinda tricky to quantify the value of accurately, but to be honest a couple of bucks extra per item is entirely reasonable given all of these things. It's easy to forget that if you buy a pie off someone they've got to stand there all day selling pies to people when they could be paid to do the same at a corner store (who would probably charge you more for the pie anyway).

So I wouldn't think of that as profit. I'd think of it as money that tank earned with hard work - work that she would be paid for elsewhere - and has graciously decided to pour back into community for nothing.

(edit: also, I feel I should mention that Respawn is probably the only 400 person event I've ever been to where food/drink is so cheap - try $8 for a bottle of water at a rave. THAT is profiteering.)

OMG COFFFEE!!! Finally.. a warm drink to keep me awake through the long, cold hours of gaming!

Hot Food is a great idea though, especially since I don't have a car.. so once Ping closes up, all I have to keep me warm is pizza.. which isn't much for a 29 hour event

Tbh, I'd be happy spending $3 on a pie/w sauce, hot dog/w sauce, etc.

Maybe Worthless' mum doesn't give him enough pocket money.

(just a note; I make NOTHING from respawn I get a free t-shirt, and free entry, and thats about it ;P)


The pricing for sure would be reasonable. At Reloaded hot dogs were $4, which i thought was a tad expensive. I'm not yet 100% sure of costings, so i can't give a specific idea of how much things will cost. It will, however, not be over the top. (look at the price of our cans... Reloaded had can's for $2.20, while our can price is STILL at $1. which is probably the cheapest can of drink anywhere! )

I expect the price to be between $2 and $3. (this takes into account the cost of the pie/sausage roll/hotdog+bun, the pie/hot dog warmer, etcetc.)

Honestly I have to pay the same as you guys, so it's not going to be an extreme price.

The baked goods were the same, they are exactly the same things you would buy from a cafe (I know this for fact.) from $3 upward, but we were selling them for $2 which hardly gave us any profit.

Coffee etc would be perhaps $1 a cup (seeing as i wont be getting a cupachino machine or anything, it will more likely be a perculator/drialator. still better than instant, no? ) and we would also have tea and hot chocolate (nomnomnomnom).

Thanks all for your input It definately seems like it would be a welcome idea, and i will start to look into it more closely


-tank

Hot food sounds like a great idea.. though perhaps I can suggest that the "Respawn/Tank Cafe" is moved from the entrance to a larger area? I'm thinking perhaps near/behind the express check in that was at V17 (so you could just move it forward after say midday) or in the alcove as there appeared to be a large unused area at the top.

From last lan it seemed you were a little cramped and adding a pie warmer/hot dog assembly area is going to make you feel like you are in a shoebox

Coffee sounds like a good idea, but again maybe you can hire a coffee urn? The one i used to have held quite a few litres of coffee which ment refilling was a once every couple of hours.. definately ++ on the busy-ness as it means your not standing there for a half hour every hour refilling it.

On a side note: Have you thought of providing healthier options? I know 80% of people don't want to healthy foods but perhaps you could look into providing pack sandwiches/fruit salad? I'm fairly sure you could pick up the triangle sandwich packs fairly cheap and then its just a matter of making them the night before/during the day and popping them into the fridge. And Fruit salad is easy as!

And if you have the space, maybe respawn can provide a microwave next time? I don't know if one was provided at V17 but i know it would be handy as, not only for those that would like to bring their own food, but also for those who wanna make popcorn for movie watching

I was of course referring to mark-up, not price. $2-3 is fine.

Not a coffee person (unless its iced coffee) but I am sure other lanners would appreciate it.

Also, +1 to above for the microwave idea.

Sandwiches and fruit salads are cold food.. I'm sure if people really want healthier options they could bring them on the day?

+1 for microwave

Plus i don't like sandwitches not made by myself because no one else knows just how you like your sammich!

The only concern I see with that, whilst it could be done. Is the mess that follows. Lanner's tend to be a messy bunch, and the amount of rubbish on floors, split drinks etc makes it a little prohibitive. Particularly when one lanner nukes their easymac and leaves a god awful mess in the microwave because it exploded everywhere and left cheese all over the inside of the microwave.

Edit: Who cleans up after the lanner that exploded cheese in the microwave?

Probally a very sad and mad tank in that case

I don't think Tank would have to clean it up.. if the microwave is beside where all the food is anyway then you can SEE who makes the mess and they should clean it up.. alternatively you can have the microwave behind a desk and only certain people operate it therefore making it the responsibility of whoever decided to explode the mac and cheese in the first place.

As for comments surrounding making your own sandwiches, I personally don't enjoy eating foods that are off from not being in the fridge.. if i bring sandwiches to lan (with say mayo or ham) and have no where to put them then they go off.. having the ability to purchase sandwiches at lan that have been in the fridge is much more preferable to getting sick from eating warm meats... I understand that not everyone enjoys all sandwiches but it really wouldn't cost alot to make a half dozen of each type of sandwich... Alternatively, if you want to make your own sandwiches then that is up to you.. as i said, it's a healthier option and it might get a bigger response than people are thinking.

most ppl at a lans dont want healthy food its all about the greasy

I second this motion.
To the point where I always get the doublebacon (or if you take my ticket from last Respawn, douchebag) pizza, purely because it is the most unhealthy thing there

Douchebag pizza...

Yeah, and I was getting one for a friend aswell, so it said 2xDouchebag, so I was thinking "am I really twice the douchebag then anyone else here". Muscles pointed it out to me

I apologise for my rushed handwriting

I know from experience that this will end in failure.

We gave people open access to a kitchen with a microwave at AWL once. Not a single surface in that kitchen did not have either cheese or salsa on it. and that was a 1 day event with ~50 people.


On a more constructive note, I'd like to suggest Up&go. breakfasty goodness.

Up&go are great, I have them all the time for breakfast, but after a night of gaming and cold air coming through that damn door near the stairs, all I really want is a nice warm coffee to just kick start me again.
I guess I take back my +1 for microwave, I failed to think of the mess it could make and the responsibility that people don't ever bother owning up to when it comes to that..
So, taking my microwave back to +0, coffee is now at +2 (don't care if its bad coffee... as long as there is cafine, milk and sugar warmed up in a cup, i'm happy.. except maybe if the cafine is from a Red Bull or Mother can..)

Although.. the sound of nuked bigmac does sound very tempting right about now...

+1 for up&go's, theyre the best thing to get you going in the morning. I would buy a couple on the sunday morning for sure

Actually up&go's would be super easy! plus cause they are UHT they would last forever if i dont sell them all.

what flavour? I always used to drink chocolate. nom.

yeah up and gos are awesome choc is your friend

Strawberry ftw

Microwave is not that big of an issue. We have a small 40 player LAN in Bendigo with open access to a microwave for the whole weekend and it is hardly ever left messy. Keep paper towels by it and instruct people to clean up their own mess.

Hopefully they appreciate the use of it so much that they are happy to clean up mess they make.

chocolate is a pretty safe bet. who doesnt like chocolate?

Hotdogs required

+ 1 for sharks.
hot veg*n food would be aaamazing

I guess if i have a pie warmer i can get some vegetable pasties? is that what you mean?

I'd like to believe you but...

Apply that logic to the men's toilets at respawn and extrapolate.

Yeah, those toilets get pretty bad after dominos had kicked in...
I really don't imagine the microwave being any better, either.. people will just leave mess and be like "f that, i'm not cleaning up.." and leave it for the next person..

+ 1 hotdogs

all that talk about not making profit and what not.... why dont u guys beef up the price a tad,... and use the newly made 'profits' however small or big, on the next lan's prizes? then you could keep that going.... I know many wouldnt like the higher prices, and i aint talkin about makin the cans go from $1 - $1.50, but just smallish price increases,.... perhaps those profits could be for prizes for fun comps or those random draws u've done in the past...

just a suggestion, no biting my head off pl0x

We do already thanks though

good to see i can contribute my uselessness even to respawn

something to that effect.
i mean I could bring vegan food so as not to over burden you guys in both cost and stress (coz i'll eat it coz it's amazing shit). all you need is keep an area warmed and away from animal guts (and love love love). and then both the vegies and vegans'll be happeh and you can groove on the profitz.

I could keep one row (top? bottom?) in the pie warmer vegan friendly? I don't have enough $ in the food budget to get TWO pie warmers. The pies and pasties are all plastic wrapped though, so it's not like there will be vegan food and meat food cuddling or anything.

Failing that i can organise a microwave perhaps? I think there is a brand that have 'crispy microwave' pasties etc.

I wanna make you guys happy too

(Oh and i'll remember to put veggie burgers on the BBQ shopping list too this time, lulz )


(Pie warmer and Hot Dog warmer are definite go-aheads at this time )

Would top row be okay, because, y'know I've this complex, I have to be number one (lololol, not really, just to err on the side of caution even though the foods won't be spooning). I don't know that we could expect that of you Tank, to get a separate pie warmer just for us... wow, why am I the only one speaking up. C'mon veg guys!
Haha, that'd be good to have veggie burgers. My offer still stands. Let me know if you require any assistance because I can make some half-decent vegan meals and be all like 'here's something I prepared earlier'.

I have a small 2 cup coffee machine at home with steamer, uses ground coffee. Be happy for it to be in use aslong as it stays behind the desk. Would be willing to man it for a while also. Aslong as no one requests a skinny flat white with organic A2 milk with a slight foam blah blah blah. I hate you people at work! haha

I have an ingenious plan for coffee's etc already, but your offer is appreciated

I read that in summary as "I'm a barista that does not like selling coffee the way the customer wants it"... and I thought that was an exclusive complex to customer call center workers!

Shit Jeffy, now I want Starbucks.

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1723

cookies and up&go plz

I'll look into cookies, and up& go is alreayd on ym list.


seriously, what flavours?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QID8450YduM