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This topic comprises 4 pages: 1 2 3 4
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Topic: Drive-in theaters charging $5 fee to bring in your own food
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 08-10-2007 05:11 AM
quote: Mike Heenan
People who sneak in food to theaters and complain about prices....
This is where the actual reason for outside food and drink being prohibited should be explained to the public that it's more of an insurance/safety factor than the conc/cost factor.
(REVIEW: outside food and drink is prohibited due to that if a patron slips and falls on food or containers that isn't being sold on the theatre premises, that theatre's insurance wont pay the claim for damages to the person involved...)
Also, this actually goes for some DrIns on the premise of doing your own cooking in the yard. Remember when Drive-In's allowed tailgate parties towards the back of the yard - which included open fire "bbq" grills and the same?
Guess, there were a few cars that would explode in the yards due to unsealing gas caps and customers being burned by flying ashes if the wind came up causing the owners to pay dearly for damages since their insurances wouldn't accept the claims sent in by the victims.
So actually, one can see why drive-ins are charging the fee mainly to discourage outside food/drink simply due to that if that food they bring in happens to be tainted to where the patron gets sick, he can try to come back to the property for claims of food poisoning..plus also - they toss the emptied containers out on the field and someone aces on it and hits the ground..the same applies as mentioned in the REVIEW section.
Like said before: the conc people had better beef up their cooking styles and use better quality of food to compete with outside food and drink so the patron will be placed a choice of which food has the better quality for taste: McD's frozen horsemeat, microwaved leftover specials, or having good ol homestyle cooking for the hamburgers, hotdogs sausages and the like..
-Monte
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Jack Ondracek
Film God
Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 08-10-2007 10:54 AM
quote: Damien Taylor
if the price is right people will probably choose home-made over Maccie d's. However its hard to get prices down when you don't buy in quantities like Ronald.
We don't even try to make comparisons between our product and that from a "fast food" outlet, so price isn't one of our concerns. Have you seen what a McDonald's burger looks like lately? Open one up... meat-like substance; small, plain bun, dab of mustard and ketchup squirted in the center (not spread out), one pickle chip.... yummy!
If you ever had your folks cook up a big burger on the barbecue, lay it on an oversized bun, then send you off to the kitchen, where just about everything you'd want to put on it was laid out, you'd be close to what we send over the counter every day. Out here, a container with a burger and fries is FULL. I don't know what fast food place anyone could compare our burgers to, but it sure wouldn't be McD's. Yeech... that'd be an insult!
The "alternative activities" permit is intriguing! ![[evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
Good evening, folks. That'll be $15 for the two of you. And, will you be engaging in any activities besides watching the movie tonight? that'll be an additional $10 for our special "leave us alone" placard. Thank you... enjoy your evening!
![[Razz]](tongue.gif) ![[beer]](graemlins/beer.gif) ![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
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Jack Ondracek
Film God
Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 08-12-2007 08:27 PM
quote: Bill Enos
So, you guys who are raving about the food you serve, are those burgers going directly from the grill to the customer as soon as they are done, or are they languishing on the grill till needed or placed on the bun and wrapped to wait? I'm betting on the two latter.
That's a little harsh, Bill. A look at our web sites would have answered that question for you.
But since you asked... NO, our kitchen gets the order for one of our "gut grenades" as soon as the POS computer finishes the transaction. We grill the burger to order, put it on a toasted FRESH bun, add all the fixings and send it out. We do not have warmers for anything on the customer line, so all grilled and fried orders are started when paid for.
Incidentally, you might find it interesting that probably half of the drive-ins around do things this way. Even many of the cafeteria-style drive-ins cook their major kitchen items to order during all but the busiest of times. Getting a languishing gut bomb isn't often likely, even there.
Those that do fix their food in advance, then leave it on the line all night probably deserve the criticism they get, but those places are few and far between... at least around this part of the woods.
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Jack Ondracek
Film God
Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 08-12-2007 10:30 PM
Yeah... I never much cared for the "mandatory gratuity"... seems like an oxymoron.
Bill, we used to have a lot of those drive-ins you mention. All are now gone. They used pre-popped corn and pre-filled the cups, leaving them under heat lights all night. Their burgers were worse than you mention. I once got a case of patties that were intended for one of them. They were pre-cooked, with brushed-on smoke-flavored char-grill strips. They basically pulled out a patty, nuked it, slapped it on a bun & wrapped it. You got to squirt on your own ketchup/mustard... yum! They got the hamburger that was intended for me. That must have been interesting for them!!
At one such drive-in, I saw hot dogs that were pre-packaged in plastic. You pulled it out of the fridge and nuked it... like some of the quickie-marts do.
Some folks that have these cafeteria places say they have to cook in advance to deal with the crowds. We always felt our crowds were due to our NOT cooking that way. Still, on busy nights we have lines out both doors, and waits can go upwards of 20 minutes or so for large kitchen orders. We give them restaurant-style coaster pagers so they don't have to wait around. Still, the reason for our success has created issues that frequenly see us looking for ways to improve efficiency. It's a nice problem to have, I guess... but still frustrating.
Barry might chime in here, too. I think his operation is a lot like mine. He dealt with his overflow by adding a concession trailer. I'm trying to convince my wife this might be something to look at, but I'm a bit behind the curve so-far.
And yes... before anyone asks... we eat our own food... probably way too much of it!
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