Concession Facilities - Increase Your F&B Revenues

For many golf course and driving range owners the question is not simply whether to offer food and beverage at their facility, but how much. Options include low-maintenance vending machines, a snack bar with more substantial offerings or a full-service restaurant.

The goal of any business is to keep the customer in or at the store as long as possible. If you do not offer any food, you are almost encouraging people to go down the road to eat. If you have food and drinks and can keep customers there to eat, then you just might get them to hit another bucket of balls or buy another drink. Obviously this will increase your gross sales and should add money to your bottom line.

I know for many people, uttering the words 'food industry' brings to mind images of permits, licenses, special fees, inventory, additional personnel, more space and expensive kitchen equipment. None of these are why golf course managers or driving range owners get into the golf business. Though adding refreshments to the range may require some permits and additional initial costs, how many and how much depends on the scope of the operation.

If you are space challenged and are looking for the least amount of headaches possible then a vending machine would be the answer for you. Vending machines do not require any permits and you can set them up in a number of different ways limiting the initial cash out of your pocket.

The easiest way is to have the company provide the machine and the product and you get a commission off what is sold. There are also options where you can buy the machine and have the company place the product. The benefit of vending machines, he adds, is that they typpically do not require permits, much space or a lot of maintenance.

The next step would be to move up to providing fountain drinks. This will need more space as well as drainage. In addition, you are going to have to be able to get water to the fountain. This could require some construction costs and there will be permits involved. However in the long run it will be worth it.

Once you have installed the fountain, the transition to a candy rack and grab-and-go foods is very easy. In addition to the potato chips and energy bars, the suppliers are offering some very good prepackaged sandwiches and hamburgers that you just heat in a microwave. These products really have a good quality now and there is no major kitchen equipment required.
To help maximize food revenues, golf courses and driving ranges can serve golfers outdoors rather than waiting for them to come inside and eat by purchasing a grill.

People enjoy hitting range balls during their lunch hour. With the purchase of an outdoor grill to place near your range you can sell the smell of lunch. You can then come up with different lunch specials including the food and range balls. Prior to purchasing the grill, check with local officials about any permitting that may need to be completed first. Permitting varies across the country.