The Importance Of A Good Snack Bar to A Winning Wrestling Event

I have complained often and vociferously about the lack of onions for my hot dogs at wrestling shows. In fact, I have verbalized that preference so regularly that it has become more of a running gag than an actual fact. Truth be told though, "onions for my hot dogs" has become a metaphor for, "have a well rounded snack bar at your wrestling show," and that simple rule can make the difference between a good show and a great show.

Wrestling promotions are very modularized profit centers. Ticket sales produce the majority of any individual show's income. The price of admission is calculated to strike a balance between the need of fans to find cheap, high quality entertainment, and the need of the promoter to meet and cover all expenses to the point of turning a profit after having done so.

Raffles, such as 50/50 pot or special prize raffles are another potential source of income where profit ensues if the intake is more than the outgo. Prizes donated by a gimmick vendor such as myself or the young fellow who sells action figures can reduce overhead for a raffle all the way to zero, creating a guaranteed profit center.

Promotion oriented gimmicks such as buttons, tee shirts, hats, coffee cups and etc are another excellent profit center, but are overhead intense since they involve the purchase of specially designed goods with no real assurance of a return.

With the exception of ticket sales, a promotion can live without all of the above, but there is one profit center without which a promotion cannot expect to draw fans more than once. Without exception, every promotion needs a snack bar. And it had better be a good one.

Fans almost universally come hungry to wrestling. They hunger for excitement. They hunger for diversity (different kinds of wrestling), and they hunger for good food.

The Ultimate Cafe comes to mind as one of the best snack bars in Gulf Coast Wrestling. Not only good hot dogs are served, but fresh hamburgers, nachos and a variety of different snack foods enough to please any palate. Their food is HOT, first and foremost. It comes with a well stocked condiment table that is easily accessible, and yes, there are onions for the hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as relish and other goodies. Fans come to Ultimate Wrestling knowing that supper awaits, that food is inexpensive and that it is created safely and enthusiastically.

I recall an SPW show in Defuniak Springs where the snack bar served barbecue sandwiches so elegant I bought 4 of them. On the same menu was served a honey mustard chicken sandwich that Linda took an instant liking to. Erick ate three of them. The SPW snack bar is like that. They serve hot chocolate, which I drink by the quart when it is cold, and maintain an ample supply of candy bars, which I should not be buying but which I do anyhow, and, of course, hot dogs with onions diced into little cubes of flavor that make everything OK when I am starving.

AWF Chipley serves both hot dogs and hamburgers (the latter pre-prepared) along with popcorn (a favorite of mine) and uniquely, cup soda, rather than can soda. One recent show they opened the snack bar to much fanfare (ribbing me) about onions. On that particular night my hunger was a hamburger hunger and I bought several, which I generously populated with onions. Later on, when Linda got her hot dogs, she predictably ordered them sans onions. When I declined onions for her hot dogs, the ribbing stepped up tenfold. It was all in fun, but more seriously, that snack bar had what I needed for the evening, including several different of my favorite candy bars and a variety of chips.

Kind and quality of snack bar food affects my mood. If I am hungry, I am not as "into" the show as I would be after a good hot dog. There are several ways for a promotion to maximize the "snack bar experience." One way is to offer more than one variation on hot dogs. Chili dogs are tasty, especially with onions, but messy and run the risk of spilling chili on one's shirt. Cheese dogs offer a unique variation. Chili cheese dogs with onions or (please excuse the expression) ultimate dogs offer a meal on a bun. Starting at a dollar basic dog (charging more for basic dog turns me off right away), a snack bar might add ingredients at 50 cents per: starting with chili, then adding grated Cheddar for the cheese. Just like that, a promotion has a $2 hot dog that I, as an average fan would buy in multiples.

It is said that an army travels on its stomach. I submit that an audience of wrestling fans does also. A well stocked snack bar operated by personable individuals will reap solid profits for the promotion, profits which can be plowed back into payroll for wrestlers and support staff, and the "special of the month" next month at the snack bar.

Be creative, be inventive, be personable at your snack bar and you will reap rewards. Fail to provide a good snack bar and fans' stomachs will not be the only thing grumbling.

Snack bars can makes a difference.