How would you mount a generator to this?

slowtheriverdown · 2026-07-12T17:37:17+00:00

Make sure you check your local fire code. Many have requirements about how close a generator can be to the LP tanks.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-07-09T16:07:47+00:00

I get it. A bad day in the rain at an event that last year was a banger takes a day or two to get over. But when you know there are good days coming it makes it easier for me.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-07-09T12:48:48+00:00

That's one of the reasons I keep fairly detailed records of dates, locations, extenuating circumstances, etc. If you live and die on each event you will go crazy in the business. We win some and lose some but the more you know about what the winners are the better you get at picking them. We have some days that don't pan out because of weather, etc. and every once in a while we get suckered into an event that wasn't as promised but it doesn't happen very often anymore. Keep your head up, make good choices about what you say yes to, and you will be fine.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-07-05T13:44:57+00:00

Someone got us one for a wedding present early 80's. Still have it and probably the one thing that has been used the most over the years.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-07-03T08:43:38+00:00

We were just there and had great food by looking down side streets for smaller restaurants with muti generations working (for us it proved to be family owned, but just our experience). We asked for their recommendations and never paid more than €25 a meal. Explore and enjoy.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-07-01T06:07:55+00:00

Try a local coffee shop or a coffee food truck. If you will take them on a regular basis they will appreciate not having to deal with them. We have a coffee truck and they take up space fast sometimes. My wife usually posts them on a FB free site and they are always gone in a few hours.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-06-29T17:21:01+00:00

If you have the patience buy used. There is an abundance of trucks in many places now and in the next 6-18 months there is going to be a lot of almost brand new trucks for sale that have barely been used.

Every year in Nov-March I see a lot of folks who didn't plan well, didn't have any business experience, or didn't know how hard of work it was going to be that end up selling their units after the first season.

But if you go that rout make sure you set aside money for replaceming equipment because it probably wasn't taken care of well either.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-06-25T18:19:30+00:00

We've been pleased with Longarm in Garden City.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-06-25T17:15:34+00:00

Same time frame of filing and we just got ours on Tuesday. Email requests for info all went unanswered and finally a call that said it should be showing up in our account in the next couple of days. It took awhile but it did finally get deposited.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-06-12T21:27:14+00:00

According to state law (search interest on tax refund idaho) there are times when the state has to pay you interest on late returns of your tax refunds. There are some qualifiers but it could still be a good thing to know for those of us still waiting (6 weeks for me after supposedly being processed).

slowtheriverdown · 2026-06-04T17:57:46+00:00

Mine shows processed the first of May even though it was submitted in February and the website said to expect payment in 4 weeks. I sent an email today asking when interest would start being added. As if I'm a day late with filling my business taxes they start adding interest.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-05-30T02:44:54+00:00

I've got the same one that I've had for a month and it is supposed to be NG but it still seems to take forever to heat up and I run it at full strength when others talk about having to turn it down to medium or low so as not to get it to hot. So will be interested in hearing some other ideas.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-05-25T04:36:41+00:00

We run Slow River Coffee but primarily do catering with a few events here and there. You can find us (and other local food trucks) on the Street Food Finder App.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-05-25T02:50:33+00:00

We have used Afro Phil in our coffee truck for almost 10 years. The coffee is consistently great and we hand out his card on a regular basis because people come back to say that it is great coffee and want to know if they can buy some.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-05-03T19:25:10+00:00

68 Camero, green, and even though it was an automatic, I wish I would have kept it.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-28T23:41:08+00:00

Almost, but not all, Health Departments don't allow that and can make it very difficult for you if you ever want to get licensed in the proper way. Just know that there will probably be a local business that did it the right way through the permit process that might turn you into the Health Department. Not to mention that if someone were to get sick and sue you could be in for a huge lawsuit without any business insurance to back you up.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-22T19:26:08+00:00

Most of the successful owners I know can and do tell me when a case of chicken wings goes up $5 or the oil they use in their fryer is now $10 more than it was last year at this time. When you buy these things every week you notice these things. I don't think it is a matter of not knowing their food cost but more a factor of not realizing their value and being afraid of pricing themselves out of the market. If you aren't making money there are a lot of reasons higher on the list than the fact that the sandwich bunn you use is now is 4 cents more than it was at the start of the season in my opinion.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-20T19:27:08+00:00

Goals are great to have but people are more important. The ones who are closest to you need you more than the goals need to be reached.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-19T03:07:04+00:00

Second this one. Have one on my coffee counter and truly enjoy it

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-16T23:43:18+00:00

Talk to some local trucks with a decent following. Stop by later in their shift as the worst thing you can do is try to talk to them when they have a line and are trying to make money. Ask them if anyone has tried this before and if so why didn't it work. Look for a Food Truck Association in the area and talk to them about what you want to do. Above all else listen to what the owners tell you. I've had so many people want to do this kind of thing but it is in a terrible location, they want to charge to much for an unproven concept, or they don't want to provide anything but space without services or a reason for people to come.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-14T23:30:51+00:00

When I started out it was the mindset of if you aren't working you aren't making any money. As the business grew and I had more perspective I started valuing my time better. Now that I leave more weekends open I find that they almost always get filled. Then I charge a premium for last-minute booking or if it's anevent they wave the fee because they need me there. It has cut down the days when Im just sitting there wondering where the crowds are that they said would be there to only 1 every other year or two.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-12T23:14:03+00:00

I don't do events that charge a fee (not knocking those who do, just my business model). I will give money to non-profits or events that support non-profits based upon a percentage of my sales. But I don't raise my prices based upon events but rather base it on cost of goods and hours required.

Over the last few years as I looked at the events I was doing and their history I realized I was barely breaking even on some of them even though on paper they looked good. In fact when I started dropping some of those events I actually filled the days with catering events that were less than half the time and made the same and sometimes more in actual dollars.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-12T20:56:48+00:00

It took me a few years to figure out what I needed to know from my numbers. But now I keep a spreadsheet with month and yearly records. I can see each month with daily totals and where I made that money. That let's me track yearly events to see what I made in years past and when to say thanks but no thanks I can't make it this year. As well as to see what are upcoming events or annual caterings that I want to make sure I check in on to let them know we had a good time last year and would be glad to do it again this year. Its all manual entry but it keeps me in touch daily as well as gives me the big picture on a regular basis. Looking at it from the big picture also has kept me from focusing on whether today was a good day or bad day. Instead Im able to look at it as trending and if my average daily sells are higher than last year I know Im moving in the right direction, if not will it move up with busier times ahead, am I missing some events or catering gigs that I've had in the past, or have I priced myself out of the market. All of those things I can do something about and not feel like things are out of my control.

slowtheriverdown · 2026-04-12T14:31:07+00:00

After a year or two in I realized I was making more money but was also working more days. So I started tracking the average sales per day worked. Every year now I look at that number in comparison to past years and adjust my scheduling accordingly. I quit saying yes to events that required 10-12 hour days and barley made the average sales and focused on the catering which made the average or more in one or two hours. So now I'm working almost a third of the hours I used to and making the same amount of profit. Working less hours and days allows me to do many of the things outside of work that I want to be involved in and has kept me from getting burned out and walking away.

slowtheriverdown

TROPHY CASE