Added 10:40 am 10/14/12
Pretzel Madness
Yesterday was Grovetoberfest in Coconut Grove. I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I committed to Miami for October and it certainly did not disappoint. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love craft beer festivals. It is probably my favorite social activity because it combines my love for outdoor day drinking (sounds a little alcoholic-y) and trying new craft beers. I was a bit skeptical before hand because there are a lot of great things about Miami, however it is seriously lacking in the craft beer scene. There is only one brewery in South Florida called the Abbey (I’ll post about that another time) and very few bars offer a decent selection of craft beer. For the most part, the few places that offer any type of craft beer stick to the big names like Dogfish Head, Magic Hat, Brooklyn Brewery, etc. So I wasn’t really expecting much.
On Friday night I got out of Brazilian Ju Jitsu (I can hear the snickering from Miami you a-holes. And yes I have gotten better, and yes the girl only taps me out half as much as she used to) around 10pm, and headed back to my apartment. On the walk home I was thinking about the beer festival and wondering if it was going to be awesome or going to be lame. Got back to the apartment and went on their website to check it out some more. Turns out they updated their homepage and were talking about how they sold more tickets than they did last year, and how it was going to be a much bigger turn out. Then I read that last year they had 5,000 people! Holy shit that is a lot of freaking people for a beer fest. I went to the Great American Beerfest in Boston a couple years ago and they dubbed themselves as one of the largest in America and that was only 4,000 people. So now I was really stoked for tomorrow. Then I got to thinking, how could I capitalize on 5,000 people. There has to be something that 5,000 beer enthusiasts would want that I could sell. And the first idea that came to my head was a seemingly doable one.
As stated previously I have been to a ton of craft beer festivals all over the North East (which I feel like has the most beer enthusiasts with maybe exception to parts of California and Portland, Oregon) and every time I go there are a handful of people that would have necklaces made out of ribbon with 20 or so small pretzels. And as we all know there is something amazing about the saltiness of a pretzel with a cold beer, especially when it is a craft beer. Every time I saw that I always thought “What a great idea, next beer festival I go to I am definitely going to do that.” And every time I forget to and kick myself when I show up and see a dude wearing one. So that’s it - I could make a shit load of pretzel necklaces and sell them outside of the beer fest when people are walking in. Perfect. It will be easy to do, it will be cheap and I will be able to pull it off in the next 18 hours.
At this time it’s probably 10:30 pm, I hop in the shower, throw on clothes, grab my big roller suitcase and head to the Publix (the Florida grocery chain) a few blocks from my apartment. I’m walking briskly because I know that it closes at 11. Get there with 5 minutes to spare and find the pretzel section. As luck would have it they have a deal going for buy 2 one pound bags for $5. Perfect, this is starting to feel like this is meant to be. I load up my cart with 14 one pound bags and ask an employee if they have anymore in the back.
Yesterday was Grovetoberfest in Coconut Grove. I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I committed to Miami for October and it certainly did not disappoint. Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love craft beer festivals. It is probably my favorite social activity because it combines my love for outdoor day drinking (sounds a little alcoholic-y) and trying new craft beers. I was a bit skeptical before hand because there are a lot of great things about Miami, however it is seriously lacking in the craft beer scene. There is only one brewery in South Florida called the Abbey (I’ll post about that another time) and very few bars offer a decent selection of craft beer. For the most part, the few places that offer any type of craft beer stick to the big names like Dogfish Head, Magic Hat, Brooklyn Brewery, etc. So I wasn’t really expecting much.
On Friday night I got out of Brazilian Ju Jitsu (I can hear the snickering from Miami you a-holes. And yes I have gotten better, and yes the girl only taps me out half as much as she used to) around 10pm, and headed back to my apartment. On the walk home I was thinking about the beer festival and wondering if it was going to be awesome or going to be lame. Got back to the apartment and went on their website to check it out some more. Turns out they updated their homepage and were talking about how they sold more tickets than they did last year, and how it was going to be a much bigger turn out. Then I read that last year they had 5,000 people! Holy shit that is a lot of freaking people for a beer fest. I went to the Great American Beerfest in Boston a couple years ago and they dubbed themselves as one of the largest in America and that was only 4,000 people. So now I was really stoked for tomorrow. Then I got to thinking, how could I capitalize on 5,000 people. There has to be something that 5,000 beer enthusiasts would want that I could sell. And the first idea that came to my head was a seemingly doable one.
As stated previously I have been to a ton of craft beer festivals all over the North East (which I feel like has the most beer enthusiasts with maybe exception to parts of California and Portland, Oregon) and every time I go there are a handful of people that would have necklaces made out of ribbon with 20 or so small pretzels. And as we all know there is something amazing about the saltiness of a pretzel with a cold beer, especially when it is a craft beer. Every time I saw that I always thought “What a great idea, next beer festival I go to I am definitely going to do that.” And every time I forget to and kick myself when I show up and see a dude wearing one. So that’s it - I could make a shit load of pretzel necklaces and sell them outside of the beer fest when people are walking in. Perfect. It will be easy to do, it will be cheap and I will be able to pull it off in the next 18 hours.
At this time it’s probably 10:30 pm, I hop in the shower, throw on clothes, grab my big roller suitcase and head to the Publix (the Florida grocery chain) a few blocks from my apartment. I’m walking briskly because I know that it closes at 11. Get there with 5 minutes to spare and find the pretzel section. As luck would have it they have a deal going for buy 2 one pound bags for $5. Perfect, this is starting to feel like this is meant to be. I load up my cart with 14 one pound bags and ask an employee if they have anymore in the back.
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She comes back and let’s me know that they don’t which I am pretty annoyed with. However, I know that there is another Publix about 2 miles north, so I will just wake up early and buy out all their pretzels as well. Now I’m looking for ribbon, find the ribbon, turns out to be $4 for 20 feet. F that, I’ll use string. They don’t have string. Crap. I check out, 14 bags comes out to be only $35, nice. Load up the bags into my roller suitcase and start walking towards the 24 hour Walgreens next to my apartment. They are sold out of string, ugh, walk 4 blocks to the 24 hour CVS, they don’t carry it, walk another 5 blocks to the other Walgreens. They have string, but they only have 3 - 100 foot spindles. Whatever I’m waking up early anyways, I’ll just find more tomorrow. Oh yah, I should probably buy a needle set, that will definitely make things easier. The string was $2.50 per spindle (rip off, but what choice did I have) and $2 for the sewing kit. So all in, everything was $45, not bad at all. I arrive back at the apartment around 11:45 pm. After experimenting with a bunch of quantities I come to the conclusion that putting on 30 mini pretzels per necklace makes the necklace look full, but keeps my profit margin real high. Each one pound bag yields 9 necklaces, 9 necklaces x 14 bags=126 necklaces, 126 necklaces x $3= $378, for a profit of $333. Awesome. Once again, I’m planning on waking up early and buying out the other Publix so it will actually be double. So 252 necklaces x $3 = a profit of $666. Hmm a little creepy…But I’m defiantly going to wear one, so it’s actually a profit of $663, I feel better. So I get to making pretzel necklaces.
Oh my God, the most tedious thing ever. The first bag was fine, every bag after that was such a pain in the ass. And it turned out to be A LOT more time consuming than I anticipated. First I had to count out 30 pretzels from each bag (now you’re probably thinking why didn’t you just estimate, or use a measuring cup, and the short answer is that it had to be pretty exact. Surprisingly, every bag had the same amount of pretzels minus one maybe two. And I wanted all the necklaces to be identical). Then I had to measure out and cut the string, and then had to “sew” the 30 pretzels. Four hours later, its 4 am and I have only done 7 bags. Damn, I’ll wake up tomorrow and do the rest. It sucks that that I will only have 126 necklaces, but still $333 is not bad.
Sleep for four hours, wake up at 8 am and start making them again. I finally finish at 11:45am, decide that since I am going to be drinking all day and kick boxing is pretty fun should grab a work out. Get back from the gym at 1, shower, get ready, put on one of my favorite/most “loud” shirts in order to get people’s attention for selling (Angola Prison Rodeo t shirt, thank you Sloan and Erin) load up all the effing pretzel necklaces and head to the bus. Get on the bus, get dropped off, jump on the Metro Rail, and I arrive in Coconut Grove at 2:45pm. Perfect. The VIP tickets get in at 3pm and general admission gets in at 4pm. (For anyone considering going to a beer fest buying a VIP ticket is such a rookie mistake - most last for 3 hours which is more than enough time to get obliterated on high alcohol percentage beer, not to mention 3 hours of drinking heavy craft beer is a feat in of itself. Regardless of your tolerance you get really full. So don’t waste the extra $20-$30)
On the Grovetoberfest website they said that they were going to provide a shuttle service from the station to the festival which was about 3 miles away. And by shuttle they mean ONE 10 person van for the thousands of people expected to come–- clearly someone dropped the ball. But luckily I was there early so there was a line of only 20 people. Time to get to selling. “Pretzel necklaces 3 dollars! Pretzel necklaces 3 dollars!” Everyone I approach gives a big smile, I over hear a few people saying “What a good idea!” and “That is awesome!” Yeah assholes it is a good idea, and it is awesome so buy a freakin’ necklace. Nada. Meh, these 20 people are just tight wads.
It’s finally our turn to hop in the van and we head to the festival. On the trip over I revaluate my pricing model - we are no longer in South Beach, and there are only 30 mini pretzels per necklaces, $3 is kind of a lot, so I’ll drop it to $2. I’ll still make a profit of over $200 which is fine for a Saturday afternoon.
The van arrives at Peacock Park, and I find a pretty prime location where everyone must walk by in order to enter the festival. So I’m assuming that either a lot of people drove or took cabs, or lived close because there was a TON of foot traffic. Hundreds and hundreds of people. “Pretzel necklaces $2! Pretzel necklaces $2!” Once again, everyone that passed gave a big smile, a laugh, an “Awesome!” “What a great idea!” “That is so cool!” “Oh my God those are necklaces made out of pretzels!” Yet none of these mother lovers were buying! Forty minutes passed of me standing out there, sun beaming, starting to go horse barking about pretzel necklaces. I started to get really frustrated. It would be one thing if people walked by, didn’t acknowledge me, didn’t say anything, and just went about their business. But I shit you not, 95% of the hundreds of people that walked by made a positive comment, yet NO ONE was willing to fork out 2 flippin dollars! At this point, I was dumbfounded, pissed, and getting crushed by the sun. Screw it, I’ll drop it to $1 make my money back maybe a little extra and just enjoy the festival. Still not a single sale, seriously unbelievable. My sales strategy became more aggressive if not flat out belligerent haha. Started calling out dudes that wouldn’t buy one for their girlfriends, accused people of not being able to afford $1, claimed that the necklace would cover up that ugly shirt, etc. NOT A SINGLE NECKLACE SOLD. F my life. On a sunnier note, I must of given a dozen “high fives”. Dagger, $45 loss, totally sucks, but not devastating. It’s now 4:10pm and they are letting in general admission - I’m not going to let this ruin my day, I’ve been looking forward to this festival for a while. I take out two necklaces, put them over my neck, throw my hard work in the trash can and head in.
Oh my God, the most tedious thing ever. The first bag was fine, every bag after that was such a pain in the ass. And it turned out to be A LOT more time consuming than I anticipated. First I had to count out 30 pretzels from each bag (now you’re probably thinking why didn’t you just estimate, or use a measuring cup, and the short answer is that it had to be pretty exact. Surprisingly, every bag had the same amount of pretzels minus one maybe two. And I wanted all the necklaces to be identical). Then I had to measure out and cut the string, and then had to “sew” the 30 pretzels. Four hours later, its 4 am and I have only done 7 bags. Damn, I’ll wake up tomorrow and do the rest. It sucks that that I will only have 126 necklaces, but still $333 is not bad.
Sleep for four hours, wake up at 8 am and start making them again. I finally finish at 11:45am, decide that since I am going to be drinking all day and kick boxing is pretty fun should grab a work out. Get back from the gym at 1, shower, get ready, put on one of my favorite/most “loud” shirts in order to get people’s attention for selling (Angola Prison Rodeo t shirt, thank you Sloan and Erin) load up all the effing pretzel necklaces and head to the bus. Get on the bus, get dropped off, jump on the Metro Rail, and I arrive in Coconut Grove at 2:45pm. Perfect. The VIP tickets get in at 3pm and general admission gets in at 4pm. (For anyone considering going to a beer fest buying a VIP ticket is such a rookie mistake - most last for 3 hours which is more than enough time to get obliterated on high alcohol percentage beer, not to mention 3 hours of drinking heavy craft beer is a feat in of itself. Regardless of your tolerance you get really full. So don’t waste the extra $20-$30)
On the Grovetoberfest website they said that they were going to provide a shuttle service from the station to the festival which was about 3 miles away. And by shuttle they mean ONE 10 person van for the thousands of people expected to come–- clearly someone dropped the ball. But luckily I was there early so there was a line of only 20 people. Time to get to selling. “Pretzel necklaces 3 dollars! Pretzel necklaces 3 dollars!” Everyone I approach gives a big smile, I over hear a few people saying “What a good idea!” and “That is awesome!” Yeah assholes it is a good idea, and it is awesome so buy a freakin’ necklace. Nada. Meh, these 20 people are just tight wads.
It’s finally our turn to hop in the van and we head to the festival. On the trip over I revaluate my pricing model - we are no longer in South Beach, and there are only 30 mini pretzels per necklaces, $3 is kind of a lot, so I’ll drop it to $2. I’ll still make a profit of over $200 which is fine for a Saturday afternoon.
The van arrives at Peacock Park, and I find a pretty prime location where everyone must walk by in order to enter the festival. So I’m assuming that either a lot of people drove or took cabs, or lived close because there was a TON of foot traffic. Hundreds and hundreds of people. “Pretzel necklaces $2! Pretzel necklaces $2!” Once again, everyone that passed gave a big smile, a laugh, an “Awesome!” “What a great idea!” “That is so cool!” “Oh my God those are necklaces made out of pretzels!” Yet none of these mother lovers were buying! Forty minutes passed of me standing out there, sun beaming, starting to go horse barking about pretzel necklaces. I started to get really frustrated. It would be one thing if people walked by, didn’t acknowledge me, didn’t say anything, and just went about their business. But I shit you not, 95% of the hundreds of people that walked by made a positive comment, yet NO ONE was willing to fork out 2 flippin dollars! At this point, I was dumbfounded, pissed, and getting crushed by the sun. Screw it, I’ll drop it to $1 make my money back maybe a little extra and just enjoy the festival. Still not a single sale, seriously unbelievable. My sales strategy became more aggressive if not flat out belligerent haha. Started calling out dudes that wouldn’t buy one for their girlfriends, accused people of not being able to afford $1, claimed that the necklace would cover up that ugly shirt, etc. NOT A SINGLE NECKLACE SOLD. F my life. On a sunnier note, I must of given a dozen “high fives”. Dagger, $45 loss, totally sucks, but not devastating. It’s now 4:10pm and they are letting in general admission - I’m not going to let this ruin my day, I’ve been looking forward to this festival for a while. I take out two necklaces, put them over my neck, throw my hard work in the trash can and head in.
Now here comes the GREAT part.…While reading this keep in mind that I swear I am not trying to come off as cool or “look at me”, or anything of the sort. The pretzel necklace idea is not original and I know that the only reason why I got these reactions was because I was in South Florida and no one had seen it before. I know for a fact that I would never have gotten these reactions if I was in a Boston, NYC, or DC setting - From the moment I walked into the festival you would have guessed that I cured cancer or something. Every freakin’ person at the festival acted like my pretzel necklace was the greatest thing ever conceived by man. No exaggeration what so ever, I must of posed in well over 150 pictures. I mean everyone, from smoking hot girls, to groups of 10 dudes, to elderly couples. Everyone. I had people motor boating my necklace, girls eating the pretzels off my chest, a woman pulled me aside and got very serious “I just wanted to let you know that your necklace is just the greatest.” I was told “I love your necklace!” “Awesome necklace!” or something of the sort at minimum 400 times. The band called me up on stage and took a picture with me. (I wish my stupid camera phone wasn't broken so I could of taken pictures of all the craziness. I only took one picture of the festival because the only camera I have is the one on my dopey HP smart pad that is massive and only has a camera lens facing towards you for Skyping and things like that.) I mean it was surreal. Let’s not forget, this is a piece of string with a salted snack - not some blood diamond the size of your fist. And let’s not also forget I WAS SELLING THEM 5 minutes ago outside and NOT ONE WAS PURCHASED. But of course, once inside the festival, I was constantly asked where I got it and where they could get one. Some dude offered me $20 for the one around my neck. It was like a parallel universe - if I brought the necklaces inside the festival I would have sold them in about 20 minutes. Ugh.
Hindsight is 20/20, so it is pretty clear to me now that a couple things were working against me outside. First people were excited to get to the festival, wanted to beat the line, and were walking by me fast. They were not going to take the time to buy one of these necklaces. Another major deterrent I think is that I put the necklaces back in the bags they came in, and then put those bags into two white trash bags (I put them in trash bags because I wanted something disposable so I didn’t have to walk around the festival for the next 3 hours with a suitcase) which probably came off as unsanitary and literally some guy selling pretzels out of a trash bag. A good idea is one thing, but execution is the only thing that matters. But oh well, it was quite an experience any way you look at it.
One thing is for sure though, if you are a person that craves attention, don’t bother going to the gym, driving expensive cars or wearing slutty outfits, just take a piece of string, put some pretzels on it and wear it to a beer festival.
Hindsight is 20/20, so it is pretty clear to me now that a couple things were working against me outside. First people were excited to get to the festival, wanted to beat the line, and were walking by me fast. They were not going to take the time to buy one of these necklaces. Another major deterrent I think is that I put the necklaces back in the bags they came in, and then put those bags into two white trash bags (I put them in trash bags because I wanted something disposable so I didn’t have to walk around the festival for the next 3 hours with a suitcase) which probably came off as unsanitary and literally some guy selling pretzels out of a trash bag. A good idea is one thing, but execution is the only thing that matters. But oh well, it was quite an experience any way you look at it.
One thing is for sure though, if you are a person that craves attention, don’t bother going to the gym, driving expensive cars or wearing slutty outfits, just take a piece of string, put some pretzels on it and wear it to a beer festival.
