Food booth

A food booth – also called a food kiosk, food stand, food stall or temporary food service facility – is a temporary structure used to prepare and sell food to the general public, usually where large groups of people are situated outdoors in a park, at a parade, near a stadium, or otherwise. Sometimes the term also refers to the business operations and vendors that operate from such booths.[1][2]

Background

There is evidence to suggest that certain foods have either originated from, or gained in popularity through, food booths.[3] For example, the popularity of the ice cream cone in North America is attributed to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. According to legend, an ice cream seller had run out of clean dishes, and could not sell any more ice cream. Next door to the ice cream booth was the waffle booth, unsuccessful due to intense heat. The waffle maker offered to make cones by rolling up his waffles and the new product sold well, and was subsequently copied by other vendors.[4]

Operations

A common practice is for modern food booths to operate as concession stands at various kinds of special events. These may be operated by small independent vendors, catering companies, or by established restaurants offering a subset of items featured from a more comprehensive menu. Alternatively, some food booths may be operated by local nonprofit organizations as a means of fundraising. In some situations, nonprofits may face slightly lower processing fees, or less stringent regulations and contractual requirements, making such operations advantageous.[5][6]

Regulations

Depending on the jurisdiction, and local customs, operators of such booths ordinarily require a temporary food sales permit and government-issued licenses.[7] Typically operators also must demonstrate compliance with various regulations for sanitation, public health and food safety.[8][9] Such regulations include, for example:

• structural requirements for the construction and placement of booths[10]
• requirements or limitations regarding the hours and number of days of continuous operation[11]

See also

• Fast food
• Food cart
• Food truck
• List of food trucks
• Funfair
• Kiosk
• Local food
• Street food
• Taco stand
• Take-out
• Ice cream van

External links