Big Bad Con is growing every year, and the Goats welcome back attendees from previous years and can’t wait to meet people coming for the first time.
We’ve gotten amazing feedback from happy con-goers, and we’re more motivated than ever to keep expanding and improving.
And one thing that we’ve heard from you that needs improving is the availability of fast, cheap, and healthy food.
To address this, we’ve made some accomplishments and are still working on more options.
Achievement Unlocked: More Service!
The hotel restaurant is going to have three more staff that weekend in anticipation of the rush of hungry gamers. They’ve had slow service in the past, and we’re optimistic that this will make a difference.
But the Goats, Little Red, and the Wolf want you to have more options, so they put their heads together for some other plans to improve food availability. Some were shot down by hotel management; Big Bad Con is simply not allowed to bring in outside food for its guests. Some nixed ideas were:
- Bringing in lunch platters
- Hiring Tina Tamale or other local food trucks to sling tasty treats in the parking lot
- Roasting a pig (Okay, the Wolf wanted that for himself)
But we want more!
One idea still on the table is Grandma’s Deliveries, wherein our hard-working con volunteers do scheduled food runs to various take-outs up the road, with a list of pre-paid orders. The logistics of this have yet to be determined, so we’re not ready to declare this a viable option.
What do YOU think?
What else can Big Bad Con do to improve your dining experience? Throw some ideas down in the comments and let’s see what we come up with.
Eat24 is something I just heard about, and it looks like they can deliver in our area:
http://oakland.eat24hours.com/restaurants/index.php?sid=b2fd0d42a4eb1b48f26935dfb829d3d7.155987c
What’s behind the hotel’s objection to outside food? If they want a monopoly on food purchases, they’re not going to like any solution, period. If it’s some kind of liability issue regarding food that is purchased on the premises, maybe the food truck idea would work if it were very slightly off site (like parked on the street out front)?
It’s a combination of unions (that require that they be given the first opportunity to serve any food) and the fact that we’re too big for their kitchen but too small to do catering. I’m looking for ways attendees could collaborate to bring in offsite food so as not to violate any of the hotel’s restrictions while still offering better food choices.
We could also setup a “food shuttle” sign up list, like a pick-up game. You designate which restaurants and how many seats you have going to it during the breaks, and folks can sign-up to go.
There are so many good places to eat within a 5-10 minute drive that it’s a shame to get stuck with the crappy burgers that take forever from the restaurant.
Joeseph Harney’s idea: Shuttle service to nearby eats.
Carpooling sounds cool, trying to get a table for large groups at any restaurant is not. Would be better for places like In-n-Out.
My friend Avi just last evening introduced me to this website/app called Instacart (instacart.com) that will deliver from Safeway, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods. I checked the website, they will deliver to the hotel’s neighborhood. Would probably have to put in special instructions about delivering to a hotel, but I’m sure they can manage it.
All three stores have groceries and ready-made meals, so you could order lunch AND stock up on groceries to keep in the room (which all have fridges, I think). So much nicer than the protein bars and PB&J I usually eat at cons, if I’m lucky enough to find a CVS nearby.
Avi has a promo code: FREE Delivery + $10 off first order with the code AWARNER11. And then once you sign up, YOU get a code, and you share that with your friends and YOU get a kickback, and then it’s like a pyramid scheme but everyone wins and gets food.
I swear I am not being paid to promote this.
In and Out is NOT a healthier option, but wow tasty… and fast and easy to do a run through the take-out.
I don’t remember if there was a grocery store nearby, but being able to have pre-packed salads, wraps, cold sandwiches and chips available would be so nice.
I’m VERY sad that the hotel won’t let food trucks park in the parking lot. That would have been amazing.
Yep, my dream come true would be two or three food trucks in the lot right behind the con.
While Big Bad certainly could not assume any catering functions that goes against its hotel agreement or requires a food handling permit, would it be feasible to act as a billboard to allow individual attendees to get in touch with each other to agree on mini-pot luck meals, with diffferent people each bringing a dish?
I had thought about doing a pot luck too! I would happily bring a veggie platter or two to have out, if we had a designated table. In the same room as EndGame, maybe? But maybe they don’t want people with sticky fingers browsing all their cool games.
When I was at GPNW people left out baked goods and things on the “free” table. Much smaller scale, but I think inviting people to drop off goodies somewhere would be cool. Though I wouldn’t want it to overshadow the canned food drive…
Combining ideas = Since a lot of folks might not live nearby, organizing shuttles to nearby food could also be used to organize trips to grocery store to pick up things to share.