Page 231 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

tables and chairs and a couple bottles of beer,” said Stevens. “So I paid $275
down on used bar fixtures and restaurant equipment, and agreed to payoff the
balance of $640 in monthly payments. I got a couple of local carpenters and
had them refinish the floor in the big room of the house for dancing, and
along the sides of this room I then placed black and silver colored glass-top
tables of a modern, though inexpensive, design. I was lucky getting a semi-
circular bar, and some long panel mirrors to hang behind it. My initial
investment, all told, came to $407, including the refrigerator and range for
cooking. I had a couple of electric automatic fryers,

o n e t h o u s a n d Way s t o M a k e $1,000
and a grill and roaster in which I was able to roast up to nine chickens, or
four pork loins at one time.

“To let people know about what I had to offer them, I had seventeen signs
painted and placed at strategic points along the road. Each sign featured a
different type barbecued meat sandwich. I had the sandwich featured painted
in colors and placed a price of fifteen cents on each. Then in large letters was
the name of my stand, and the distance from the sign to the inn. That first
night I opened was surprising to me. Between six and nine, 119 cars stopped
and an average of three people came in from each car. My wife and I tried to
take care of them, but we ran out of supplies at nine-thirty. We did volume
enough to indicate future success, however. We spent all the next day
roasting chickens, pork loins, and beef cuts and the business that night was
unusual. Many stayed a little while to dance and the small dance floor was
crowded. Music was furnished by a good radio picking up a hotel dance
program from Detroit.

“People out in the country in their cars like to stop somewhere to rest and eat.
If there’s a little dancing, they’ll stay longer. They don’t like to feel they are
paying excessive prices for food, however, and about fifteen cents is all
they’ll pay for a sandwich. This is a profitable price. The average check runs
forty cents for each person. Inasmuch as there is a gross profit of 50 per cent
on sales, we are doing nicely.”

Each week since he added the new equipment, Stevens has served six