
Hi Friends!
We recently participated in the Toronto Polish Festival, and I must say it was an interesting and insightful experience. We’d love to share how it went because, well, not everything went smoothly for us.
To give you a quick overview, the Polish Festival is held in September on Roncesvalles Avenue. The entire street is closed off, and all the businesses can set up booths outside and cook for the crowd.
We had been preparing for the festival for the last two months—developing special menu, setting up a stand and booth, and organizing everything for outdoor cooking. We thought we were well-prepared... only to realize that most people weren't really interested in what we had to offer. The crowd just passed us by.
So after 5 hours of trying, we decided to move everything back inside and operate as we normally do. Instead of offering cheap street food, we highlighted:
A peaceful place to sit
Air conditioning
Our full menu and drinks
Washrooms
And it worked! We were fully packed within 10 minutes.
We've tried cooking outside at other events before, but this experience confirmed that we’re not a street food kind of place. We thrive in our usual setup. The moral of the story? A lot of effort doesn’t always lead to big results. Sometimes, doing less is the key to success.
Oh, and by the way, this weekend at Sava Roncy, we sold 260 crepes, 450 drinks, and 165 croissants!
Comments