With hundreds of attendees from the 2023 Saskatchewan Barrel Racing Association’s (SBRA) provincial championships heading off for snacks, supper or treats from local restaurants and stores, there is one new business that is ecstatic about the steady business generated by the event.
In only her third weekend of operation, Melina Fulton, who runs C plus C Concessions located in the Golden Mile Arena has found her business inundated with hungry and thirsty customers, thanks to the SBRA championships.
“It’s been absolutely nuts,” Fulton said describing how busy the concession has been during the barrel racing.
“Hundreds and hundreds of people have come to the concession,” she said. “It has been (about) 400 sales per day.”
It’s not just a “captive” event audience driving concession sales but also the quality of the food and friendly service.
During the course of the interview, two customers took time to compliment Fulton about how good the food was and how nice it was to have a good concession in the Golden Mile Arena.
Asked if she thought it was busy for a concession she said, “I think so. It is certainly a lot busier than the other two weekends I’ve worked. I’ve seen more people here since I’ve been here.”
Fulton has only been operating the newly renovated concession for three weeks.
“It’s everything I’ve expected. I am busier this week than I thought I would be.”
Being open for breakfast, customers was one of the things the Moose Jaw Exhibition Company was looking for when they were searching for a new concession operator.
Fulton said the first day of the championships was slow when it came to serving breakfast, but once people found out what was available for breakfast it immediately picked up on the second and third day.
One of the big draws for breakfast is a highly popular breakfast bowl which consists of homemade hashbrowns, scrambled eggs with bacon and ground beef, topped with cheese and green onions.
A breakfast bun is also popular with the early morning crowd.
“We have a breakfast wrap that is not as popular but still it’s ordered quite a bit.”
At other times the concession offers more traditional burger fare, along with wraps available for breakfast or a midday for supper wrap.
Other popular items include the candy bags for the kids, cotton candy and a wide selection of cold drinks the concession offers. Drinks they have sold by the hundreds during the event.
The concession does not sell Revels or Popsicles yet because there is no supplier in Moose Jaw that sells in bulk, but only enough quantities to keep costs low.
Hamburgers and cheese burgers are highly popular items on the menu due to the quality, as well as the taste.
“It’s homemade,” Fulton said about the beef [patties] in the burgers the concession serves.
“There’s no fillers, there is no nothing else in it,” she said, adding that purchasing the beef locally has been a great business decision.
“Everybody is happy; it doesn’t seem to be a frozen puck and they can tell it is a homemade patty.”
Customers are very appreciative of the fact the beef is locally sourced and it is a selling point when it comes to burgers.
Toppings, such as tomato and lettuce, are freshly cut with them being stored in a refrigerator until they are needed, making them extra crispy and fresh tasting.
Fries are freshly cut from whole potatoes just before they are needed in an order, making them delicious tasting, she said The fries aren’t frozen from a bag.
Fulton she would like to thank her customers at the barrel, racing provincial finals.
“The people have been really great and really patient when it’s been lined up outside the door; I want to thank them for that. Everybody has just been awesome,” Fulton said.
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