As promised in my Neighborhood Yard Sale post, here's Part Two about our "event" last weekend.Because we didn't have enough "treasures" to have a yard sale last year, we held a "Bistro on the Porch." We had such a good time with it, we continued it again this year. Friday evening we set our menu board out at the end of our sidewalk, to let everyone know we'd be open for breakfast/lunch and snacks the next morning.
We set up a pretty little counter at one end of the porch, displaying all our home made treats. In a cooler underneath we had two types of sandwiches already made up. Besides offering baked goods, we also had a sack lunch available which consisted of a sandwich, dessert and chips.
The morning started with freshly brewed coffee.
Half and half for the coffee was iced down in a decorative birdbath. We also had bottled water and cold drinks iced down for sale.
Here's my partner/sister, Nancy taking a little break during a lull. This is the opposite end of the porch from the "counter." We made the porch available for hungry, hot and tired shoppers to recharge before continuing on with their yard sale shopping. You can see a little of the yard sale activities beyond the porch.
More seating for our customers.
We moved some wicker onto the front lawn to offer more seating.
Once again, this was a huge success for us. We actually had repeat business from last year, insuring that we'll probably do it again next year. It was a big job since we were also doing the yard sale. Organization was the key. I baked and froze food for several weeks prior and made 130 sandwiches the evening before. One of the reasons I think it's successful is that it's such a pleasant surprise for people. Who expects an elegant little bistro when they're yard sale shopping? It's also always quite warm during our neighborhood's yard sale and the porch is a lovely spot for people to sit for a few minutes, cool off and have something good to eat. It was fun to stand back and watch total strangers chat with each other as they had their lunch or snack. I've figured out a way to fufill my fantasy of having my own little tearoom or bistro, if only for one day a year. It's shown me it's way more work than I'd want to do on a full time basis. But, I've already made notes on what I want to do differently next year...
We set up a pretty little counter at one end of the porch, displaying all our home made treats. In a cooler underneath we had two types of sandwiches already made up. Besides offering baked goods, we also had a sack lunch available which consisted of a sandwich, dessert and chips.
The morning started with freshly brewed coffee.
Half and half for the coffee was iced down in a decorative birdbath. We also had bottled water and cold drinks iced down for sale.
Here's my partner/sister, Nancy taking a little break during a lull. This is the opposite end of the porch from the "counter." We made the porch available for hungry, hot and tired shoppers to recharge before continuing on with their yard sale shopping. You can see a little of the yard sale activities beyond the porch.
More seating for our customers.
We moved some wicker onto the front lawn to offer more seating.
Once again, this was a huge success for us. We actually had repeat business from last year, insuring that we'll probably do it again next year. It was a big job since we were also doing the yard sale. Organization was the key. I baked and froze food for several weeks prior and made 130 sandwiches the evening before. One of the reasons I think it's successful is that it's such a pleasant surprise for people. Who expects an elegant little bistro when they're yard sale shopping? It's also always quite warm during our neighborhood's yard sale and the porch is a lovely spot for people to sit for a few minutes, cool off and have something good to eat. It was fun to stand back and watch total strangers chat with each other as they had their lunch or snack. I've figured out a way to fufill my fantasy of having my own little tearoom or bistro, if only for one day a year. It's shown me it's way more work than I'd want to do on a full time basis. But, I've already made notes on what I want to do differently next year...
