A one-Sunday pop-up at the Tipsy Trout Taproom, and how we can make outside events work for both of us. Written so we can talk it through: leave your questions and concerns right on the page.
Miles, TW: I think best when I put my thinking on paper like this, so here it is, start to finish. A one-page summary and a print-ready PDF are at the top and bottom if you'd rather have the short version.
I've spent thousands of hours on forecasting, research and turning real numbers into action, and I know this community. Everything here comes from our own sales and our own agreement. Where something is an estimate, it says so.
I'm all in on making JOE'S and the Roadhouse succeed together. We have quality food, quality service and fair prices. What we need is more people experiencing it. Marketing and reach change week to week now, and the businesses that adapt are the ones that last. This pop-up is one way to reach a new crowd, build the brand and earn on a slow day at the same time.
The Tipsy Trout is one example of many opportunities I'd like to pursue. If we can work through this one and get on the same page, the same approach can cover the rest. And if this isn't what you picture for the trailer, I want to hear what you do picture, because we should be working toward the same goal.
Joe
Yo at the Tipsy Trout Taproom asked JOE'S to join a food-truck pop-up on Sunday, Nov 22, from 11 AM to 8 PM, with the trailer parked out front on a power hookup. I'd like to do it with the Roadhouse as a partner in it, not around it. Yo is holding all marketing until we've talked.
Nov 22 is also the Broncos vs Raiders game at the Roadhouse (2:25 PM kickoff). So I'm bringing two ways to do the day: the trailer at the Tipsy Trout under the Roadhouse name, or the trailer at home for the game and a small JOE'S tent pop-up across town. Your call matters here.
I know you see the Tipsy Trout as competition. In a town our size, I believe working together grows the pie for everyone, and I'd rather earn your trust on this than ask forgiveness. Tell me what would make you comfortable.
JOE'S sales from the Roadhouse Clover, our items only, paid orders, after discounts and before tips. The Roadhouse's share is the 20% in our agreement.
| Sunday | Orders | Items | Sales | Roadhouse 20% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Sep (opening) | 17 | 36 | $426.49 | $85.30 |
| 20 Sep | 6 | 10 | $118.21 | $23.64 |
| 27 Sep | 9 | 26 | $317.68 | $63.54 |
| 4 Oct | 21 | 45 | $544.75 | $108.95 |
| 11 Oct | 7 | 17 | $223.75 | $44.75 |
| 25 Oct | 17 | 32 | $394.55 | $78.91 |
| 1 Nov | 9 | 23 | $361.25 | $72.25 |
| 7 Sundays | 86 | 189 | $2,386.68 | $477.34 |
I'm proud of the food and the reviews, but the Sunday numbers are flat. They swing from about $120 to $545 with no upward trend. When football ends and the weather turns, I expect them to soften. Sitting in the same spot and hoping isn't a plan for either of us.
The 17 Oct show night was about 3 hours of service: 48 of the 61 orders landed between 6 and 9 PM. A Roadhouse Sunday runs about 8 hours (11 to 7) and spreads 12 orders across the day.
What it tells me: JOE'S sells when people are already gathered, at a show, a game, a taproom or a fundraiser. The model I want to grow with you: a partner brings the crowd, JOE'S brings the kitchen, and the Roadhouse gets credit and its share.
| Host | Yo, owner of the Tipsy Trout Taproom, 1064 Main St, Delta |
|---|---|
| When | Sunday, Nov 22, 11 AM to 8 PM. Yo is holding marketing until we've talked on Thu, Nov 12. |
| Same day at the Roadhouse | Broncos vs Raiders, 2:25 PM kickoff, tailgate specials advertised at the trailer |
| Setup | JOE'S trailer parked directly in front of the bar, on the bar's electrical hookup |
| Still coming from Yo | Exact outlet type (we need 50 amp, or we bring a generator), parking spot, any fee or split, weather plan |
The JOE'S trailer goes across town for the day under the Roadhouse name. Every sale rings on the Roadhouse Clover, and the Roadhouse is credited on the trailer, menu and bags. Tradeoff: the trailer isn't at the Roadhouse for the Broncos game, so we'd need a plan for the tailgate specials we've advertised.
The trailer stays at the Roadhouse for the Broncos game with the tailgate specials. JOE'S does a small smash-burger pop-up at the Tipsy Trout on its own setup, under the JOE'S name only, with no Roadhouse trailer or branding. Tradeoff: we staff two places on one day, the Roadhouse gets no credit across town, and those sales stay off the Roadhouse POS, which our agreement asks us to agree on in writing. I'd handle the event health approval for the tent setup.
What a 9-hour pop-up would need to do:
| Goal | Orders | Sales | Roadhouse 20% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match an average Roadhouse Sunday | 13 | $341 | $68 |
| A steady 3 orders an hour | 27 | $749 | $150 |
| Show-night pace for 3 of the 9 hours | ~61 | ~$1,774 | ~$355 |
These are targets, not promises. The result depends on the Tipsy Trout's Sunday crowd and how well we both promote it.
Nov 22 is the first test of a simple idea: take JOE'S to where people already are, with the Roadhouse credited and earning its share. If we agree on how to handle this one, the same rules can cover these:
Taprooms, breweries, wineries and farm stands with their own crowd and no kitchen.
High-school games, farmers markets, fairs, fundraisers and town events.
Offices, crews, schools and groups. Our City of Delta order (28 meals) shows the demand.
Every show night and big game at the Roadhouse. That's where JOE'S has done best.
DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub through the Roadhouse Clover, already planned and waiting on a go-ahead.
If this isn't what you picture for the trailer, then let's name the goal together:
You told me you're not comfortable with the trailer going to the Tipsy Trout because they're competition. I take that seriously. You've invested in this trailer and this partnership, and you don't want JOE'S building someone else's business.
Here's how I see it, and I'd like to hear where you disagree:
The Tipsy Trout's Sunday regulars aren't Roadhouse regulars yet. If they meet JOE'S there and learn our home base is the Roadhouse, that's a path back to 215 Ute St, not away from it.
If the pop-up rings on your Clover, the Roadhouse takes its 20% on a day that, for the Sunday trailer, is averaging $68.
In Delta, businesses that work together bring more people downtown and keep them spending locally. Treating every neighbor as competition is how small-town businesses slowly lose foot traffic. I want JOE'S and the Roadhouse known as the ones who show up for the community.
One Sunday. Your branding. Your POS. A full recap the next day. If it hurts the Roadhouse, we'll see it in the numbers and I'll own it.
Our Catering Agreement (effective 1 Oct 2026, Delta Roadhouse, LLC and Mimi's Sweet Treats, LLC) is the frame we're working in. I went through it so we're on the same page. If you read any of this differently, please say so in a note.
We provide services for Company events, functions, and operations as requested by Company
. I don't see language limiting work with other venues, and nothing about exclusivity or distance. Any change would be a written amendment we both sign, which I'm open to.
The fee section names a) 215 Ute Street b) the Food Trailer located at Company's River Park c) offsite events
. The trailer is approved, licensed and insured through the Roadhouse for offsite use. That's why I'm asking you first.
Sales are tracked on the Roadhouse POS as the sole version of the truth
, and anything outside it needs us both to agree in writing. My proposal keeps every pop-up sale on your Clover.
Within Roadhouse operations, the Roadhouse has the final say on communications. I'll send you every pop-up post, sign and flyer before it goes out.
The Roadhouse provides the trailer and kitchen equipment, and damage beyond normal wear is our cost to fix. The trailer comes back clean, and anything that happens on the day is on us.
We agreed to work in good faith to achieve mutually agreeable outcomes
. That's what this report is for.
Pick the ones that matter to you, or tell me what's missing:
It has a leak. Right now the hand-wash sink and pump are the only working water. The 3-compartment sink has to work, with hot and cold water, for the trailer to meet health code anywhere, including at the Roadhouse. I'd like to get this repaired this week and work out who covers it with you.
The trailer runs on a 50-amp hookup. If the bar doesn't have one, we'll borrow or rent a generator sized for the trailer (food trailers usually need 7 to 12 kW) and set it away from the window.
The trailer is already approved, licensed and insured through the Roadhouse for offsite use.
Three ways the next 8 Sundays could go. Sales are rung on the Roadhouse Clover in every case.
| Path | What it assumes | Sales | Roadhouse 20% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · Stay put | 8 Roadhouse Sundays at today's $341 average | $2,728 | $546 |
| 2 · Adapt | 4 Roadhouse Sundays + 4 partner pop-ups at about 25 orders each | $4,140 | $828 |
| 3 · Grow | Path 2, plus 2 catering jobs and 2 show nights over the same weeks | $8,652 | $1,730 |
Estimates, not promises. Pop-ups use our $27.75 average ticket. Catering and show nights use real figures (the City of Delta order and the 17 Oct show). Path 1 likely softens after football season.
I want your point of view as much as I want a yes. Anything here you can answer, or push back on, helps:
Catering Agreement, Delta Roadhouse, LLC and Mimi's Sweet Treats, LLC, effective 1 Oct 2026. Sections quoted: Scope of Services, Independent Contractor Status, Compensation (Fee Cap), Payment Terms, Communications. Quotes are from the copy I have. If the signed copy differs, the signed copy rules.
From the Roadhouse Clover, read-only, pulled 6 Nov 2026: JOE'S items only, paid orders, after discounts, before tips. Sunday 8 Nov wasn't in that pull yet. Roadhouse 20% is calculated on sales after tips, per the agreement's example.
From order times on the same pull. 17 Oct: 48 of 61 orders between 6 and 9 PM. Sundays: busiest around 1 PM.
Chef Joe at Roadhouse holds 5.0 stars on Google. The latest: "Best burger I've ever had! And those fries wow!"
Tipsy Trout Taproom, 1064 Main St, Delta, CO 81416. Contact: Yo, owner. Event: Sunday, Nov 22, 11 AM to 8 PM.
Broncos vs Raiders at Empower Field, Sun Nov 22, 2:25 PM MT on CBS, shown in the Delta Roadhouse Tavern, with JOE'S tailgate specials advertised.
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