So, what the fuck happened to the pop up scene?
Honestly, I'm trying to figure it out myself so let's go for a ride together.
A part of me knows writing a whole article about the hypothetical yet true possibility of the demise of Soupbelly LLC is a tad bit dramatic, and that I may come back in a few months with a renewed sense of optimism, but I’ve been doing this for 6 years and I know better. I may NOT come back from this, and if I did, it definitely wouldn’t be the same as it was when I started.
So, what the fuck happened to the pop up scene?
I used to be the new kid in town back in 2019, naive and optimistic, welcomed with open arms, unaware that 30% fees with no tips was not the norm. The funny thing is, I had new kid mentality for the majority of the past 6 years (except I learned not to get fucked over and taken advantage of as much), up until I considered stopping. Maybe wisdom is knowing when to quit? I’m not sure if I’m ready to say that with conviction yet.
“turnaround is long, because it is a craft and not some reheated Sysco delivered food product appealing to the masses.”
I have a few guesses as to what’s been going wrong. The Atlanta pop up scene has always been very diverse, and a lot of chefs with more unique offerings started there. We have Chinese, Filipino, Polish, Japanese, Korean, Afro-Caribbean, Jamaican, Mexican, to name a few. Not to speak on everyone’s behalf, but I personally take weeks to prep for a single pop up. This is far different from the usual things that transitory chefs (including but not limited to food trucks) offer such as burgers, hot dogs, or nachos for example, which in comparison take a fraction of the time to prep. Procurement of uncommon ingredients takes me a few hours, twice a week. These are mostly fresh produce, seasonings and other Chinese products I cannot pick up at a random Restaurant Depot or Costco, and located across town in Asian supermarkets such as Buford Highway Farmers Market or Super H-Mart. Not to mention the time it takes to fold thousands of dumplings by hand and prep the rest of my dishes from scratch. I won’t go into detail (that is for another post) but my turnaround is long, because it is a craft and not some reheated Sysco delivered food product appealing to the masses.
Taking into account my longer prep time, I don’t have the flexibility to take a gig with little to no notice. Meaning I usually have to turn a lot of events down. Eventually, venues will call less and less because they need someone who can pop up at the drop of a hat. If you are a pop up that can do that, then that is awesome. For the rest of us, not so awesome. Which is why I take much care to vet most of my locations to ensure the least risk and greatest probability in selling out (this is also another post for another time - make note to write how to start a pop up), because I’m essentially putting my eggs in a once a month basket.
The pop up scene has also become saturated, and that’s something you prepare for when doing this - mentally prepared to close your business if it slows down to the point of unsustainability, or prepared in how to survive. Most pop up vendors have a brick and mortar as an end goal, which I did not, because I did not want one. Or they move on with something more permanent, like a long term residency.
It’s been tougher to secure time slots at a lot of venues now because of the congested market. I used to be able to schedule 1-3 months in advance, then 1-3 months became 3-6, and now venues are booked a year in advance. In short, I am fucked for 2025. Ok, that may be a little dramatic, but it will be harder to book than before.
While my business was growing during 2019 to 2023, in 2024 it was not. I saw a significant decrease in gross sales in the same locations this year compared to previous ones. And not only my pop ups, but my frozen dumpling drops and workshops have dropped by 50%. One could argue that it’s sluggish for everyone in the 4th quarter, but I haven’t experienced that problem until this year. Maybe because it’s an election year? People are worried about money? Dumplings are not trendy? A combination of things?
Venues also increased their fees, while offering nothing more, sometimes less. And a lot of the venues I normally popped up at stopped hosting, as they either didn’t/couldn’t anymore due to various reasons. The breweries that didn’t shut down and managed to stay open, were not as loyal to their regular vendors anymore. Large themed food markets and festivals were charging up to 5x more fees versus last year. Call it greed, or inflation, or greed under the guise of inflation, at this point it doesn’t matter or help me figure out a solution.
I have heard it said - more than a few times over the years - that what I do is easy, and I simply have to show up, pitch a tent and people will come. Obviously this is dismissive of all the hard work of making my food from scratch for weeks, promoting myself to gain a following of interested people to show up, and many other things. But that mindset is what allows people to justify taking advantage of pop ups. It’s easy for her, I know how much money she makes, I will charge her 30% instead of the usual 5% because she can afford it. Turn the other cheek at my other costs, taxes, and everything else that comes with pitching that tent.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that less and less venues invite you in to chat, talk about your food, understand each other’s visions and goals, and promote each other. It is not a mutually benefitting collab where you lift each other up, and most don’t feel the need to build a relationship with you anymore. Which is also why a lot of venues get no-shows. It’s a vicious cycle, and they only have themselves to blame. I now get emails asking if I can swing by with my food truck (I don’t have a food truck) within two hours, for 30 people. Rude. I don’t even know who you are. And you suck at emails.
Obviously, not everyone is like this. There are so many people I’ve worked with who are genuinely kind hearted and helpful. But it’s also come to the point where the negatives have been outweighing the positives, in every aspect.
Oh, and let’s throw in the effect tariffs will have on the cost of ingredients. Things already cost a good bit now. Can you imagine what would happen when Chinese ingredients go up even more?
Is it even worth continuing?
“Getting back into the pop up scene would feel like jumping onto a sinking ship.”
Sure, I can switch things up a bit. Offer new menu items. Promote the shit out of myself on social media. I can confidently say I had played the game well and knew what worked and what didn’t. But…maybe it’s the depression talking, something feels off this time. Getting back into the pop up scene would feel like jumping onto a sinking ship.
I’ll be here for a bit until I figure out my next move. Maybe THIS is my next move. I can’t afford therapy so rage-writing is a cost effective alternative.