Vendor life at 626 Night Market & how we got there!

This is our second year trying out 626 Night Market, but getting here wasn’t always peachy. We’re incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to participate, so we wanted to share a little about what goes on behind the scenes, and how we figured it all out along the way.

A few years ago, we decided to try a few smaller events. Once again, there was no official course called “How to Become an Event Vendor.” 😂 We learned through mistakes, past experiences, asking around, and a LOT of trial and error.

I was lucky to have Shelly as my partner because she is definitely the calmer one. Me? I’m filled with anxiety thinking: “Help me!"

For our first events, we ordered our own customized tents and even built our own banner frame using... yes... PVC pipes and zip ties. We made several trips to Home Depot buying heavy weights because we were terrified our entire booth was going to fly away. We even brought a generator just in case we ran out of electricity.

Event mornings started SUPER early. We would head to the store, prepare all of our fresh ingredients, pack everything into ice-filled coolers, load up the cars, and drive out to the event, sometimes a few times, back and forth.

Imagine working all day inside a 10 x 10 ft tent in the heat. 

In the beginning, our ordering system was… questionable. Shelly and I joked about building one of those little rolling conveyor lines to send orders to the back. We didn't.

Eventually, we figured it out: Post-its, quick and efficient names for menu items, and a numbering system.

NOW WE'RE MUCH FASTER.

Then there’s the health inspection side of event life. Again, there wasn’t exactly a class teaching us everything. We learned how to create a system that keeps our booth organized, clean, and sanitary: hot water, sanitizing solution, clean cloths, proper storage, and even keeping our topping bar on ice.

Foodieland and 626 Night Market events are three days long, and every morning we bring a fresh set of ingredients so we can maintain the same quality we serve at our store.

Physically, these events can be TOUGH. You’re standing for hours, moving nonstop, lifting things, making drinks as quickly as possible, and constantly making sure the system keeps flowing.

But honestly, the best part has been the people.

We have met SOOO many wonderful customers and amazing fellow vendors. Vendors bring us food, and we bring them freshly made coconut drinks. It becomes its own little community.

Once in a while, Shelly and I even show up armed with cup noodles and packs of Vitamin C because... event survival.

The more events we've done, the better and more efficient we've become. We don't forget things anymore. Our setup is faster. Our system works. I still don't love the portable toilets though.

At one point, Shelly's family came all the way from Indonesia, and she had to take them to Hawaii. We still managed to run the booth with basically two people. Our staff member alone has helped us crank out 1,200–1,500 drinks over a three-day event.

Side note: he's currently preparing to participate in an upcoming fight at UFC Gym, so apparently making 1,500 coconut drinks is just his warm-up.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/d2af26_9c52d1c97a104d0b90c962b0861e9384/360p/mp4/file.mp4

The Calamansi Sugarcane Coconut Shake

As for me? I joined the wonderful Renaissance In Motion (RenMo) Running Club and attempt about three miles every Wednesday (only 2 times so far 😂). They are such an incredibly welcoming and inclusive group, even when I'm struggling to keep up.

And just like that, our final 626 Night Market event of the year is officially done. 🥹(Fear not! We have a few smaller events coming up).

From two people figuring out tents, PVC pipes banner stands (now metal frames), generators, coolers, Post-its, and health inspections... to a team that can now serve more than a thousand drinks over one weekend, we've learned A LOT. We still make mistakes though, please forgive us!

A huge thank you to the 626 Night Market/ Foodieland organizers and everyone behind the scenes. After experiencing the vendor side ourselves, we have an even greater appreciation for how much planning and work goes into putting together events of this size. We couldn't be more impressed or more grateful to be part of it.

And to everyone who stopped by Coconut & Co., supported us, brought us food, chatted with us, or walked away carrying one of our coconut drinks:

Thank you for making all the craziness worth it.

See you next year, 626!